My Best Friend's Brother: A Standalone Friends to Lovers Romance (Soulmates Series Book 2) (23 page)

Chapter 41: Andi

"Guess
who?!" I heard through a thick fog of sleep.

The
voice was familiar. So was the knock.

"Shane!"
Knockknockknock
. "Wake up!"

My
body sprang upright before my mind even registered why the voice was so
familiar.

Shane
was sleeping beside me, looking so handsome and at peace. I felt pretty bad
about shaking the shit out of him… but not as bad as I was going to feel if
Izzy caught us like this.

"What?"
he groaned, his eyes peeling open.

I
pointed at the door.

He
didn't get it. Instead, he just reached an arm around me and tried to pull my
naked body towards his.

It
hurt all over to push him away. "It’s Izzy," I mouthed.

"Good
morning sleepy head!" she called from outside the door.

He
raised his eyebrows and cocked an ear towards the voice.

"Goddamn
it, Shane. I don't have all day."

He
lifted a hand to my cheek, his eyes smiling as they swept over my face. The
moment felt slow and drawn out- too slow for the urgent thinking the situation
required- but I didn't hurry him.

Instead,
I stared right back, letting myself imagine all the mushy stuff he was probably
thinking, all the sweet nothings he might’ve whispered… if he hadn’t thrown the
covers over my head and trapped me like a wild bat.

"Shane
Jennings!" Izzy called.

"I'm
coming, Christ. Hold on."

Izzy
groaned outside the door.

My
heart was pounding so loudly I thought it might give me away. The rest of my
senses were heightened, too. I could smell our sex on the sheets. I could hear
Shane slipping on a pair of shorts- his sleepy feet wobbling on the creaky
floorboards- a car door slamming outside- the bedroom door opening.

"Hey,"
he said, his voice hoarse.

"Surprise!
So great to see you,” Izzy said, her voice sounding squished as if she'd pulled
him into a hug.

"You,
too," he said.

"I
assume by the sheet crease on your face that you haven't eaten?"

"No."

"You
down for Mama's? I thought we could pick Andi up, too-"

I
scrunched my face.

"That
sounds great," Shane said. "But before we do any of that, I need to
ask you a favor."

"Are
you going to let me in or what?"

"Maybe
later."

I
imagined how Izzy's eyes would widen as she figured out what was going on.

"Oh.
I see."

"Yeah."

"Can
I meet her?" she asked.

I
held my breath.

"Maybe
later," Shane said again.

"But-"

"Will
you walk down to the corner and get some coffees?" he asked. "I just
need ten minutes and then I'm all yours."

She
sighed. "Are you really that ashamed of me?"

"No.
Just your inclination to ambush people."

"I've
heard lovely things about you," she shouted into the room.

I
smiled. So he had mentioned me?

"And
despite whatever Shane’s told you, I'm really not that scary or
judgmental!"

I
stifled a snort.

"Coffee,
Izzy. Please."

She
tutted. "This is the worst welcome ever."

"Yeah,
well. It was kind of a late night-"

"I
figured that out when I saw the state of the downstairs."

"Coffee
will fix everything," he said. "And maybe get a few of those almond
biscotti things."

"Fine,"
she said. "But for the record, I'm not impressed."

"I'll
make it up to you," he said.

"Ten
minutes."

The
door closed a second later, and I heard the lock latch back into place.

I
stayed where I was and awaited further instruction.

Shane
sat on my side of the bed and peeled the blanket down.

I
rolled over and faced him.

"Good
morning, beautiful," he said. "How did you sleep?"

I
smiled. "Great. But I think the parts when I wasn't sleeping were my
favorites."

"Me
too," he said, dragging his hand down the side of my arm.

My
phone started ringing on the nightstand a second later.

"That's
probably Izzy," he said.

"
Ya
think?"

"Did
you know she was coming this weekend?"

I
shook my head. "She's been saying she was going to come for a while, but I
had no idea she’d picked today."

He
sighed, his abs rippling as he exhaled. "I was hoping to spend the day
with you to be honest."

"I
actually have plans this afternoon so-"

His
face dropped.

"That's
a joke. I was probably just going to lay around naked with you as long as you'd
let me." I trailed my fingertips from his belly button to the top of his
shorts. "And maybe force myself to eat something if we worked up an
appetite."

His
eyes flashed. "I can assure you that we certainly would have."

"How
are we going to tell her?"

"We
aren't going to tell her anything."

"But-"

"I'm
going to tell her," he said. "When the time is right."

"And
until then?"

"Try
and pretend you're not that into me."

"Easier
said than done."

He
laughed. "You managed for fifteen years."

"Oh
please. It's not like I've been in love with you since-"

He
raised his eyebrows.

I
couldn't believe I said the "L" word. Fuck.

"Admit
my game was already pretty good at seven."

"Absolutely
not," I said. "You're the one who sent me mixed signals for a
decade."

"They
weren't mixed," he said. "They were misinterpreted."

"Well,
even so. I'm glad you finally grew a set and made a move."

"If
you think about or mention my set again, Izzy is going to catch us in the act
and cover us both in hot coffee."

"If
she's even getting coffee. I’d bet anything she's waiting downstairs to catch
whoever’s in here leaving the house."

"Of
course she is. That's why you're going to use the fire exit."

I
furrowed my brow. "The fire exit?"

"It's
not as action movie as it sounds. It's just a back staircase."

"Oh."

"It
opens up into the parking lot on Second Street so you'll be home free."

