Nate Elliot Taylor walked out of the busy John F. Kennedy International Airport and scanned the crowd of people waiting to greet the passengers who were emerging from the exit door. Although this was the first time he had come to New York, there wasn’t any excitement in him. He didn’t want to be here in the first place but his parents were disappointed with his ways and he had no other option than to accept the job that was offered to him. 
The world seemed to be in a hurry to force a guy to settle down with a good, high paying job. All his brothers were settled so he obviously couldn’t afford to take a break after graduating with flying colors in his chosen field of study, Electrical Engineering. He had just taken a break after studying for years when his parents forced him to look for jobs just like his cousin and partner in crime, Drake Taylor did. So when Drake joined a lucrative career in Tesla at Austin, his parents wanted him to join Cognizant, New York as Electrical Design Engineer. So here he was, far away from his home in Houston, trying to start life afresh. 
He didn’t have much hope left in him. After two failed relationships, it was proved that he would have to spend his life, unloved, not cared for, lonely and depressed. Yes, he was depressed. Who wouldn’t be when all your eight brothers are happily settled down with the love of their lives? Yes, eight brothers, since he considered his cousins too as his own. His dad Benjamin Taylor was the youngest of three brothers. His mom, Patricia Taylor, his older brother Ryan Taylor and his wife Victoria Taylor lived on the same street as the rest of the Taylor family. 
A few houses away lived Nolan Taylor who was next older brother after his dad. His wife Pauline Taylor and sons, Nick and Nelson lived with their wives, Iris and Annalise and their kids and dogs. 
Opposite to them lived his dad's older brother, Henry Taylor and his wife, Hannah Taylor and their five sons and their families.  Stuart and his wife Allison, Sean and his wife Vienna, Denver with Sapphire, Daxton with Aurora and their kids. Theirs was a huge family although the youngest Drake Taylor who was as old as Nate lived in Austin. 
He sighed even thinking what Drake would be up to in Austin. By now Drake might have proposed to Alexis Martin who was Nate’s first girlfriend. Alexis and her brother Aries were orphans and moved into Nolan Taylor house when their older sister, Annalise married Nelson. Ever since a bet between Drake and Nate decided who would win Alexis’s heart since both the brothers were interested in her. Nate won the bet and pursued her. He took it too far much to Drake’s displeasure. 
It was true that Nate didn’t love her but being with her was more of a challenge for him. He loved to see his cousin suffer since Drake was in love with Alexis. But all that is over and done with. He had given up his childish whim and released Alexis to be with the man she loved. He didn’t repent his decision even once. 
Then came the wicked Veronica Swanson, the hottest girl in college. She tried hard to seduce him and she succeeded too. Nate was bowled over by her but soon found out that she was still involved with her ex-boyfriend Brian Cooper. He broke all contact with her after a bitter fight. Her rude words still rang in his ears. It was enough to break him.
“You’re a loser, Nate Taylor. Who in her right state of mind would look at you? You don’t have the looks, nor the body to get a girl. Your first girl opted for your cousin instead of you. I feel nauseated by your touch and I’m sure she did too. All your brothers and friends are happily married, right? You’re pathetic! You’re doomed to spend the rest of your life alone.”
 He could still hear Veronica’s laugh echo in the dark night as she spewed out venom and disappeared into the night with her boyfriend, leaving him frozen and numb with hurt. He had seriously started liking her! He had fought with Alexis because of her! He had started believing that she liked him back! He sighed, his eyes glancing up at the figure who approached him. 
“Hey bro, so good to see you here,” Aries Martin’s voice brought him out of his reverie. He smiled at Aries. Although he was Alexis’s brother, Nate didn’t harbor any hard feelings for him. He was like a brother to him being only two years younger.
“Hey, Aries. So good to see you. I’m dead tired. Let’s go,” said Nate, wheeling his luggage towards Aries’s car. 
“So are you here permanently or for a few days?” asked Aries. He was pursuing his Undergraduate Degree in Computer Engineering from Columbia University. 
“Permanently, dude. I’ve accepted the job offer. I’ll get joining work on Monday,” said Nate. 
“Great, you can live with me at my apartment. I just moved out of the dorm room last week,” said Aries but Nate noted that he looked a little apprehensive. They talked about everyone back at home on the way to Aries’s rented apartment. It was a nice and decent building close to his University. Aries took him upstairs and rang the doorbell. 
“Do you have a roommate?” asked Nate looking a little awkward. Aries nodded. 
“Yeah but you can share my room, bro. No big deal,” he told Nate. The door was opened by a very young girl who didn’t look more than eighteen, maybe a fresher at college. Nate’s eyes widened seeing her. He had never expected Aries’s roommate to be such a young girl! Was he his girlfriend? He would feel so awkward living with them. He had to find an accommodation for himself, soon. 
“Bro, this is my roommate, Andrea,” introduced Aries as they walked into apartment. 
“Hi, I’m Nate. Nice to meet you, Andrea,” he said with a smile. Andrea waved shyly at him. 
“There’s dinner in the refrigerator for you. If you’re hungry, should I warm it up for you?” she asked sweetly. 
“I’ll do it, Andy. You can go to sleep,” said Aries. Andrea nodded and walked away towards her room. It was already late and Nate wheeled his luggage to Aries’s room. He showered and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a plain white tee-shirt. Aries warmed him the dinner and he ate it up. Later they both just dropped off to sleep in Aries’s king sized bed. 
The next morning, Nate started house hunting. He saw three apartments nearby but didn’t like any of them. They went back to Aries’s apartment for lunch. Later Nate bought a car for himself and drove to his workplace to check it out. He was restless with everything new. He missed home, his friends, the mad fun and the lazy days he used to spend at home in Houston. But mostly he hated being Aries’s house guest. Andrea spent her time inside her room and Nate felt like he was imposing upon them. After work, the security guard of his new office gave him information about a few buildings in the vicinity where apartments were available. Nate drove to see them. He liked one of the buildings very much. It wasn’t a fancy or luxurious building but a decent high-rise in a nice residential neighbourhood. The security guard opened the apartment for him to check out and went back to his duty. Nate looked around at the third floor brightly lit apartment. It was a two bedroomed apartment with a balcony that overlooked a community park. He liked it a lot and video called his mom to show her the place.
“The rent is affordable too. I think I’ll take it,” he told his mom. 

“Are you permanently thinking of living in New York?” asked his mom.

“Yes,” said Nate. 

“Then why don’t you buy the apartment? Is it up for sale?” asked his mom. The Taylor family owned three restaurants and a four-star hotel in Houston which Henry Taylor and his brothers Nolan Taylor and Benjamin Taylor handled together. Henry Taylor handled their largest and main multi-cuisine restaurant, The Grub Club while Nolan Taylor looked after their fast food restaurant, Quick Bite. His dad, Benjamin Taylor handled their hotel, Sterling Plaza. The other restaurant, Taylor’s Grill was a steak-house and bar that was launched a few years back and yet had done tremendously well under Nick and Nelson Taylor’s expertise. Whenever the boys were free, they helped with the business. So money was never an issue at the Taylor family. They were loaded and all the brothers were doing exceptionally well in their own fields. Pauline Taylor owned a very popular bakery where Iris too helped while Nate’s mom worked at a Publishing House. 

“I’ll find out, mom,” said Nate, disconnecting the call. He walked out of the apartment and was just about to lock it when he heard a shrill cry of a girl from the apartment opposite. Curious, he walked towards it to see a very beautiful blonde with big, scared doe-shaped, sparkling blue eyes standing on a chair with fright.