Page 2 of Sexploration

Milo and August have never shied away from making their utter disdain for Tommy known. The two of them were always giving him hell. I chalked it up to thatno guy is good enough for my sister,overly protective, brotherly love thing. But now, I think maybe they’ve always seen what I refused to see all along.

“Now, come on, let’s get you out of those wet clothes.” He smirks, motioning with a jerk of his head before heading for the stairs.

“I think I’m quite capable of changing on my own.” I follow behind him, my eyes greedily admiring him as he easily hauls my bags up the stairs. “Thanks, though.”

“Fine, take away all my fun.” He waits for me at the landing, a knowing look in his stare. “I put clean sheets on Milo’s bed for you. Unless you want to sleep in my room with me.”

I huff out a laugh as he waggles his eyebrows, walking away with a shake of my head. His flirting is so over the top and ridiculous, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good. Particularly after having my self-confidence trampled on.

“My mattress is extra soft,” he singsongs behind me.

AUGUST

My neck cracks with the twist of my head, some of the tension in my shoulders starting to give way as I pace around the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil. When Milo called earlier to tell me what happened, my first instinct was to drive to their house and beat the living hell out of Tommy. I’ve been dying to punch him in his smug face for years, but I have an overwhelming urge to hurt the fucker after seeing the dull, lifeless look in Josie’s eyes.

I’ll never understand what she saw in that arrogant douche bag in the first place. Tommy is one of those guys who peaked in high school and never evolved. The asshole walks around with this air of self-importance, all while having no aspirations and completely letting himself go.

And Josie...fuck.

Josie is the whole package. Smart, kind, funny, and drop-dead gorgeous. She’s tall and curvy, with beautiful wavy red hair and stunning blue eyes. It’s no wonder I’ve always had such a big crush on her. She starred in all of my horny teenage boy fantasies. Even as I got older and started getting laid on a regular basis, my infatuation with her continued. I’ve found myself comparing my girlfriends to her on more than one occasion. And they never measure up.

My feelings for her aren’t something I’ve ever tried to hide, either. Much to Milo’s dismay. She’s never taken me seriously, though. To her, I’m still just her baby brother’s best friend. And she doesn’t see herself the way I do. The woman is clueless to the fact that she turns heads in every room she enters.

My phone vibrates in my pocket right as the kettle begins to squeal, and I know without looking who it is.

“How is she?” Milo asks before I even have a chance to say hello.

I chuckle, lifting the kettle from the stove. “Fine. Relax. She’s getting out of the shower now, and I’m making her a cup of tea.”

“Thank you for pushing your trip back. I couldn’t stand the thought of her being there alone. Not at a time like this.”

The truth is, I was already fully intending to cancel my flight as soon as Milo told me Josie was coming to stay here. But I was thankful that he suggested it first. It made the whole thing seem a lot more innocent than it is.

“It’s no problem.” I pour hot water into the waiting mug, the sweetened aroma of tea filling the air around me.

“Did Jos say anything to you about everything?”

“No. I don’t imagine she feels much like talking right now.” I debate telling him how she looked when she arrived but decide against it. If Milo knew how worried I am about Josie, he’d be on the first flight home. Something tells me Josie wouldn’t like that very much.

“I want to murder that fucker. He’d better stay the fuck away from her.”

Get in line, buddy.If Tommy so much as breathes in her direction...

“About that. Are you sure you don’t want me to postpone my trip out there for more than a few days? I’m happy to stay here and keep an eye on her for a while.”

There’s no way I’m leaving her either way, but it’s better if he thinks I’m merely doing him a favor. The last thing I need is Milo up my ass, questioning my motives to stay with her. I don’t fucking understand it myself. All I know is Josie is hurting, even if she pretends otherwise, and there’s no way in hell I’m leaving her to wade through those emotions alone. She might be Milo’s big sister, but she’s one of my best fucking friends too.

He lets out a sigh of relief. “That would be great. But... are you sure, Auggie? What about our meeting with the investors? You said you wanted to be here for that.”

Milo and I founded our tech startup when we were still in college. It was just the two of us working on a few app developments at first, but it grew into so much more.Sparkcelebrated its fifth anniversary a few months back, and our company continues to expand. We were supposed to be in Japan together, working with some of our international team on a big launch that’s happening later this year. This could be huge for us, and I wanted to be there, I really did. But I can help from here. At least for now.

“I did... I mean, I do. But we can set up a video call. That way, I’m still there to help answer any questions they have. Josie shouldn’t be here alone. She’ll need someone to help her pack up the house and shit.”

I feel it the second Josie walks into the room. It’s like the atmosphere is suddenly charged with an electric energy. I inhale deeply, her sweet floral scent washing over me right before she yanks the phone away from my ear.

“I know the two of you aren’t discussing me like I’m a small child who can’t take care of herself. Let me remind you that I’m much older than you,babybrother,” she scolds Milo, her lips pursing as I turn to face her. She looks less like a drowned rat now, all wrapped up in a fluffy bathrobe. “And I don’t need you worrying over me. Either of you.”

I chuckle, holding my hands up in surrender as she narrows her eyes at me. It appears she’s already gotten some of her spark back, and I can’t seem to ease my grin as she continues to berate Milo. My greedy stare takes her all in, my mind wondering what she’s wearing under that pink robe. If anything at all.

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