Page 40 of My Best Friend's Brother
Oh, why did he have to sound so overcome? Keke blinked rapidly a few times to clear her mind of the hurricane-like fog moving in at warp speed. Great. Now she was thinking like a nerd. “Good. Good. When you go to kiss her, you don’t go all the way. Come until you’re a breath away. Allow her to meet you in the kiss. Got it?”
He was already leaning in, nodding.
Keke’s eyelids felt terribly heavy. But she was too alert to sleep. Warm breath brushed her cheeks. She parted her lips and angled up on her toes.
It was the sweetest beginning to a kiss she’d ever experienced. And she wasn’t a stranger to kissing, but not so experienced that she could win a French kissing contest or anything silly like that. Pete’s warm mouth covered hers and then moved slowly, smoothly, taking in her top lip before moving to taste her bottom lip. His beard felt smooth against her skin, and held a hint of citrus fragrance.
After regaining some sense of reality, Keke moved her lips around his, telling herself she was teaching him the art of exploration, but really she was going on her own adventure. His arms came fully around her back. Then only one of her feet remained on the ground.
When she heard the soft sound of her moan, her senses came back. Trying not to ruin the experience by shoving him away—no way did she want to land in the fire pit—she pulled back as gently as she could and stepped out of his embrace.
Pete stood there, chest rising and falling rapidly, eyes wide with both expectation and dread. She had to tell him. This whole lesson-thing had a purpose.
“Um…”
“It wasn’t good?” he whispered.
Keke cleared her throat and awkwardly chuckled. “Oh, it was…very good. You were right.” She nodded and kept nodding because she didn’t know what else to do.
“About what?”
She smiled. He was so cute. “You could definitely manage.”
“Oh.” He blushed to his roots and reached for his garbage bag. “Well, thank you.” His eyes came back to hers. “Really. I enjoyed it.”
“Your first, right?”
He nodded.
“Well, you should always enjoy your first. So…I’m glad I could do that for you.”
Bertie’s words last night came back with full force. His mother was dying. What could Keke do? She couldn’t comfort him without telling him the truth. But she could make sure that he was happy. Happier than he’d ever been in his life.
Even if that meant matching him with someone else.
She went back to scraping the grill. “Lea is going to melt in your arms,” she muttered.
“Yeah? I guess…”
“I don’t understand you,” she said, miffed. “I thought you liked her. You do want to eventually get a girlfriend, right?”
“I do,” he rushed to say. “I do. Thank you.”
He kept his head down, working to clear the debris and make the site ready for the children tomorrow.
Keke stared at him for a few moments then continued her work in silence. There was so much left unsaid, but Keke had made a promise. Not only about his mother, but also about how she could never fall for Peter.
And she never broke her word.
* * *
Bertie walked away as quickly as her short legs could take her. Anger burned in her heart and stung the back of her eyes. She wiped away the onslaught of tears that poured down her cheeks. Friendship meant nothing to Keke. Nothing! What was their number one rule?
All she asked was that Keke leave him alone. For one week. She couldn’t keep her hands off him for one week?
And now she was kissing Peter. She was going to ruin everything.
Bertie sputtered, a profound sense of loneliness overwhelming her. For so long, she’d been carrying this burden, and she thought she had an ally in her best friend. Finally, someone who understood what she was going through and could help.
She would never trust anyone again.
Especially not her so-called best friend.
There was only one thing she could do: make sure Peter never wanted to see Keke again.
