Bitter Sweet Deception (The Kingsmen M.C Book 4) (20 page)

“
Way to go, Baby V! Bring it on home
!
”

Before he can finish as enthusiastically as he started, Theresa elbows him hard enough to ensure there isn't a follow-up. That's my girl! Although Theresa is Dom's younger sister, she always has my back. As the only two girls in our family, we have an unspoken allegiance to each other.

Theresa has had her share of the boys' antics growing up, but, as the baby of the group... I bear the brunt of it.

Dom pretends to be injured, cowering away from his little sister while she returns her attention my way, and politely claps... just as I had done at her own graduation ceremony last year.

The two are quite a pair. For however handsome Dom is, Theresa is equally beautiful with her huge almond eyes, and long, wavy, blown-out hair. She is the closest thing to a sister as I'm sure I'll ever find.

After the full five-second timeframe perfected during countless hours of graduation rehearsal, I turn once more to Father Cross. His lip quivers a little in restrained anger as he issues his standard well-rehearsed words of wisdom.

“
Congratulations my child... and God bless you
.
” 

Simple. Sweet. And probably more than a little difficult for him to say at the moment.

~*~

In a matter of moments, the great lawn has been transformed into a sea of chaos as relatives and loved-ones swarm around in search of their particular graduate. It probably doesn't help much that we are all dressed in the same identical burgundy ceremonial gown. Twice now, someone has grabbed on to me only to find that I was not exactly who they were expecting.

Maybe this will be easier if I just park it somewhere and wait to be found, instead of playing the maze-game with several hundred well dressed but impatient audience members? I head over toward the largest oak tree in the center of the lawn to relax under its shade until the craziness settles.

The temperature instantly drops a few degrees as I feel the trees relief from the brutal sun. Pressing my back against the ancient tree, I graze the crowd looking for my mom. She is the only person I want to see right now as I'm still angry at the boys for their little graduation present from thirty minutes ago. Instead, I see another familiar face walking toward me, making an audibl
e“
Tisk, tis
k
” sound while smiling.

“
How is it that you can turn something as boring as a graduation ceremony into a small scandal?
,
”
 
the friendly visitor finally asks as he joins my shaded spot. 

I reach out to hug him, thankful for the lighthearted distraction. He follows his chiding with a soft embrace.

“
Hey Conrad. So... you saw that, huh
?
” I ask back sarcastically. I haven't seen Conrad since spring break when he came to pick up Stephanie to take her home. He laughs lightly in my ear before tightening his grip and whirling me around.

“
Of course I did. I was nodding off, listening to Cross ramble on and on until all hell broke loose
!
”
 
He gently places me back down and lets go of his grip to look at me.
 “
So... Baby V, hmm? What's that about? I've never heard anyone call you that before. Something new
?
”

“
No... something old. Annoying, and old. Have you found Steph yet? I saw her over by the flower garden a few minutes ago
,
” I quickly change the topic away from my personal humiliation.

He moves us deeper into the shade.
 “
Yeah, I found her. She's taking pictures with our parents. So, how does it feel to be amongst us grown-ups, in the real world now
?
” 

Ha! I can barely call Conrad a grown-up. He is no more an adult than his sister or I am.

“
I am officially declining to answer any such questions until after the Summer is over. I figure I can stretch out one last season before joining in the trenches
,
” I answer back while shaking my head.

“
All righ
t…,
”
 
he gives me a pass.
 “
I'll ask you again in September, then. Enjoy it while it lasts. Steph tells me you two are going to be roommates in the city this fall
?
” He takes on a visibly confused exterior.
 “
Seriously, I don't get chicks. I've spent eighteen years living under the same roof as her, and I couldn't
wait
  for us to go to college just so I wouldn't have to deal with her every day. You two get paired up for four years and can't seem to let it go. I've seen how she keeps her room, V
.
” 

He rests a playful accusing finger on my chin,
 “
Yo
u’
re a glutton for punishment
.
”

I step up to defend my friend, even in jest,
 “
Steph's not
that
messy. She's just organizationally challenged, I think. Yeah, we're going to look for an apartment downtown while we both get internships. Hopefully
.
” 

I had no idea Steph had told her brother about our plans for the fall. I scramble to think of a polite way to ask Conrad to keep it on the quiet side until we definitely have plans set, when I see him look over my shoulder, his face tensing nervously.

