Page 38 of Messing With My Brother's Best Friends

The poor guy volunteered to be our coach, doing this in his retirement from coaching professional teams. We were damn lucky to have him, but other players didn’t always show it. I knew he was about ready to find another team to coach, a more committed one, so I shook my head.

“Fine.” I stared at each one of them. “But when we get back, we talk this out.” My focus shifted, searching the hall for signs of Kendall, but not finding them. By the sounds coming from her room, she was locked up in there again, away from us. “We have to have this out with her, let her know what we’re feeling. Even if she says she’s not interested…”

This was where I said noble shit about letting her go, wishing her well, if that was what she wanted.

But I didn’t.

My hands ached from holding them back from grabbing onto her and pulling her close. So close she’d never get free of me. I needed to be inside her, not just her body, but her mind, her heart.

“She has to know.” Gage and Van nodded then. “When she walks out that door, she needs to know what she’s leaving behind. I can’t…” My voice broke then, but I forged on. “I can’t keep holding this back anymore.”

“Me too.” Gage’s hand clapped down on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“Fuck, we’re all feeling the same way, so yeah, we’ve gotta tell her,” Van agreed. “I usually wanna throw my guts up after training, so I’ll be in perfect form for confessing my love for a woman.”

“Love?” I phrased that as a question—not because I doubted how he felt, but because I needed to know they felt the same way. If I was in hell, I needed other people with me, and who better than my best mates?

“Love.” Gage nodded slowly. “What else would you call it? I feel like someone’s sticking a knife in my guts and twisting every time I see her, and all I want to do is shove the blade deeper.”

I smiled despite myself.

“Yeah, that sounds about right. All right, footy first, then we tell Kendall. You two get ready, I’ll let her know we’re going out, see if she’ll be here when we get back.”

Walking up the hallway towards Kendall’s door happened almost in a dream state. I’d fantasised enough times as a teenager for it to feel unreal, but I knocked sharply on the door despite that feeling. She opened it a crack, staring out at me, and I saw her put a bag of something behind her back, but that didn’t matter.

Just this.

“We’ve gotta head out,” I told her, trying to sound casual and no doubt failing. “Training’s on.”

“Oh, right.” She nodded sharply. “Well, have fun.”

“Keep the front door locked while we’re out, and if you decide to go somewhere, take the van.”

“I’m not going anywhere tonight.” Her words were music to my ears. “I’ve gotta sort out what I want to unpack and what needs to stay in boxes, and then I’ll try and get an early night.”

“Right, well, if you’re up when we get home, I wouldn’t mind having a quick chat.”

My weight shifted from one leg then to another, like I was getting ready to sprint across the footy field, not talk to a girl.

“Sure.” She shrugged. “If I’m up.”

She shut the door then with a gentle click, and I just stared at the smooth surface, seeing but not seeing the brushstrokes there. My hand went out, wanting to stroke across the painted timber, but a bark from Van stopped me.

“You ready?”

No, no I wasn’t, because what felt like a life full of longing was about to come to an end. We’d tell Kendall how we felt about her, and then we’d know if she wanted to try and build something with us or…

End our hopes forever.

I jerked away from the door and down the hall to throw on my footy gear. Running until I puked, doing push ups until my legs gave out, yeah, that was just what the doctor ordered, because when I was hollowed out with exhaustion, then I’d be able to face Kendall. I wouldn’t be able to run from her rejection, or her acceptance.

“I’m ready,” I told Van as I walked out of my bedroom door, then glanced down the hallway. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Chapter 21

Kendall

“Right, well, if you’re up when we get home, I wouldn’t mind having a quick chat.”

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