My Best Friend's Sister

by Q. B. Tyler

  “My relationship with Ava is none of your business, and frankly, you’re irrelevant to me. I would be willing to bet you won’t even be around in a few months. Or do you think your reputation of sleeping around your entire class doesn’t precede you?”

  “Ava’s different. And why the fuck do you know so much about me? What are you, obsessed? Are you obsessed with Ava? Is that it? Some weird crush from your past that now you can act on?”

  I feel the familiar itch in my palm that comes whenever I feel the urge to hit someone, and I flex my hand to try to rid the sensation. Do not hit him, Walsh. Do not.

  He snorts. “That’s it, isn’t it?”

  “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” I growl. “Her brother is my best friend, and he asked me to look out for her and that includes keeping her away from assholes like you.”

  “She doesn’t want to be kept away from me. The way she’s been rubbing on me all night. She wants me, Walsh.” He looks over, and I follow his gaze to the beautiful brunette that has weaved some sort of spell over me. She’s dancing with a few friends, her hands in the air as she lets the music take over her body. “She doesn’t want you. So stop making her uncomfortable. You’re just embarrassing yourself because I’ll be the one taking her home tonight.” He sneers, and I can physically feel the fire in my eyes. I know what he is all about. The love ‘em and leave ‘em type. He’s going to break Ava’s heart, and I won’t have it.

  He pulls out his wallet and drops a twenty on my tab. “For your troubles.” He smirks. Who does this asshole think he is with this shit? He’s just trying to rile you up. Let it go. Let it go.

  “You do know I’m fucking her, right?” That is the furthest thing from letting it the fuck go.

  “You’re full of shit.”

  I shrug, knowing I can’t go too far with the lie. And for all intents and purposes, I could be fucking her. If I weren’t so stupid. Or honorable. I don’t know which one I am at the moment.

  “Fine, don’t believe me. But make no mistake, Kennedy Burke the Fourth,” I draw his name out. “Ava. Is. Mine.” I walk away from him without another glance back, and I can only hope I didn’t make a huge mistake.

  You definitely did, Jackson. Ava is going to kill you.

  I make my way over to Ava, preparing to make my exit, hopefully with her in tow. “I’m going to head out,” I whisper in her ear.

  She frowns and looks up at me with those bright eyes that can bring me to my knees in an instant. “But you just got here.” Her bottom lip juts out, and I rub my thumb across it.

  “Come with me?” I ask, and she surveys the scene, looking around at her friends, who all seem to be teetering on the edge of blackout.

  “Come with you…where?” I see the mischief dancing in her eyes.

  “Wherever you want. We can go to your place or…mine?”

  She bites her bottom lip, and my cock twitches in appreciation. She presses her hands against my chest and looks up at me. “Jackson…”

  “Please, Ava. We should talk.”

  “About what?”

  I scan the club, and I know it’s only a matter of time before someone interrupts us. “Can we not do this here?”

  She twists her mouth as if she’s contemplating her decision before nodding once. “I need to say goodbye to my friends…and Kennedy.”

  “You don’t owe that asshole anything,” I growl, and she frowns in response.

  “I guess it probably doesn’t look good that I’m leaving with you…,” she trails off. “Maybe I should just text him.”

  “Great, let's go,” I tell her as I yank her out of the large room and down the long hallway before she can change her mind. We’ve taken two steps outside when I hear Ava’s name being called behind us.

  Shit.

  She spins around, and I know this is not going to end well when Kennedy comes strolling out of the club. “So, you were just going to leave without saying bye?”

  “I’m sorry, Kennedy; I’m just a little drunk, and I think it would be best if I went home.”

  “With him? Ava, I would feel better if you’d let me take you home.” Feel better? As if I’d ever hurt Ava. Ever.

  She looks up at me and furrows her brow. I can hear her thoughts: Why did he say that? I know you’d never hurt me. “Kennedy, I didn’t want to make you leave early just because I can’t hold my liquor. It’s fine; Jackson was leaving anyway.”

