Page 26 of That Time I Kissed My Brother’s Best Friend

I dart my eyes at Beau and let the sentence dangle there unfinished because I’ve somehow gotten myself into a situation where I’m stuck with Beau again. His eyes go wide. Expectant. He’s waiting to hear what’s next for us too.

“Kasey? What happened?” my mom asks. “I think you cut out on me.” She smacks the phone. “You and Beau are going to what?”

ChapterTen

BEAU

“So. Where to, Captain?” I glance at Kasey, who’s sitting shotgun in my dad’s truck. She’s got the window rolled down, and her red hair’s flying. She’s kicked off her sandals, and her bare feet are on the dashboard. Man, this girl’s adorable. Correction. Thiswomanisbeautiful. And she might be acting a little crazy right now, but crazy suits her. Still, I need to remember I can’t be looking at Brady’s sister through this particular filter. You know. The one where all I see is how much I want to kiss her. Again.

“Let’s go to the school,” she says.

My gut clenches. “Really?” I take a beat. Then I take another. “The last time we were there… was pretty messed up.”

“Yeah. You’re telling me.” She gazes out the windshield, which is streaked with dirt. If I’d known she’d end up with me in this truck, I would’ve washed the glass this morning. In fact, I would’ve polished every inch of this old clunker. I just want to take care of Kasey. Make things right with her.

“The thing is,” I say as gently as I can, “I don’t think going by the school’s such a great idea.”

She keeps her focus on the road in front of us. “You owe me, Beau.” Well. She’s got me there. I can’t say no. Or maybe I don’t want to.

Before long, we’re rounding the east side of the lake, on our way toward the cemetery. Our destination is a few blocks up, beyond a stretch of moss-covered tombstones. Brady and I used to play hide and seek here, accusing each other of being scared. To me the ghosts at the school are worse, so I’m driving extra slow on purpose.

Just past the cemetery, I turn into the school’s parking lot. Somebody’s raked all the fallen leaves into piles along the curb. Even though the stone buildings are empty now, I can taste the thousands of bologna sandwiches I ate in the cafeteria. I pull up and park. Before I’ve even shut off the engine, Kasey’s out of her seatbelt, hopping down from the truck and slamming the door.

She pokes her head in through the open window. “Follow me.”

“Hold on a minute,” I say. But she doesn’t hold on a minute. She takes off at a run. “The concrete’s got to be hot,” I call out. “You want your sandals?” She’s either too far gone to hear, or she’s intentionally ignoring me. Either way, I collect her sandals from the floor of the truck to bring with me. I may not be able to kiss Kasey Graham, but I can make sure she doesn’t burn her feet. In fact, if she’d let me—and Brady wouldn’t object—I’d take care of that crazy, beautiful woman for the rest of my life.

Get real, Beau. Kasey hates you. And talking to yourself won’t change that. So you can’t love her.

But what if I do?

Beau. Just stop.

I make my way around the front of the school, but Kasey’s out of sight. I know where she went.

And I wish I didn’t. As I head toward the gym, my stomach twists, and it keeps on twisting the closer I get to the spot where I broke Kasey. Not her heart. Kasey wasn’t in love with me back then. And now she never will be. But I sure broke her spirit that day. I’d promised her a peace-offering. At the very least, she must’ve expected I’d treat her kindly. Instead, Brady and I humiliated her. And for that I’ll never forgive myself.

Clearly, she hasn’t forgiven me either.

I wanted to apologize to her back then, but she steered clear of me the rest of the summer. I never ran into her around town, and whenever I was at her house, Kasey stayed in her room. Of course I couldn’t talk to her in there. Not with Brady around.

But Brady’s not around now.

When I come around the back of the gym, my insides are already on fire. And then I see Kasey, standing under the same cluster of trees where I almost kissed her. My pace slows. It’s been more than five years, but I can still picture Brady hiding above us in the top branches.

“Hey, there.” I choke out the words. She’s so beautiful, but her eyes flash a warning. So I duck my head and set her sandals on the ground a few feet away from her.

“I figured you’d find me here.” She pulls her phone from her pocket. She messes with the screen for a moment then she holds up the phone, turned sideways like you’d do for a video.

“What’s going on, Kasey?”

She fixes me with a stare. “I want you to confess,” she says. “Admit out loud what you and my brother did to me after graduation.”

“I can’t.” I shake my head as pangs of guilt claw their way up my throat. “Not on camera.”

“I need you to do this, Beau. For closure.” She swallows hard. “Don’t you think you owe me that much?”

I rub a hand across my chin, considering my options. I could refuse. Be stubborn and stand up to her.Or.I could let down my guard like she did that day. She was so vulnerable, looking up at me, with hope and trust in her eyes. She’d been wrong to trust me then. But I want her to know she can trust me now. And she’s right. I do owe her this.

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