Page 6 of Smitten With My Brother's Best Friend
I spin right around. “Why?”
What do I get in reply? Oh, right, a shrug.
I swear he’s a child sometimes, not a 29-year-old, fully-grown man. With other people, he’s quiet and stand-offish, butwhen he’s alone with Adam and me, his true self comes out to play. I liked that he was comfortable enough around me to let his guard down, but that was until he showed me who he really was before he broke my 13-year-old heart.
Chapter 3
(Maverick)
______
She has a boyfriend. She has a boyfriend.
I’ve been saying those words like a mantra throughout the evening. Ever since I saw Taylor Miller again. She grew up, there’s no doubt about it. The teenager I remember was skittish, thin, and suffering from a mild case of acne. Taylor has grown into a stunning woman. Her chest has filled out, and her ass…I don’t even want to be thinking about her ass right now.
Her acne has cleared, giving her a clear, smooth complexion. She has grown taller and is probably around five-foot-five. She’s so much more beautiful, and I hate that I’m noticing it so much. Especially considering our history.
When we were 15, Adam read a novel…I know, shocking. Anyway, in the novel, the guy falls in love with his best friend’s sister and ends up breaking her heart. After Adam finished reading it, he firmly told me he would kill me if I tried anything with his sister. I think he was joking at the time, and I didn’t really care. I only saw Taylor as a little sister back then.
I enter the living room and notice something odd. Taylor isn’t seated beside her boyfriend. Most couples I know are touchy-feely, and they always want to be close to one another. But Taylor seems uncomfortable with the guy. I can understand that, and he seems like a douche, but it still strikes me as odd.
The Millers leave after another hour of catching up, and then it’s just my mom and me.
“Mav?” she says with an expression that tells me I’m not going to like what she says next.
“Yes, mother.”
“When are you going to get a girlfriend?” she asks with a pout.
I inwardly sigh. “When I find someone I like.”
“It’s just you’re not growing any younger, son. And look at me, I’m old now. I would just like to see you happy and in a relationship.”
I knew it. I knew it was a bad idea to have that dinner. All it’s done is make my mom super-aware of the fact that I’m not in a relationship.
“Okay, first of all, you’re not old. You don’t look a day over 30.”
She shakes her head with a smile.
“Plus, I still have time. Just because Adam found love very young doesn’t mean the same is going to happen to me. It takes time for some people, and I’m not in any rush. You should just let these things happen, mom,” I tell her.
“I just want you to be happy. Your work is your entire life. I see you invest every single piece of yourself into it, which makes me sad. Your father would have been so proud of what you’ve achieved, but he would still have wanted you to have a happy life.”
“Well, dad’s not here anymore. We can’t say what he would have wanted. All he seemed to care about was being a SEAL. I might not be sure of anything else, but I do know that the only thing he would be proud of is the fact that I became just like him. I’m doing what made him happiest, and that has to be enough for him,” I say a little harshly.
My mom’s expression turns a little sad. She doesn’t say anything as I walk out of the living room. I head upstairs to my room and fall on the bed. I didn’t mean to be so unkind, but we both knew what I said was true.
My dad’s work was his life. He was happiest when he was on a mission. From the moment I was born, he started grooming me to be just like him. A Navy SEAL. It’s our family’s legacy. We’re one of the oldest families in Aster Falls. Three generations and each of them had produced a son who became a SEAL. I didn’t have much choice in the matter. He died when I was 12, but my future was already set in stone by then. Finish high school, then enlist in the Navy. He was a great father, but I’ve never forgiven him for leaving mom and me alone like that. For caring about his work more than us.
My phone rings, distracting me from my thoughts. It’s Adam.
“Yeah?” I say upon answering the call.
“Hey, brother. Wanna go get some drinks? To celebrate our magnificent return.”
It’s a little weird how he’s always there whenever I need someone. Did he hear my thoughts all the way from where he was?
“I’ll meet you at Kings in ten,” I tell him.
