Page 48 of My Brother's Best Friend

This kiss meant something.

Not just to him, but to me too.

“People at Redwood are ruthless, Alec,” I said in a breathy whisper, my stomach twisting into knots. “Do you remember what happened to Jace and Allie? People have been whispering about them for weeks now … and they’re not evenofficial, official yet again.”

Alec rested his forehead against mine. “Don’t you want us?” he asked, his voice so soft, so much more vulnerable than usual.

And I freaking hated it so much. If my brother wasn’t such an ass, then this could’ve been different.

“All this week at school, I …” I stared into his big brown eyes, my chest tightening. “I wanted this too.”

I liked Alec Wolfe. Maybe even loved him—not that I would ever tell him that to his face anytime soon. And I didn’t know how much longer I could just sneak around with him, didn’t know how much longer we could keep us a secret.

Unable to stop myself, I wrapped my arms around his torso and pulled him closer. “And, God, I want to be with you.”

Alec cupped my face. “Then, be with me.”

Still, it hurt so badly. We weren’t supposed to be together. After what Spencer had done, I hated the thought of going public with anyone. Especially a player like Alec.What if he does the same thing to me?

“Give me a couple of weeks, Alec,” I finally said, watching his eyes widen. “I need to … figure out how I’m going to tell Oliver. Please …”

“Okay …” he agreed. “A couple of weeks.”

When Alec grasped my hands to pull them to his lips, a sound echoed through the boys’ locker room. I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like someone was nearby. Either just outside of the locker room or worse … here with us.

“Did you hear that?” I asked, glancing around as my heart pounded in my ears.

“Mads, you’re getting in your head again.”

“No, I definitely heard something,” I said.

“There’s nobody else here. I made sure of it before bringing you in.” Alec grasped the sides of my face and pulled me closer again until our lips touched. “You worry too much.”

When he pulled away, I glanced around the locker room and gnawed on the inside of my cheek. “I guess you’re right,” I whispered, but still feeling uneasy. Maybe it was because I had been waiting for that random number to text me back all week, but they hadn’t. Or maybe it was because I had been thinking about Spencer again.

And he always gave me the creeps.

“Come on,” Alec murmured. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, eyes wide as he pulled me along.

“On a date.”

CHAPTER29

ALEC

With her jacket zipped up to her chin, Maddie waddled next to me to the movie theater. It was lame to take her to the movies on a first date, but nobody that we knew would be here tonight since Oliver was throwing another fucking party. And besides, she had wanted to come.

“There’s anime playing!” She giggled, her curly hair blowing in the breeze.

I stifled a chuckle because this was the fifth time she had said that since the ride over from the stadium. It was amusing how excited she was about it, and I didn’t want to take that away from her.

“Can we see it?” she asked once we stepped in line to get tickets.

“Sure.”

“Are yousure, sure?”

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