Page 5 of Loving My Brother's Best Friend

Here we are, both grown up. Both alone now. The moment stretches between us, and the tension grows even more. He takes a swig of his beer, then puts it down on the table.

"Nat," he starts.

I don't know why my heart skips a beat when he says it, but it does, and I lean forward, closer to him, because I can't help it. He makes me feel warm inside. Safe. Like I've always wanted. I put my hand on his shoulder, the movement deliberate and slow. He doesn't pull away. His eyes flicker down to my lips, then back to my eyes, and then his big hand comes up to my face. His skin is hot on mine, and the warmth spreads down my neck.

"You've changed," I whisper because I don't know what else to say. It feels like everything has changed between us. The air feels heavy, and his touch lights my blood on fire.

"We both have." For a second, I'm sure he's going to kiss me, so sure that I lick my lips in anticipation. But then I hear him curse under his breath, and he stands, stepping towards the door. "I … fuck. I should go. I want to see you again, but..."

I'm reeling. "But what?"

He shrugs. "You know. Ryan."

"Oh, fuck Ryan." How is my brother ruining this for me when he isn't even here? I've never felt like this about any man but Ethan, and I'm tired of letting Ryan dictate who I can be with and what I can do with my life.

"He's your brother, Nat. He's important to me. I can't disrespect him like that. He's my best friend."

I stand, going towards him until we're right in front of each other once more. "You're overthinking this." I glance down at his lips again, and I'm right where I want to be. "Do you really think we wouldn't have happened eventually? Do you really think there isn't something between us?"

He can't answer, but I see it on his face. Thereissomething.

"Can you just … hold me?" I ask finally. If he isn't going to kiss me, I just want this one simple thing before he goes.

He pauses.

"Please," I say.

He gives a deep exhale of surrender, the sound of it reverberating through my whole body, and suddenly, his arms are around me, crushing me into him. I bury my face against his neck, and for a second, I just breathe in the scent of him, savoring it, knowing I can't have this for longer than the next few minutes.

He doesn't move, he doesn't talk. I'm just standing here with his arms around me. I could die a happy woman just standing here. I can't remember the last time I felt safe like this with a man, like I know nothing will ever happen to me, not even in this crazy world. He smells good, like soap, like expensive cologne, and beneath it all, hundreds of days in the summer sun when we were so much younger and free.

"I missed you," I whisper.

His voice is thick when he responds. "I missed you too."

3

ETHAN

Natalie is in my arms after ten years of being apart, and I’m about to blow up a lifelong friendship to make sure time like that never passes again.

I should be strong enough to leave, to give this obvious chemistry between us a chance to breathe, but I just can’t.

She clings to me, and she smells like lemon candies, the perfect scent after all the cloying, sweet smells of the speed date event. I remember this smell, remembering how she used to spray herself a dozen times with the pale yellow body spray before going out when she was younger. Now the scent has matured—she must have found a more grown-up replacement—and it reflects just how much she's changed. Natalie is stunning, layered, and complicated, just like her new perfume.

I want to eat her alive, and not at all because she smells like lemons.

She looks up at me through her dark, long lashes, the brilliant green of her eyes trapping me. "I don't want you to go."

"Because of Jason?"

"Yes, and no. I feel better with you here, but I also wanted you here long before he showed up."

"Really? Why is that?"

She laughs nervously. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Not even a little bit."

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