Page 19 of Only Yours
“What about you, Amit? What happens if this gets serious?” I ask, suddenly solemn again. The one thing I will never do is hurt my best friend. He comes first.
He shrugs again. “I’ll deal with it. And we’ll get through it. You can’t hide out behind me forever, Reina. We both have to live life. And that means taking the bad with the good.”
I wrap an arm around his shoulders. “You’re pretty wise, bestie, you know, for a guy who I can beat any day at Scrabble.” We’ve been playing the old board game since we were ten. We would spend hours challenging each other. Yes, we’re nerds, but we always had a blast.
“Ahh, let’s get the board out. It’s been a while. I think I’ve learned some new words.” His boyish grin warms my heart.
“Ugh, flaunting your Emory education at me again, huh? Well Crestwood’s not bad either. Let’s get to it, bestie.”
For a few hours, I get to enjoy being a kid with my best friend. And I don’t worry about what opening up my heart means or the possibility of getting hurt. When I do think of Brian, I wonder if he would laugh like we do at the nonsense words we put on the board or if he would think we’re total dorks. Glancing across the board at my best friend, I decide it doesn’t matter what he thinks. I wouldn’t give this up for anyone.
Chapter 19
If it were just her body I was after, I wouldn’t feel a physical ache just from being away from her. -Brian
Brian
I wait anxiously for the computer to boot up. It’s been almost a week since I talked to Reina on the phone. Things got a little hairy for a while here and my team was on a mission that took us to some incredibly remote places. I sent out letters when I could, but there’s nothing like seeing my girl face-to-face or hearing her voice on the phone.
Finally, her face appears, and I smile. She’s got a wide smile on her face and her dark eyes have a sparkle in them that makes my heart beat triple time.
“Hey, stranger,” she says in a sweet, soft voice. “It’s good to see you.”
I touch the screen, tracing the outline of her face. “It’s so fucking good to see you, sweetheart. I’m so happy I get to see your gorgeous face this time.”
She giggles. “Brian Richards, aren’t there like twenty other Army guys around there? Should you be talking like that to me?”
I glance around. Everyone here is engrossed in conversation with their wives or girlfriends, or the occasional weeping mom. Nobody gives a shit what I’m doing.
“They’re way too busy to worry about me, babe. Besides, if they were sitting where I’m sitting, they would say the same thing. You’re beautiful.”
Her dark skin reddens, and she looks down. “I can’t help but like it when you sweet talk, but I never know if you mean it.”
“Hey, look at me, Reina. Look up,” I beg.
Her gaze finally meets mine again and I breathe a long breath out. “Reina, I swear I mean every word I say. I’m not bullshitting you or trying to get into your pants. I can’t make you believe me, but I promise you I never say anything I don’t one-hundred percent mean.”
She nods and bites her lower lip, a lip that I would give anything to be able to touch and suck. “I’m trying to believe you.” She pauses. “Amit was here this weekend. He said I should believe you. He said I should give you a chance.”
I smile broadly. “I knew he sounded like a good guy.”
She brings her thumb to her lips and curses when she starts chewing on the nail. “I’m trying to stop this habit,” she says ruefully.
She looks away and then back at me again. “You really don’t mind that my best friend is a guy? It doesn’t bother you anymore?”
I admit, I was jealous as hell. But from what she says, he’s been a good friend to her, and Reina guards herself so closely that I’m happy she has more people there for her. If she wanted to step out on me, she would. There’s not a damn thing I can do from over here. But she doesn’t strike me as someone that would do that.
I shrug. “I trust you. And you said you don’t feel that way about him. If I can’t trust you, then this wouldn’t even be worth it.”
A shadow crosses her face, but then she tosses me a big grin. “We had the best time. We played a ton of Scrabble. We used to play all the time when we were kids. Have you ever played?”
I roll my eyes. “Reina, I am the Scrabble champion in my household. Has Sophie not told you about this?” I flick an imaginary piece of lint from my shoulder. “It’s just one of the many cool things about me. I once scored four-hundred points for the word quizzify.”
She raises an eyebrow. “That is not an actual word,” she scoffs.
“Yes, ma’am it is. Look it up. It means to quiz someone. Sophie challenged me on it and lost badly so she’ll sure as hell never forget it.”
Reina giggles and I close my eyes for a second just to enjoy the girlish sound.
