Don't Kiss Your Best Friend's Brother (Billionaire Academy YA Romances Book 6)

by Erica Penrod

  Jovi arched a brow, ready to call my bluff.

  “It will be enough. I’m done crushing on him.” I picked up a grey serving tray with a sketch of the school’s mascot, a knight, in the middle and gave it to Jovi.

  “Thanks.” She shifted the backpack on her shoulder and took the tray with both hands. Her nails were painted a deep burnt orange, without a chip or smudge to be seen anywhere. “But I’m not mad at him for you—at least, not anymore. You’ll be fine. It’s him I’m worried about.”

  “What do you mean?” I picked up my own tray and shuffled ahead.

  “Hello?” She snagged two sets of utensils, dropping one on my tray. “He’s miserable. The more time he spends with Chloe, the more unhappy he is.”

  “He can’t be all that unhappy.” I glanced toward the table where Chloe and her gang sat. Her back was to me, but I didn’t have to see her face to know her makeup was flawless and she wasn’t sporting a pimple on her chin like I was today. “Or else why would he date her?”

  “That’s what I’m not sure about. The dude is clearly going through something.”

  I was worried, because I knew what she was talking about. I’d seen the change in him. When he hung out with Jovi, me, and Nile, Crue was fun and constantly laughing, but here at school, with Chloe attached to his side, his demeanor was more serious and the dimples disappeared. I didn’t want that for him, even more than I wanted him to want me.

  “Chloe is bad medicine, like Bon Jovi bad.” She grinned, and I laughed. Her dad was the legendary rock star Roc Zeplin, lead singer of the band “Louder,” and Jovi was named after one of his favorite bands. “Crue doesn’t have real feelings for her.”

  “How do you know that?” I picked up a plate, then tongs, and reached for a large piece of lettuce.

  Jovi waited until I placed the leaf on my plate and handed the utensil to her. “Because he is totally into you.”

  “No, he’s not.” I couldn’t think about Crue like that anymore. I couldn’t let myself believe that his friendship meant more than it did. My feelings for him interrupted my schoolwork, and that was something I couldn’t let happen. I’d worked way too hard to get here, and this school was the next step on my way to a successful future, one that meant I could provide for me and my grandma. I couldn’t afford to let my feelings for Crue get in the way of my future.

  “He showed up in person to tell me he’s not coming home after school.” She sorted through the lettuce, inspecting each piece front and back until she found the one she wanted. “Because Crue wanted to see you. Believe me, I know my brother, and he does have feelings for you.”

  A spark of hope threatened to kindle within my heart. I quickly smothered the flame with visions of Chloe in Crue’s arms at the dance. I wouldn’t go there again. I cared about Crue, and I wouldn’t deny that, but friendship was the only option. “He sees me as a friend. He’s made that perfectly clear.” Crue’s actions made the statement easy to read, and the blond exclamation mark clinging to the end of his arm punctuated the sentence.

  “You’re smart to move on. My brother had his chance, and he blew it.” Jovi and I sidestepped down the line, selecting our veggies.

  I peeked over my shoulder to steal a glance at Crue, who’d just sat down beside Chloe. He looked over his shoulder, and his stare caught mine. Heat filled my cheeks and flowed through my body. I was no longer hungry. Jovi was right: Crue had blown his chance with me—but what she didn’t know was how badly I wanted to offer him another one.

  Chapter Three

  When you don’t want to think about someone, it only makes you think about them even more. Maybe I should’ve tried reverse psychology and given myself permission to think about Crue every minute of every day until my brain was so overloaded, I wanted to think about something else.

  Ha, like that would have worked. There was no world in existence where I would’ve been sick of seeing tall, dark, and delicious in my mind, and that was without mentioning the dimples. I mentioned those before, but they were so worth the encore and freed the butterflies inside my belly. I paused outside of my fourth-period class and reminded myself that I had vowed to move on, and not just for my sake, but for Jovi’s as well. My resolution, like a net, snatched away the fluttering sensation.

