I smile as I close the distance between us. I point to his hat when he notices me walking up. “What the hell is that? You live in Chicago and you’re sporting merch for St. Louis?”
He smiles wide but pulls me in for a hug. “Hey, I did live there for three years, you know. And, well, they have a better team.”
I inhale his scent. It’s deep and rich and smells expensive. “Did you hear that, Pres?”
“Yeah, I heard the traitor,” he says, looking at him from the other side of the car. I giggle because even I felt the heat from his glare.
“Yeah, yeah,” Calvin says, placing his hand on my lower back as he opens the car door for me. Normally, an innocent act like this wouldn’t even register with me, but after that flood of tingles earlier, I can’t help but notice every little thing. And the strangest part is that with his touch, the tingles seem to take over my body again.
I climb into the back seat, leaving Preston and Calvin to sit up front. I know, how sweet of me to give up the front seat so easily. Honestly, I needed to hide away. I need to figure this out. No way could I develop a crush on a guy I haven’t even seen in six months. God, spending all this time with Preston is screwing with my head. That has to be it. When I’m around him, my body is on high alert. I must have some wires crossed inside me, because they’re not just picking up on Preston. Now they’re picking up on Calvin too.
I shake the thoughts from my head. Calvin is the same guy he’s always been. While Preston was the one I’d go to when I wanted to have fun or cause a little trouble, I went to Calvin with my problems: I liked a guy and didn’t know how to tell him how I felt, or I got a bad grade and needed help bringing it up before my parents found out. Sometimes we just talked about what was going on in my life. He never offered up much information about his own life, but he’s always been by my side to help me through whatever storm I was caught up in. There’s nothing and there will never be anything other than friendship between Calvin and me. I mentally dust off my hands—done with the whole situation.
A little while later, we’re pulling up to a sports-bar-style restaurant a town over. The parking lot is packed and the restaurant is even worse. Nearly every table is filled, and the room’s so loud it’s deafening.
“Table for three, please,” Preston tells the hostess.
She grabs three menus and walks us over to a table in the corner. While it’s busy and crowded, we end up with a great table, because there’s a TV on every side of us. One’s playing a baseball game, one has an old football game on, one has some sort of MMA fight, and the last one is playing an old basketball game.
The three of us take our seats and Preston orders a pitcher of beer for the table. I glance over the menu until the pitcher and three glasses are set down. Preston grabs the pitcher and starts pouring some in each glass.
He hands me mine and I take a sip, watching as Calvin raises his glass and takes a drink. I smile, wondering if he’s going to manage to choke down the cheap beer, but he looks at me, confused.
“What?”
I shrug. “I was just waiting to see if you could choke it down, Mr. Grey Goose.”
The corners of his mouth lift up slightly. He rolls his icy eyes. “I can drink beer with the best of them.”
I arch one eyebrow. “Last time you decided to drink beer with us, you ended up puking it all up in the women’s porta-potty.”
Preston laughs but quickly stops when Calvin cuts him with his gaze.
“What can I say? My body prefers higher quality than most.” He gives me his cocky, lopsided grin and my heart flutters.
Damn this body of mine! What’s wrong with you? This is Calvin. We don’t react this way to Calvin! We laugh at Calvin for being prissy and uptight. We make fun of Calvin for thinking he’s better than us. We don’t get goo-goo eyes for Calvin. We don’t get tingles. And our heart most certainly doesn’t flutter from a grin he shoots us.
I realize I’m biting my inner cheek when I detect the metallic taste of blood. I release it and pick up my beer, gulping it down quickly. I turn my attention to Preston and smile as I watch the way he moves. The way his eyes squint as he and Calvin talk between themselves. The way he has little dimples that appear when he laughs. I notice his arm flex as he picks up the pitcher and pours more beer in our glasses, and the way his eyes quickly glance at me as a way of saying you’re welcome. My heart picks up again and I finally feel like everything is back to normal.
