Page 5 of Falling For My Best Friend's Brother

As a big girl, I had to pick up from wherever it was that we stopped and move on. I had to think of what I wanted to do with my life and start figuring shit out, just like Lindsay was doing.

Truthfully, in some reasonable part of my brain, I could understand why she didn't tell me about the job. I wouldn’t have taken it well. Working under another person always made me feel choked up. Growing up as a rich kid who has everything done for her will do that to you.

The ironic part was, I’d always wanted to be financially independent. Which, if you think about it, shouldn’t be too hard considering my parents’ affluence. But that was exactly the problem. I wanted to make my own money. I just didn’t know how to go about it.

And before you say anything like,Nina, try the fucking internet, keep in mind that not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, or techy, or some genius in finance like my parents.

I might not have known what I wanted to be, but I certainly knew what I didn’t want.

Still, the reality was, Lindsay only had a brother who worked hard to take care of their family and a mother who lost some of her spark after her husband’s death. I had parents willing to offer me a junior position with a starting five-figure salary in one of their many firms the second I agreed to work for them.

And while I knew I should be grateful that I wasn’t completely without options, I didn’t want my parents’ help. They might mean well, but it was their fault I was such a spoiled child. I couldn’t keep letting them do things for me. It made me, quite frankly, useless.

So, yeah. That was that. And now that Lindsay was leaving, I tried to convince myself this was a wake-up call. I needed to get the fuck up anddo somethingwith my life. Because as much as it hurt to admit, I was dragging Lindsay down.

Many hours later, Lindsay was fully packed. She commented about how much it sucked that she was leaving so soon without even enjoying our new apartment, and I non-verbally agreed because I didn't trust myself to not fall to her knees and beg her to stay.

“Shit. I need to call Knox. He doesn’t know I’m leaving yet. I can’t believe I forgot to tell him,” she said that night, grabbing her phone and typing away for a few seconds before holding it up to her ear and giving me a finger that said,Hold on.

We were sitting on her queen-sized bed, which would be moved to Knox’s new room tomorrow before he got here. There was no point in him getting a new bed when this one was readily available.

“Knox, hey,” Lindsay said.

I couldn’t make out his words, but his deep baritone drifted through the speaker and into my ears. Damn, he sounded even better than I remembered. Truly, the Colemans were blessed with superior genes. Lindsay herself was a smoke show.

“So, something came up,” Lindsay continued. “And I figured you should know. I got a job out of town and I’m leaving, like…soon. But don’t worry, you can still live here for as long as you want. Nina’s okay with it.”

She eyed me uncertainly, and I glared at her. That was laying it on thick. I was merelytoleratingit. Now that she wouldn’t be here like we originally planned, I wasn’t so sure I wanted Knox to come at all.

For a few seconds, I didn’t hear anything, so I assumed he’d gone silent. Great. I had no doubt that he was already considering backing out.

Worked for me.

But the smooth sounds of Knox’s voice floated around us once again.

“Yes, I know,” Lindsay answered, “but I didn’t plan this. I’m sorry that I made you cancel your plans.” She went quiet again, releasing a sigh. “I’m telling you. Nina is stoked that you’re coming. You’re going to have so much fun together.” Silence. “Right. Or not.” More annoying silence, but somehow Lindsay was smiling softly. “So, see you soon?”

The dial tone beeped. That motherfucker hung up on her.

And I had no idea why Lindsay didn’t look pissed. If anything, she seemed pleased. She was obviously out of her mind.

Dropping her phone between her legs, she sighed calmly. “Well, apparently, he already canceled plans, and he can’t un-cancel them, so he’s stuck here for the meantime.”

“Yay,” I grumbled.

“Oh, cheer up. It’s not the end of the world. You make my brother sound like a morose dragon.”

I stared at her, not saying a word.

She shrugged. “He has his good days.”

“Sure. They just never happened when I was around. You realize he’s never spoken a word to me, right? Not even hi.”

Lindsay seemed positively surprised. “I hadn’t noticed, actually. But never mind that.” She waved a hand, ever the mediator.“Once you both settle into the roommate lifestyle, you’ll work things out.”

I didn’t believe her, not one bit. But I kept my opinions to myself. If Lindsay wanted to believe that she hadn’t just set the ball rolling for World War III, then she was either blind or just plain dumb.

Knox and I were too different. No matter what anyone wanted to believe, this was going to be a fucking disaster of epic proportions.

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