Page 2 of Joint Custody

It was so funny thinking about how much the world had changed in fifteen years. I was in my third year of law school back then, trying hard not to fall asleep in the books at the end of the night. I guess that’s the thing that hasn’t changed. The amount of work. Sure, new technology had taken over some of the tasks that lawyers used to do. Which meant that the competition for lawyers was even higher since it was becoming much harder to prove themselves in an already advanced environment. So maybe the workload was far more difficult now. Although, I guess it depended on how you looked at it, having to keep up with the changes in technology, the world, and inevitably the laws. Yet some of us could still argue that it was harder back then.

It didn’t matter. Nothing could change the fact that it was hard. Period. And I had a whole lot of respect for someone who could commit to that. Especially during her teen years and early adulthood when the temptation of college parties and sex was knocking at her doorstep on an almost nightly basis.

Then again, I was also juggling a relationship at the time and a job. So maybe it was easier having a family that provided everything you needed and all you had to do was study. Perhaps you could get away with a lot with less responsibilities. I knew that Chris did at the time.

I didn’t know what to expect of Chris’s little sister since I’d missed the whole introduction of the guest of honor, heading over here after a meeting with a client. I followed Chris’s gaze to the object of his summon, ready to smile at her politely and get through the introduction before returning to my work emails. Then I froze as my eyes settled on the delicate female form in front of me, and my body had a reaction it shouldn’t. It was one of those things that just happened out of the blue, before I could control it, I felt my trousers get a little tighter in the crotch at the sight of her.

Man. I hoped that the redhead across the garden in a pale pink dress a few inches above the knee—high enough to keep you interested, low enough to remain mysterious—was not his little sister. The fabric of her dress was structured, not slinky, but it seemed to be made just for her body. She wore it well.

She smiled at a bunch of lawyers in suits and excused herself. Ah, damn. I was in trouble.

She came walking toward her brother, her cheeks a shade of pink to match her sleeveless dress with straps that were about an inch thick. Sophisticated but intriguing.Damn it.

She seemed a little shy walking toward him, so maybe it wasn’t his little sister? No such luck, the resemblance was uncanny. I guessed the shyness had a lot to do with the fact that although they were siblings, they didn’t really know each other. Which was why Chris bought a whole fucking apartment to give her as a graduation gift. He figured that he had a lot of lost time to make up for, and he wanted to get to know his little sister. Even more so now that she was an adult and they could actually hang out together.

I groaned to myself. This was bad. I was not the kind of guy who got hard for any woman on any given night and knew I wanted to pull her away from the crowd and press my fingers to her soft skin beneath her dress. That dress didn’t have to fit her the way that it did. The color didn’t have to be so close to the color of her skin so that all I could do was think of her naked. I didn’t have thoughts like these. Urges to take a woman I didn’t know out of sight to bang her. That was more Anthony’s jam. Although, he didn’t really care, he’d bang his lady of the night out in the open for everyone to see.

I was the one that was supposed to have a good head on my shoulders. The one my best friend chose as his general counsel when he decided on a career change and launched his company.

The one who took the money left over from the divorce and made real estate my side hustle because I knew the risk was worth it.

I was not the guy who took risks that would come back to bite me in the ass. Especially after trusting my high-school sweetheart to remain faithful to me during our marriage and having that blow up in my face when I was twenty-eight; three years after we got married.

I was the guy who dated people on and off for the eight years since but hadn’t settled down. Not because I had been burned by love, but because I wanted to make sure I found the right one. The one who would be worth the risk and most importantly, would be a risk that didn’t turn into a fucking bomb.

And this redhead with straightened hair falling softly on her shoulders and freckles decorating her cheeks and slender nose, with green eyes and pretty, supple, pink lips would definitely be a risk that would do more than just bite me in the ass; it would obliterate me into tiny pieces. I’d better take control of my thoughts and do away with the picture I just had of biting the soft and firm pillows of her ass cheeks.