  “I’ll bet he was.” He snorts. “Ava, can I talk to you alone?”

  Fuck fuck fuck. “Ava, there’s a cab,” I whisper in her ear, praying she doesn’t give Kennedy the chance to talk to her. If I can just fucking get her alone, I can explain what happened and why I said it. But if he tells her, I’m fucked.

  “Five minutes?” She puts her hand up, and I let out a breath. I think she can feel the anxiety radiating off me. She turns her back to Kennedy and looks up at me. “I’m leaving with you,” she says, and I’m not sure if I’m imagining the breathiness of her voice, but it doesn’t stop my cock from rising upward in response. “But let me just take care of this.” I think I can hear what she’s saying: I choose you. So, let me go let him down easy. Or maybe it’s all in my head.

  I let out a deep breath before I tuck a hair behind her ear. “Okay.”

  I watch as Ava and Kennedy stand several feet away from me. Ava glances at me a few times, but I can’t exactly see her facial expressions. I see him walk away from her and back into the club, and I breathe a sigh of relief as I see her walking toward me. I open the car door for her, assuming she’s going to slide in when I see her hand flying through the air, and then I feel her hand across my cheek.

  Fuck! She knows.

  The peanut gallery of people still in line to get into the club respond with a round of various “ohs” and exaggerated “damns.”

  “What the fuck?!” she exclaims.

  “Ava, let’s just get a cab. Let me explain.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you! Why would you tell him that?! And don’t you dare pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about!”

  “Ava, you don’t know guys like that. Kennedy is—”

  “Exactly like you?” she yells, and my heart sinks hearing her thoughts about me spelled out so viciously. “How could you do this to me, Jackson? I trusted you!”

  “I know, Ava; I snapped. I know I shouldn’t have said what I said but—”

  “He told me you said I was yours.” Her eyes water. “But I’m not. Not even close.”

  False, Ava. You and I both know that’s false.

  “Ava, I’m sorry,” I tell her sadly. I wish she would just get in the car so I could explain. “I know I shouldn’t have said it.”

  She shakes her head and looks back toward the club. “He didn’t believe you anyway. But… it still hurt.”

  “I said it because I was hoping…,” I trail off. “I want to…” I clear my throat. “I want to be your first.”

  She snorts. “Oh really? Why now? Is it because you’ve met Kennedy, and you see he’s actually interested in me? You don’t want to fuck me, but you don’t want anyone else to have me either? Is this some shit you cooked up with Tucker to keep guys away from me?”

  The sexual frenzy flooding my body as it thought about having sex with Ava is brought to a halt when she mentions her brother. I’ll deal with Tucker later. One Remington at a time. And frankly, the only one I care about at the moment is the feisty brunette whom I desperately want.

  “Ava, it’s not about that. Fuck Kennedy. He’s not the right guy for you. He doesn’t deserve you. You don’t want to get mixed up with a guy like that.”

  “Oh, but you deserve me? You didn’t want to fuck me, remember?”

  “I NEVER said that,” I snap.

  “Well it’s too late now anyway. Not after this.”

  “Ava…,” I trail off.

  She backs up slowly, and I resist the urge to reach out for her, knowing she wouldn’t want me to touch her. “J
ust go home, Jackson.”

  “You’re staying?”

  “Kennedy has never deceived me about who he is, Jackson. You have.”

  I call after her, but she doesn’t turn back around. I go to follow her when the same asshole bouncer from earlier puts his hand out.

  “Hold on, lover boy.” He stops me. Oh, what the fuck? This shit again? “One-fifty.”

  “You’re fucking with me, right? You saw I just came out of there.”

  He shrugs. “No re-entry. Besides, doesn’t seem like that girl wants anything to do with you. Let it go before I have to call the cops.”

  “You don’t understand, she’s my—”

  “Whatever she is, she doesn’t want to talk to you right now, and I’m not in the mood to deal with a lover’s quarrel or whatever it is you two have going on. So, let her cool off and go home.”