  Mr. Hubert, my advanced programming computer science teacher, stood in the doorway. “Welcome.” He took a sip from his can of Mtn. Dew and smiled. The class was tough, but Hubert was a good guy; plus, he scored extra points in my book because of his attire. He wore a light grey shirt and a pair of black slacks every day, to empathize with us students who had to wear a uniform.

  “Hi.” I walked past him and took my seat behind Adelle. Most kids complained about having to wear the uniform, but I’d been grateful when I’d found out about the dress code. RLA wasn’t the easiest place to fit into, and the no-name brand of clothes I’d brought with me from Montana would’ve stuck out like a single penny on a pile of hundred-dollar bills. “Hey,” I said to Adelle, who smiled back at me. I might not have dollar signs as credentials after my last name, but I’d won the lottery when I’d gotten the seat-blob behind Adelle. The girl was a freaking genius, and anytime I got stuck in a code, she was there to untangle the mess I’d made.

  Mr. Hubert called the class to attention and started roll call. I was busy arm-wrestling my backpack when I heard my name. “Here,” I said as I struggled with the strap across the back of my seat-blob.

  “Emery.” The teacher called my name again. Mr. Hubert didn’t seem that old, even with the little touch of grey in his beard, but the man must be hard of hearing, plus he’d seen me walk in. Alzheimer’s couldn’t be kicking in already.

  “Here.” I looked up to meet Mr. Hubert’s gaze, but his head turned towards the door. I glanced over, and confusion clouded my head. What was he doing here?

  “You’re needed in the office.” Crue rocked back and forth on his heels with his hands tucked in his front pockets.

  I narrowed my stare, trying to figure out why Crue was the one to come get me. I sighed and stood up. There was probably some glitch with my scholarship funding. It had happened more than once.

  I started to walk, but Crue stopped me. “You’ll want to bring your backpack with you.”

  Okay. I pivoted around and grabbed my backpack.

  Adelle smiled up at me. “See you later.”

  “See you.” I walked towards the door, aware of everyone watching me. My crush on Crue wasn’t common knowledge—at least, I didn’t think it was—but my cheeks on fire had to be a dead giveaway.

  Breathe in, breathe out.

  One foot in front of the other.

  I was almost there.

  Crue’s cologne, a mixture of sandalwood and spice, greeted me before I passed by him. The guy smelled incredible, and I admit that not sniffing out loud took a lot of willpower.

  Crue closed the door. I adjusted my bag and looked up at him. “What’s going on?” He wasn’t an office TA—I knew his schedule. “Why did they send you?”

  His eyes, rich and dark like the forest soil in a Seattle state park, grounded me. “I was in the office talking to the counselor when the call came.”

  I didn’t like the way he said “the call” as if the call was something awful. Wait, was it something awful? “What call?”

  “Your grandma had an accident.” He reached out and touched my shoulder. “But she’s okay. They sent me to get you because they know you are close with our family.”

  I shook my head. Not my sweet grandma. “What happened? Can I talk to her?” My mind whirled like a leaf caught in the wind.

  “She fell at work and broke her hip. Your grandma insisted they call you before they took her back to surgery.” Crue kept his hand on me. “She said not to worry, and she’d call you later.”

  I blinked back the tears and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I have to see her.” There was no way I could stay here knowing she needed me, but I also didn’t have the money to fly home. Grandma saved
every dime she could to buy me a plane ticket home for Christmas. She didn’t have the funds for me to fly home any other time. I didn’t know what I was going to do.

  Crue pulled me to him, and I allowed myself to fall into chest as the tears spilled. I’d always wanted to be this close to him, to feel his strong arms hold me tight, but I wished his offered embrace was for some other reason. “It’ll be okay.” He stood there, and I realized I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had hugged me. “Go back to your dorm and get your things together. We’ll get you to your grandma.”

  I sniffled and pulled away. “I wish I could, but I don’t have the money for a plane ticket.” My mind mentally sifted through the belongings I had in my room, hoping there might be something I could sell. If anything, I might be able to afford a bus ticket if I were lucky, but a bus ride would take too long.

  “We’ll take you.” We walked down the hall. I had to double step to keep up with his long legs. “I called my mom, and she said she’ll be ready and waiting when we get home.”

  “Wait, what?” I grabbed his elbow and pulled him to a stop. “I told you, I can’t.”

