Page 68 of Wildly Inappropriate

“What does ‘basically nothing happened’ mean?”

It’s like I can’t catch a fricken break.

Lila curls up to my side, and without thinking, I tuck my arm around her. We’ve spent so many hours in this exact position, reading together or watching TV, that it’s second nature at this point to cuddle her to me.

Jameson, however, looks like he just saw a dog solve a quadratic equation before reciting Shakespeare. “I’m sorry. Are you two cuddling? On my fucking couch? Right in front of me.”

I go to pull my arm away, but Lila keeps hold of it.

“Yep,” she replies.

“I fucking hate this already.”

“Well, no need to get used to it,” Lila says. “We’re just roomies-with-benefits until the Ferguson Tournament.”

“Jameson told me you’re coming to that!” Bryn chimes in as she brings out four plates of eggs and passes them around before plopping down on Jameson’s lap. The hypocrisy seems a bit strong, but other than shooting them a pointed look, it doesn’t really feel like the time to call Jameo on it. “The four of us should go out to dinner a couple of the nights we are all there.”

“Bryn,” Jameson says, his patience obviously wearing thin with his girlfriend’s desire to talk about anything other than Lila and me.

She rolls her eyes in a very Harper way. “What? I don’t see what the big deal is. JT is a great guy and one of your best friends in the entire world. Lila is your sister and also one of your best friends. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes there has been something between them for a while.” We both start at that, but she just shrugs. “At least as long as I’ve known them. So, I’m not really sure what you’re expecting from me. I assumed they were hooking up.”

“Fine. But no more fucking in my house.”

“No,” Lila says at the exact same time I say, “Fine.”

Lila turns to me with an exasperated look. “Neither of us have anywhere else to go, JT. We’re both going to be sleeping in that bed, and there is no way we aren’t going to fool around. My idiot brother can just get over it.”

“I could go…somewhere else, if Jameo really doesn’t want me here. I could get a hotel room in town or something. Maybe someone in town would let me bunk with them.”

Jameson looks between us as if it’s finally becoming clear to him this isn’t just some one-night thing. “No,” Jameo says, though I can tell he’s none too pleased about the idea. “It’s fine. But if I hear anything, I swear I will ruin you both.”

Chapter thirty-two

Lila

“Hey, Pip, before yougo, can I talk to you for a minute?” JT asks as I brush my teeth in the bathroom. To be fair, I’m sure we do need to talk. I mean, his best friend who is also my brother just caught us naked in bed together. Thank goodness all we were doing was sleeping. I’m a little confused by JT’s reaction to it all. I was sure he was going to chalk it up to a one-night stand, head back to California, and just call it quits, but then he went and said he was staying even if it wasn’t here at the house with us. I’m not really sure how to handle it, and Elise is not texting me back. That girl really needs to get her work-life balance figured out.

Jameson insisted he is the one who will be driving me to work today, and I didn’t put up a fight, even though spending the drive with my angry brother feels like a real downgrade from my carpool time with JT. But it’ll be good to have it out with my brother in the safe confines of a vehicle. Neither of us can walk away, and no eye contact is required.

I spit in the sink and rinse out my brush before giving JT my full attention. He’s standing in the doorway, his fingers grabbing the top of the frame as he casually leans into my space. The sun is lighting up his golden surfer curls from behind, and he looks like an angel straight out of Malibu. He’s just Ken. Though he’s a ten here. “What’s up, Pretty Boy?” I ask, reverting to my nickname for him from before we got together. I know “Pipsqueak” has become a term of endearment, but this feels like it’s just enough to put up a minor wall in case he’s here to end things with me.

He seems to understand, and his body tenses as a sad smile tugs at the right side of his face. Instead of answering, he drops his arms, taking the two steps to reach me, and wraps his arms around me. He kisses my head, whispering, “It’s going to be okay.” I’m not sure what exactly he’s referring to, but I want to believe him, so I melt into his hug.

After a moment, he lets go of my waist, grabbing hold of my hand instead. Looking me in the eyes, he says, “I wanted to talk to you about this last night, but I got a bit distracted.” His eyes gleam in boyish delight at the memory of last night before turning serious again. “I’ve been thinking, and I, um…”—his eyes briefly dart away from mine—“was wondering if maybe you’d want to have this be more than just a roommates-with-benefits situation.”

I tense. I’m not sure if I believe him. This feels like him trying to make it seem better in the eyes of my brother.

“Is this because of Jameo?” I ask.

“No.” He shakes his head before saying it again, more firmly this time. “No, Lila. It really isn’t. I fully planned on asking you this last night. I think I want to try this—a real relationship—with you. One with no end date.”

My heart is about to jump its excited ass out of my chest, and I can’t keep the smile from my face, even as I seek further reassurance. “Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t want this to end. I don’t want to be drinking alone in a bar years from now thinking about what I could’ve done to keep you.”

“What?” I ask, trying to make sense of that last part.

“Not important right now.”

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