Page 218 of The Compass Series

AIDEN

D amian Blackstone was a much cooler name than Aiden Walters.

There was no getting around that fact. I did an engine search on him, so I’d know what he looked like, and well… he looked like me. That was weird. Catherine was right—I had his eyes.

When I walked up to his office, I’d paced back and forth for a good while.

I could see him up in his office space working.

The way I was lurking outside of his building made me feel like a stalker.

I hadn’t built up the courage to walk inside to converse with him. My nerves were too shaken up for that.

So it was a knock to my system when Damian came out. I panicked as he was locking up the door, and I called out to him. “Hey, Damian? Are you Damian Blackstone?”

He turned around to look at me. He seemed confused at first but stood tall and confident. “Yes, I am. Do I know you?”

I laughed nervously, probably looking insane as the palm of my hand rubbed my neck. “No, you don’t. Well, I mean, shit.” I was fumbling my words, making the situation more awkward than it had to be. “Honestly, I didn’t even know you existed.”

“Then why are you here?”

“It’s insane, actually. I should be back in Chicago with my family getting ready for the holiday tomorrow, but I had to fly out here.

A few weeks ago, I received a letter from a woman named Catherine.

She told me about you, and then told me about…

me. I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m Aiden.

” I took a deep breath and tossed my hands up in surrender. “Your younger brother.”

Damian blinked a few times in disbelief before muttering to himself, “Fucking Catherine.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at me. “So we’re kinfolk?”

“I suppose so.”

“A brother?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” He cleared his throat and had a somber look as he stared my way. Same blue eyes. Same nose, too. “I’m not good at this kind of shit. Emotions and stuff. Or being blindsided,” he confessed.

My heart sank a little. It was clear that my surprise attack was the wrong idea. “No, totally. I get it. I’m sorry. It’s also Christmas Eve, and I’m sure you have stuff to do. I’ll let you be.” I turned and started to walk away.

“Aiden.”

I turned back toward him. “Yeah?”

He slipped his hands into the pockets of his peacoat. “I wasn’t done.”

“Oh…”

He walked in my direction. “I’m not good with emotions and shit, but I have a house full of people who are better equipped to help us figure this out. Do you have plans tonight?”

“Um, this interaction was my only plan.”

“Good.” He patted me on the back. “I’ve got three women back home cooking enough food for an army, two best friends who are in touch with their emotions—well, one at least, and a spare bedroom with your name on it. Let’s go, brother.”

Brother.

He didn’t know how much hearing that word leave his mouth healed the panic attack I was in the middle of.

“You always have those?” he asked.

“Have what?”

“Panic attacks?”

How did he…?

“Don’t overthink it,” he said as he reached his car. “I’m just really fucking good at reading people. You can follow me to my place in your car.”

Damian lived on a huge coastline property, with a massive mansion, tennis courts, basketball courts, and a gigantic swimming pool.

The landscaping was stunning, and even though the property was large, it had an odd warmth to it.

You could tell it was an actual home as opposed to a mansion.

There was a lot of love within those walls.

Cars were parked all around his driveway as we pulled up, and after we parked, he looked over at me. “Are you a people person?” he asked.

“Yeah. I can be.”

“What are your thoughts on kids?”

“I love them.”

“Good, because there are like fifty million rugrats running through this place, a hormonal pregnant wife named Stella who will probably cry when she sees you, and our two best friend couples who have a collection of their own kiddos.”

“Sounds like a good time.”

“Or a circus, depending on how you look at it. Come on.” Damian walked me up the front porch, and when he opened the front door, two kids went dashing through the space. “Slow down, jerks!” Damian hollered.

“Sorry, Uncle Damian!” the girl shouted.

“Yeah, sorry, Dad!” the boy responded before they continued their journey.

“You’re home!” a beautiful woman said as she walked over to Damian. She gave him a kiss and then turned to me. “And you brought a…friend?” she questioned, smiling my way.

“A brother,” Damian corrected. He gestured toward me. “This is my brother Aiden.”

“Brother?” Stella asked, stunned.

“Apparently good ole Catherine had another kid,” Damian explained. “You know how good she is about keeping shit to herself.”

Stella’s eyes glassed over as emotions hit her fast. Her hand covered her mouth. “Oh my goodness, you have a brother!” she exclaimed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Don’t be dramatic and cry,” Damian told his wife.

“Don’t call me dramatic!” she replied, hitting his chest. Then she turned to him and cupped his face in her hands. “You always wanted a brother.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I know.”

