Page 73 of The Boy I Once Loved

“It’s just, you’re my friend and I want the best for you, and I just don’t think he’s it.”

“It’s just a bit of fun, Dylan. I’m not going to run away and elope with him. I don’t think Freya’s right for you either, but you don’t see me bitching about it at every opportunity.”

He grimaces when I mention Freya. “Yeah, I know. Friends?” He asks me with a grin.

I'm unable to stop the smile that breaks out on my face when he grins at me like that. "Friends."

Mum has made chicken and mushroom risotto and it tastes as good as it smells. Dylan asks for seconds and I grin as he tucks into a second plate. I honestly don’t where he puts it, I mean there isn't an inch of fat on his body. When we have finished dessert, my mum orders Dylan and me to wash up whilst our mums disappear outside onto the patio to gossip and catch up. Dylan washes and I dry. I'm smiling to myself as I listen to our mum's belly laughing outside when I'm assaulted by a splash of water. I jump back as Dylan flicks more water my way, grinning.

"Don't start," I warn him, wagging my finger. With an evil grin, he flicks some more water in my face. I pull back the towel and whip him on the arm and he yelps.

"Assault," he says holding his arm, feigning pain before he splashes me again. I reach into the bowl and grabbing soap bubbles, I splash him back. Suddenly a full-on water fight breaks out. Laughing, we attack each other, trying to outdo the other. We're both soaked and the floor is covered in water. I move to attack him again and I lose my footing, falling forward, and he catches me. I feel thick tension in the air as we both just stare at each other smiling, our faces so close.

“What on earth?”

I yelp at the sound of my mum's voice and Dylan in his shock drops me and I land with a whack on my backside.

Stacey comes in behind my mum and shakes her head, smiling. “We leave you two alone for two seconds and look at the place?”

I look around me at the state of the kitchen floor and then at Dylan, whose t-shirt is soaked. He has a blob of white bubbles in his hair, and I burst out laughing. Dylan snorts and releases the laugh he was holding in.

"Go on," my mum shoos us out of the room. "Go get dried and we'll clean up your mess. Honestly, you two, what a state." She's not angry though, she grins at us as we leave.

We head up to my room and I stall in my steps when Dylan lifts his t-shirt over his head, and he stands there topless. I gulp as I side-glance at him. His body really is a work of art. I want to lick every inch of him. Dylan disappears into my ensuite and he comes back in with two towels. I’m about to disappear into the bathroom to take off my top, but then I think fuck it, it’s not like he hasn’t seen me in my bra before. Dylan averts his eyes when I take my top off and he holds out a towel to me.

I grin. “What’s up Dyl, scared of a pair of tits?”

He smiles, his eyes meeting mine. “Something like that.”

I frown, getting the feeling there’s more behind his response than he’s saying, but I shrug my shoulders and dry myself with the towel. My phone rings breaking the tense silence and before I can reach for it, Dylan picks it up. He offers me a tight smile as he offers it to me.

“It’s lover-boy.”

Rolling my eyes at him, I take the phone from him and I see it’s Kyle calling. I eject the call and throw it back on the bed and Dylan stands there, his brow arched in question. “What?”

“Nothing,” he replies, rubbing his hair dry. “When are you seeing him again?”

“Don’t know,” I answer. It feels weird talking about this with him.

“You should bring him to Caleb’s 18th party at the weekend?”

I look up in surprise. Did he really just say that? “Really?” The tone of surprise must be clear in my voice because he smiles tightly.

“Sure.” He wraps the towel around and around his hands.

I bob my head side-to-side. “Maybe, we’ll see.” It might be best to take someone, especially if Dylan is going to rock up with Freya hanging off his arm.

Dylan and I settle back into our friendship over the rest of the week. I notice he’s giving Freya the cold shoulder, much to Freya’s frustration and my delight. It looks like my best friend has done that and got the t-shirt and he is moving on.

The anniversary of my brother's death is looming like a dark cloud that threatens my existence. It is a day I dread every year. Every year it's a reminder that he's been gone so long. When I'd lived with Uncle Matt, he'd taken me off with him and his biker crew on a ride. The feel of the wind against my skin and the rush of the ride always helped me to chase away those emotions. Being home for his anniversary, where there are so many memories of him everywhere I turn is going to be hard. Dylan had tried to brace the subject with me the other day as we walked to class, and I'd shut him down and told him I didn't want to think about it. Maybe if I ignore it hard enough, the day will pass without me noticing.

“What are you doing after college?” Dylan asks, sneaking up on me at the end of the day, as I’m putting my books into my locker. My phone pings and I pull it out of my bag to see it’s a text from Kyle asking if I want to meet up tonight.

“Why?” I ask Dylan before I reply to the text.

He shrugs his shoulders. “I thought we could hang out that’s all.”

The broken girl inside me screams at me to text Kyle back and tell him I am free. The other girl inside of me who has adored this guy in front of me since before she grew boobs is champing at the bit to spend whatever time she could get with Dylan.

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