Page 60 of Enemies with my Bestie’s Brother
“Look, I don’t know what just happened there, but Whitney clearly thought that I was you. You shouldn’t let that ruin whatever is going on between the two of you.”
I look my twin in the eyes and am overwhelmed with the image of Whitney’s lips on his. The image is seared into my brain, as if put there by a red-hot branding iron. Before I can think about the consequences, my fist is connecting with Preston’s chin, causing him to stumble backward. The crowd around us gasps as phones go up instantly, recording the moment.
“What the hell, man! What’s your fucking problem?” Preston asks as he comes back up.
“That’s for kissing Whitney, you asshole.”
“I just told you that it was an accident. She thought I was you! I broke away from her instantly. Besides, even if it wasn’t an accident, it’s not like I would have known anything was going on between the two of you! Nobody said anything to me about you two being together.” Preston rubs his jaw where I punched him, and I can tell right away that it’s going to develop into a bruise.
“What are you guys talking about? Preston kissed Whitney? Grayson’s with Whitney? What in the fuck is going on in this family?” a familiar voice shouts from behind me.
My anger dissipates instantly at the sound of my baby sister's voice. Penny is completely innocent in this, and she’s about to be hurt in more ways than one.
“Penny—” I start, but she shakes her head and cuts me off.
“Shut up. Don’t start, Grayson. You punched your twin brother in the face at your birthday party, and over Whitney? There’s clearly some information that I’m missing, and I expect to be filled in immediately,” she says.
She looks around at the crowd wielding their phones before raising her voice an octave. “Shows over, folks. Go back to partying and getting drinks. And, if you intend to stay at this party or get invited to any future parties, you better be deleting any photos and videos from your phones.”
The crowd around us grumbles as various people tap their way through their phone screens, ostensibly deleting whatever footage they have of this hellish night.
“You, meet me at the roof in five minutes. And you better explain everything.” Penny whirls around and leaves the room.
I look over at Preston and frown.
“I’m sorry for punching you, Pres. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Don’t sweat it. Just go talk to Penny and fix whatever mess you just made,” he says. He’s approached by Georgia, who gives me a wide smile.
He slides his arm over her shoulders and saunters away, leaving me standing in the doorway alone.
“Areyouincapableoftelling time?” Penny snaps as I step through the door onto the roof.
“I know I’m late. I was trying to find Whitney.”
“She’s at my house. I texted her asking if she was at the party fifteen minutes ago, and she informed me that she wasn’t going to be at the party. Why did she tell me that, Grayson?” Penny’s face is contorted with anger.
“Penny, there are things that Whitney has been keeping from you.”
“Apparently, there are things that both of you have been keeping from me. Why did you punch Preston for kissing Whitney?”
I stare at Penny. This isn’t how I wanted to tell her. Actually, if I’m going strictly by the plan that Whitney and I came up with, this is exactly how it was supposed to happen: at the birthday party, that is. Still, the circumstances couldn’t be more different than I’d imagined, considering my state of shock and Penny’s anger.
“Whitney and I are together. Or, we were together. We were planning on telling you today at the party, as a surprise. A good surprise. Now that’s all down the drain, though.”
“Why were you hiding it from me? You know that I’ve been rooting for the two of you this entire time.”
“It was for Whitney. She was scared that you’d be mad at her because the first time that we got together was at your wedding.”
Penny’s jaw drops as she stares at me. She recovers quickly and shakes her head.
“Wait, that doesn’t make sense. You’ve both been in relationships since then.”
“It was more of a hook-up situation.”
Penny’s face turns a deep shade of red.
“I won’t even address that you hooked up with my best friend at my wedding. That’s a transgression that I can overlook, for now. So, when did the relationship actually start?”
