Genesis
I cracked my eyes open, blinking rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the morning light spilling through the cracks in the curtain.
I looked over at Brooks's side of the bed, and it was empty. So I laid there, for a couple of minutes before I hopped to my feet and headed into my bathroom.
After I brushed my teeth and I washed my face. I arranged my messy, curly hair over my shoulders, trying the best I could to hide the hickey Brooks left on the side of my neck last night.
When I was done, I strode out of my bedroom in search of Brooks. In the hallway leading to the kitchen, I was hit with the most mouth-watering aroma.
It had to be Nate who was cooking breakfast, I knew it wasn't Brooks or Mia because those two were practically helpless in the kitchen.
Entering the kitchen, I was greeted with laughter and the sound of bacon sizzling in a pan.
Emma was standing next to Brooks by the island as he poured orange juice into a glass, and just as I suspected Nate was flipping pancakes by the stove.
Brooks spotted me first. "Good morning," he said with a wide smile on his face.
"Hey, Gen," Emma smiled brightly. She seemed a lot better this morning, her upbeat voice and the large smile on her face were a complete one-eighty from last night.
"Hey," I responded with a smile, moving forward until I stood next to Brooks.
"Gen, you're just in time for breakfast," Nate said looking at me over his shoulder.
"I can see that," I replied looking over at him. "Pancakes huh?" I eyed the tall stack of pancakes he had piled on a plate next to him.
He smiled. "Yeah, Emma loves pancakes," he shrugged. "And I figured since she had a rough night, she could you some cheering up," he said with a wink in Emma's direction. A blush bloomed over the apples of her cheeks as a shy smile pulled at her full lips.
I think Emma has a little crush on Nate.
Brooks passed the glass of juice to Emma before he grasped me by my hips, pressing a swift kiss to my lips.
"You want some coffee?" he asked when he pulled back.
"Is that even a question," I quipped.
"Don't be a smart-ass," he murmured, giving my ass a light slap.
Emma grumbled something about us being disgusting under her breath.
Laughing, Brooks pressed a light kiss to my nose before he went to prepare my coffee.
"So what are we doing today?" Emma asked, looking at me expectantly as she placed her elbows on the kitchen island and rested her chin on her laced fingers.
"Well, Mia and I are going to the mall a little later. You can come with us if you want," I offered.
"I'll like that."
I felt my phone vibrate in my hand, glancing down. A smile lit up my face at the name flashing across the screen.
I look over at Brooks. "I'll be right back."
I made my way to the living room and plumped down on the couch.
"How's my favorite person," my Aunt Withney said with a wide grin when I connected the call. Aunt Whit was my mother's older sister, and though my aunt was four years older than my mother. They could pass as twins. They share the same high cheekbones, wide almond-shaped eyes, full lips, and button noses. Their only difference was their skin tone. My mom inherited my grandfather's caramel-colored skin while my aunt inherited her chestnut skin tone from my grandmother.
"You better not let Mom hear you saying that," I snickered.
She snorted. "Your mother will get over her hurt feelings, she knows she lost that title the day you were born," she joked.
"So, when are you getting back from Miami?" She was in Miami this weekend for an event. My aunt was a very successful fashion designer and one of the best.
She sighed. "Tomorrow and I have to hire a new assistant when I get back."
"New assistant," I frowned. "What happened to Ivan?"
"Ivan?" she laughed with a wave of her hand. "Girl, I fired his ass last week, I'm talking about the girl I hired after him, Nyla. It's like I can't seem to find a competent assistant since Kira left." Kira was my aunt's assistant for the past ten years but she resigned and moved back to Minnesota to take care of her sick mother a couple of months ago. My aunt has had a string of assistants ever since.
"I think it has less to do with their incompetence and more to do with you being a tyrant," I quipped with a teasing smile.
"I resent that. Just because I like things down a certain way doesn't make me a tyrant," she retorted, holding her hand to her chest as if she was hurt, but I spotted a smile tugging at the edge of her lips.
Before I could respond she waved her hand dismissively. "Enough about me, I just saw the pictures you sent me of Ever's dress this morning, it's gorgeous Gen," she smiled proudly.
"Thanks," I said shyly, brushing a chuck of hair behind my shoulders.
As a child, I've always looked up to my aunt, I wanted to be just like her. When I started sketching designs at a young age she fostered that interest, buying me my first sewing machine at six and teaching me how to sew. She never had kids herself, so she was ecstatic when I showed an ounce of interest in her profession. I took to sewing pretty easily and I wasn't just good at it, but I loved it too.
