Page 6 of Be My First

God, Eli would kill me. I cannot ask my brother’s best friend to take my virginity. I’d rather die than he know I’m still a virgin, honestly.

I chew on my bottom lip. It’s mortifying that I’m so inexperienced. I know men find me attractive. I’m sure in a normal situation I wouldn’t have this problem. The thing is my brothers won’t let any man get within six feet of me. They might as well have locked me in a tower with a dragon out front.

Our family is not conventional. We’re not biological siblings. We were all in the same foster home together until our foster mother died. My oldest brother James adopted us when he was still in college. Keene and I were still in diapers.

All the older siblings helped raise us. They have been my parents as much as my siblings - the only parents I’ve ever known since I was adopted out of the foster care system at such an early age. I have no memory of my biological parents.

My relationship with my older siblings is complicated. I love them, and I’m so lucky to be in this family, but they are smothering me. They still think of me as a child. Now that James is President of the United States his drive to protect me has gone through the roof. I managed to get by without security for a while, but now I have a Secret Service shadow, and they aren’t like sexy bodyguards either. My Secret Service agents rotate constantly and are always married. I’m pretty sure that’s intentional.

I sigh so loudly Bode opens one of his eyes again. I quickly bury my nose in my book.

I just want to live. Do some dumb things. Take some risks. I want to fall in love, but at this point, I’d settle for meeting a stranger at a bar and hooking up.

It’s happening this summer. I don’t care how many times I have to sneak out or what I have to do, I am not going home a virgin.

“You okay?” Bode says, still peeking through one eye.

I give him a big smile. “Couldn’t be better. It’s going to be a great summer.”

Chapter Two

Bode

I’ve been pretendingto sleep for an hour, so Juno won’t talk to me. How did I end up in the seat beside her?

I open my eyes when I hear some rustling beside me.

“Oh sorry.” Her eyes dart over to me. “I was just laying my seat down flat so I could sleep, but I can’t get it.”

She looks around the cabin. “I don’t want to bother the flight attendant. She’s busy with Zadie and Ethan right now.”

I lean forward. Thank god we’re in first class, so I’m not touching thighs with her this whole trip.

“I think you need to push here,” I say, reaching over to her seat. My arm brushes against her leg, and she stiffens a little.

I give her seat a little tug, and it moves. “There.”

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