  “Of course you can. We’ll take my dad’s plane.”

  Oh, silly me. I’d forgotten I was surrounded by the offspring of billionaires and everyone had a private jet to rush them off to anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice. “No, I can’t let you do that.” I shook my head. The Zeplins were all so good to me, and the last thing I wanted was for them to think I would use them.

  “Mom said if you argued with me, I’m supposed to call her so she can talk to you.” Crue continued leading me through the empty hallway. “She’s coming with us.”

  Us? “What do you mean, us?” A hullabaloo of thoughts and emotions whisked through my mind. Surely he wasn’t coming, because his flying to Montana to see my grandma with me didn’t make sense. I felt bad about his mom coming as it was, but if anyone else were to come, that person would be Jovi and not the guy who had purely platonic feelings for me.

  “Mom and I are coming.” We paused in front of the glass door leading to the office. “Jovi can’t. She’s got to film an episode with Nile this weekend, but Mom and I aren’t in that one.”

  The Zeplin family members were stars of their own reality television show, which was set to be canceled after this season. Their dad’s rock band, Louder, had been offered their own private venue in Seattle with a three-year contract, so they’d opted not to return to reality television. Before they’d decided to end the show, Nile—the son of Hudson Silcox, nominee for New Mexico governor—and Jovi had gotten caught in a publicity stunt between the show’s producers and his dad’s campaign manager. A deal was made for Nile to appear in two episodes on the reality television show. Jovi and Nile were the new “teenage power couple,” and both parties would benefit from the publicity.

  “You don’t need to come.”

  “I’m coming.” He grabbed the handle and opened the door. “I’m sure there’s something I can do to help.”

  Hummpphh, I sighed as I walked to the secretary’s desk. My head had enough things to deal with, and the uncertainty of what exactly had happened to my grandma was like a big block of lead in the middle of my mind. There were so many reasons why Crue coming to Montana was a bad idea, but right then, I wasn’t going to think about them.

  “Good luck.” The secretary smiled up at me as I signed the check-out form. “I hope everything’s okay with your grandma.”

  Tears brimmed in my eyes. Once I saw my grandma in person and knew she was all right, I’d be fine, but until then, I might be a leaky faucet.

  Crue held the door once more as I walked out. “I’ll go get my car and pick you up at the dorms.”

  I nodded as I recalled the shortest route through the school back to my room.

  Crue smiled softly as he leaned in and kissed me on the forehead. “It’s going to be okay.” His lips sealed the promise and branded my heart at the same time. The gesture was so intimate and full of emotion that it left me utterly confused.

  My grandma would be okay—I had to believe that—but I might never be okay when it came to Crue. The guy was a mystery.

  Chapter Four

  The Zeplin family jet waited on the tarmac as we pulled up. The driver stopped and got out of the limo to open our door.

  I faced Jovi’s mom, Bonnie. “Thank you again for doing this.” I clutched my purse to my chest. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  Bonnie smiled. “Of course. I’m happy we could help.” Crue and Jovi’s mom was loving and compassionate, something I noticed the first day I met her. She probably took in stray puppies along with teenagers. I knew she would not allow me to suffer alone through this uncertainty with my grandma.

  The passenger door opened, and the driver helped Bonnie out. A former model, the woman was gorgeous, and if I hadn’t Googled her age, I would’ve never guessed she was fifty-one years old. Her olive skin was still smooth and supple. Hazel-green eyes grabbed your attention, and her beautiful smile didn’t let go. She was dressed in a white button-down shirt, dark-washed jeans, and camel-colored ankle boots, with a red leather jacket in her arms.

  I glanced over at Crue, who was busy tucking his AirPods into the front pocket of his backpack. He’d listened to them on the short ride from the island to the airport, which helped me focus on my conversation about getting to my grandma with Bonnie and not dwell on the simple kiss he’d given me. I probably was overreacting anyway. A kiss on the forehead wasn’t a declaration of his undying love. Anyone with boyfriend experience probably knew that.

