“I know there’s a bath waiting, but all I can think about is ripping this thong off with my teeth.” He presses his lips to my neck as his hand quickly unsnaps my bra, which joins my dress in the pile on the floor.
I spin around to face him—I’m nearly naked while he’s still completely dressed. I reach up, grabbing his tie. “It’s looks like you’re a little overdressed for the occasion, Mr. Young.” I loosen the tie and push his jacket over his shoulders.
He lets out a growl as he shrugs out of the jacket and tears off the tie. In the next second, he’s pulling me against him and kissing me senseless.
The rest of the night is spent in a mix of bubbles, champagne, giggles, touches, and kisses. Oh, and plenty of lovemaking time and time again.
I wake in the morning, and to my surprise, Calvin is still next to me. I smile as I cuddle close to his side, happy he didn’t run off to work like he usually does. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” I say, pressing kisses to his jaw and neck.
He lets out a soft moan as he stretches. “A guy could get used to this.”
The butterflies in my stomach take flight as I kiss lower—down his naked chest to the spot that’s so happy to see me. I’m only beneath the sheet for a moment before he’s pulling me back up his body and sliding into me from underneath.
Checkout is at noon, and we somehow manage to pull away from each other. The limo is already parked and waiting out front. I feel like I’m doing the walk of shame as I stroll through the nice hotel in my evening dress, but Calvin doesn’t seem to notice the looks we’re getting. We climb back into the limo and he takes my hand in his.
“This was perfect, Calvin. I’m a little sad to see it end.”
He kisses my head as he pulls me closer. “Stick with me, beautiful, and it’ll never have to.” He kisses me softly. The only thing I can think about is how lucky I am to have him—to have always had him even when I didn’t realize it.
Since it’s Saturday and there’s no work to be done, I spend the day cleaning up my house and catching up on laundry. Calvin promised to join me after going home to shower and change.
He calls a little while later to cancel, saying he has something at work that needs attention and that he’ll be over by dinnertime. I’m a little sad that I won’t get the whole day with him. I’m sitting on the couch and mindlessly flipping through the TV channels when an idea hits me.
If Calvin can’t come to me, then maybe I should go to him. I could show up in a sexy outfit and seduce him from under his desk. The thought sounds too good to be true. I jump up quickly and rush to my room to get ready.
I curl my hair to perfection and paint my face more than I normally would. I line my green eyes darkly, doing the smoky-eye look with my shadow and adding false lashes. I apply a thick layer of bright red lipstick and slip on my darkest sunglasses before standing back and looking myself over. I’m wearing a long trench coat. The only thing beneath it is a black lace thong, a garter, and stockings. I put on the highest pair of pumps I have and hit the road.
When I walk into the building, there’s no one behind the front desk, so I head straight to his office. I take off my coat and sling it over the couch. I decide to sit in his desk chair and prop my feet up on his desk. One of his ties is hanging on the coat rack, so I grab it and put it on. It sits right between my breasts and I know he’ll love it.
It’s while I’m sitting at his desk, looking around at all his hard work, that I realize the brother I’m truly in love with is Calvin. He’s always been the one, even when I was too dumb to see it. He’s been there through it all. He’s sexy, amazing, smart, talented, and he loves me. I know he does. If he didn’t, we wouldn’t be where we are right now. He would’ve written me off long ago and found someone else to be with. The fact that he’s still single isn’t a fluke. He’s been waiting for me. And I fully intend on telling him the moment he walks through that door.
I hear the sounds of a man’s voice as he walks closer to the door. My body goes on high alert. This is it: the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The door opens and I suck in a breath, making my chest rise and look even fuller. Calvin walks in and his eyes land on mine. His double in size as he takes in the picture before him. Then the worst happens. Another man walks in behind him. He looks from Calvin, to me, and back. Then back again because hello! I’m practically naked here.
I jump up quickly and rush for my coat, pulling it against my chest as I try hiding from the man.