“
There you are. We've been looking all over for you
.
” I turn to see Dom standing a few feet away from me. His deep brown eyes looking from me to Conrad and back.
 “
I told your mom I'd find you for pictures
.
”

Conrad recovers from the sudden discomforting intrusion. 

“
This must be one of your loudly-proud brothers then? Nice to meet you
,
” he speaks to Dom as he politely extends his hand.
 “
Conrad Thomas, Stephanie's brother
,
”
 
he introduces himself.

Dom hesitates for a split-second while looking down at me. He's always been substantially taller than I am, but I somehow feel him grow in height. He reaches out for Conrad's hand and shakes it casually while maintaining his fixed gaze on me. 

“
No, I'm not V's brother. I'm a
really
good friend
,
” he reluctantly shifts his eyes to Conrad. They probably should have let go of their grip, but keep it going awkwardly.

“
Dominic DiBenedetto. Good to meet you. I didn't know Stephanie had a brother
.
” 

He finally releases the younger boy's hand.

The two of them can't be more than eighteen inches apart, facing each other. Dom is definitely the taller of the two, but Conrad straightens his shoulders as if to gain a few inches to make up the difference. Neither of them break their stare. I think fast to come up with something to say before this starts to become even more uncomfortable. Dom beats me to it.

“
But... you see those three goons over there? Standing by the fountain, staring at you?
Those
  are her brothers. I think they want to see their baby sister and congratulate her
,
” he slowly states with a subtle hint of disdain as he places his opened palm on my lower back, adding a slight amount of pressure to will me to move with him toward where he's pointing.

“
Uh, yeah. That's fine. Congratulations, V. I'll catch up with you later then?
,
” is all Conrad can manage to speak before I am out of earshot.

“
Thanks! I'll call Steph about meeting tonight. You in?
,
”
 
I call back slightly increasing volume as I am being led away.

He nods over-enthusiastically.

“
Sure! Talk to you then!
,
” he finishes while still standing in the same spot under the oak tree, trying to figure out what exactly just happened.

No longer trying to yell out to Conrad, I turn fully toward Dom and stop walking, placing more weight in the heels of my shoes to counter his gentle guiding. He realizes quickly that we have slowed and looks down at me, not releasing his position from its place on my lower back.

“
What?
,
” he playfully lets out while rolling his eyes.
 “
Come on V. Are you really
that
  pissed at what we did? It was Mike's idea. But it was a good one
,
” he continues his argument.
 “
You're the last one to graduate... we couldn't pass it up
.
”

I exhale deeply and loudly,
 “
You are
all
idiots, you know! Really! You couldn't just act your age and at least
pretend
  to be mature for one afternoon, could you
?
”

I scold him as my pointed finger presses into his tie. I was expecting to push into his chest for full dramatic effect, but meet resistance under my fingertip. Dom practically lives at the gym... but I guess I didn't give him enough credit. His chest was a
lot
firmer than I thought it would be.

He moves his free hand to cover my accusing pointer finger and presses it so that my palm flattens out over his silky tie. Keeping his hand covering mine while changing his tone from one of jest to a softer, sweeter one, he begins the apology. 

“
I'm sorry, V. Really... I am. You know us. We bust your chops. That's all. I mean... you must have expected us to do s
omething
...
?
”

His brown eyes are somehow softer now, no longer laughing silently as they were before. His hand is strong on top of mine, as if he is holding it to reassure me of his words. Not wanting to brow-beat him any more than necessary as he obviously thinks I'm damn mad at him, I pull my hand back and use sarcasm to return to our usual and familiar banter.

“
A sign?... Really? With Glitter! That's above Mike's planning skills, Dom. Neanderthals can't read, let alone write
.
” 

I turn on my heel and storm off toward the other three idiots about to feel my wrath.

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About the Author

Tara Oakes is a new author from Long Island, N.Y. She lives with her husband and their little pet family.  She is an avid reader, a DIY'er and writer of all things romance.  With several completed works,
A Lil' Less Broken
marked her debut into e-publishing.

When not writing or reading, Tara enjoys gardening (without much success) and all things Real Housewives related.  Please feel free to contact her as all feedback and fan interaction is much welcomed and highly appreciated.

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