“Tiffany, these are my best friends, Mario and Anthony, they’re both junior partners at my other best friend’s—who was supposed to be heretoday—law firm. I know Mom and Dad are swarming you with lawyers who don’t know a thing about you, trying to get you to network with partners at top law firms to work as an associate because recruitment week is coming up, but it’s a party, you should be having fun.

“You just accomplished something incredible after years and years of work, back-to-back. You deserve a break. But I know how important it is for most law graduates to book their first jobs as associates straight out of law school so I’m not saying you shouldn’t network, I’m saying, why not mix the two? You can have some drinks with your big bro and his best friends who won’t judge you even though you have a scheduled interview at the firm they work at tomorrow!” Chris announced.

Tiffany. Somehow, hearing her name now had an impact it didn’t have earlier. Before this moment, I’d forgotten her name. But now, that name would be one I’d have to force myself to forget despite the rush I just felt moving through my spine as she glanced at me. I knew it would be seared into my brain and haunt my dreams forever because she was off-limits. I’d never be able to have her.

Her eyes opened wide with surprise and her cheeks got even pinker as she said, “Really?! Oh, thank you guys so much! Thanks, Chris.” She bounced up and down in her seat, and I did my very best to steer my mind away from her bouncing. I couldn’t be having these thoughts. Ugh, I felt so dirty. It should be perfectly fine to be attracted to a woman who was twenty-one, but that wasn’t the problem.

The problem was that she was my best friend’s little sister for fuck’s sake. And I was not the type of best friend who could not be trusted to treat his best friend’s little sister with the respect she deserved. That meant I needed to stop looking at her like a piece of meat I couldn’t wait to eat. I needed to see her as the capable genius she was, about to become a lawyer at only twenty-one. Yep, that was what impressed me before and that was what I should focus on.

But what’s wrong with seeing her as both? No, self, behave. Off-limits, remember?

I distracted myself by pulling out my card in response and handing it to her as Anthony did the same. And I noticed that Anthony had that look in his eye. I knew that look. So it wasn’t just me, he was having feelings too.

“Mario Sharpe and Anthony Whitlocke,” Tiffany said as she read the cards. “Well, it’s an honor to meet you. Thank you so much for the opportunity.”

I nodded at her, smiled, and tipped my glass in her direction. Acknowledging her but not giving myself away. Anthony, on the other hand, took a quick glance over her smooth milky legs that seemed to have a tint of orange, due to the freckles that graced them.

Well, there was already no chance in hell for me to begin with. For the obvious reason. But if Anthony had his sights on her too, well, that kicked me out of the running because he was exactly the kind of guy to “act now and think about the consequences later.”

Like that time in college. He didn’t think twice about betraying Chris by sleeping with his ex. He said that if it was truly over between them, then it wouldn’t matter. Well, it did matter. Chris beat the shit out of him, and it put a rift between their friendship for years afterward.

I couldn’t imagine how Chris would react if he had caught Anthony’s gaze just now. To be fair, however, Chris just seemed thrilled to have a night out after so long. He seemed to be so relaxed with us, too trusting to notice anything untoward, which made it that much worse for me. I felt so guilty. He was relaxed because he didn’t think he had anything to worry about, so I decided, right then, that I wasn’t going to give him anything to worry about.

“Can I get you a drink?” Anthony asked Tiffany.Brave.I thought as I watched him. Would he really do it? Risk his friendship with Chris again over a woman he’d no doubt forget about in the morning? Tiffany deserved better. And no, I didn’t mean that I was the better choice.

“Uh . . .” She paused before tucking her hair behind her ear. Chris looked at Anthony with a smile, not at all suspicious. Man, I felt sick to my stomach. But for being Anthony, he was acting a lot less suave and charming, a lot more nervous. Well, duh. Look at who he was trying to make a move at. Perhaps he had a conscience after all.

“Um, sure.” Tiffany smiled, and I ignored the way my pulse reacted. Maybe it had been too long since I’d been with anyone, or maybe it was the drinks.Or should I say “drink.”I was only on my first one, but yeah, perhaps it should be my last.

“Great.” Anthony smiled and waited, but when she didn’t say anything else, he asked, “What would you like to drink?”

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