“Piper, what are you doing here?” Calvin asks, rushing to help cover me up.
I look at him and can feel the tears of embarrassment filling my eyes. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d be alone. I shouldn’t have come.” Without another word, I pull away from him and head toward the door as quickly as possible. However, my long coat gets tangled around my heel and I trip and fall, nearly taking the other man down as I try walking past him. He catches me and helps me get back on my feet.
“Thank you. I’m sorry.” I turn back to Calvin as my feet carry me away. “I’m so sorry.”
I’m nearly to my car when the tears finally overfill my eyes. I quickly wipe them away, not caring if I smear my makeup as I peel out of the parking lot as fast as my car will let me.
Back home, I strip everything off and climb into the bathtub with a bottle of wine. I haven’t attempted to fix my makeup, so I have big black streaks going down my cheeks. I’m nearly drunk when the bathroom door opens. I jump but relax as soon as my eyes land on Calvin.
I see him and the tears fall all over again. “I’m so sorry, Calvin. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I just thought it would be a fun surprise. I never imagined you’d have someone with you. Was he a client? Did I cost you a job?”
He sits on the closed toilet and laughs. “No, he’s an old friend from college. We were discussing a partnership. And you didn’t scare him off. I think he only agreed to my terms because of you.”
“Really?” I ask, feeling hopeful. “He was embarrassed for you?”
“Embarrassed? No way. I think he was jealous you were there for me and not him.” He smiles and his icy eyes light up.
I breathe a heavy sigh of relief.
“I am wondering, though, what made you decide to do that.” He grabs a washcloth and moves to sit on the floor beside the tub. He dips it, wrings it out, then starts to wipe at the smeared makeup streaking my face.
I shrug, suddenly feeling shy and embarrassed. This isn’t how I wanted to tell him—with him coming to my rescue yet again. So instead of telling him how I really feel, I simply say, “I just wanted to spend the day with you. I wanted to surprise you.”
He offers up a sweet smile as he wipes under my eyes. “I’m all yours for the rest of the day. I do wish you were still in that little costume though. I have to admit, that tie looked better on you.”
I laugh. I knew he’d love seeing that. “Well, I don’t have that getup on anymore, but I do have something better.”
“What’s that?”
“How about a completely naked bubble bath?” I wag my brows at him and he chuckles, stands up, then begins to strip out of his suit to join me in the tub.
After our bath and a good romp in the sheets, we both pull on our clothes and go to the kitchen in search of a late lunch. We snack on fruit, veggies, and cheese, paired with a bottle of wine—enough to hold us over until we order dinner. I get busy cutting the cheese into cubes while Calvin cuts carrots into sticks. I’ve already opened a bottle of wine and poured a little into two glasses. We lay out a platter with crackers and grapes, and I can’t wait to dig in.
“We should make Bloody Marys,” I suggest as I pop a cheese cube into my mouth.
“That sounds good. We can add that to breakfast in the morning.”
“Alcohol with breakfast?” I act appalled that he would even suggest such a thing.
“Not you, Mr. Strait-Laced,” I joke.
He laughs. “Wait until you see me on vacation. It’s nothing but mixed drinks and a constant buz
z the whole time.”
“That’s something I want to see,” I say, placing a grape between my lips and leaning forward so he can take it. He does and gives me a kiss.
“I think summer would be a great time to take a trip to Hawaii. What do you think? A whole week of nothing but lying on the beach, getting drunk, and having sex while working on your tan?”
I smile just from thinking about the amazing time we’d have. “That sounds perfect. But sex only in the room. I don’t need any weird tan lines,” I joke.
The front door opens and Preston walks into the kitchen. “Having a party and didn’t invite me?” He acts offended as he grabs a glass of wine and takes a big swig. He puts the empty glass down and scoffs. “That shit is nasty. Where’s the beer, Pipes?” He moves around us and opens the fridge.
