Chapter 33

Days later, wearing white formal clothes, Kai rang the doorbell of the apartment. Shortly after, Adelaide opened the door, and her beauty left Kai speechless before he could complain about the delay. Adelaide wore a simple and delicate white strapless dress, with a small matching heel, and her hair was styled in a high bun.

"You look beautiful," Kai complimented, making Adelaide smile shyly.

"Beautiful? Is that all you've got?" Thomas interrupted, looking over Adelaide's shoulder to catch a glimpse of Kai in the middle of the living room. "She looks marvelous! Of course, I helped. If I wanted, I could turn an ogre into a prince!"

"Where's Aurora?" Kai asked, entering the place and looking around.

"In her room, trying to choose an outfit," Adelaide closed the door. "Thomas, please, can you go help her?"

"I'm going, otherwise, we'll only get to Central Park next year!" Thomas said, flipping his hair to the side and leaving the living room.

"Are you following her?" Kai inquired to Adelaide, who sighed.

"I haven't had the chance, Aurora hasn't gone out these past few days."

"She's been talking to that boy, Klaus?" Kai was suspicious, remembering that Aurora had lied about receiving a camera from him.

"Kai, I already told you he's just a friend of hers."

"You also said they've known each other for a short time. It's strange to see him spend so much money on a camera for her."

"Klaus is just like that, very attached to his friends," Adelaide smiled. "Besides, he's gay... or bisexual... I don't know! I'm just sure that there's nothing more than friendship between them."

Meanwhile, in Aurora's room, Thomas rummaged through the wardrobe while the young woman, wearing a bathrobe as she had recently taken a shower, just listened to his unpleasant comments about her clothes.

"Checked shirt? Seriously? That went out of style centuries ago!" He went through the hangers and made a disapproving face at each piece he saw. "Dear, you've just been officially crowned the queen of tackiness!"

"Okay, Thomas! Enough of spreading your venom!" Aurora went to the wardrobe and pulled out a white dress. "There, this dress will do."

"No, it's too cheesy." Thomas took the dress from her hands and threw it on the bed. "I think you should wear red to bring more love in the new year, so you stop being so grumpy!" She closed her eyes and started counting from 1 to 3 to calm herself. "Here! Hold this." When she opened her eyes, her face was hit by a pair of high-waisted white pants and a shirt of the same color.

"Will you stop rummaging through my clothes?!" Aurora exclaimed, taking the clothes off her face and seeing Thomas searching for something on the desk. "What are you looking for?"

"Found it!" He turned to the young woman, showing a pair of scissors in his hands, opening and closing them with a devilish smile.

"What are you going to do with that?" She took a step back in fear.

"Relax, I'm just going to make some adjustments." In a sudden move, he grabbed the pants from her hands and began cutting them mercilessly.

"My pants!" Aurora whimpered, sitting on the edge of the bed and watching the fabric fall to the floor. Those pants had been very expensive.

Thomas let out an exasperated sigh. "Stop with the drama! You have beautiful legs, and you need to show them off!" In a few minutes, he completed his "masterpiece." The pants were now a high-waisted short. "Get dressed and be quick; I still need to help you with makeup!"

Aurora started dressing without feeling uncomfortable or embarrassed by Thomas's presence. Shortly after, she walked up to the mirror.

"I have to admit, it looks really nice," Aurora said, turning around to see the man smile conceitedly.

"I'm a genius!" Thomas boasted, flipping his hair, which had become a habit. "Now, sit here." He pointed to a chair in front of the vanity, and she complied. Thomas stood behind her and began brushing her hair. "You know, during the last days of the year, I usually do something I never had the courage to do to make my year even more memorable."

"And what did you do today?" Aurora asked.

"I kicked the balls of my annoying neighbor," she laughed, imagining the scene. "And you? What did you do today?"

"I slept all day," Thomas rolled his eyes. "For me, the year has already been full of adventures and surprises, both good and bad."

"Oh, really?" Thomas placed his hands on her shoulders, leaned in, their cheeks touching, and looked into her eyes through the vanity mirror. "Then tell me, what was the craziest thing you did this year?"

She took a moment to respond, even though she had the answer at the tip of her tongue.

"I fell in love with two Callahans," Aurora admitted.

Thomas immediately straightened up, putting his hand over his heart, shocked, as if that news had hit him hard.

"Don't tell me you're falling for Griffin? The heart-stealing doctor?" She quickly shook her head, as if it were absurd. He sighed in relief. "Thank goodness! I was starting to think you were a sister who steals her friend's crush!"

"I was talking about Tristan and his cousin, Alex," saying it out loud felt strange to her.

"The Greek god who lives two houses from here?!" He was even more astonished. "Lord! What a blessed family!" He fanned himself with his hand.

***

At night, many people were already in Central Park. Some strolled, enjoying the beauty of the night, or toasted before midnight at the drinks stand. Griffin was looking for his brother; it had been a while since he had wandered off, saying he would buy a drink.

After a few minutes, Griffin finally found him. It hadn't been so hard, as Tristan was the only one not wearing white and not following the celebration traditions. He was leaning on the fence that kept him from falling into the lake, drinking from a plastic cup and gazing at the calm water illuminated by starlight and moonlight.

"You said you were just going to buy a drink," Griffin said, leaning his elbows on the fence beside him. The younger one glanced at him sideways.

