Page 11 of My Favorite Girl

Perhaps I should be more nervous about the downhill direction this meeting is heading in. I now understand why Josh wanted to control my interaction with his sons. But all I can focus on is that Dan told his brothers I’m pretty. And they’re implying that, what, Dan might try something on me? A tightness coils in my lower tummy, hot and foreign and… I like this feeling, more than I should.

Finally, it dawns on me that I haven’t said a single word to Felix and Killian. I don’t know if they’re trying to intimidate me or what. If they are, it’s working. I need to say something to level the playing field but have no idea how to respond. The longer I contemplate my words, the more I realize I’m standing here likean idiot, so I speak the first thing that comes to mind, pathetic as it may be.

“Thanks. I guess you guys are kind of pretty, too.” I try to say the words with bite, but I’m so nervous my voice ends up sounding airy and delicate, like I’m sincerely telling the brothers they’re beautiful.

The two of them look at each other, confused and trying to decipher my tone, before Felix cracks a smile at me. “You’re a little weird, you know? I like it.”

His approval is a shock, yet I’ll take it as a win.

“Don’t worry, Ally. Whatever our father might think, you’re safe around us. After all, we’re about to be family.”

My brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

“Our father is smitten with Amabella. It’s only a matter of time before he proposes.”

This is the first time marriage has been brought to my attention. Maybe it’s silly of me to have never entertained the idea of Mom and Josh getting married. I hug my body in the cool breeze, processing how the information makes me feel. I like Josh a lot and I’m happy for my mom. Yet, having him as a stepfather would change the dynamics between me and Dan.

I’d no longer have a crush on a random guy, but a crush on my stepbrother. That’s weird and wrong and I can only imagine what others would say. It’s not like I’ll ever act on this crush, butIwould know the truth, and I wouldn’t like it one bit.

“All right, Killian and I are heading back to the city.” Felix retrieves car keys from his pocket. “Nice meeting you, baby sis. Dan, keep your dick in your pants.”

“Felix, I swear to God,” Dan groans. The other two brothers laugh.

I force a smile and say goodbye, barely taking notice of their banter. They drive off, leaving me and Dan alone in the moonlight.

“Sorry, that was kind of intense,” Dan says. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just stuck on the part about our parents getting married.”

I look up at Dan, gauging his reaction to the potential marriage. His eyes are already on me, his jaw stiff. He doesn’t say a word, but I sense he’s not thrilled about us being step siblings either.

I stare out to the black abyss of the ocean, not truly hearing the waves crash on the shore, not when my mind is a million miles away.

“You’re quiet,” Dan says, sitting beside me on the sand.

“I’m still thinking about what Felix said about our parents getting married.”

“You don’t like it?”

“I don’t know. I like Josh for my mom. But their marriage would make me your stepsister. I don’t like that part.”

Dan watches the ocean, not saying a word. He hasn’t shared his opinion on the marriage. Perhaps us being step siblings isn’t such a big deal for him. He’s my only real friend and is quickly becoming the center of my world, but the same can’t be said in reverse.

Dan has many friends. He’s social and I’ve seen how everyone flocks to him. Sometimes I catch him looking at me in an intimate way friends don’t look at each other. But if I became off limits to him as his stepsister, it wouldn’t be such an issue for him, seeing as there’s no shortage of girls lining up to be with him.

Yet, still, there are things I wonder about Dan, like has he ever thought about kissing me? Has he ever wanted to have sex with me? I think about those things a lot. Too much, probably.

I don’t have the confidence to outright ask him those questions and settle for something a little less obvious. “You told your brothers I’m pretty?”

Dan looks across at me in that familiar way no guy should look at a girl who is just his friend, his gaze on my lips, his voice soft against the crashing waves. “Yeah, I did.”

The heat of his eyes warms me. I want him to lean in and kiss me. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything as much. Yet, there’s something within me that feels ashamed of wanting his kiss. My mom wouldn’t approve of my actions, sneaking out and kissing a boy. Not any boy either, but her boyfriend’s son. Maybe even fiancé’s son, soon.

Dan tears his eyes away from me and peers up at the night sky. “You know you can see Jupiter from this beach.”

“Really?”

“Lie back. I’ll show you.”

---