Page 13 of My Favorite Girl

“I told you I’d buy you a car if you cooperated with me.”

Right, the car. I’d forgotten all about that arrangement since the first moment I saw Ally. I could play along, pretending the car is the whole reason I’ve put so much effort into getting to know Ally and her mother. Maybe it’s the safest bet, to ensure my father doesn’t catch on to how much I want to fuck Ally.

But cashing in on this deal feels wrong when Ally means far more to me than a car. I’m attached to her, more than I thought possible. The first time I saw her, I was admittedly taken by her looks. Yes, my thoughts are in the gutter about her every day, and she’s nothing like the crowd I normally hang around, but her personality is so precious and funny. She’s talented and genuine, an all-round good person, and I find myself wanting to spend all my time with her.

Ally tells me I make her feel safe. Hearing those words brings a warmth to my chest I’ve never felt before. I don’t know what that warmth means, but I like that I’m such a comfort to her. Iwillkeep her safe and always protect her. Somehow, in a matter of months, she’s become my closest friend. And I donothave friends who are girls.

I can’t deny I want to fuck Ally. I’m sure Ally knows it, too. It’ll never happen, though. She’s off limits now that Dad and Amabella are getting married. I hate it, but getting to know Amabella over the summer has made me realize there’s more than just my happiness at stake here.

For the first time in my life, it feels like I have a mother. Amabella spends time talking to me each day,reallytalking and listening, learning about my life. She asks about school and what interests I have. She even took me to high tea one day, just the two of us. It was weird but also one of the best outings I’ve had.

On that day, she opened up about her ex-boyfriend and the disgusting ways he treated her, how he was so aggressive that she had to be admitted to the hospital, and the guilt she feels for exposing Ally to that behavior. She told me it’s been terrible to watch Ally struggle with confidence and friendships but how grateful she is that Ally and I have become such close friends.

After all the shit Amabella has gone through in her past, she deserves the happiness she’s finally found with my father, and I’m not going to fuck it up by coming between them just because I want to sleep with Ally.

“I don’t want a car.” I shoot the rest of my drink down and face my father. “Ally and Amabella mean a lot to me. Put the money toward buying Ally a grand piano and jewelry for Amabella. A welcome to the family gesture.”

He’s dumbfounded for a moment, probably wondering if I’m fucking with him—thatissomething I would do—until he sees the serious expression on my face. He nods with approval, smiling at me for the first time in I can’t remember how long.

“That’s a thoughtful gesture. I’m proud of you, son.”

I scoff and turn back to the railing. The one time he’s ever been proud of me.

As soon as Dad returns inside, Felix steps beside me, amusement slick on his face. “Dad bribed you?”

“He asked me to behave around Amabella and Ally.”

“You’ve behaved around Amabella. Ally…” He smirks. “I’m not so sure.”

I send him a foul look. “It’s not like that. We’re friends and about to be family.”

“If you say so.” He places his drink on the railing and pats my shoulder. “We’ve made enough of an appearance tonight. What do you say we ditch the party for a game of poker.”

The engagement party continues in the living room while me, Felix, and Killian crowd around a table in my bedroom with a bunch of cards and poker chip towers scattered across the table. The room is dark, with only a neon lamp on my bedside table, casting a red glow.

As we play and sip on whiskey, Felix tells us about a new business venture of his, seeing as he’s just come of age and received the last installment of his trust fund. We all laugh as he tells us how proud Dad is of him, becoming a business owner and opening a cocktail lounge. What Dad doesn’t know, and what Felix tells us in confidence, is that the real business will be an illegal speakeasy hidden beneath the cocktail lounge.

A knock on my bedroom door interrupts the conversation. “Yeah?” I call out.

The door opens and Ally’s head peeks inside. Fuck, she’s pretty tonight with a pink, frilly dress, ballet flats, and that satin ribbon she always has in her hair. She looks like a doll, and I have to be careful not to stare. All I can think about is undressing her. Wrapping her legs around my waist. Feeling how tight she’d be.

“Just in time.” Felix pulls up a fourth chair. “We’re about to start a new game. Sit.”

“You know I’ll lose again.” Ally steps into the red room anyway, joining us with a smile. She likes being a part of this.

The three of us have insisted on teaching Ally poker, telling her it’s an initiation into the family. The parents disapprovedwhen they found out, saying she’s too young to gamble. I could see Ally wanted to talk back, pointing out that me and Killian aren’t of legal age to gamble either. But Ally, always the good little girl she is, never says anything out of line.

So, we teach Ally the game in secret. There’s no harm done; she’s so bad at poker that we never make her bet any money. It’s just a bit of fun and sibling bonding, as I told Dad and Amabella that first night they found us. That occasion made me feel real dirty when I referred to Ally as my sister. Right before, I’d jerked off to the thought of her lips wrapped tight around my cock.

“I heard laughing before I entered the room,” Ally says, peeking at her cards once Felix has dealt our hand. Her lips twitch with excitement. I smother a laugh; she has the worst poker face I’ve ever encountered. “What were you all laughing over?”

Felix winks at her. “Just some shit with Dad. Can’t tell you.”

She looks at the three of us. “No Tyler again? What’s the deal with him never being around?”

It’s subtle but I don’t miss the way Felix tenses at her question. “The short version: we don’t get along.”

Killian laughs. “Dan and I get along with Tyler.”

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