56 — Stay with Me

I didn't sleep that night—instead, I decided to go visit the very same root of my nightly quandaries. I had texted her beforehand, just in case she wasn't sound asleep by the time 2 AM rolled around. 'Mom always said that nothing good ever happens at 2 AM.'

Kind of ironic considering that's exactly when Rafael Costa died. 2 AM on the dot.

But tonight I wasn't on the prowl to rid the city of scum.

I didn't get inside; Mia had been waiting for me by the pool, wearing a blue, revealing bikini and nothing else. Her pale legs were in the water as she kicked around, making ripples. What a sight for sore eyes, I wished to say. But the only sore thing Mia's beauty ever elicited from me was an unwanted morning wood the previous day.

I was still reeling from that dream, and certainly, having the protagonist of it so close by wasn't a smart idea. But when did I ever think it'd be healthy to run from something that made me uncomfortable? I'd have never pursued world peace through bloodshed otherwise. Fucking Rafael Costa, I'd visit his grave just to spit on it.

"Noona." I called out, walking up to her. "I'm back. Well, momentarily anyway."

She blinked, once, twice, then a smirk played on her lips as if a funny memory flashed through her mind. "You know, it's funny."

I frowned, tilting my head. "What is?"

"You texted me."

"Indeed I did." I nodded.

"You never text me."

"Well, I am full of surprises, aren't I?"

Mia rolled her eyes and patted the empty spot beside her. "You wanna know the funniest thing of all?" She said.

I approached her, quietly.

"Lay it on me."

She chuckled, almost in disbelief. "I had this dream that I was at a fancy restaurant in France, and the maître d' looked at me, and he said..." Mia said in a comical faux-French accent. "Ah, but of course! We 'ave a table reserved for ze person whose dreams come true. You must be zis Mia person, ah?"

I snorted at the display and sat down beside her, leaving space between us. "And?"

Her playful demeanor vanished as her face turned serious and thoughtful. She turned her head to face me. "You want to know what's even funnier? The funniest, most amusing and absurd thing of all, that makes this whole conversation worth it?" She said in a whisper.

"What?"

She smirked. "The funniest thing is... that you never texted me. And when you finally do, I just happen to have that dream. How funny is that?"

"The door..." I mumbled.

"Hmm? What door?" She tilted her head, swinging her feet.

"Nothing. It's not important. So, you had a nice, lucid dream about how texting you apparently caused a dream of yours to manifest. Wonderful. How about we don't talk about dreams right now." I stated bluntly.

Mia stared at me, a bit taken aback by that, before shrugging her shoulders in disinterest and smiling at me again. "Yeah, alright. So what're you doing here?" She asked as her slender leg brushed past my thigh. "Did you miss me?"

"I did."

She blinked, surprised. "Really now? Jae-il missed his beautiful Noona?"

"What's wrong with missing someone you care for?" I rolled my eyes. "Besides, I told you, I'll be going overseas for a friendly match. And after that, we'll likely switch locations for our next part of training. That means I'll have little to no time to come around."

"Mmm, that so...?" Mia smiled, nodding her head in understanding. A single strand of hair came loose and she pushed it away. She looked out to the calm waters of the pool, and her gaze softened as the moonlight reflected off the surface. "Well... you told me, yes. No time to see each other. Make the most of it. Something like that."

I stared at the moon for a while, and then I looked at Mia, watching her as she stretched her legs. She was truly gorgeous in every sense of the word. Not the plasticized and sterilized kind. But the 'mother nature plays favorite' kind. Mia had natural curves, flawless skin, and—

And I stopped myself from overanalyzing my sister's figure. Seriously.

It was a funny way to cope, but I really wished she wasn't this beautiful. I wished she was ugly, just so this budding attraction could stop and I wouldn't feel this weird, almost forbidden pull that existed in my brain, deep down inside.

I doubted that could ever happen. Not even the most feverish nightmare would be enough for me to imagine Mia being ugly in any way, shape or form. Her eyes, her lips, her hips, everything. I had the misfortune of seeing every inch of her as perfect and appealing and...

And I really needed to get laid.

Perhaps that was the problem. My body was starting to remember that it was not meant for a life of celibacy, and was trying to push for the first pretty thing my eyes saw.

"So, what is this all about? Just couldn't go without your favorite big sis for a day longer?" Mia spoke softly, teasingly. She turned her face and looked at me, smirking.

I grinned. "Oh, is Su Ah Noona here?"

"Jerk." She pushed me with her shoulder. "You know damn well that the only person in this house you even remotely like to have around is me."

"Don't get ahead of yourself now. I like all three of you."

"But not as much as me~" She said, drawing circles in the water with her toes.

"Yeah yeah... whatever helps you sleep at night."

"You help me sleep better."

"Now, do I?" I gave her a side-eye.

She continued playing with the water. A lone eye beheld me behind that mane of hair, always the same style, always the same color. Beautiful, in its unchanging nature. "Sometimes." She said, in such a low voice I wondered if it was even meant to be heard.