“Help yourself,” I mumble, feeling a little annoyed that he’s here to crash our party. Since I don’t want to break the news to him until we for sure have something to break, we’re still keeping our relationship a secret. Which means no touching or kissing.
Preston grabs a beer, pops the top, and takes a long drink. He studies Calvin and me. “Since when did you join the likes of him and his sensitive palate?” he asks, motioning toward the food and wine.
I frown at him. “There’s nothing wrong with laying off the cheap beer and enjoying a nice glass of wine every once in a while, Pres.”
Preston shoots Calvin a glare. “You’re ruining my best friend.”
Calvin chuckles and shakes his head as he places some carrots on the tray. “Maybe she’s not your best friend anymore. Maybe she’s mine. Have you thought of that, Pres?”
My eyes cut over to Calvin, who seems to be challenging Preston. Preston looks taken aback but not angry. “I guess we’ll just have to share her then,” he says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into a headlock.
I don’t miss my shot to smack him in the junk with the back of my hand. He immediately releases me while he groans and cups his manhood.
Calvin laughs at the cheap shot. “All right, you two. Let’s sit on the patio and enjoy this spread.” He picks up the tray and walks toward the patio. I fill my glass of wine and pick up Calvin’s to take outside. Preston follows along, holding his junk and keeping his beer close.
The three of us sit at the patio table and I grab a carrot to snack on.
“So, what you been up to, Pres?” Calvin asks, taking a sip of his wine.
He shrugs. “Not much. What about you?”
Calvin sets his glass down and grabs a grape, quickly glancing at me before answering. “Well, I’ve made a deal with an old friend from college. We’re going to be partners and share the office.”
Preston frowns. “That’s your office. Why would you want to share it?”
Calvin looks me in the eye as he answers. “So I’ll have more free time.” I get what he’s saying, and it makes the butterflies in my stomach take flight. “I’m staying busy. Too busy.” He tears his gaze from me and looks at his brother. “I want someone to pick up the slack and maybe even take a little off my plate so I can have more time to do the things I enjoy. Spend more time with the people I love. In fact, with his buy-in, I’ll be able to afford a nice vacation this year. I’m thinking Hawaii.” He looks at me again, this time with a grin.
“Well, good for you,” Preston says. “Hawaii sounds awesome.” He nudges me. “Hey, maybe we should go with. Leave Calvin here to be an old man lounging on the beach. Then we could go off on our own adventures.”
I smile and nod. “Sounds good, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to take time off work for something like that.” I look up at Calvin. “When are you going?”
He shrugs as he leans back in his chair. “I don’t have anything set in stone. We have to finalize this deal first and get everything situated. I’m thinking August, though, if everything goes smoothly.”
“That would give you plenty of advance notice to put in for time off,” Preston says, nudging me.
I laugh. “Did you ever think that maybe Calvin doesn’t want us to go on his trip? That maybe there’s someone special he wants to take instead? Plus, I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford it—the cost of the airfare, a hotel, the amount I’d spend on eating and drinking alone . . . not to mention, I wouldn’t be getting paid that week since I’ve used up my vacation time already.”
Preston takes a beat then asks, “I’ve never known you to turn down an adventure. What’s happened to you lately?”
He’s clearly confused and has every right to be. If I didn’t have to hide this secret from him, I never would’ve second-guessed it. I would’ve accepted in a heartbeat.
“We all have to grow up at some point, Pres.” I take a sip of my wine, feeling a little mad at myself for letting him down, but I guess that’s something I’m going to have to get used to. I’ve always agreed to everything he’s suggested, hoping it would finally lead to us getting together. But that’s no longer the case. Now it’s Calvin I don’t want to let down. Will I always feel like I have to choose between them? Pick my best friend or the guy I’m falling madly in love with? If we move forward, will I have to choose between my friend and my husband?
“Well, whatever,” Preston says, standing. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.” He walks back into the house to leave out the front door.
