Page 154 of Only in Your Dreams

“How long have you known?”

“Known what?” he says innocently.

“Parker.”

He looks from me to Zac. “Oh. We’renotpretending you haven’t been hooking up?”

Zac clears his throat. “Listen, Parker. Before we get into all that—as far as I’m concerned this is only one of two conversations that need to be had. I know things have been bad between us—”

“Are you ready to stop hating me?”

I shift uncomfortably. “Would it help if I left the room?”

“No, stay. I’m never hiding anything from you again.” Zac presses his forearms onto his knees. “I don’t hate you, Parker. It was misdirected self-loathing, and I’ve always known that. Still didn’t make it any easier to look at you, though.”

“Self-loathing because I didn’t want you to sleep with my sister?”

“It was never about sleeping with her, man,” he says, frustrated. “Why is it that’s what you reduced it to?”

“Because I was in those locker rooms with you. With the team. I saw the way they’d look at Mel and Summer, like they were candy whenever they were around. You did too, when it came to Mel. Maybe it was… I don’t know. Over-protective, over-bearing brotherly shit, but hearing the things some of the other guys would say made me sick. There was no way I could turn a blind eye to it. I don’t think anyone could blame me for wanting to protect my sister from that.”

“But youknewme, Park. You were the closest thing to a sibling I ever had. And still, I got lumped in with a bunch of horny jackasses.” He stands abruptly, pointing at me. “You had to have known it was bigger than that—I was crazy about her.”

Parker fingers the roll of athletic tape sitting on the counter beside him. “I swear to God, I didn’t. I had my head so far up my own ass with football, and whatever other bullshit I had going on back then. I didn’t realize it went that deep for you.”

“Yet you don’t seem surprised to hear me say it now.”

“I thought we had one bad, drunken fight, but that we’d move past it in the morning. It’s not like things hadn’t gotten heated between us before—we disagreed over football all the time, but we always got over it quick. I put two and two together the next time I saw you, and you acted like you couldn’t stand the sight of me. And then I was pissed off that you let your feelings for her come between us, and I didn’t care to make it right. You didn’t either.”

“I was angry with myself,” Zac admits. “I could have been clearer with you about what I wanted with her. I could have told you to shove it and gone for it, anyway.”

“Is that what you did this time?”

Zac shoves his hands into his pockets. “I don’t need your permission.”

Parker stares at him a moment. “Fair enough.” He turns his gaze on me. “You want this, sis?”

I try to fight the flush in my cheeks, but it’s a lost cause. “I always have, Park. Please be okay with it.”

That catches him by surprise. But he fixes on Zac again and says: “Do I get my best friend back?”

“As far as I’m concerned, this thing between us is squashed. It should have never been a problem to begin with. I’m sorry I let it become one.”

“And I’m sorry for the way I acted that night.” Parker smooths down the front of his jeans. “Look at us, dishing out apologies like grown adults. Who knew it would’ve been this easy?”

“Hang on,” I say, looking back and forth between them. “That’s it?”

Parker blinks. “What do you mean?”

I get to my feet. “I mean, after ten years of holding senseless grudges… that’s it? You apologize and move on?”

Zac gives me a funny look. “Would you rather we duel at dawn?”

“No, but… but what about tears? Don’t you want to take your time reconnecting? Falling in love all over again? What about grand gestures, and angst, and tension, and outside forces working against you?”

“Falling in love? She’s lost it,” Parker deadpans, turning to Zac. “Lucky for me, you just claimed responsibility for her. This is all you, man.”

Zac reaches for me and hesitates, like he’s afraid touching me will pass on some kind of disease. He rests the back of his palm against my forehead. “She doesn’t feel feverish,” he tells Parker. I swat away his hand.

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