Page 18 of The One With The Secret Crushes

My eyes flew open to find his staring right at me, dark and desperate. "I'll be what now?"

His hand slid over my cheek, his rough thumb caressing my lower lip. "You heard me. But first a date. Say yes, Mackenzie."

This morning I thought Scott didn't even know who I was, and now he was demanding I move in with him?

"I want this, Mackenzie," he growled. "I want to prove to you that I've been mad for you since we were teenagers. Now that we've proven this is so much more than friends, I'm going to need that date as soon as humanly possible. I'm dying here."

Grouchy Scott turned me on.

Desperate Scott made me combust. "Then we better make plans."

Six

Scott

I worried it was becoming a medical emergency.

Letting Mackenzie go was painful.Physically painful. But I couldn't chain her to my bed and make her stay with me forever. Not yet. I stood on my front porch clutching my stupid phone unable to move because every cell in my body was being torn apart, trying to move my ass to her side.

But I couldn't because I lived here and she lived there and we weren't together.

So I stood planted to the wooden planks with my local owl watching me like maybe this was his chance to take me down and have me for dinner.

Five minutes later my phone vibrated and lit up with a text from Mackenzie telling me she made it home safely. I finally took a full breath and told my body to chill the fuck out.

My front door swung open and Piggy came out. He stuffed his arms into his coat and shot a smirk my way. "So you and the Mackster?"

"If I'm lucky." This date had to be perfect. She was too skittish, too battered by life. I needed to come in hot but not too hot. Steady and sure.

"Pfffft.You don't need luck. Not with the Mack Attack. You've been head over heels for her since we were kids and she's only had those big eyes for you, even as grumpy as you are."

"That doesn't make it a slam dunk." I wanted the date to be memorable but also give me plenty of time to plead my case, so I suggested a hike. Her surprise was obvious, but she agreed.

Thank fuck.

"She was nervous tonight."

"I'm well aware." I hated it. Hated it like hell. I wanted her smiling and happy. I wanted her tucked into my side and her head on my shoulder. I wanted her to fall asleep on me and when that happened I would know all was right with the world because it meant my woman trusted me again.

"She wouldn't have come if she didn't want to. She wouldn't be nervous if she wasn't worried about losing something she cared about."

Except the thing she was worried about losing was our friendship, not me. "I'm not so sure, Jazz." Mackenzie was right. Using his old nickname felt wrong. It was time to upgrade to the one everyone else used since he graduated high school.

Jasper’s eyebrows shot up. "If this is her influence then I'll do whatever it takes to keep her around."

"I'm still going to call you Piggy when you piss me off."

"Fair." He squeezed my shoulder. "I thought Mom warning you off her in high school was silly, but I was so impressed with your ability to make that friendship work. It shows you care abouther.It proves that the two of you are more important than romance or misunderstandings or a decade apart. And she's going to realize all that and fucking melt for you, little brother."

She melted in my arms when I kissed her, which was a good sign. A very good sign. If my house wasn't full of assholes it might have ended very differently.

"Have a good night."

Jasper laughed. "Thanks for dinner, Dad."

"Thanks for doing your chores, young man!"

I watched my brother until he disappeared down the path that connected our two homes. Then I went inside and kicked Digger and Logan out.

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