Page 24 of The Boys Next Door

Diana recognized the cascading red curls, tall frame, and slim figure. Lauren Kalinowski. Ian’s girlfriend, or close enough. They were always pawing each other in the halls, and the rare times she had to walk past them, she did her best to unsee it all.

But she couldn't avoid hearing the loud, sloppy smacks andmmmmms that could only be an overdone kissfest. And she couldn't avoid glancing back down the stairs.

Ian had a casual arm draped over Lauren’s slim shoulders -- no surprise there. But Diana hadn't expected Brendan's hand on her back, too. As Lauren sauntered between the twins, hips swaying, the three of them headed through the doors to the field.

Before the doors closed, both twins looked over their shoulders. Two pairs of hazel eyes met Diana’s. Lauren, describing the crazy thing someone had said five minutes ago, didn’t notice.

The gaze held for a long minute before Diana, blushing furiously, hurried up the stairs.

She’d wondered then. Now, standing in front of the same vending machine, she wondered more. But why bother? The twins had made her shake with pleasure because they'd shared girls before and knew exactly which buttons to push. Probably too many times to remember. End of story.

But she didn't have to to steer clear of the gym from now on. When a herd of guys stampeded out of the locker room in front of her, she came to a full stop to appreciate the view. Then, opening her Coke, she took a long slurp, let the bubbles burst on her tongue, and walked through the doors to meet her unsuspecting friends.

*

At 10:30 that night, Diana was well into the same hot date she’d been enjoying for the past few nights — and most of her time in high school, if she was being honest: comfy in her bedroom, perched at her desk, with her books and papers for company. A few candles and mellow indie rock on her record player set the mood.

Her friends were busy meeting for a study session at someone else’s house, and she’d thought about going, but she always studied better alone. It was easier to focus. And right now, she needed that focus. Fantasizing about boys was the last thing she had time for.

Thankfully, she’d snapped back into the groove. She was calm, she was collected, and she was deep into calculus, working out one practice problem after another, absent-mindedly chewing on one of the oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies she’d baked that afternoon to give herself a break. A dozen more cookies were piled on a plate next to her. She knew she’d go through them all before she was done tonight, along with the giant mug of iced coffee next to her calc textbook. If she was lucky, she’d wrap up studying around 1 am.

A light knock at her window interrupted her scratching pencil. Must be the huge tree outside, whipping its branches against the glass. Ignoring it, she took off her glasses and leaned back in her wooden chair with her eyes closed. She arched her back to get the kinks out and rubbed her forehead.

Two more knocks. Was the tree really doing that? It wasn’t even windy outside.

Opening her eyes, she started when she saw the smiling face outside her window. A gorgeous male face with dimples showing. Her stomach lurched. One of the twins had climbed the tree and was looking right at her, expectantly, through the glass.

She couldn’t believe it. Brendan and Ian had climbed up to her window a few times when they were kids — she’d done it, too — but it had been a long, long time since anyone scaled those branches. She tried to keep her hand from shaking as she tugged the window open.

“Hey,” he whispered. Brendan. The cleft in his chin told her that, plus the friendly expression. “Can we come in?”

We.They were both outside. Oh, boy.

“I’m busy,” she managed.

“We just want to say hi. We know you’re studying so hard.”

Diana breathed in and out. Already, her thighs clenched together, just from seeing him and hearing his voice. Her nipples, suddenly hard, poked against her constraining bra. Her pussy ached unmistakably.

“Just for a minute. I still have a lot to do.”

Nervously, she took the screen off the window and set it by her desk. Brendan climbed in surprisingly easily, maneuvering his long body through the window. He leaned over her desk, looking at the pencil-scrawled papers.

“Calc with Mr. Bertell? I had him for Trig. He’s a good teacher.”

“He’s decent,” she managed. Outside, branches creaked. She could only imagine Ian swinging himself up through the tree.

“You’re going to ace your final.” Brendan grinned at her and dropped a hand on her shoulder. Her arm prickled from the touch. “I can tell.”

He moved behind her, finding her other shoulder and kneading out the knots with long, sure strokes. Sweat gathered under her arms, and her dress felt much too hot. The strawberry-printed cotton was practically asking to be peeled off.

“Well, thanks,” she murmured. She started as Ian’s bulk appeared in her window, her whole body tightening. He dropped to the floor, more gracefully than he had any right to, and rolled his eyes at the papers on her desk.

“You already got into Yale. Blow off your finals. Live it up for once.”

“Colleges still look at grades.” Her throat was dry now, and her voice sounded hoarse to her ears. If Brendan in her bedroom made her nervous, Ian sent her adrenaline into overdrive. And the two of them together… Jesus, her parents were right downstairs. Quickly, she put her glasses back on and started writing again, even though the stream of symbols coming out of her pencil was total gibberish. “And I like to do my best.”

“I like to do my best,” Ian imitated in a high voice, picking up a cookie and tossing it into his mouth whole.

---