The air in the small apartment was heavy with the smell of rain and the faint sweetness of wine left over from the night before. It was supposed to be a quiet evening movie, snacks, and the comfortable warmth of being wrapped up in my girlfriend's arms. But she wasn't here. She'd run out to pick up something she'd forgotten at work, leaving me alone.
Well, almost alone.
Her brother was here.
Ethan.
The name alone was enough to make my chest tighten. He wasn't supposed to be in town. My girlfriend had mentioned him only in passing her overprotective, slightly cocky older brother who lived a few hours away. I'd met him once at a family dinner, the kind where I was too focused on making a good impression to notice much more than his firm handshake and the sharp way his eyes seemed to read
