Page 9 of Kissing My Brother's Best Friend

“It doesn’t have to be.”

“Yeah, but...”

I finish my burger and lean back, eyeing her carefully. She makes my chest ache. I want to fuck her, obviously, but I also want to hold her, care for her. All of the things I’ve denied myself over the years. “It doesn’t have to be,” I repeat. “We can just do whatever we want. And if you want to have sex with me again, then yeah. We’ll do that.”

Her eyes widen slightly, her voice high and breathy, “And if I don’t?”

The answer is simple, although the possibility makes me want to punch a hole through the wooden table we’re sitting at. Somehow, I don’t let a bit of that emotion show. “Then we won’t. It’s your call, Anna.”

“That’s what I wanted to know.” She grins, looking more confident now. “Good. Glad that’s settled.”

I laugh. “Good. So, um, you should come over tonight.”

She hesitates, and I know why. “And how do we accomplish that without Brody catching on? Even having lunch without him is already suspicious. If he catches us, I mean.”

The sun catches on her dark hair and her beautiful face, and suddenly I don’t really give a fuck about my best friend. At least as far as his sister is concerned. “You’re an adult, Anna. We both are. You don’t have to sneak around or explain anything to him.”

“Sometimes I forget that you’re an only child.” A small, sad smile tugs at her lips. “You don’t know what it’s like.”

I nod, realizing she’s right. “That’s fair.”

“I also think you underestimate how overprotective he is of me.”

“Maybe. Or maybe you just need to stand up for yourself a little more.” I pause, looking at her, my voice softening. “Anna, I like you. I’ve liked you for a long time. You deserve to be happy, and you deserve to live your life how you want.”

She looks away, her expression shifting, and I realize I might have pushed too far. I don’t want this to turn into some big thing. Not now. I don’t know how long she’ll be in town, and I don’t want to ruin whatever this is between us by moving too fast.

“I know that.” She sighs. “I’m working on it, all right?”

“Okay.” I want to say a whole hell of a lot more, but I bite my tongue.

“I’ll text you if I manage to get free.”

It isn’t good enough, but it will have to do. For now.

We finish lunch, and I drive her home in near silence. When we pull up in front of her brother’s apartment, she starts to get out, but I stop her.

“Anna,” I say quietly. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight. We’re supposed to be having a good time, right? Just forget about what I said.”

She smiles, leaning over to give me a quick kiss. It’s too short, too restrained, but I take what I can get.

Then she’s gone, disappearing into the building, and I’m left sitting in my car, wondering how long I can keep pretending that this is just a casual thing.

5

ANNA

Idecide to sit outside for a while and read. It's one of those rare days when the heat isn't unbearable, and the breeze feels good as I flip through the pages. After a few minutes, Brody walks outside and sits down in the chair next to me.

"Hey," he says. "You disappeared after practice."

I look up from my book and smile at him. "I hung around for a little while, then went to get some lunch."

"I heard you were at the cafe with someone," he says casually.

I freeze but try to keep it casual. "Oh? Who'd you hear that from?"

"Another teammate."

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