LOVING MY BROTHER'S RIVAL

No Excuse

Chapter 4

I typed three sentences and deleted them. Then I typed two more and deleted those too. Every version either sounded like an apology for being around Shane or like a lie I couldn't keep up for long.

'You said you love me.'

I hadn't corrected him. I had only walked away.

My phone lay face-down beside my laptop. Every few minutes, I turned it over out of habit, only to find nothing new. No message from Jonathan. No reply from Betty after I'd told her I was studying.

The silence was getting to me. I knew I needed to make a decision, but I still didn't know what to do.

At 4:17, a university email notification appeared at the top of my screen.

I opened it, expecting another formal reminder.

Instead, the subject line read: Status Update – Simeon, Nerissa – Disciplinary Review Closed.

I read the short paragraph twice.

The incident report had been reviewed and dismissed. No further action would be taken. My enrollment remained in good standing, and the matter was considered resolved.

That was it.

No explanation. No request for the statement I'd been struggling to write. Just a brief email telling me the problem was over.

I leaned back in my chair, letting out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

Relief came first. Then the questions.

Shane had said he'd handle it. Two hours later, the problem was gone.

How had he done that?

My phone buzzed again.

One new message. No name, just the number I'd memorized months ago.

'Let me buy you proper dinner. No excuse allowed.'

I stared at the screen for a while.

I typed and deleted three different replies.

'Thank you for whatever you did.'

'I can't.'

'I need to study.'

'None of them felt right.'

The truth was that part of me wanted to go. I wanted to sit across from him, talk about ordinary things, and forget about the campus gossip for a few hours. I wanted a break from Jonathan's ultimatum and the decision he expected me to make.

But another part of me knew that spending time with Shane would only make things harder. The more attached I became to him, the more difficult it would be to do what my brother wanted.

Betty's name appeared on the screen before I could settle on an answer.

'Where are you? Dean's secretary says the review is closed. What the hell happened?'

I replied immediately.

'Library. Third floor. Shane fixed it somehow. He just asked me to dinner.'

The typing bubbles appeared almost at once.

'Go.'

'Do not sit there overthinking until your brain melts.'

'And text me the second you get home so I know you're alive.'

I almost smiled. Betty had always known how to get me out of my own head.

I looked back at Shane's message. The cursor blinked in the reply box.

'Where?'

His reply came in less than a minute.

'I'll pick you up at the school gate in twenty. Wear whatever you want. We're not going anywhere that requires a dress code.'

Twenty minutes.

I had enough time to return to the dorm and change, but not enough to spend another hour talking myself out of going.

I packed my laptop and slipped the unfinished statement into a folder.

By the time I reached the school gate, the evening light was fading. I stood under the arch with my bag over one shoulder and the leather jacket I still hadn't returned folded over my arm.

Students passed in small groups, chatting as they headed out. Nobody paid much attention to me. For once, I wasn't worried about who might be watching.

I heard the familiar growl of an engine before Shane came into view.

He pulled up at the curb, killed the engine, and swung off the bike. He was still wearing the charcoal suit, though his collar was open and his cuffs were rolled up. The combination of the formal suit and the black motorcycle should have looked strange, but somehow, it suited him.

He didn't smile, but his expression softened when he saw me.

"You came."

"You didn't leave much room for negotiation."

"That was the point." He held out a spare helmet. "Hungry?"

I took it, and our fingers brushed.

That familiar feeling I'd been trying to ignore for three months returned. It was brief, but enough to make me look away.

"Starving," I admitted.

He nodded and got back on the bike, waiting for me to settle behind him.

I wrapped my arms around his waist, my palms resting against the warm wool of his jacket. The engine started, and we pulled away from the gate into the evening traffic.

The city was busy, with cars crawling through the streets and lights coming on in the shops. I rested my cheek against Shane's back for a moment and closed my eyes.

For the first time all day, I wasn't thinking about Jonathan's ultimatum, the disciplinary report, or the consequences of what I'd said to Shane in the hallway.

I could just sit there and enjoy the ride.

Shane took the longer route, as he often did when it was just the two of us. We passed the river path before turning toward the quieter edge of downtown, where the restaurants were smaller and the streets less crowded.

He eventually slowed in front of a low brick building with warm lights shining through the windows. A simple wooden sign above the entrance displayed the restaurant's name.

He parked, switched off the engine, and glanced back at me.

"Still no excuses?"

I removed my helmet and met his eyes.

"No excuses," I said.

He held the door open for me.

Inside, the restaurant was about half full. The tables were spaced far enough apart that we wouldn't have to worry about people overhearing our conversation. A server led us to a corner booth without asking for a reservation.

Shane must have called ahead.

Menus were placed on the table, followed by two glasses of water. Everything about the evening seemed ordinary, yet I couldn't shake the feeling that this dinner meant more than either of us was willing to admit.

Across from me, Shane took off his suit jacket and draped it over the back of the booth. The white shirt beneath fit him well, and I caught myself looking longer than I intended.

He noticed and raised an eyebrow.

"Like what you see, Rissa?"

I looked away. "You're still in the suit."

"Didn't have time to change. Fixing university paperwork takes longer than it should."

I traced a finger around the rim of my water glass.

"What did you do?"

"I made a few calls. Clarified that no one had been invited onto campus and that any disruption wasn't your responsibility. The rest sorted itself out."

He said it plainly, as if it hadn't taken much effort.

I believed him. But I also knew that whatever he'd done to get the report dismissed, my brother wouldn't like it.

The server returned, and we placed our orders without much discussion.

Once we were alone again, Shane leaned back against the booth and looked at me.

"You still haven't told me what's really going on."

I could have given him the easy version. The dean, the report, the public scene. I could have told him only what he already knew.