He pulls me toward the parking lot, shaking his head. “That makes no sense, and she’s not going to ditch Jake to come hang out with me.”
“Wrong again brother of mine. She’s coming over. I already invited her.”
“Kins, I don’t want Jake showing up causing trouble. Jake saw me on the field, he knows I’m here, and he’ll know where Becca’s going. He won’t like her picking me over him tonight.”
I didn’t even consider that. “I can always invite Jake to come along. I’ll tell Rhett to keep Jake occupied while you talk. I’ll even send you to the store for food, and then Becca will go with you. That’ll give you enough time to talk, right?”
Wyatt opens the car door, ushering me inside. “Just get in the car. This is turning into a production.”
Maybe so, but this is one production that demands a happy ending, and I’m determined to make it happen for my brother and my best friend.
“DUDE, BECCA DITCHED me for your girlfriend,” Jake tells me, as we pack up our bags to head home for the night.
“Sorry, her brother’s in town until tomorrow, she wants to stay in tonight.”
He tosses his shirt over his head, yanking it down with a little more effort than necessary. “Wait, you’re going to?”
“Kinsley asked me to come.”
“You’re so pussy whipped it’s ridiculous.”
“No, it’s called being in a relationship.” He can call me any name he wants because like it or not, I’m going to take the chance to hang out with Wyatt and Kinsley. I see the rest of these guys enough at as it is.
“Since the party will be lame without Becca, I’ll just come with you. At least I can see her at Kinsley’s.”
Jake’s my best friend, and I don’t want him to be pissed about me choosing a girl over him, but there’s no polite way to tell him he’s not invited. So, I do the only thing I can—I try to make the night sound as boring as possible so he’ll want to go to the football party instead. Kinsley will kill me if I show up with Jake, effectively messing up Wyatt’s chance to talk to Becca. “It’s not a party or anything. We’ll probably watch one of her girlie movies she loves and then I’ll go home.”
“So I’m not invited?”
“I didn’t say that, but it’s just me and Kinsley.”
He throws his bag over his shoulder before tossing his cleats into the bottom of his locker. “And Wyatt and Becca. Now it makes sense.”
“Carson lives there, too, you know. It’s not a couple’s thing.”
He kicks his locker closed with his foot, slamming it hard enough that it knocks over the bottles I have on the top shelf in my own locker. “That’s bullshit and you know it, Rhett. Maybe I will show up—make things a little more interesting.”
“Please, don’t ruin this for Kinsley. She hasn’t seen her brother in weeks.”
“I’ll behave, but if Wyatt touches Becca and you don’t tell me, that’s bullshit, too. Although I think I already know where your loyalties lie.”
He turns and walks toward the exit, but he needs to understand I’m not the one who came up with the plans. Sure, I agree Becca and Wyatt need to have a conversation—it’s been a long-time coming. It doesn’t mean I want her to give up on Jake though. Bottom line, someone’s going to get hurt, and I have no idea who it’s going to be yet.
I catch up to Jake before he’s in his truck. I’ll be honest with him, and hopefully he’ll do his part if he wants to have a real relationship with Becca. Because the way I see it, he’s only with her so he can have a little fun. “Look, give Becca tonight to sort things out. Talk to her tomorrow and tell her how you feel. If you really want to be with her the way you say you do, it won’t be hard for you to convince her.”
“Since when did you become Dr. Phil? You talk like a man in love.”
“Maybe I care about my best friend.”
“Well, before you get all warm and fuzzy, I need to decide what I’m doing.”
I open my door, but before I get inside, I encourage him not to be the asshole he’s capable of being. “Go to the party, Jake. Don’t screw it up before you know the facts.”
He nods his head, seeming to understand where I’m coming from—that playing by the rules, even if he doesn’t like them, might be the best option for him right now. Especially if he has any shot at hanging onto Becca.
But when I drive through two stop lights, and Jake’s still on my tail, I realize I should probably send Kinsley a warning text that it’s about to go down. Just as I’m about to send it, Jake finally comes to his senses and turns onto the last street before Kinsley’s apartment.
With the drama out of the mix, I knock on Kinsley’s front door with a sigh of relief. Wyatt answers, looking as frustrated as Jake did a couple minutes ago. When he lets me in, and I walk toward the living room, I see why. Becca’s sitting on the sectional sofa waiting for him.
I turn toward the kitchen, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. Kinsley’s standing in front of the island pouring soda into some glasses. Her hair’s all piled on top of her head, and she’s wearing bunny slippers on her feet. She looks adorable.
I sneak up behind her, pressing my front to her back. At first she jumps, even spilling a little of the soda she’s pouring, but once she’s realizes it’s me, she leans against me while she finishes. “You scared me, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I couldn’t get here fast enough,” I tell her, as I breathe in the sweet smell of her shampoo. “It looks a little intense out there though.”
“Yeah, they have a lot to figure out. Help me carry these drinks in, and then we can wait in my room. The pizza’s already ordered.”
I pick up two of the glasses and follow behind her. She sets two down on the coffee table, and jerks her head toward the hallway, so I follow. “Is Wyatt okay with this?”
She waves off my concern. “He has bigger problems to worry about.”
“Don’t lock the door,” Wyatt yells from the living room.
We both laugh as Kinsley pushes the door almost the entire way shut, but leaving a tiny crack to keep her brother happy. “I figured we’d give them a little space until the food comes.”
After setting our drinks on her desk, I walk over to her until the backs of her knees hit the edge of her mattress. She has no choice but to lay down when I keep inching forward, moving over top of her, until she’s flat on her back. She reaches up, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me down toward her. “I’ve wanted to kiss you all night, Sunny.”
Like all our kisses, the first leads to many more, and the more we kiss, the more I want to take things farther. I slide my hand underneath her shirt, and her back bows off the bed. She reaches for the quilt on her bed, pulling it overtop of us. “Just in case they come in here,” she says, against my mouth.
“There’s so much I want to try with you, Kinsley.” She stares at me with her gorgeous brown eyes, and all I want to do is show her how much I love her with my body—to show her what she does to me from one simple look.
“Now?”
“No, not with your brother a couple feet away. I just got on his good side, I can’t screw it up already.”
She giggles, knowing I’m right. Still, she cuddles as close as she can. “When?”
Knowing she wants this too only makes waiting that much harder. It’s pure torture. “Maybe next weekend. We’ll be in our own tent for two nights. I’m sure we can come up with something.” The thought alone makes my heart race. Spending the night with Kinsley in my arms, without any interruptions or worrying about getting caught, makes me crave her even more.
“I’m nervous, Rhett.”
“There’s nothing to be nervous about. It’s just me and you, Sunny.” Before I can try to convince her how perfect our weekend away will be, there’s a crash in the living room that makes the both of us jump off the bed.
“What was that?” she asks, latching onto my arm.