19 Not Broken (2)

Shen Shu watched as Niko stepped into the elevator, wearing a smug expression on his face. "Have a wonderful night, you two," he said to her and Wu Meng.

She will now that Niko has left them alone!

Wu Meng only stared after Niko strangely. "That was your brother?" he questioned.

"Yes," Shen Shu answered, hoping Wu Meng picked up on similarities rather than differences. The colour of Niko's hair and the shape of his eyes made him pass as a Shen, but everything else about him was different. His nose and lips were different shapes than hers. His eyes were gray, not yellow-green. He was significantly taller and bigger.

"He's an overprotective brother, sorry about his rudeness," Shen Shu explained.

Wu Meng broke from his daze. "Right…" he said. "Are you ready to go?"

Shen Shu smiled at him. "Of course."

Shen Shu gathered her purse and walked with Wu Meng out of the building. He had a hand on her waist the entire way to the car before he took her to a street market where they sold stuff she found interesting and unique.

Wu Meng offered to buy her the handmade necklaces, candles, and bath bombs she purchased, but Shen Shu did not take the offer. She did not feel comfortable spending his money. He then took her out to eat some food and dessert. Shen Shu indulged as much as she could stuff in her mouth.

Wu Meng took her home by the end of the evening, and Shen Shu decided to invite him in.

"Would you like to come in for some wine?" Shen Shu asked him.

Wu Meng smiled. "I would love to," he responded.

Shen Shu then welcomed him inside the apartment, knowing Niko was still not back yet from wherever he had gone.

She grabbed a wine bottle, poured it in two glasses, and passed one to Wu Meng. They talked about their day and jobs, making their way to the couch.

Once Shen Shu poured her fourth wine glass, Wu Meng took her bottle. "Shen Shu," he began. "I think you've had enough."

She took a deep breath. "You're right," she said. "I'm sorry."

Wu Meng looked at her. "Why do I get the impression that you need wine to have the courage to be with me?"

Shen Shu's eyes widened. "No—" she started. But in some way, he was speaking the truth. If she had enough wine, Shen Shu thought she might like Wu Meng a bit more than she did. "I'm just nervous," was what she said.

Wu Meng then turned to face her, their knees touching fully. "Can I kiss you…" he paused, "on the mouth?"

Shen Shu gulped, not knowing what to say, but she nodded. Wu Meng leaned in. He pecked her gently on the lips. Shen Shu felt like a robot to him. She didn't move her lips. She remained inanimate, lifeless as he kissed her. Wu Meng then pulled back slowly, wearing a wry smile on his face.

"Miss Shen…" he began. "I can tell you're not into it."

"No—" she denied.

"You don't have to deny it," he informed her. "I'm sorry, Miss Shen, but I want to be with someone that will be all in. And I can tell something is holding you back. Is there another man?"

"No…" she answered, thinking hard.

"Even so," Wu Meng said. "I think this is how we part. I wish you the best of luck on your journey to whatever you're searching for." He then stood and walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind him shut.

Shen Shu fell onto the cushions of the sofa. She started to think hard about how things went wrong, how things could have been right. Wu Meng was the perfect suitor for her, yet she messed things up because she didn't have feelings for him in the way a couple should.

When Wu Meng kissed her, she must have felt like a washboard to him.

Something must have been wrong with her to have let this man get away from her. She began to cry. Not because she lost him, but because she felt broken.

Wu Meng wasn't the first time she failed at a relationship.

She had messed around with guys before, but they never lasted. She was the reason. It was always her fault, and she never understood why. She cried harder.

Shen Shu heard the twist of the doorknob, and she heard Niko stumble in. She tried to be quiet, but she couldn't hold in her sobs. She was still partly drunk, and she felt ruined. And she needed him. She needed Niko to hold and comfort her and help her solve all her problems.

Niko was about to head to his bedroom when he heard her small cries.

"Did he hurt you?" She heard him ask.

"No, Niko," she responded. "It wasn't him. It was me. It was me…I think there is something wrong with me, Niko. I think I am broken…how do I get rid of this feeling?"

Shen Shu begged Niko for an answer. She wondered if she wasn't the only one who felt like this. She wondered if there was a reason why it became like this.

Niko soothed her back and stroked through her hair. She looked up at him as he said, "I don't know. I am just as lost as you."

And then he kissed her.

Shen Shu widened her eyes. Niko was kissing her.

Nikolai Novikov, her childhood friend, her foster brother, was kissing her now, and she couldn't believe it.

His mouth was cautious and curious at first, almost unsure of what to do. He tasted like liquor, just as she tasted like wine. Niko kissed her ever so softly until he tugged down at her lower lip. Shen Shu gasped and parted her mouth as his tongue swept fully in. Shen Shu didn't know what was happening, but she held onto him like an anchor in the sea. She opened her mouth like a panting, wanting mess, and then she put her hands on his shoulders, kissing him back harder.

His mouth was a force on hers as Shen Shu moaned in response. She had never felt like this before. She was sensitive and responsive to Niko's kiss, to his touch. She wanted more.

Shen Shu didn't break the kiss as she climbed onto his lap, straddling him. Niko angled her head, inhaling her lips before he travelled down her neck. Shen Shu kept gasping for air, breathless by his intensity and wanting more of his scent, his taste.

She then pressed their bodies closer together as Niko's erection nudged between her thighs. Shen Shu wondered if he could feel how soaked she was. She hoped he'd touch her to feel the dampness of her panties. Niko grabbed her ass and began to grind her against him, and she gasped loudly onto his neck.

Shen Shu now realized that no matter how many guys she kissed or attempted relationships with, they paled compared to this. Niko was hot on her skin. He electrified her in ways other people couldn't. And she wanted him in ways she never let anyone else come close to.

Shen Shu reached for his pants, and just when she was about to release his cock, someone had barged in. She toppled fully onto his lap, hiding her body. Niko was still sitting up, but the couch was facing away from the front door.

"Niko, why are you sitting in the dark?" Alek questioned.

Shen Shu's heart pounded fiercely in her chest. She needed Alek away. They couldn't be caught.

"I was just thinking," Niko said, holding Shen Shu to his lap. "Why have you come?"

"I came to return your car keys. Mei is waiting for me downstairs."

"Leave it on the counter," Niko instructed him.

Alek left the keys on the counter and stepped back to the door. "Are you sure everything is all right, Nikolai?" he asked.

"Yes, Aleksei," Niko responded. "I will call you tomorrow."

"All right," Alek responded, and then he shut the door.

Once he had gone, Shen Shu released a breath. She sat up properly, collecting herself, and realized that the scare they had sobered them up. Now they were thinking more clearly.

Shen Shu was unsure what to say. She was still processing how frozen she had been when Wu Meng kissed her, and then the next thing she knew, she was melting against Niko's touch, wanting to fuck him. But their moment was over now.

"Niko…" she began.

He looked at her. "Lock your room tonight."

She shivered. "What if I don't want to?" What if she wanted him to come inside and visit her and do things they thought were impossible before.

But his expression was pleading and desperate. "Please, Cat. Lock your room tonight." He wasn't messing around. He needed her to do this, and she understood why. Niko's headspace was in a million different places, and he needed to make sense of it. It wouldn't help if she let him do things to her right away.

Shen Shu nodded. "But only if you promise we will talk about this."

Niko nodded back. "I promise," he whispered.

Shen Shu then climbed out of his lap. Niko stood, and he began to walk away. He stopped as if he wanted to say something, but he shook his head and continued to head up the stairs. Shen Shu then went to her room after him and locked the door.

She got ready for bed and went to sleep alone when she desperately wanted the company of the boy next door from her.