As I watch him and all the little movements he makes, I find myself squeezing my thighs together as a flood of want settles over me. Why is this man so hot? How can he control my body so easily without even knowing it?
The waitress comes to take our order, and of course, both gentlemen look over at me to order first. I smile at their politeness and pick up my menu, reading off my choice. “I’ll take six boneless wings with hot sauce, an order of seasoned fries with queso cheese on the side, and another pitcher.”
She writes it down before looking at Preston. “That sounds good,” he says. “I’ll have the same but give me 12 wings with fire sauce.” He hands over his menu as the waitress looks at Calvin.
He grows quiet as he studies the menu before finally ordering. “I’ll just take a salad with any low-fat dressing you have. Also, I’d like it topped with low-fat shredded cheese. No bacon bits or croutons.”
I can’t help the way my mouth drops open by his healthy order. He looks at me, amused. “What?”
“We’re at a freaking sports bar. You’re supposed to order beer, wings, burgers, or anything fried, and you order the healthiest salad on the menu?” I ask, making Preston laugh.
Calvin rolls his eyes. “You two are going to die in your 50s, whereas I’ll still be kicking till I’m 90. Then we’ll see who ordered correctly.”
I wave my hand through the air and sit back in my chair.
Preston leans in and whispers in my ear. “We might die sooner but I know who’s going to have more fun.”
I smirk at his statement and Calvin rolls his eyes but doesn’t argue. Probably because he knows it’s true.
“How’s the new office going, Calvin?” I ask, wanting to distract myself from these boys.
He offers up a smile. “Everything is great. We’re staying busy. How’s your job?”
I cock my head to the side. “Where do I work, Calvin?”
He looks nervous. He’s never once asked me about my job. “Uhh, some magazine, right?”
I scoff. “Yes, I work for a magazine and it’s great. Thanks for asking.”
Preston laughs and shakes his head. “She’s been there for a year, man. You still don’t know where she works?”
He shrugs. “There are a ton of magazines out there and I don’t read any of them. So no, I’m not up-to-date on magazines. Forgive me.”
I pick up my glass and take another swig. “It’s fine, Calvin. It’s not like we really keep in touch anymore anyway.”
He opens his mouth to say something but quickly snaps it closed when the waitress is back with another pitcher. Preston pours the almost-empty one into our glasses and hands it over so she can set down the fresh beer.
“Where we going after this?” I ask, taking a drink.
Preston shrugs. “Bar?”
I smile and nod while Calvin looks a little annoyed that he agreed to join this gang of miscreants.
“Boomers? We can fight to the death with a game of shuffleboard!” Preston and I always go head-to-head in a game of shuffleboard. “Calvin, you down?” I ask.
He presses his lips together tightly, thinking it over. “I don’t know. I’m more of a darts man.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t be a stick-in-the-mud.”
“All right, fine,” he agrees. “I’ll take winner.”
“Yes!” I softly cheer, doing a little dance in my seat.
The waitress brings over our food and I immediately dig in, running a fry through the cheese and popping it into my mouth. The delicious taste has me wiggling in my seat onc
e again with a little happy dance. Both the guys laugh and shake their heads at me.
“I wish I could be that happy with just food,” Preston says.
Calvin snorts. “Clearly, she’s had too much to drink today, Preston.”
Preston laughs and waves him off. “She’s fine. I’ve been with her the whole time.”
I nod as I pick up another fry. “It’s true, Cal. Even after he spiked a volleyball at my face! Which reminds me . . .”
“Oh shit. I thought you forgot,” Preston breathes out.
I giggle. “Get ready to have some fun, Cal, cause Preston is all mine tonight.”
Calvin laughs. “Please tell me you two aren’t still doing that royal servant shit?”
“Oh, we’re doing it. Too bad I didn’t remember sooner. You’d be having nothing but wieners for dinner, Pres.”
He silently chuckles beside me as he picks up a wing and tosses it into his mouth.
My mind is already spinning through the possibilities. Tonight’s bar trip will be epic. Now, how can I punish Preston?
