Page 6 of Crushing On My Brothers BFF

I remember the last time I saw him in person. He’d come to the West Coast on a business trip and stopped by to see his best friend. He was standing at the end of the driveway, talking with Paul. He’d said goodbye to me with a family-friend wink and a gift of a video camera. During the lead-up to his leaving, I talked nonstop to Gwen about it.“This is it. He’s finally going to notice me. I just know it.”

It was sick and wrong and impossible. If Kalebhadnoticed me, he would’ve ended up in jail, deservedly so. Try telling that to my sixteen-year-old crushing self. When the time finally came, and he gave me a wink and a camera, I was devastated. I tore off the dress I’d specifically worn and cried for an hour.

Looking back now, it’s difficult to believe that was only three years ago. I was so immature back then, but I watched from the front window before the crying fit. Kaleb and Paul hugged, Kaleb clapping him on the back. He looked so tall and handsome in his stylish gray suit, his hair cut short on the sides and long at the top, standing three or four inches taller than Paul, and Paul isn’t short. He’s six feet.

I remember telling myself to run out there, declare my love, and tell him all those moments that were probably tiny and inconsequential to him meant everything to me.

Now, I sit in the waiting room, trying to read my college text book. It’s the least I can do if I’m not attending class, but I can’t focus. If it’s not Paul and the sourness in his voice from earlier dominating my thoughts, it’s that I’m going to be face-to-face with my crush any minute now. No, withKaleb. Not my crush. He’s my brother’s friend. To make this work, I’ll have to be distant with him, maybe even downright cold.

“Sophie.”

At first, I think his voice is in my mind. That’s how twisted up this whole thing has got me. Then he walks around to the front of me, looking down with those penetrating blue eyes—the eyes I used to dream would watch me obsessively if I bought a new outfit. He looks the same as before, his suit gray, maybe more salt in his hair than last time.

My instinct is to leap up and throw myself into his arms, push my face against his firm chest, and cry like crazy. His firm-lookingchest, anyway, since I don’t actually know how he feels. I know he carried me from time to time when I was younger, and Paul had his hands full, but it’s not like I was thinking aboutthatback then.

He looks slightly awkward, like he doesn’t know what to do. I stand up, careful not to step forward. I need to keep some distance between us, emotional and physical.

“Thanks for coming,” I say in the coldest tone I can manage.

It’s difficult, especially considering being close to him makes me feel immediately hot under the collar.

CHAPTER FIVE

Kaleb

What thehellhappened? It’s like I’m standing opposite a different person entirely. The last time I saw her, I gave her a camera because Paul said it’d be a good gift idea. She had braces in her mouth, always seemed shy, a little withdrawn. She was a child.

She’s only nineteen now. It was onlythreeyears ago, but she’s beautiful. Her hair is wild and slightly wet around her shoulders. Her face is round and full and gorgeous. She’s got wide, curious eyes. Her youth makes her cheeks flush red. Her curves trigger something in me, even in a simple pair of jeans and a hoodie. I can’t let myself think about it. Yet suddenly, the world doesn’t seem so gray.

“Can I see him?” I ask, matching her cold tone and ignoring the tension in my pants. She’s got me almost howling to relieve some of it.

“He’s sleeping,” she mutters. “The doctor said he’ll let me know when I can visit again. He said I should go home, but how can I?”

She bites her lip. Fuck, that almost turns me savage. I need to switch off that track in my mind right away. I can’t let myself go there, but when she bites her lip again, it makes me think of her caught in passion, pleasure surging through her perfect body.

“Do you need anything from your house? I could send someone. Or go myself.”

She shakes her head, gesturing to a bag on the floor. “My friend brought me some stuff.”

“Okay, good. Coffee?”

“Uh, sure,” she nods. “Thank you.”

I’m giving myself a reason to get the hell away from her. The short walk down the hall toward the coffee machine gives me the time I need—I hope—to fix this sudden, unexpected need. I want to grab her and pull her right up against me and let her feel how flooded I am with desire. It’s so damn inappropriate, but the way I’m feeling, I could find an empty room and fuck her right now. Fuck her hard. Fuck her deep. Fuck her until she’s creaming down my?—

“Actually, Kaleb…”

I turn from the coffee machine to find her standing in front of me. She’s taken off the hoodie, wearing just a tank top. It shows the outline of her voluptuous breasts. Through her bra, I think I can make out her nipples, ready for sucking, ready for… What thehellis wrong with me?

“Yeah?” I say.

“I don’t need coffee. My heart’s beating fast enough as it is.”

That makes me want to hold her differently and stroke my hand through her hair, whispering that it will all be okay. I could do that. Maybe I evenshould. She’s gone from the withdrawn younger sister to my obsession. It’s making me question everything.

“Fair enough,” I say. “Do you mind if I wait with you?”

She tilts her head and looks momentarily disgusted. “It’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

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