I let out a long sigh when I hear the front door close and his car start up a few minutes later.
“What’s the matter?” Calvin asks.
I shrug and eat a grape. “I don’t know. Keeping us a secret is harder than I thought it would be.”
He sits up and reaches across the table for my hand. “We don’t have to hide if you don’t want to. All we have to do is tell him. I’m sure he’ll be happy for us.”
“I know . . . I just don’t want to tell him anything until we’re sure about us.”
“I’m sure. Aren’t you sure?”
“Well, I thought I was . . .”
His brows lift. “You thought you were?”
“It’s just that this conversation with Preston brought something to my attention.”
“And what’s that?”
“Will I always be stuck between my best friend and the guy I’m seeing? If we move on to get married, will I have to choose between my best friend and my husband—not only ruining our relationship with each other, but with your whole family as well since my best friend and the guy I’m with are brothers?”
I feel a sudden panic creeping up my throat and Calvin sits back and takes a deep breath, trying to wrap his head around my concerns and how to fix them like he always has. “Are you saying, hypothetically, that if you had to choose between your best friend and me, you’d choose your best friend?”
“No, I’m not saying that. It would depend on the situation. I mean, if Preston wanted to go to a baseball game and you wanted to go dancing, I’d choose whichever activity I wanted to do. Sometimes I might side with you and sometimes I might side with him.”
“So what are you worried about?” He stands up and scoots his chair closer to mine. He rests his elbows on his knees as he leans forward, holding my hands between his.
“I don’t know. I just don’t want to be put in a position where I have to choose between the two of you. I mean, if you were to say right now, ‘It’s me or him,’ I don’t know what I’d do, because he’s been my best friend for my whole life and you—while we’ve only just started doing this thing we’re doing—you already mean so much to me.”
He shakes his head, cutting off my rambling. “I would never do that, Piper.” He pulls me closer, pressing his lips to mine.
While he said he’d never do that, it doesn’t mean Preston never would. I don’t get time to think of all the ways this could backfire, because his tongue is now in my mouth and I can’t think of anything else.
Thirteen
CALVIN
It’s been one month of spending every night with Piper. I feel like I’ve finally gotten e
verything I’ve ever wanted. We’ve been inseparable. If I’m not staying at her place, she’s staying at mine, only parting to go to our jobs. But when we meet back up at the end of every day, it’s like no time has passed. Every night, I hold her close. Every morning, I wake up to her smiling face. If anything, I’m only falling more in love with her. Before, I craved her. Now, I’m addicted to her.
We’re still keeping our little secret from Preston and our families. We’ve talked about it many times. Our parents are the best of friends and do everything together. Not to mention, my brother is her best friend and has been since childhood. There’s a lot on the line for us. Even if something happens and we don’t work out, we don’t want our families punished for it. We intend to keep our relationship on the down low until we’re absolutely sure we’re spending the rest of our lives together.
You’d think with so much time spent together that keeping this secret from Preston would be hard, but it hasn’t been as bad as I thought it’d be. He’s been really caught up in work lately, plus he has a few different girls on the side to keep him busy. The two of us have only spoken to him over the phone, and it’s always been a quick conversation, mostly just checking in more than anything.
But this afternoon, we’re leaving to spend the weekend at home for the annual Fourth of July party. Piper’s parents always go all out for the holiday. There’s a big swimming party in their in-ground pool. We cook, drink, laugh, and have fun until dark when we light up the neighborhood with fireworks. We know we’re going to have to keep our distance somewhat, and neither of us is looking forward to it, but it’s what we have to do until the time is right.
The two of us take off work early Thursday afternoon to make the drive. We’ll both be staying at our parents’ homes like usual, but after spending so many nights together, we aren’t looking forward to sleeping alone. Tomorrow, she’s volunteered to help her mom with all the food prep and party decorations for Saturday. Whatever time we do get will have to be stolen.
The WRONG Brother: A Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Love You Forever Book 1) Page 12