She kissed her husband, and then turned to me. She rushed over and pulled me into a hug and welcomed me with arms wide open. She then cupped my face and smiled. “He always wanted a brother.”

I smirked. “I did, too.”

“Oh my goodness. You two look remarkably similar. This is wild.”

“What’s wild?” someone asked as they walked into the room. The moment he saw me, he almost dropped the glass in his hand. “Holy shit.”

“What is it?” Damian asked.

“What is it?! Dude! Why the hell is Superman standing in your living room?!” he asked. “Holy shit!”

Damian raised an eyebrow. “Superman?”

“Dude. Are you shitting me right now?” The guy rushed over to me and began shaking my hand.

“Aiden Walters, right? I’m Connor. I’m a massive fan of your work.

You are fucking amazing. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m more of a Marvel guy over DC, but you are going to make an insanely great Superman.

It’s a franchise I’m excited about, and holy shit!

Why is Superman in your house?!” he exclaimed, making me laugh with his confusion and excitement.

“Aiden, this is my best friend, Connor. Connor, this is Aiden…clearly, you already know him,” Damian explained.

“Hell yeah, I know him.” He patted me on the back as if we were the best of buds. I wasn’t going to lie. The welcome party eased a lot of my worries away.

“He’s also my brother,” Damian added.

Connor’s eyes widened. “Your brother?”

Damian nodded. “Yup.”

“Your brother’s Clark Kent?”

“I suppose he is.”

Connor groaned and tossed his hands up in the air.

“Why does all the cool shit happen to you? You got a free mansion from your dad, a shit ton of money, and now Superman is your brother? This is unbelievable. Wait until I tell Aaliyah about…oh shit.” He looked at me as a flash of panic hit his stare. “You can’t be here.”

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Connor, what do you mean?” Stella questioned.

“No, don’t get me wrong. You’re amazing, and I am a big, big fan. But my wife, Aaliyah? She’s next-level obsessed. You’re her hall pass.”

“Hall pass?” Damian asked.

“The one celebrity your spouse is allowed to sleep with if they were ever given the chance,” Stella explained.

“Oh. Wait. Do we have hall passes?” Damian asked his wife.

“No, sweetheart, we don’t. Well, you don’t. I do,” she said matter-of-factly.

“What? Who’s yours?” he asked.

“Chris Evans,” Connor and Stella said in unison.

“How did you know that?” Damian asked.

“Most women say Chris Evans. He was second on Aaliyah’s list after…” Connor glared at me. “Dude, seriously. You have to go. It was fine for her to call you her hall pass because I was almost certain we’d never cross paths, but now that we have, you have to leave before my wife?—”

“OH MY GOSH, IS THAT AIDEN WALTERS?!” was screeched as a woman walked out of the kitchen.

She had her hair up in a messy bun, and her apron was covered in flour.

“OH MY GOSH, YOU’RE AIDEN WALTERS!” she exclaimed.

Before proper introductions could made, Aaliyah was wrapping her arms around me as if she was a kid on Christmas morning.

“Oh my gosh, you smell like oak and heaven. Connor, look! It’s Superman! ”

“You don’t even like DC comics,” he muttered. Connor sighed and tossed his arms up. “I’m going to need more bourbon to make it through tonight.”

“Did someone say bourbon?” A tall, built man walked through the front door with a bag of liquor. He pulled out a bottle and held it up. “Because I have bourbon.”

Connor shot over to him, grabbed the bottle, and opened it. “Thanks, Jax. My wife’s about to leave me for another man, so I could use a shot.” He chugged from the bottle.

Jax looked around, confused as ever. “What did I miss?”

Connor, Damian, and Jax all took me out to Damian’s man cave, which was just a basement with a ridiculous amount of beer and a pool table. We’d been sitting around drinking old-fashioneds that I was tasked with making due to my Wisconsin roots.

Connor and Jax were exactly as Damian described them to me. Connor was the friendly sunshine one of the group while Damian and Jax leaned more toward the mysterious dark side. I probably leaned more toward Connor’s persona. Jax said that was a good thing—they needed to balance it out.

“So you had no idea that you had a brother, huh?” Jax questioned. “None?”

“Not at all. Not until Catherine sent me that letter,” I told him as I handed out another round of drinks.

Connor raked his hand through his dark brown hair.

“What’s crazy to me is that I’ve seen all your movies, seeing how my wife is obsessed, and I never noticed it before, but you and Damian look insanely alike.

It’s almost scary, and it also makes me fear that my wife might have a crush on Damian, too. ”

“Could you blame her? I am remarkable,” Damian dryly replied, making me smirk.

“You two do look alike,” Jax chimed in.