The Man of the House – Chapter 17

“You’re crazy…” Anna said.

“Hmm?” I glanced over at her.

“That… was crazy.”

I let out a chuckle. “I’m sorry. I know you were probably
expecting something different.”

“No… I mean… it was really fun. I’ve never done anything
like that before. I go to a private school, you know? All of my classmates are
these preppy uptight guys. The guys at my school, they’re nothing like you…”

“Really?”  

She looked away, blushing as she continued to drive me home. Anna was really easy to read, and it was kind of fun. It was clear she was excited. In fact, I was kind of riled up too. I couldn’t believe I had done all of that. The past me would have never been so bold. I just hoped that we didn’t end up in trouble down the line because of it. Everything was really crazy for a time.

“W-we’re almost back to the house,” she responded breathily, her eyes darting between me and the road like she was looking for a reaction.

“Ah… my big sister will be stopping by soon. If she catches
me with a girl at home when I’m supposed to be sick, I’ll probably get in a lot
of trouble… so…”

“Ah… right… of course… right…” She had a disappointed look
and seemed to be nodding a bit too enthusiastically while failing to conceal
her bitter expression.

“It was fun, though. I would like to hang out with you again.”

“Y-yeah… of course, any time! Just call me! Anna will be
there…. Ah, I mean, I’ll be there.”

I chuckled, and her face turned red. She couldn’t pull off
the third person; it seemed.

As we turned onto my block, I started trying to switch
places with her mentally. I had called her up just to use her car. It really
was kind of bullshit. She had expectations, but she was your typical nice girl.
Well, they called them the nice guy before. She had hoped for a reward by driving
me around, and even though we had fun, she was hoping for something more.

Then, I considered what I would be like in that situation. If I had taken off school, come to a girl’s house, drove her around town like a chauffeur, and then just split ways, I’d be annoyed. Of course, I’d never show it toward the girl. Heck, I’d probably do the whole thing a second time expecting different results. However, there would be some resentment building and a feeling like I had been cheated. We pulled into my driveway, and I let out a breath. So, knowing that, what would I want from a girl? The answer was pretty clear.

“Thank you…” I said. “Thank you for everything.”

She lifted her hand from the wheel and nodded, but she didn’t
look at me. She was probably afraid of showing an expression I wouldn’t like.
So, I leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Her entire body shook, and then she
looked over with a surprised expression, her mouth gaping open.

“Really, thank you.” I said, and then bit my lip. “As you’ve probably figured out, I’m not like other guys. If you want things… you don’t have to be shy about it. I’m very accommodating.”

As I said those words, I gently put my hand on her leg. I
felt like such a predator here, but I tried to turn off my normal warning parameters.
If a girl looked at me the way I was looking at her and did the same thing, my
mind would be exploding with fireworks.

“Ah! No… I mean… I don’t expect anything!’ She grew extremely
panicked. “You’re welcome for everything! And thank you! I mean…”

I pushed forward and kissed her lips. I didn’t stick my tongue out but just gave a single long kiss before pulling back. She stared at me, her face full of wonder like I had completely blown her world. Having this much power and control over a situation, it really amazed me.

“I want to see you again,” I said.

“Ah… I do… too…” She said. “Y-you’re sexy. And cute. Crazy…
but I don’t mind that.”

“Okay?” I smiled and then went to kiss her a second time.

Honk!

It wasn’t the horn of this car, but a horn from behind us. I had jumped and hit my head on the roof of the car. I grabbed my head and looked in the rear view mirror. My expression instantly fell. There was a car directly behind us in the driveway with their headlights on, but I recognized the car immediately. More than that, there was a woman who was getting out of the car. They slammed the door aggressively and started walking up, their movements heavy.

“Oh… fuuuuuuuuuu….” I said.

“Who is that?” Anna asked in a panic.

“Big sister…” I said, looking straight ahead.

The passenger side door opened roughly, and London stood there, staring down at me angrily. “Get out of the car!”

Her voice seethed in anger.

“I left a note in the house if you came before…”

“I said, get out of the car!” she shouted this time.

“S-seriously?”

She reached out and grabbed my arm, yanking me out. I
started moving, a shocked look on my face.

“Ow! What the hell?” I snapped, but she ignored me as she yanked
me from the passenger seat and then walked me back to her car.

She opened the door and gestured. “Get in. Now.”

Her voice held absolutely no humor, and she was scowling at
me. “Fine…”

I got into the car and then she slammed the door shut. Then, she spun around again and began walking back to Anna’s car. My eyes widened as I realized she was actually going to talk to Anna. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, and I couldn’t see the expression on either of their faces. London was leaning into Anna’s car from the side she had pulled me out. About two minutes later, she pulled out, slammed her door, and then returned to this car. She got into the driver’s side, turned on the car, and then pulled out of the driveway.

She waited until Anna pulled her car out. As Anna’s car passed ours, she glanced over at me. Her face was white. I mouthed the word ‘sorry’ before she took off down the street. How could I have predicted London would act like this? A week ago, we barely even talked to each other. Now, she was acting completely crazy.

