Page 18 of Crushing On My Brothers BFF

I explain about us sitting on the couch together. “He sort of just… touched my leg. It’s like he couldn’t stop himself. A lot of it was unspoken. Then he pushed me against the wall. Again, it was like he wasobsessed. The kiss was so hot. Obviously, I don’t have much to compare it to, but it felt so right.”

Gwen is on her feet, pacing. “This is huge. This is insane. This changes everything.”

“I still can’t believe it,” I say.

“Can’tbelieveit?” She throws her hands up. “It’s up there with vampires and ghosts.”

“Thanks,” I mutter.

“No, not like that.” Gwen pauses. “I don’t mean it’s crazy to think he’d want you. You’re nineteen now, so it’s nottooweird, but that he’d do that with Paul in the house…”

“Idid it too,” I tell her. “It’s not like I tried to fight it. I wanted it. I still want it. It felt so natural.”

“Of course it did,” she replies. “You’ve been waiting your entire life for this, but that’s what worries me.”

“Worries you?”

She sits down again, leaning forward. I knowthislook. It’s the same one she gave me when she finally told me she thought the crush was a bad idea. “This is everything to you, but who knows how he’s been living on the East Coast? Maybe that letter wasn’tfrom a stalker. Maybe it was from one of his girlfriends. I’m sorry. I don’t want to upset you, but I don’t want to see you get hurt, either.”

I shake my head, pretending not to be upset. The truth is, hearing her talk like thisisannoying. It’s also the reason I need to listen to her. She’s always been the voice of reason.

“He kissed his best friend’s sister when his friend was in the same house,” Gwen goes on. “That’s player behavior.”

“He’s not a player,” I snap.

“How do you know that?”

I don’t have a good response. It’s not like I’ve been watching him on the East Coast, and he doesn’t have a big public presence. He could easily hide his playboy tendencies behind closed doors.

“I don’t,” I admit begrudgingly, “but we’re going to see each other again. He’s not just never going to visit Paul. What if he tries to kiss me again? What if he wants to take it further?”

“Do you think you can resist him?” Gwen asks me.

There’s no point trying to lie to her. “No.”

“Then do your best not to be alone with him until you know you’re not just another notch on his belt.”

It’s sound advice. It’s advice I should listen to. Yet this hunger in me doesn’t want to hear that. This hunger wants to return to the kiss, but this time, go further. I’ll ignore my doubts and nerves, throw myself at him, and give myself to him completely.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Kaleb

Whenever something incredible, tragic, or shocking happens in my life, I usually talk to Paul about it. If I were ever going to find a lady, Paul would be the first person to hear about it. I’d ask him for advice or at least let him know, but now I’m alone. I can’t tell my best friend a goddamn thing.

What’s the matter with me? We’re sitting side by side on a couch, and I justgrab her leglike a freak? Like a pervert, I’m feeling up my friend’s sister, who is nineteen years old and probably has no clue what she wants to do with her romantic life. Maybe she’s had a couple of boyfriends, but she’s not ready to make that decision, that betrayal.

I can still taste her on my lips. My body is still full of tension. Maybe I should fly back to the East Coast. It’s not as if Paul’s life is in danger. He’s miserable, unable to exercise, but I’ve done more than many men would. Could I do that? Abandon him? Abandonher?

My cell phone rings as I drive down the highway. I get déjà vu, but it’s Paul this time, not Tyrone. I almost don’t answer. How am I supposed to talk to him after what I just did?

But ignoring him makes me feel like a cold bastard. Anyway, what if it’s about Sophie?

“Hey, bro,” Paul says when I answer.

Bro. I usually wouldn’t react at all to him calling me this. He’s said it countless times, but there’s an extra edge to it now. I can’t be hisbro. That would make Sophie my… Nope, I can’t even go there.

“Kaleb?” he says.

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