Five
CALVIN
Piper fucking Montgomery. God, if you only knew all the dirty thoughts I’ve had about my little brother’s best friend, you’d probably think I was some kind of pervert. I mean, who’s not attracted to this woman—other than my dumbass brother? She’s absolutely gorgeous with her long honey-blonde hair that’s always done up perfectly in soft curls. She’s tall—nearly as tall as I am—and she’s thin while having all the soft curves a man craves. She’s funny and smart and fun, and I know her in a way that even my brother doesn’t.
She and Preston have been the best of friends since we were kids. They’re so alike—two peas in a pod. I’m the complete opposite. While they were busy having fun and going to parties, I was focusing on passing the bar. I’ve always looked toward the future, wanting to make sure I set up my life the way I’d envisioned it. But here I am, right where I wanted to be, with my own law office, and I’m completely alone. On the career side of things, I have everything I’ve always wanted. But on a more personal level, I’m still right where she left me years ago. All alone while she ran off to play with my little brother.
I’ve watched her grow into the woman she is now. I’ve watched her pine for my brother, who’s never seemed to notice the little crush she’s always had on him. I’ve let her cry on my shoulder when she’s had to watch him go out with every other girl but her. I’ve given her advice on how to get over him. I’ve held her hand when she’s needed strength. Yet she’s never seen me as anything but Preston’s older, boring brother.
I’ve never told anyone this, but she’s the reason I left and moved to St. Louis for a few years. I couldn’t stand back and watch her chase after him any longer. I couldn’t watch her choose the wrong brother time and time again. She’s so blinded by her feelings for him that she can’t see my feelings for her. I mean, I never came right out and said it, but that’s because I knew how she’d respond. She’d probably run off and tell Preston, who would come to me all kinds of pissed off. I know my brother loves her, but he’s not in love with her. He won’t allow himself to be. He needs her too much and he won’t risk losing her by starting up anything serious. He’d also be afraid I’d screw things up for them.
But as I sit here and watch her watch him, it twists at my insides. Preston and I have talked about Piper before. I didn’t out her secret, but I did ask if he’d ever be able to see her as more than a friend. He looked at me like I’d lost my mind. He told me about their drunken spin the bottle kiss. He said she was the best kiss he’d ever had, and that fact freaked him out more than he thought it would. He thought a kiss from her would be like a kiss from any other girl. But he saw fireworks he wasn’t prepared for. His exact words were: I wanted nothing more than to throw her down right there on that dirty basement floor and fuck her until I couldn’t move another muscle. When I asked him why he’d never act on those feelings, he said: Because I’d fuck it up and I know I wouldn’t survive losing her.
That was years ago, though, and I don’t know if he still feels that way. It’s clear how she feels. I can see her love for him every time I look at her. I don’t love her the way Preston does. Their love grew from years of close friendship. My love for her started when she came to me the night of her senior prom. I’d finished up my classes early and decided to come home.
The two of them had agreed to go to prom together instead of with dates—one last memory to share before they separated for college. I could tell she was hoping it would finally be the night she got what she’d always wanted. She obsessed over everything. She wore a blue dress because that was his favorite color. She got her hair highlighted because he once said how beautiful her hair was after a summer’s worth of sun. She wanted to be perfect for him. She wanted him to see her for the first time—not the version of her he saw every day, but the her she could be . . . for him.
But I knew how everything would go down, and I was right. Piper ended up leaving the afterparty the moment Preston locked himself in a room with his ex. I was sitting out by the pool when she found me. Her makeup was smeared from crying and her hair was a mess—once the party was over for her, she’d started taking the pins out of her hair on the limo ride home. She looked sad, lost, broken.
The gate on the privacy fence opens and I turn my attention to it, wondering if Preston left his party early. It’s unlikely, but who else could it be? My eyes lock on Piper. She looks like she’s been crying, and immediately, my emotions go on high alert. Did Preston cause this? Did he hurt her? I’ll fucking kill him if he hurt her.