  He closed the zipper and met my gaze. My body zinged from head to toe, and I shifted in my seat. Dang it, I was betrayed by my own beating heart. Surely he felt this too, this connection. Pursing my lips, I directed my thoughts elsewhere. I had to think of something else, or I risked reaching out for the guy and letting him know how I really felt about him. Whoa. Back up. Again, Crue’s chivalry didn’t mean his feelings for me had changed. I’d best not forget that and forge ahead. My objective was to move on from this crush and keep my friendship with Jovi.

  The driver offered his hand, and I eagerly accepted. Distance would aid me in my effort. The more space I put between Crue and myself, the better off I’d be. Bonnie waited as I joined her, followed by Crue. I looked anywhere but at him, seeking distraction. Fortunately for me, I was about to board a luxurious private jet. Nothing like a few million dollars parked in front of you to keep you occupied for a couple of minutes.

  The plane was a beautiful pearl white with sleek lines, and the engine purred like a spoiled kitten. If I weren’t so worried about my grandma and how I was going to spend the next several days with Crue, I would’ve enjoyed the experience a whole lot more. A stairway spilled to the ground from the open door.

  “Let’s go.” Bonnie grinned, and I smiled back. I wished I had the words to tell her how much this meant to me. She could’ve sent me on my own, but she’d insisted she didn’t want me to be alone.

  We climbed the stairs as the phone rang in my pocket. I pulled out the device and sighed in relief. Jovi. “Hey,” I answered as I stepped inside the doorway. Bonnie led the way, and Crue was right behind me. My inner Crue radar beeped in hysteria, so I knew he was close. “We’re just getting on the plane.”

  “Glad I caught you.” A Halsey song played in the background. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry about your grandma and I wish I could go with you.”

  I gaped around the cabin. “Thanks, and don’t worry about it. Your family is doing more than enough.” I tried to keep my voice from cracking as I slid down into one of the six extra-wide reclining seats. The soft leather molded around my body, and part of me—the part that wasn’t in a hurry to get to Montana—wished the flight were more than an hour and forty-five minutes, just so I could indulge a little longer. “Your mom and Crue are here, and I feel bad enough as it is.”

  “Don’t. Mom adores you and wants to be there for you. And as for my brother, he�
��s got some explaining to do when he gets back.”

  “Why?” I watched Crue take the seat directly across the aisle from me. Maybe there was something going on I wasn’t aware of.

  “Because he can’t date Chloe and lead you on,” she huffed. “He shouldn’t be on that plane with you. He’s sending mixed signals, and it’s not cool.”

  “I’ve never had such good friends before.” I tried to keep my voice down as I reassured Jovi and myself that I had only friendship on the brain.

  “Good.” She giggled as if she understood my meaning. “Remember that, no matter what happens over the next few days. My brother can be pretty smooth when he wants to be.”

  I sank into the seat as I wondered again why Crue was here. He wasn’t like that, was he? The guy I’d hung around had been sweet and great to talk to. If he thought this was just a game, then I really was his pawn. Maybe he just had me fooled … but then I remembered his face when he’d come and gotten me out of class. Crue did care about me; I knew it from the concern in his eyes and the way he reassured me everything would be alright. Perhaps I was the first real friend of the opposite sex he’d had, and Jovi misunderstood his actions too.

  “I appreciate you worrying about me, but I can handle it.” Hopefully, Crue and Bonnie assumed I was talking about the situation with my grandma. “I’ll call you later tonight and let you know what’s going on.”

  “You’d better.”

  “I will. Bye.” I hung up the phone and switched the device to airplane mode. Crue was turned in his seat, talking to his mom. Grabbing my bag, I put the phone away and reached for the dog-eared paperback copy of Pride and Prejudice. This was, like, the bazillionth time I’ve read the story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, but I never got tired of the book. The tale was so much more enjoyable knowing there was a happy ending.

  I could get through the tears and heartache because of the rainbow after the storm. I just wished I knew for certain that I had a happy ending coming, that somewhere in the world was my Mr. Darcy. From the corner of my eye, I stole a peek at Crue and sighed. The sooner I quit trying to make the rock star’s son into something he wasn’t, the sooner I could quit being disappointed. Darn it all, Crue Zeplin made a wonderful Mr. Darcy.