Page 23 of Chasing Ink
I walk into his huge ass kitchen and make a beeline to the fridge.I grab a bottle of apple juice and down it, my brother’s stare fixed on the side of my face.
“You walked here from your apartment?That must have taken over an hour.Why didn’t you just drive?”
“I walked here from Alistair’s house.”He opens his mouth to say something, but I hold up my hand.“I walked because I didn’t want to wake him.”
“Skye...”
“Sit down and shut up.There are some things you need to hear.”
He leans against the counter with his arms folded, a blank expression on his face.“I don’t care what you say.What he did is wrong.It’s fucking disgusting.We all grew up together...”
“Will you get off your moral high horse and fucking listen to me?”I yell.
“Listen to her, Luke,” Abby cuts in from the doorway with Tyler on her hip.“Or do you want to lose her like you’ve probably already lost Ali?”
“Babe,” he sighs.“You didn’t see them.”
“Thank god,” she says with an eye roll.“I don’t need that image in my mind.But you need to be less pig-headed and listen to your sister.Or she will walk out of here and probably never come back.I have a feeling shewillchoose him.”
Luke looks at me for a moment and I nod.A look of disbelief flits over his features before he takes a seat at the counter.
“This isn’t Ali’s fault,” I say.“I planned everything.And I seduced him.”
“Excuse me?”His brows shoot up into his hairline.
“You must be blind,” I mutter, sitting beside him.“I’ve been in love with Alistair since junior high.At first it was just a crush, like most young girls get.But by the time I left for New York I was actively flirting with him, pushing his buttons, and trying to get him to react.”
“Really?”he asks, and I want to smack him.
“You’re an idiot.”I rest my head in my hands.“Just shut up and let me tell you what happened before you went crazy.”
“Fine.”
“Please,” Abby says, and I realize she is sitting on the other side of the counter, Tyler nowhere to be seen, probably back in his crib.“I am dying to know how you broke that man.”
I chuckle and wink at her.“It was fun.”
“Can we skip the details, please,” Luke chimes in and we both laugh at him.
“When you decided on a destination wedding, I knew it was my last chance.I shopped, prepped, and planned.I picked a fight, apologized and then I convinced him that we could have an island fling.And then I dropped the bomb about leaving Franklinton.”
“So, you were lying?”Luke asks.
“Not at all.If my plan didn’t work out, I fully intended to leave.”I take a deep breath.“It hurt.To see him smile at other girls or go out on the few dates he did.I didn’t want to be here anymore.”
“Let me get this straight.You were either going to sleep with my best friend or leave town.”
“You are an idiot,” Abby accuses, pointing her finger at him.“Seduction is easy.Getting a man to admit his feelings is like pulling teeth.Tahiti was just the start but once he realized he could lose her it became real.”
Luke frowns at her before turning to me.“He’s my best friend,” he says softly.“Why him?How am I supposed to be okay with any of this?”
“Because I love him.Because he is the only man I have ever loved,” I say softly.“And because Abby was right.”
“You’ll really pick him over me?”
“I already did.I knew this would be hard for you, but I was hoping once you saw us together and saw how happy I was, you’d be able to make peace with it.”I stand and give him a hug.“But until then, I don’t want to see you.”
“Skye...I don’t know if I will ever be okay with this.”
