My Best Friend's Brother: A Standalone Friends to Lovers Romance (Soulmates Series Book 2) (9 page)

Chapter 16: Shane

My
feet barely met the pavement on the walk home, and moving forward required no
energy whatsoever.

It
was as if I were on thrusters, kicking up a wake of good vibes behind me as I
headed back to the house.

Where
did little Andi Oliver learn to kiss like that? And why the fuck wasn't I
informed?

Not
that she was little anymore.  

She
was a woman now- with curves in all the right places- and no amount of denying
that in my head was going to make my body forget it.

Not
now. Not after holding her to me like that and feeling the way her breasts felt
against my chest.

God
help me if I really got her pulse racing, her breath panting against my ear,
her hands on my…

I
forced the air from my lungs, ran my fingers through my hair, and tried to
figure out exactly when she got so damn sexy and why the hell I'd pretended not
to see it for so long.

But
of course I knew.

Because
this whole thing was a recipe for disaster.

We'd
been friends for so long- all three of us.

I'd
always been the guy she came to when someone else broke her heart. I wasn't
supposed to be the one breaking it.

But
I didn't want to break it.

Still,
I wasn't naive enough to think there was no risk. She was feisty, foolish, and wickedly
funny. I didn't normally go out with girls like that.

My
dating history read like a list of genuine Miss America wannabes. To say they
were as simple as they were pretty wouldn't be unfair.

It's
not that I was intimidated by complicated women. Lord knows my sister was the
melodramatic queen of dichotomies. Life was just easier that way.

Predictable
women didn't cause much trouble. They were easy to manage, easy to satisfy. The
majority of them weren't clever enough to hide their feelings, which didn't
always make things delightful, but it kept things straightforward.

So
I could still have a life and sex.

The
closest I'd ever been to dating a complicated woman was with Sonia from my econ
class. She was by far the most intelligent woman I'd bedded in years, but she
and I would never be serious.

We'd
already discussed at length how important her cultural traditions were to her,
and she had every intention of marrying a nice Hindi boy that her parents
approved of. In fact, I got the sense that she already knew who it was going to
be.

So
there was no pressure there. Just fun.

What’s
more, I never stuck with one girl for any kind of celebratory amount of time. I
tired of most of them too quickly and then did my best to drift off their
radar.

But
would I even feel compelled to do that with Andi?

I
hadn't tired of her in fifteen years. If anything, I found her more interesting
with every year that went by.

I
turned down the street and lifted my face towards the last streaks of sunset in
the sky.

Maybe
I was overthinking this.

After
all, we weren't friends anymore. Friends didn't kiss friends like that.

I'd
set something in motion, and there was no way in hell I wasn't going to finish
what I started.

Because
all of a sudden, I felt like I didn't even know her anymore. But it was in the
best, most exhilarating way, a way that made me realize how intimately I did
want to know her.

And
then a funny thought struck me.

Maybe
Mike- despite his deep seated ignorance and his anger management issues- had
picked up on something in me that I hadn't.

Maybe
I'd always wanted more with Andi.

That
would explain why the only thing I liked about her having a boyfriend was the fact
that it made me feel like I had a bit more free reign to flatter and flirt with
her.

Otherwise
I hated everything about it, especially if I was unfortunate enough to glimpse
another guy's hands on her.

I
felt a lurch in my stomach just thinking about it.

And
I swear her boyfriends always went out of their way to be extra
handsy
when I was around. I thought I just had shitty luck,
but maybe I was giving off a vibe that they could sense, a vibe that made them
question if she’d be better off with me.

Because
she would be.

In
fact, I believed that so intensely that the obligation I was feeling to see
this thing through was growing by the minute, and I was actually relieved that
Steph had come home so Andi hadn’t had time to change her mind about the dance.

I
was halfway up the stairs when my phone rang, which was when I realized how
lame I was for thinking about her all the way home. And yet I still wished it
had been her calling.

"
Yo
," I said, unlocking my bedroom door and pushing it
open with my shoulder.

"
Yo
yourself," Izzy said.

"How'd
your thing go?"

"My
thing?"

"Wasn’t
the screening for your film class project yesterday?"

"Oh
yeah,” she said. “It was. I assumed you forgot because you didn't call to wish
me good luck."

"And
I assumed that you could sense all the good luck I was sending you so it was
better not to distract you."

"Nope.
Didn't get any inklings that I even crossed your mind."

"Maybe
you've lost your powers." I kicked my shoes off and pulled a cold bottle
of water out of the fridge, cursing my thirst since it meant I'd have to wash
away the taste of Andi's lips on mine. "You should probably see a
doctor."

"And
maybe you're just an ass," she said.

I
laughed.

"What's
that thing scientists always say? That the least ridiculous explanation is
probably the truth?"

"Sorry,
Iz
. Something came up and-"

"Save
it. I'm not interested in the forced elephant march you had to do with your
sycophantic pledges."

"First
of all, it's called an Elephant Walk." I held the phone against my ear and
unscrewed the bottle.

"You
would know-"

"And
second of all, we don't really do that. Other frats maybe, but not us."

"I
want to know more even less than I believe you."

I shook
my head and took a swig of water. "The screening went well anyway?"

"Of
course," she said. "And I’m hoping my professor will overlook the
editing mistake I made half way through because we're sleeping together."

My
eyebrows jumped up my face. "What?"

"Only
in my dreams, but-"

"Christ,
Izzy."

"Have
you talked to Andi?"

"Andi?"

"Yeah."

I
squeezed my eyes shut. "Why?"

"I
guess she broke up with Mike last night."

I
swallowed. "You don't say."