  I furrow my brow, wondering when this glorified doorman became a fucking therapist. I huff and move toward the sea of taxis waiting for the drunk people to leave the club at last call.

  Ava, I’m sorry.

  I text her, although I know I won’t get a reply. I’m shocked when she responds immediately.

  Ava: Whatever.

  Shit. She hates me.

  Seven

  * * *

  An hour later, I’m staring at the picture Ava and I took at the club earlier that night. Why did I let Kennedy rile me up? Why did I say that? Ava would be here with me right now. My thoughts are interrupted by my phone ringing and the name Tucker Remington blaring across my screen.

  “Hey T—”

  “Jackson, where the fuck is my sister?”

  “What?”

  “Don’t what me, Jackson,” he growls, and I know this voice. This is Tucker’s murderous voice. I’d heard it before, but it’s never been directed at me. “I asked you to do ONE thing for me, watch out for Ava in New York. Please explain to me why she’s calling me in the middle of the night in HYSTERICS.”

  Hysterics? Where is she? What happened to her? Why didn’t Kennedy make sure she made it home okay? Fuck. Maybe Kennedy did something to her. I’ll kill him with my bare hands. “Tucker, when I left Ava she was fine; she was with her friends.”

  “Why did you leave at all? Ava said you guys were meeting up tonight?”

  Because I royally fucked up. “Tucker, I’m not her babysitter. I went home.”

  “Did anyone seem off to you? Any of her friends?”

  I sit up fully, suddenly very uneasy as to why my best friend was calling me in the first place. “What do you mean? And where is Ava now?”

  “Hell, if I should know, somewhere in Brooklyn.” Brooklyn? Jesus it’ll take me at least thirty minutes to get there. I pull my coat on over my sweatshirt and grab the closest pair of shoes before heading out of my apartment.

  “I’m heading out now. Why is she upset? Did she say why?”

  “No, she just wouldn’t stop crying and kept saying that everyone is so mad at her. Including you! I asked her why she didn’t call you, and she said she didn’t want to because you’re mad at her?”

  “I’m not mad at her, Tucker. She was pretty drunk when I left, that’s probably all it is.” I feel so guilty lying to Tucker, but what exactly was I supposed to say? “Did she tell you where exactly she was?”

  “I made her drop me a pin. I’m sending it to you. Go get my goddamn sister, Jackson, and if anything happens to her, so help me God, I will never forgive you.”

  “Why didn’t you call me?” I yell into the phone as we are weaving through traffic. I called her three times before she finally answered, telling me politely to fuck off. I proceeded to tell her to stop being so fucking stubborn and not to move that pretty little ass from that spot. I heard her humph through the phone, but at least she didn’t hang up.

  “Stop yelling! Why would I call you? We are not friends.” She sounds angry, but I can hear the tears in her voice.

  The words are like a stab to my heart. “I would still come to get you, Ava.”

  “I don’t need your help.”

  “Then why did you call Tucker in hysterics?”

  “He texted me back after the picture I sent, and I just lost it. So, I called him. He’s my big brother and my best friend, Jackson. But, I asked him not to call you.”

  “And you thought he’d listen? What the fuck are you doing in Brooklyn?” I pull the phone away from my ear. “Can’t you go any faster?” I bark at the taxi driver. Ava is silent, and I already know what she’s going to say. “Ava,” I say sternly.

  “Yes?” I hear the timidity in her voice.

  “Answer me, Ava.”

  She sighs. “It’s where Kennedy lives.”

  “You went home with that asshole?!” I yell.

  “I…”

  “Did you fuck him?” I growl, unable to keep the anger at bay as I think about my Ava underneath that douchebag.

  “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

  “Don’t test me, Ava. Answer me right now.”

  “Or what? God! Don’t even bother coming, I don’t want to see you.”

  Click.

  “Fuck!” I roar before trying to call her back. I let out a breath as I hear her voicemail start.

  Twenty minutes later, I’m pulling up to the bar where Ava’s pin sent me. From the window, I see her sitting outside of the entrance on a bench, and I’m immediately out of the car before we’ve even completely slowed.

