My Stepbrother, My Enemy {BL}-Chapter 175: Dirty Adrien

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘⭒❊✿❊⭒∘∙⊱⋅•

A loud knock on the door jolted us from the heat and tension of the moment, like a bucket of ice water splashed on our faces. We both jumped apart as if someone had yelled "fire!"

Shit, shit, shit!!!

My heart, already racing, seemed to kick into overdrive, pounding so loudly I could hear it in my ears. Adrien’s hands were off my thighs in an instant, and I scrambled down the wall awkwardly, my legs shaking like a baby deer.

I almost fell flat on my face onto the carpet but caught myself at the last moment against the dresser, and I swear I heard the softest, most irritating chuckle escape him.

I shot him a glare, my lips swollen, hair a total mess, and no doubt my neck showing signs of what had just happened, yet he looked back with an innocent smirk, as if he hadn’t been kissing me just moments before.

Another knock, this one softer...followed by Mom’s voice floating through the door. "Noah? Sweetheart, are you still awake?"

"Y-yes!" I replied, my voice cracking embarrassingly high as I hurriedly smoothed my shirt down, tugging at the hem as if it could erase the last ten minutes. I gave Adrien a frantic look that clearly said move, hide, disappear—anything.

He, however, stayed cool as ever, sauntering over to my bed and plopping down at the edge, striking the most innocent pose, hands neatly folded in his lap, a polite smile on his face.

Fucking asshole. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

When I finally opened the door just wide enough to poke my head through, I forced myself to fully open it and lean casually against the frame. "H–hey, Mom. What’s up?"

Act natural...act natural...

She stepped inside, radiating that warm, maternal glow that comes from too much anniversary wine and a perfectly romantic day. Her gaze swept the room and landed on Adrien, causing her smile to stretch even wider, her eyes sparkling with genuine delight.

"Oh! Adrien’s here too!" She clasped her hands together, like she’d walked in on the cutest moment ever. "What are you two kiddos up to?"

My brain completely short-circuited. Words? What were those? I opened my mouth, closed it, opened it again, and ended up making a sound that was more of a squeak than anything.

"We...we...uh–"

Act natural my ass.

Adrien, bless him, leaned back on his hands and flashed that disarming grin.

"Noah was just telling me about this cool book he’s reading online," he said smoothly, as if he hadn’t just made that up. "Some fantasy thing with dragons and betrayal and all that dramatic stuff. Sounded interesting."

I stared at him, completely taken aback. How was he able to whip up a believable excuse that quickly while my brain was still processing? The book in question wasn’t even real, but he delivered it with such confidence that I almost believed him myself.

Mom’s expression softened into something resembling pure happiness. "That’s so nice," she said, glancing between us like we were the stars of a Hallmark movie. "I love seeing you two spending time together. It makes me happier than you know."

Guilt twisted in my stomach, sharp and cold. If she only knew what kind of "time together" we’d had, my neck still tingling with the evidence, my lips buzzing...she probably wouldn’t smile that way again. I wondered, for the hundredth time that night, if she could ever forgive me if the truth came out. Or if I could forgive myself.

She gently touched my arm. "But I actually wanted to talk to you for a minute, honey. Just us."

Adrien instantly stood up, stretching nonchalantly.

"I was about to head out anyway," he said, giving Mom a quick nod before turning back to me. "Night, Noah. Thanks for the book recommendation, sounds... intense."

The way he emphasized ’intense,’ with a tiny raise of his brow that only I noticed, made my face flush all over again. Then he brushed past us, close enough for me to feel the warmth of his hoodie, before disappearing down the hall with a soft click of his door moments later.

Mom patiently waited until that sound faded before gently closing my door and turning to me with a knowing, excited smile that usually meant she was about to dive into a conversation about cute boys or school or something equally embarrassing. The irony was not lost on me.

"S–so," I said, sitting on the edge of my bed and patting the spot beside her, "what did you really want to talk about, Mom?"

I settled next to her, folding my hands in my lap to hide the slight tremble lingering in them, hoping the dim light kept my cheeks from revealing too much and definitely didn’t expose the fresh marks on my neck.

Please don’t notice, please don’t notice...

Because whatever was coming next, I just knew my heart wasn’t going to settle down anytime soon.

Mom made herself comfortable on the edge of my bed, crossing her legs and smoothing her silk blouse with that familiar, excited energy she got when she thought we were about to have some juicy mother-son gossip.

The lamplight caught the soft highlights in her hair, making her look younger than she was, and her eyes sparkled with mischief, as if she was fishing for details about boys, parties, or whatever drama she thought I was hiding.

I sat alongside her, trying to appear relaxed while my pulse was still racing. My neck throbbed softly where Adrien had kissed me, and I fought the urge to pull my collar up higher. Thank goodness for oversized sweaters and dim lighting.

"So," she began, stretching the word out like it was the start of a delicious secret, "I couldn’t help but notice how quiet you were at dinner. And then I come up here and find you and Adrien actually hanging out...talking about books, no less."

She nudged my shoulder playfully. "When did this happen? You two were arguing a few days ago, and suddenly you’re chatting in your room with the door closed?"

My stomach dropped about three floors. "It’s not...we weren’t—" I started, then paused, realizing I had no idea how to finish that sentence without sounding guilty. "He just... stopped by. It, uh... wasn’t a big deal."

Mom’s eyebrow arched in that classic I-was-a-teenager-too way. "Mm-hmm. Well, I’m not complaining. It makes me so happy to see you two finally getting along. Honestly, honey, I’ve been waiting for this since the day we moved in."

She reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, her touch gentle and motherly. "But that’s not the main reason I came up."

Here it comes, I thought, bracing myself.

She took a small breath and folded her hands again in her lap. "I wanted to talk about the party last night. You’ve seemed... off all day. Distracted. Quiet, even for you. And when I asked about it at dinner, you shut down faster than a laptop on one percent battery."

Her voice softened. "Noah, if something happened, if someone hurt you or made you uncomfortable—I need you to tell me."

The concern in her eyes was so genuine it almost made my chest ache. I could feel the truth lodged in my throat: the hands in the dark, Adrien pulling me from danger, the kiss that changed everything, the marks hidden beneath my hair.

But instead, I swallowed it all back down.