Page 13 of Be Your Forever
“Brianna.” Her name comes out like a command that has the desired effect when her eyes snap up to meet mine.
“Eat or so help me God, I will find a better way to fill that pretty little mouth of yours.”
Bri’s eyes flicker down toward my painfully hard cock while wetting her cherry-red lips. I watch her eyes flutter a few times before lowering the temperature on her desire.
Even though all I can think about is her lips wrapped around me, I watch herfinallystart to eat her food.Good girl.
I refocus my attention on my half eaten food, but my appetite is gone. Watching Bri this worried about her weight…Well, it kills me inside. The Bri I used to know would go to town on her food—the same way I planned to go down on her.
I have a long way to go with helping her, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Brianna is worth the long haul.
She’s worth forever.
Brianna
You’ll always be safe in my arms
Crash.Thesoundofglass shattering pierces my ears. People are screaming and crying. It’s pure chaos. The nightmare jolts me awake. It feels like the walls are closing in around me, and I can’t breathe. My bedsheets are tossed haphazardly on the floor, and I’m lying in a pool of my own sweat.Breathe in, breathe out, Bri. It was just a dream.
The clock on my nightstand reads 1:00 a.m., and I can feel the telltale signs of a panic attack begin to emerge. The last time I had one this intense was after Asher came to check on me. My head says deal with it in silence, don’t let anyone see you. Especially him.
He’s Max’s best friend, for fuck’s sake, Bri. Could youbeany more pathetic?
My phone weighs heavy against my palm while my head and heart declare World War III against each other. And no matter how hard I try, I cannot remain a neutral party. I scroll my phone to find his contact and hit call before my brain has time to overanalyze my decision.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings go by, and I’m about to abort the mission when the sound of muffled sheets accompanied by a groggy voice carries over the line.
“Hello?” Asher’s raspy, sleep-filled voice does something to me.
“Hi.” The sound is merely a whisper in the quiet of my room. I try—and fail—to hide the pain in my voice.
“What’s wrong?” Ruffling sounds come from the other end of the phone, and I hear the faint click of a lamp turning on. Given my current state of mind, everything takes longer to process. I woke him up. Of course I did. Not everyone is up at one in the morning.
“I-I’m sorry I woke you up. Don’t worry about it. I’m not even sure why I’m calling you right now. Just forget it. I—”
“Hey. You can always call me whenever you need. I need you to find the confident Bri inside you and ask for what you want.”
WhatdoI want? When did I get so needy? I used to be a badass bitch who thrived off her independence. Now? I’ve become a stage-five clinger, and I hate it. But I’m way too tired to make rational decisions, seeing as how sleep and I are two passing ships in the night. The last time I got a decent night’s sleep was when Avery crawled into my bed. I couldn’t possibly ask Asher to come sleep with me. Could I?
“It’s gonna sound so stupid. I—just forget about it. I’m sorry, I—”
This is Asher, Bri. You’re supposed to hate him. And now you’re asking him for help? This is what rock bottom must look like. Too weak to do anything on your own.
“Asking for help doesn’t make you weak, Bri.” It’s like he jumped inside my brain, reading my every thought. How does hedothat?
That’s exactly how I feel, though…weak. I used to ask for help and never think twice about how others viewed me. Now, when I eventhinkof asking for what I need, it feels like people are judging me.Poor, helpless Bri. Look at her, she can’t do anything for herself. How pathetic.I wish I could talk to my best friend about how far I’ve fallen, but I can’t. Not after all the times I’ve left her on read. I don’t have to look at my phone to see her most recent slew of texts. I have them damn well memorized by now.
Avery: Bee. I was scrolling through TikTok the other day and I came across that book you were telling me about. The new Kennedy Ryan book? So I splurged and bought it. I had to tell you. I know you won’t respond, but I still wanted to tell you. I love you. Please take care of my bestie.
“Bear? You still there?”
Oh, shit. Asher. So Ididcall him then. A part of me hoped this was just a vivid dream.
“Y-Yeah. I, um. I really shouldn’t have called you so late. I mean, we aren’t, like, together or anything. I mean, who would want to date someone like me? I’m a fucking mess. No one would ever be attracted to someone like me, especially not—”Fuck. Get a grip, Bri. He doesn’t want to hear all that.
