Page 48 of The Sacrifice

I arch my eyebrows. “Do you think I’m not good enough for your sister? Isn’t that an older sibling’s typical response?”

The fact he’s pissed Mia and I are together is a punch in the nuts. We’ve been best friends since third grade. There was never one time when he treated me like I wasn’t good enough. No matter what we went through.

“You were saddled with an unexpected baby from a screw in a bar bathroom. What makes you think I’d be excited that the two of you are hooking up?”

My hands ball into fists as my vision narrows. Nothing else in the room registers as I stare at my best friend in disbelief. Is he my best friend? Maybe our expiration date wore off, and we just kept hanging out because we didn’t have any other wingmen.

“She’s leaving in two months, and you need to be finalizing things with Roxanne.”

“That….” I inhale, slowly exhale, and will my fingers to open. This might be the end of our friendship but beating the shit out of him in my living room is not how I want things to end. “I appreciate your concern, but my personal life is none of your business.”

His jaw flexes as his chin tips upward, and his shoulders brace as if he’s expecting or wanting the fight to go down. “Just because you don’t like what I’m saying. My sister deserves more respect than to be discarded when you’re done with her.”

“Maybe you should let Mia decide what she wants to do.”

“Andrew, that’s enough.” Mia’s voice carries from the landing and shifts my focus from seeing my fist pummeling into Andrew’s face to her.

She’s changed from my jersey to a white T-shirt, but it still has my number on it and a pair of red team shorts with a fresh-faced Hadley on her hip. The anger washes away and is replaced by an overwhelming sense of love and contentment as she descends the stairs and walks toward us. I might not have been looking for either of them, but they’re the two best things that have ever happened in my life.

“Mia, you know this isn’t going anywhere, so why are you doing it?”

She laughs, and the sound wraps around my heart and squeezes it. There isn’t one ounce of mirth in her tone. “Well, for starters, the orgasms are phenomenal. And for two, he’s gorgeous.” She eyes me up and down. “Look at him. If you were me, would you turn him down?”

“That’s a ridiculous thing to say.” He slings his arms to his sides and marches away from us. But rather than stomping out, he walks through the living room. “You got anything to drink?”

“For friends.”

He stops and spins to face me. “You are my best friend and always will be. But if you hurt my sister, I’m cutting your dick off.”

“That’s sweet.” Mia smiles as I instinctively shield my jewels by shifting sideways.

“Yeah.” He glares at me. “You’d better be ready. You’ll never know when I’m coming.” He rolls his eyes. “I walked right into that one.” He shakes his head and retreats to the kitchen.

“Well. That went well.” I rub my palms over my shorts. “If you want to–”

“Stop.” She slaps her free hand on my chest. “Do not offer me the noble, easy out because you’re worried about what else Andrew will say. Or if he’s going to get into my head. He isn’t. And he’s all bark and no bite.”

“I heard that.” The drawer to my refrigerator slides open and slams shut.

“Good.” My shoulders relax. “I was worried you wouldn’t want to deal with his disapproval.”

“If I thought you were a loser, I might not. Even for the orgasms and your pretty face.” She leans toward me until our lips are inches apart. I love the flecks of green in her eyes. “But you’re a great guy, and he’ll come around.”

I clasp the back of her head. “Our family isn’t making it easy, but I’ll endure anything for you.”

“If it was easy, we wouldn’t appreciate it.”

When I place my lips against hers, peace settles over me. No matter what happens, we’re in this together. It doesn’t matter who disapproves. Or whether we seem like complete opposites, we’re not. We fit each other perfectly.

Her fingers clamp over my shirt, and she pulls back. The desire in her eyes nearly causes me to drop to my knees. She winks. “Let’s go alleviate his fears.”

I bite my bottom lip and waggle my eyebrows. “I’d rather help you do the laundry.”

A loud popping sound comes from the kitchen as Andrew opens his beer. The sound is exaggerated, as if he’s trying to passive-aggressively express his exasperation that we haven’t joined him in the kitchen.

“Yes, I do need help. All my panties are soiled from my filthy thoughts about you.” Her fingers unfurl and trail down my abs.

“For fuck’s sake, I’m still here,” Andrew calls from the kitchen. “If you don’t stop, I’m going to puke on the floor.”

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