"And I did. I don't remember saying I'd come back," Tristan explained, looking at the empty cup in his hands. "Here, I can drink without one of your nurse friends nagging me." Griffin laughed again, this time louder. "Not that I don't find it inviting, but today, I just want to drink and watch the fireworks."

"I didn't know you liked that."

"Tell me you wouldn't like one of those nurses to throw themselves at you," Tristan looked mischievously at his brother, who blushed.

"I'm not talking about them! I'm talking about the fireworks!" Griffin replied.

"Oh... That. I don't like them," Tristan said, gazing at the sky. "They remind me of someone."

"Who?" Griffin asked.

"Doesn't matter," he shook his head as he walked away from the fence. "I need more drinks."

"That reminds me of someone," Griffin smiled, thinking of Aurora. Tristan said nothing, but he had also thought of her. "You and Aurora, are you still on that arrangement?"

"Look, brother, today I don't want to argue with you..." Tristan interrupted, as every time they brought up that topic, an argument ensued.

"I won't argue if you tell me you're still meeting her secretly. I just ask that you don't give her false hope," Griffin said.

"I've never done that. She knows it's just casual sex," Tristan replied.

Indeed, he had never given Aurora any hopes of romance. She had no reason to think she could thaw the iceberg that was his heart.

"Are you sure?" Griffin questioned, and Tristan stopped walking to look at him. "Please, if she shows any sign of falling in love, end that arrangement and distance yourself from her. I don't want her to get hurt."

Deep down, Tristan hoped she didn't develop feelings for him, that nothing would change. He liked how their relationship was, and he believed that feelings would only get in the way.

Speaking of Aurora, she was already in the same park but far away from where Tristan and Griffin were talking. She walked with her arm linked to Thomas's, both observing the people and the stalls set up.

"I should have brought a jacket!" she regretted, feeling her arms and legs getting chilly.

"Nah, it's not that cold," Thomas brushed it off, which was ironic because he wore a large coat.

"With this bipolar weather, it's possible that it will start snowing any minute now!" Aurora feared her own words.

A whistle was heard, and they turned around. They looked at the newcomer approaching, also dressed in white, his hair flying with the gentle cold breeze, his eyes enjoying the sight of Aurora's body.

"If your intention was to impress me, know that you accomplished the mission," Klaus said, smiling.

"Credit goes to Thomas for destroying my pants," she glanced at Thomas, then turned her attention back to the model. "You're not looking bad yourself, Klaus. Are you wearing those clothes to impress someone?"

"If I wanted to impress, I wouldn't wear elegant clothes; I'd take them off," Klaus smirked seductively. "Where are Adelaide and Kai?"

"They went straight to the food stall," Thomas answered.

"We were going after them, want to join us?" Aurora asked, seeing him shake his head.

"Not gonna make it. I need to look for the others," Klaus explained. "I mean some friends from the agency."

"Agency?" Thomas immediately let go of Aurora's arm and approached Klaus. "Are your friends models?"

"They are like me, aspiring models looking to be recognized," he said, and a mischievous smile appeared on Thomas's face.

"Klaus..." said Thomas, and Aurora laughed at her friend's intentions. "Don't be mean and introduce me to them!"

"No, and there's no point in insisting!" Klaus said, and Thomas made a sad expression. "I'm going now. See you later." He waved and soon walked away from the two, looking for his friends. He looked around restlessly and smiled at some strangers who glanced or winked at him. Klaus was a very handsome man; every step he took seemed like a catwalk, and he was very attractive to both sexes. Suddenly, the model's eyes met a man walking towards him; this man was not alone and was the only one not wearing white clothes. "You were the last person I thought I would find here!"

"Klaus..." Tristan said in a serious tone, watching him pretend to be surprised.

"I'm impressed you remembered my name!" Klaus said.

"How could I forget the name of Aurora's ex-fling?" There was no change in his voice, but Klaus felt like he was playing with fire.

"Hold on there, tiger! It was just one night. I'm aware that only you can touch her," Klaus replied.

"Excuse me, have we met before? You look familiar..." Griffin analyzed every feature of Klaus's face. Suddenly, the doctor took a more serious stance as he remembered where he had seen that face. "You're the one who ran away with Adelaide on the night of the awards ceremony."

Klaus forced a smile, nervous under the intimidating gazes of the brothers. "Don't worry, I only hooked up with one sister, and I repeat, it was just one night!"

"Why did you take Adelaide away? Where is she? Why aren't you answering my calls?" Griffin stepped forward, bombarding him with questions.

"And do I look like an information messenger?" Klaus put his hand on his hip. "Why don't you go talk to her at the food stall?"

"Is she here?" Griffin felt his heart race.

"Yes, and before you go running after her, I want to make one thing clear!" The other two paid attention. "I'm bisexual and just friends with both Adelaide and Aurora. Okay?" Griffin and Tristan exchanged looks. "And to be honest, you two are the most beautiful brothers I've ever seen."

"That's just what I needed," sighed Tristan, impatient with the man's flirting.

Griffin didn't waste any more time and quickly walked in one direction, almost running, to the food stall. Tristan didn't follow because he didn't want to witness his brother's pathetic and mushy scene with Adelaide.

"And you, Tristan? Are you open to new experiences?" Klaus smiled in a perverted way.

Tristan didn't bother to respond and turned his back on the opportunist. Klaus shrugged, unconcerned with the rejection, and went on his way.