Once Anna was gone, she put the car in drive and then took off down the street. She was driving a bit fast and aggressive, and it actually caused me a bit of worry. Having enough of the silence, I turned to her.

“Where are we going?” I demanded.

“Since you can’t be trusted alone, I’m taking you to my apartment,” she declared.

“…” I looked away, feeling a bit mortified and angry myself.
“What did you say to her?”

“Is she your girlfriend?” London asked instead of answering
me.

“She… might be…”

“Is she the girl whose car you got in this weekend?” London
demanded.

“Yes.” I was happy to lie about that one because I didn’t
want the truth to be known.

“Tsk…” She made an irritated sound. “How long have you been
dating?”

“What does it matter to you?”

“I’m asking the questions! How long?”

“We only met when she hit me with her car…”

“Wait? She’s the one who hit you?” London slowed her car
down and shot me a look of disbelief. “You… I should have kicked her ass!”

“That’s not your job.”

“My job is to keep you safe! You’re my little brother. And here
you are kissing some girl you barely know. She knows where you live, and you
even got in her car. That’s dangerous and stupid! For all you know, she could
be some kind of creeper or stalker!”

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at how ridiculous this all was. It wasn’t a laugh of happiness or relief, but of letting off pressure from this crazy world. Dangerous? Stupid. She’s just a girl! I’m a guy. It should be the other way around. Not that I can tell her the truth. She wouldn’t believe me.

“And what about that Sam girl. You dating her too?”

“She’s… just a friend.”

“Just a friend…” London muttered angrily.

“What’s it to you, anyway?” I snapped. “Why is who I date, who I kiss, and who I sleep with your business?”

“You’re sleeping with them?” She slammed on the breaks,
pulling to the side of the road.

For a second, I actually panicked at how angry London
suddenly looked. She reached over and grabbed my arms, looking at me. Her eyes
were filled with anger, but also strangely a bit of fear.

“What are you doing?” I said helplessly.

“Tell me, are you slutting around with women everywhere?”

“London… you have a fiancé…” I said, instead of answering
her.

Her face went through several different expressions before she turned away, letting me go for a moment. I rubbed my arms, which hurt a bit where London had grabbed them.

“Noah… you just… you drive me crazy. I can’t even tell what
you’re thinking.”

“I already told you the truth… you just refused to believe it.”

“Don’t give me that crap about boys being girls or whatever.”

“London, I’m not making anything up. I’m just like you. We
want the same things.”

She reached out and grabbed me again, this time gentler as she looked into my eyes intensely. “So, if I said I want to tear off your clothes and have my way with you, what would you think?”

“Let’s do it?”

She blinked and then started laughing and shaking her head.
She pulled away and sat back down in her seat. After a moment, she put the car
back in drive and got back on the road. I blinked, for the first time wondering
what she thought since I couldn’t follow.

“So, we’re not having sex?”

She sighed. “Just, rest at my house today. Give it a few nights for the swelling to go down, okay?”

The only swelling that was going on was my penis, but I
decided not to say that. She was back on the belief that this was all just some
traumatic head injury. I wanted to break her of that delusion, but I didn’t
think there was a thing I could say that would do it. The remainder of our
journey occurred in silence, and before long, we pulled up to a small four-story
building. This was the apartment that she was living in, although I had only
had it pointed out to me in passing. I had never actually been in her place.

She parked in her spot, and then I got out and followed her.
She used a key to get into the lobby, and the pair of us went up to the third
floor. London took me to her apartment, unlocked the door, and stepped in. Her
apartment had a nice clean smell to it and wasn’t gross like the house. At
least this place would be a refuge from my other sisters.

As soon as she stepped in, I heard a man make a noise. He
had been sitting on the couch. He was wearing what looked to be pajamas.

“Ah! Lonny, you’re home early? Is something wrong?” Her fiancé, who I had only seen twice before, was standing there.

He was a bit different than I remembered. He didn’t have
visible tattoos, and his hair was better. In my old world, he was in a band and
a bit of a freeloader. I didn’t know what he was like in this world.

His eyes landed on me, and I instantly saw an expression of
dislike. I had never seen a guy look at me like that unless we had some kind of
personal history together. Did we have a history in this world?

“Who is this?” he demanded, crossing his arms and glaring at me.

That instantly dispelled the idea that he knew me. How could
you so easily dislike someone you didn’t even know?

“Ah, this is my brother. He’s home alone right now after having an accident, and I wanted to take care of him, so I brought him over. I hope that’s okay.” London gave him a hopeful smile.

He smiled brightly, the jealous and hateful expression completely gone as he looked at London. “Of course! He’s your family! Your family is my family!”

“Thank you for being so great, babe.” London wrapped her
arms around the guy, and they hugged.

However, as they were hugging, the smile fell, and his eyes shot me a deathly glare. There was absolutely no love there. I gulped. Apparently, this place was a snake pit after all.