But I did.

"And what is it exactly that you think of? That supposedly helps you with your insomnia."

"A feeling."

"......."

Uh-huh.

"It both helps me sleep and keeps me awake." Mia confessed, biting her bottom lip. She gnawed it until she couldn't contain the slight wistful smile. "Perhaps I should go to a therapist, haha..."

That was my line.

"Maybe we should go together?" I couldn't help but chuckle.

She laughed along with me, kicking some water in my direction with her toes. "Maybe."

"And what would the diagnosis be?" I tapped my chin, looking at her from the corner of my eyes.

She clicked her tongue. "A severe case of... what's it called again... hm... hmm..."

"Folie à deux?" I suggested helpfully.

"Ooh la la." She sang, a little impressed. "I didn't take you for a man who knew his French."

"You'd be surprised at what I know, Noona."

"I'm sure I would, little bro." Her eyes lit up with a familiar, dangerous glint. "You're... full of surprises."

"Well, I did tell you."

"Anything else you're full of?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're unbelievable."

"Am I?"

I laughed softly as I stood up and stretched. I glanced at my sister's profile. The slope of her nose. Her chin. The soft locks that fell loosely all over her back. That ungodly, unsisterly body of hers. Siblings shouldn't be attractive; what was even God thinking when he decided to reincarnate me in this family? Because fucking hell, I knew what my diagonsis was—a severe, acute, terminal case of wanting to fuck my sister's brains out. The little nudge in the back of my head was slowly turning into a physical urge.

And I had to get the fuck out of here. "I should go."

However, Mia's hand caught my wrist before I could take even one step, and I stopped moving. "Something the matter, Noona?"

Mia's eyes, which had been scanning the ripples in the pool, locked with mine. There was a peculiar look in her eyes, something really strange... and really, really attractive. "Stay more, Jae-il. Stay with me."

"......"

She smiled, and those murky depths shone with light anew. "Swim with me for a bit."

I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to the punch, already guessing what was about to come out. "Yes, yes, you're a footballer, and footballers have a bedtime and stuff. You need eight hours of rest. No distractions. No detours. Eight hours of sleep, and that's final." She said, in the mocking, yet not unkind tone that I had heard her use all throughout my childhood. "However, I, for one, haven't been getting the best of nights recently."

She let go of my wrist.

"I miss you too, idiot." She smiled softly and pulled her own body from the poolside and straight into the water. When she re-emerged, she slicked her wet hair back with a single motion and gave me the kind of look I'd only seen in that damn dream. "If this is your last time here in a while... then stay more. Swim with me a little." Then, in a tone so small, she added. "... Please?"

This woman was a witch. Burn her at the stake!

Come on, this had to be mind control.

I closed my eyes, then, I began to undo my clothes. I didn't have swimming trunks with me, and I wasn't really in the mood to go fetch them from my room. When I looked down, Mia was floating there. Watching. I removed everything until I was wearing nothing but a pair of black Calvin Kleins.

"Hmmm..." Mia purred. "You'd look good in Speedos."

"You really are too much."

She swam away, grinning, as if she was pleased with herself for eliciting some kind of response from me. "Come here. The water feels amazing."

I dove right in.

And yes, Mia was right.

It was indeed nice.

"Feels good to unwind and forget about everything, huh..." She said quietly.

"Yeah." I wiped my face as she swam closer. "Why did you say you're not getting many nights of sleep, by the way?" My investigative side awakened.

I could see that her expression had grown slightly strained.

"Who knows." She shook her head, making ripples on the surface. She was lying. "Maybe school is getting to me."

I scoffed. "Maybe..."

"But eh, I can usually take care of it on my own." She said, breezily.

I blinked.

Was she really...?

"Homework, I mean." She continued, stretching. "I can take care of the homework on my own, most nights. Of course, I do need a tutor. Someone smart. Someone handsome. I mean, look at this body. Do you really think the smart, studious type of girl could be hiding behind this, uh—holy shit!"

The rest of her sentence didn't reach me. I splashed her with an ample amount of water, making her sputter and curse.

"What gives?" Mia frowned.

"Sorry. You were annoying." I looked away. Absolute nonchalance.

"How?!" She exclaimed, incredulous, then splashed back at me.

I shrugged.

"You…!" She grinned, baring those polished white fangs at yours truly.

Soon enough, we were just a couple of kids throwing water at one another, laughing, and enjoying ourselves.

I was enjoying myself.

She gave me a heart-stopping smile, grabbing my shoulders, pushing herself on me, trying to dunk me underwater. But she knew that there was no way in hell she could overpower me enough to accomplish that.

She knew.

But she continued trying anyway.

It pained myself to admit that seeing Mia tonight was likely a very bad idea.

I kept getting closer and closer to that damn door.

And this was no dream.

Mia's laughter reverberated as she hugged me from behind.