Chapter 17: Andi

"What
the hell was that about?" Steph was standing in the hallway with her head
cocked and her hands on her hips.

"What?"

"Oh
c'mon, Andi. I just came from a place with zero sexual tension. When I walked
in here it was like I'd tripped into the mouth of a volcano."

I
raised my eyebrows.

"Mike
would've flipped if he’d been here."

I
sighed and moved towards the couch, wondering if Shane had somehow sucked the
energy from me with that kiss. "Actually, Mike has flipped for the last
time."

"What
does that mean?" Steph collapsed next to me, pulled her knees up, and
tucked her toes between the cushions.

"We
broke up."

"When?"

"Officially?
A few hours ago." I turned to face her and dropped my head on the back of
the couch. "That's why there's a bunch of wildflowers on the
doorstep."

"Oh
right. I was going to ask about that, but when the suffocating sparks hit me, I
forgot."

"He
didn't take it very well."

"Good
for you."

I
turned an ear towards her. "I thought you liked him?"

"Are
you kidding?"

"You're
always super nice to him and-"

"I
did that for you," she said. "And because if I didn't go out of my
way to be super nice, I might’ve given away what I really think about
him."

"Which
is?"

"That
he's a chauvinistic tyrant whose misplaced arrogance makes my stomach
ache."

"Why
the heck didn't you say something?"

She
shrugged. "Would it have mattered?"

I
bit the inside of my cheek.

"In
my experience, the only opinions that really affect the fate of a relationship
are the ones held by the people in it."

"
Mmm
."

"Unless
you're, like, Hindu or something."

I
narrowed my eyes at her.

"What?"
She pulled her hair thing out and redid her ponytail.

"Are
you telling me that if you wanted to marry a Nazi sympathizer or an illegal
immigrant or a Muslim guy, your parents’ opinion would have no effect on your
feelings?"

She
craned her neck forwards. "First of all, those seem like really unlikely
scenarios considering almost all of my socializing is through the church
and-"

"Still."

She
rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "I don't think my parents would forbid it
or anything."

"Seriously?"

"I
think they'd probably talk about it behind my back, but in the end I suspect
they would decide it wasn't worth the risk of pushing me away just because they
didn't approve of or understand my decision."

"If
you say so," I said. "But it's hard for me to imagine having parents
that don't feel compelled to interfere."

She
lifted a palm between us. "Don't get me wrong. They interfere all the
time. I just don't think they would in that instance."

"Right."

"But
to be honest, I thank God that I have parents like that."

"I
wish I could say the same."

"Think
about it. The opposite scenario- disengaged and disinterested parents- isn't
better." She lowered her head and stared through the empty champagne
bottle.

"There's
still some white wine."

She
smiled and pushed herself up off the couch. "Guess I might as well have a
glass since I'm already tipsy just from sitting next to you."

"You
are not.”

"Then
you can tell me what the hell happened in the last forty eight hours that lead
to the situation I just walked in on." She flashed her eyebrows at me before
disappearing into the kitchen.

"I
wish I knew," I said, my eyes on my feet.

"What
does Izzy think of all this?"

"Nothing,"
I said, lifting my face towards the kitchen. "She doesn't know. Not that
there's anything to know." I licked my lips and recalled the warm feeling
they had when Shane’s mouth was on mine. "Might as well make it two
glass-"

Steph
walked around the corner with two brimming glasses of white wine.

I
smiled. "You're the best."

"Not
really," she said. "I just don't really enjoy drinking alone."

"Don't
judge me," I said, taking the extra glass. "And I wasn't alone. I was
with-"

"Your
soulmate?" she asked, sinking into the sofa.

I
wanted to laugh but the comment made me freeze.

"Oh
please. Like the thought hadn't crossed you mind."

"It
obviously crossed yours."

"I've
never seen you like that," she said, clinking her glass against mine.
"Cheers to you finally ending things with Mike, by the way."

"Thanks,"
I said, taking a sip and letting the cool sweetness soak my tongue. "And
seen me like what exactly?"

She
squinted at me. "I guess the best way to describe it is that you looked
the way people supposedly feel when they're on ecstasy."

"What
the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"It
means you looked like you were glowing. Like you were made of light."

I
raised my eyebrows.

"Like
you could feel a happy beat all the way to your toes and fingertips that no one
else could hear."

"Is
that so?"

"Yeah,"
she said. "High as a kite. That's exactly how you looked."

"Are
you sure it wasn't just the fact that I've been drinking for a while?" I
asked, deciding not to volunteer any specific numbers.

"Pretty
sure," she said. "Besides, I've seen you on every notch of the scale
between buzzed and tipsy to wasted and comatose, and at no point can I remember
you ever looking that happy."

"So
happy you had to use a drugs analogy?"

"Only
cause
I was thinking about them earlier-”

“Whoa
whoa
wh
-”

“Because
they came up at the retreat in one of those ‘in case you haven't forgotten
kids, doing drugs is a sin.’"

"So
you aren't thinking of experimenting or anything?"

"No.
But some guy told me yesterday that ecstasy was his favorite, and then when I
saw your face earlier, I felt like I finally understood his explanation."

I
furrowed my brow. "There was a guy at the retreat who's done that?"

"Of
course," she said. "Everyone has their own ideas about what it means
to get close to God."

"Huh."

"So
did you sleep with him?

"What?!
No! Nothing else happened."

"Damn."

I
craned my neck forward. "Damn what?"

"Just
think how sprung you'll be then."

"I'm
not sleeping with him, Steph."

"But
you would."

"No
I wouldn't. We're just friends."

She
furrowed her brow. "Andi."

"What?"

She
shook her head. "Friends don't say good bye like that."