"If
you're ashamed of-"

"Ashamed?
What the hell are you talking about?"

"I
just mean if you're rethinking this now that it's about to get real-"

"Andi."

"What?"

"I'm
not ashamed of anything,” he said. “Even before all this, you were the thing I
was most proud of."

I
pursed my lips.

"So
don't have any doubts," he said. "Because I don't. Okay?"

I
nodded.

"And
please forgive me for what I'm about to say."

I
cocked my head. "Which is?"

"Put
on your clothes and get out."

Chapter 42: Shane

After
I saw Andi out, I returned to my room, double checked that she hadn't left any
of her personal belongings behind, and cracked a window.

Then
I straightened the sheets on my bed and grabbed a fresh white t-shirt from the
closet, wondering how I was going to make small talk with my sister when I was
still reeling from the night I just had.

Seriously,
wow. I knew Andi was special the first time I saw her in her Tiger Lily bikini
at my ninth birthday party, but I never could've predicted what a delicious
woman she would become.

And
I do mean delicious.

One
of the first things that crossed my mind that morning was how great it felt to
have my face between her thighs, her silk on my tongue.

She
was so responsive it was incredible, and I loved how much she enjoyed working
my dick.

And
I'd been missing out on that for how long?!

I
couldn't even stomach the thought. All that wasted time. All those bad dates.
All that below average sex with women I felt nothing for.

It
was sort of tragic.

And
yet, if I hadn't experienced those things, I might not have had the wisdom to
realize how good last night was.

Frankly,
there was nothing I wanted more than to drop everything and think of new ways
to make her come.

And
the look in her eyes when I spread her open and massaged her from the inside…
It was different than the other girls. Perhaps because I really had her- body
and mind- and it was a high unlike anything I'd ever experienced.

But
I knew my exhilaration was due to more than just the fact that the sex was out
of this world.

Because
she wasn't just a good fuck. She was my best friend, and I couldn't help but
feel that I suddenly had more to lose than ever before.

It
was kind of a sickening feeling.

And
yet, it was also like seeing in color for the first time.

"I'm
back," Izzy said, knocking on the door again. "Ten minutes later, as
per your super diva-like request."

I
opened the door. "Did you remember to get my Evian face mist?"

"Yeah,"
she said, pushing her way in and looking around like an amateur detective who's
unable to hide their true passion. "And I removed all the green Skittles
from your bath as well."

I
raised my eyebrows. "But no coffees, I see?"

"No,"
she said, craning her neck to look in the corners of the closet.

"There's
no one here, Izzy."

"And
yet no one left."

"Not
through the front door, no."

She
turned around, her eyes looking extra wide on account of her Amy
Winehouse-inspired eyeliner. "You deliberately deceived me?!"

"No,"
I said, pulling a yellow Gatorade out of my fridge. "I tried to help you
do the right thing."

"Which
is…?"

"Respecting
my privacy and the privacy of my overnight guest."

She
rolled her eyes. "Thank you for tricking me into doing what was absolutely
never my intention."

"You’re
welcome."

"It
smells like sex in here."

"Yeah,
well. You should've called." I took a big swig and extended the bottle
towards her.

"No
thanks," she said. "I'll hold out."

"So,"
I said, chucking the Gatorade back in the fridge. "To what do I owe this
happy surprise?"

She
sat on the edge of the bed and crossed her thin, legging clad legs. "One
of my professors is speaking here tonight before the screening of some
docu
-drama about the refugee crisis."

"Uh-huh."

"And
I get extra credit if I go."

"Cool."

"Plus,
I wanted to come see your smug face for myself so I’d know how serious it is
with this girl who's made you go all weird."

"I
haven't gone all weird."

"Yes
you have," she said. "Though I haven't decided whether it's a bad
thing yet."

"A
bad thing?"

"I
mean, don't get me wrong. I understand that eventually we'll both settle down
and that we've already started living more separate lives, but I sort of
assumed you'd at least wait until I had someone chilling in the wings before
you got serious about somebody."

"How
insensitive of me."

"I
forgive you," she said. "Assuming she's actually special enough to
justify you getting so sprung and focused on one girl, especially considering
the environment you live in."

"And
what environment is that?"

"A
carnally obsessed drinking hole."

"
Mmm
."

"Not
that my artist friends are any better," she said. "But we do make a far
less atrocious mess."

"We
had a party last night."

"More
like a collective blackout from the looks of it."

I
laughed.

"So
should we invite your girlfriend to brunch?"

"She's
not my girlfriend."

"As
in you haven't made it official? Because you're obviously not seeing anybody
else."

How
could I explain that girlfriend didn't seem like the right word? That whatever
we had was way past being labeled? Or would Andi disagree? Did she need a
discussion like that to make her confident about my loyalty? Surely not. If
there was anyone who never had to question my loyalty, it was her.

"Well?"

I
shrugged. "I guess that's probably a conversation we need to have."

"Yeah,
obviously. Women like to know where they stand. So you're welcome. See? I've
already helped."

"How
will I ever thank you?" 

"By
answering the damn question about brunch.” She craned her neck forward. “Do you
want to invite her or-?"

"No.
She's got some… stuff."

"Well,
I'm starving, and Andi's not picking up so maybe we should just go-"

"Really?
Maybe she’s just at the gym." I glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Why don't you try her again?"

Izzy
furrowed her brows. "Like the gym
gym
?"

"Yeah.
She’s been rowing."

"Weird,"
she said, pulling out her phone and dragging her thumb across the screen.
"Just when you think you know somebody."