“Calvin.” She says my name and the tears start to fall.
I hold up my arm and motion for her to join me on the patio bench. She races to me, hiding her face in the crook of my neck.
“What’s wrong, Pipes? Did something happen?” I ask, hugging her tightly to my side.
She pulls back and wipes the tears from her eyes. “Preston is hooking up with Hannah as we speak, and I mean, I knew there was a possibility he would turn me down, but I didn’t expect him to run off with her before I even had the chance to tell him how I feel.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Why doesn’t he love me, Calvin?” Another tear falls from her eye and rolls down her cheeks.
I reach up and gently wipe the tear away. I’ve talked to her about my brother many times over the years. “He does love you, Piper. He just doesn’t love you the way you want him to.”
She nods. It’s something I’ve told her more times than I can count. “What’s wrong with me? I mean, am I ugly or something? Please don’t lie to make me feel better. Just tell me the truth.”
I take a deep breath, slowly releasing it as I lock my eyes on hers. “You’re not ugly, Piper. You’re beautiful—too beautiful and too good to be with someone like my brother. You see how he is with girls. You really want to be another one of them?”
She rolls her eyes. “At this point, I’ll take anything I can get,” she says around a giggle. “I guess I was just hoping he’d be different with me. Like yeah, he screws around with a lot of girls, but I thought maybe I could be the one who changes him. The one who makes him see that one girl who loves you is better than 20 who only want you for something. I know it’s stupid. He’s never going to change.”
“I wish I could make this feeling go away for you. I’d take away all your pain if I could, but I can’t. This is something you have to take control of yourself. Maybe going off to separate colleges will be the turning point. You know: gain some distance, meet new people, live different lives.”
She nods as her eyes slowly move up to lock on mine. With her facing me, our noses are almost touching. She wets her lips and I can’t help the overwhelming feeling that consumes me. I want to taste her. I want to feel how soft those lips are—taste their sweetness.
“You’re really something special, Pipes. Don’t think you’re not just because Preston doesn’t see what the rest of us do.”
; Without warning, I close the distance between us. My rough, dry lips press against her soft, smooth ones. She sucks in a breath the moment we touch, but she doesn’t pull away, and I’m not sure why. Instead of breaking our kiss, her tongue comes out and dances with mine. My body blazes as I deepen the kiss. My hands cup her cheeks and hers move up to wrap around my neck. She pulls me closer and I feel myself come alive. Just as I’m about to pull her on top of me, I hear the slamming of a car door, and Preston yelling, “Piper! Where are you?”
We quickly pull away just as the back gate opens and he rushes in. “There you are. Why did you leave? Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve left with you,” he says, walking over. She stands up and looks at him, then down at me, and back.
In this moment, I know what she’s doing. She’s choosing. And she chooses him the moment she takes his hand and lets him walk her away from me.
“Drink that shot!” Piper tells Preston as she pushes the shot glass over to him, pulling me from my memory.
“Seriously? Another one?” he whines.
She smiles and her glassy green eyes light up. “Oh yeah. You’ve gotten me drunk all weekend. It’s your turn. Plus, you have to.” She holds up a shot glass of her own and waits until Preston picks up his. They knock the shot glasses together then throw back the liquid.
While they chug another pitcher of beer and chase it with random shots of every kind of alcohol known to man, I sit back and sip my glass of scotch. Piper said only old men drink scotch and that I need to live a little, but I know I won’t be the one with my head in the toilet in the morning, so I’ll stick with what I know.
“What should we play first? Darts or shuffleboard?” Piper asks, looking between my brother and me.
“Well, I’m out on shuffleboard,” I say, showing her my palms.
“All right, darts it is. Plus, all three of us can play darts and I can work on getting Preston a little more drunk so I’ll win at shuffleboard too.” She gives him an ornery smile as she stands to put some money in the electronic dartboard. “I’m gotta get some change. I’ll be right back.” She heads toward the bar.
The WRONG Brother: A Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Love You Forever Book 1) Page 5