Page 36 of My Brother's Best Friends

“Tell me about it,” she replies. “But the guy thought it was so edgy. He oversold himself, I guess.”

I laugh. I want to hear more. Now that I’ve decided not to stand in her way, I want to learn who she is and what has given her the courage to take on something so erotic and transforming. Because the Makayla sitting next to me, now, is not the Makayla that’s going to come out of the bedroom once we’re done with her.

“Makayla. What do you like to do when you’re not seducing childhood crushes?”

“Am I succeeding?”

“At what?”

“At seducing you,” she shoots back and wiggles her eyebrows at me.

“I’m afraid so. But if you’re not sure?—”

“No, I’m fully committed, and I think I’ve been considering this a lot longer than any of you,” she replies with a wink.

A heavy weight presses on my chest, stealing my breath. With one affirmation, she has wiped away my entire argument. I have no one to protect anymore except myself, and by standing in the way of Makayla’s long-held dream, I’m really only hurting her.

“Cue the awkward silence,” she says with a laugh as we both look ahead.

The end of the lift is coming up. It’s not at the peak of the mountain, but high enough that it will take us a while to ski back down.

“Not awkward at all. I’m just making a plan for later,” I say.

“What plan? For what?”

“For what we’re going to do once we go back to our suite,” I reply, my tone dropping by a few degrees. It’s enough to make her cheeks bloom red once more. I enjoy making her blush, more than I ever imagined I would.

I dismount and turn around to help her. She tumbles into my arms and we laugh it off. It feels good not to hold back anymore. It’s downright liberating.

“Look, you can see the hotel from here,” she says, pointing down at the valley. “It looks so small.”

“Everything looks small from up here,” I observe.

“Even our problems, right?”

“Especially those.”

We wait until Kellan and Alex catch up and then glide over to the beginner’s trail. I’m anxious to see how Makayla does.

At the top of the bunny slope, we all take a moment to appreciate the drop. It’s gentle and wandering, with no trees or craggy rocksto interfere. I can imagine it still looks daunting to someone who’s never participated in the sport before.

“You’ve got this,” Kellan assures her.

She winks at us, putting on a most confident smile. “I know.”

Alex’s eyes flash wide, and he looks from me to her. I give him a slight shake of the head, just enough for him to understand that I’m done fighting this. He takes a deep breath, eager and struggling to contain his own relief.

“Don’t cut this short,” I warn him.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he swears, putting a hand on his heart.

“Here goes nothing,” Makayla whispers.

“Just turn your skis slightly inward,” Kellan says. “That way you’ll go slower.”

“I’ll go out in front,” I offer, slipping past all of them to descend in front in case Makayla needs a hand.

I pull up after only a few yards. Looking up at the three of them, I’m struck by their coordination. Makayla may not be a proficient skier, but she follows my brothers’ lead. She lets them guide her and she syncs her movements to theirs. It speaks volumes to her character and femininity, interestingly enough.

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