  I drop to my knees in front of her as I’m worried that something’s wrong. “Ava. Look at me.” My hand finds her face, and she looks up.

  “You came?” Her eyes are hazy, and I wonder if all the alcohol is catching up with her finally.

  “Of course, I did. Come on, let’s go.”

  She stands up, and I guide her toward the car when she stops walking. “I didn’t sleep with him.” She shakes her head, and I can’t help the feeling of relief that flows through me. “After you left, he asked if I wanted to go grab some food and talk.” She shrugs sadly. “I’m a sucker for pizza. Anyway, I didn’t realize we were going to his apartment.” I stiffen, wondering where she’s going with this story.

  “Did he hurt you?” My hands find her cheeks as I stare at her perfect face.

  “No,” she says sadly. “Just my feelings.” She bites her lip, and under normal circumstances it would turn me on, but the fact she’s doing it to stop the tears from falling is like a bucket of ice water on my dick.

  “Come on,” I tell her as I help her into the car. I try to pull her into my lap, but she puts a hand up, stopping me from touching her further. I sigh. “What happened?”

  “Why did you tell him we were sleeping together?”

  I let out a deep sigh. “I… He was bragging about taking you home tonight, and I don’t know, Ava. I snapped.”

  “Why do you care? You knew I was thinking about it.”

  “I guess I didn’t realize you still were…,” I trail off. Ava wasn’t going to wait for you forever.

  She shrugs. “I told you I wanted to lose my virginity, and you didn’t seem all too interested in making it happen anymore.”

  “Trust me, Ava, I am very interested.”

  “But…what about Tucker? I don’t want you to do something… I don’t want to jeopardize your friendship.”

  “You aren’t doing anything, Ava. This isn’t on you.”

  She contorts her mouth slightly. “I won’t tell him.”

  “I know.” Her words about him hurting her feelings run through my head. “Tell me what Kennedy did.”

  “He just…made it clear what he wanted, and I thought I wanted it too. But…it wasn’t. I want this asshole I grew up with to be my first.” She rolls her eyes. “He wasn’t too interested in my company after I told him we weren’t going there.”

  “So, he just kicked you out?”

  “No, I left. I was walking toward the main street to hail a cab when I called Tucker.”

  “You know how I feel about you out late b
y yourself, and you’ve been drinking! Why do you insist on putting me in an early grave?”

  She blanches. “I’m sorry.” She moves closer to me and gives me a look.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Ava. I’m mad at you.”

  “Don’t be mad,” she pouts.

  I narrow my eyes at her and change the subject, knowing that will be the only thing to calm me down.

  “Why me, anyway? What is it about me?” I’ve been trying to figure out for days what was so special about me in Ava’s eyes.

  “Because I trust you, and I’ve known you forever. Besides, the preteen Ava Remington would kill me if I didn’t try.” She giggles, and I look at her curiously. “I had the biggest crush on you, Jackson.” She shakes her head, then rests it on my shoulder.

  Eight

  * * *

  I wake up the next morning to the sweet smell of lavender invading my nose. My cock is painfully hard, and I feel something pressed right against it. My hand is laced with what feels like another hand, and my other hand is wrapped tightly around the person I seem to be sharing this bed with. I open my eyes to see Ava sleeping soundly next to me, my much larger body curled around her petite one. My right arm is resting underneath her neck, as our fingers are intertwined. My left hand rests protectively around her stomach, and my face is almost completely submerged in her mass of curls.

  I try to detangle myself from her, but she whimpers, squeezes my hand harder, and pushes herself further onto me. I’m not sure if she’s awake and consciously teasing the hell out of me, but I wish she would wake up to put me out of my morning wood misery. I press a kiss to her neck and nibble gently on her earlobe.

  Maybe this is a good time for another orgasm.

  I smile to myself as I let my hand disappear underneath the covers and down her body. I wrap my hand around her left thigh and spread her legs, propping her left leg up slightly. I slip my left hand between her legs and slowly stroke her center through her tiny cotton shorts.