The older I got, I began spending my summers traveling around the world with her, attending different fashion weeks and other events. I was practically her shadow.
The summer after I turned fifteen, I officially began interning with her, and every summer after that. I learned everything I knew from her. She groomed me to follow in her footsteps and eventually take over her company when she retired. Though I couldn't see that happening anytime soon.
While I've always loved the idea of working with my aunt full-time at the company she built from the ground up. Recently, with graduation approaching next year, I've been having doubts about the path I'll be following after next year. Lately, I've been feeling like I want a legacy of my own, something that I build from the ground up. I want to make a name for myself on my own, not because I was given my aunt's company.
"I see someone had a fun night," my aunt mused snapping me out of my thoughts.
"What?" I asked with a frown, but she wasn't looking at me, instead, her eyes were pinned on my neck more specifically the huge hickey Brooke's left on my neck last night.
My eyes bulged, as I slapped a hand over the spot, shit I completely forgot about it.
She crackled. "Aww, you're blushing that's so cute," she said with a teasing grin. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about Gen, I can't tell you how many hickeys I got when I was yo-,"
"Would you stop," I cut her off as I arranged my hair over my shoulders covering the side of my neck.
"Okay, I'll stop," she amended as she suppressed her smile, but her eyes were still shining with amusement and I felt a grin tugging at my lips.
"So when do I get to meet him," she finally asked after a beat of silence.
"Who?" I asked with mock confusion.
"Don't be a little shit, Genesis."
I chuckled. "I was thinking about asking him to come home with me for Thanksgiving," I paused. "But you can meet him now if you want?" I offered.
Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Really, I would love to meet him."
"You can't tell Mom though," I warned. "Because she'll kill me if she ever finds out that you met him before her. I had to talk her out of driving down here when I told her we were dating. I figured I give him some time before I introduced him to my crazy family." I loved my family, but everyone is a little overbearing with their constant noisiness, especially in the last couple of years.
"I wouldn't say a word," she promised. I turned my head to call Brooks, but as if he sensed that he was needed, he stepped into the living room, holding my favorite coffee mug in his hand.
"Hey, there's someone I want you to meet," I told him patting the seat next to me. He frowned, his gaze flitting to my phone as he passed me the coffee mug. "Thanks," I placed the mug down on the coffee table as Brooks sat down beside me.
"Brooks, this my Aunt Whitney," I said angling the phone to fit both Brooks and me in the frame.
"Hey, it's nice to meet you, Gen talks about you all the time," Brooks said as he flashed her a charming smile. I expected my aunt to return his smile with an equally charming smile of her own. Instead, I watched as her expression morphed into shock as she stared at Brooks with wide eyes.
My brows pulled down in concern, but the expression vanished from her face as quickly as it came I thought I imagined it. "Hi, Brooks it's lovely to meet you," she said with a wide smile.
Brooks and my aunt chatted for a couple of minutes. My aunt asked him a bunch of questions about his major and being on the football team.
"So, Brooks, Gen told me you're from Boston," she inquired.
Brooks nodded. Yeah, my parents own a home a Brookline."
"And your parents, what do they do?"
"My dad is a senator," he hesitated before he continued. "You might've heard of him, his name is Alexander Heyward," he provided sounding a little sheepish.
My aunt's eyes flared with recognition at the name. It's hard not to Alexander Heyward was a very well-known Senator. The Heywards as a whole was a very well-known family, being one of the oldest political families in the country.
"Yes, I know who he is," my aunt said as she briefly glanced away from the screen before averting her attention back to us. "Listen, Gen, I have to go, sweetheart I have an important phone call I have to make but I'll talk to you soon okay," she told me before looking at Brooks. "I'm glad I was able to talk to you Brooks, I can see why my niece likes you so much and why she decided to break her four-year dry spell," she said with a teasing smile and a wink.
A blush spread across my cheeks as Brooks barked out a laugh. "Aunt Whit!" I exclaimed, mortified she would say something like that, but what did I expect? It was exactly like her to make an inappropriate joke.
She met my gaze one last time before she disconnected the call.
"I like her," Brooks said but I ignored him because I couldn't stop replaying the strange, almost panicked look in my aunt's eyes before she ended the call.
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Hey, guys, this is a double update, so ensure you read Chapter 21 as well.
This chapter is unedited. So it may contain errors.