My Best Friend's Brother: A Standalone Friends to Lovers Romance (Soulmates Series Book 2)

by Hazel Kelly

  "I want to be with him, Izzy."

  She didn't blink.

  "And I think he wants to be with me, too."

  "He does."

  I raised my eyebrows.

  "He's crazy about you."

  One side of my mouth curled up.

  "He always has been."

  I took a sip of wine.

  "And I should've known. Or not been in denial. I just didn't want things to change, ya know?"

  "I wouldn’t say he's always been crazy about me."

  "No. He has. I just refused to acknowledge it despite my inklings. But now it seems so obvious."

  I shook my head. "I don't think there was anything to pick up on before-"

  "There was." She leaned forward, grabbed the bottle, and topped up both our glasses. "He used to treat you differently, talk about you differently. I thought it was just because we'd all been so close for so long, but it was more than that."

  "I’m not sure what you mean."

  "Like in fourth grade, for example. You know how he used to let you almost beat him at tetherball because he liked playing with you more than anyone else?"

  "He didn't almost let me anything. I was good."

  "Oh please. No one in the school could even give him a run for his money. You think you were ever really close?"

  I bit the inside of my cheek.

  "And when you busted your face falling off that skateboard-"

  "Because of your shitty bike riding."

  She nodded. "I accept that."

  "Good."

  "Anyway, the way his face fell when he saw how badly you'd been hurt-" She shook her head. "I should've realized that day something was up."

  My lips fell apart.

  "He’d get more upset when you got hurt than he ever got about anything."

  "He didn't like when you got hurt either."

  "True,” she said. “But that was more a sense of obligation than anything. With you there was something else. He'd be, like, physically sick and unable to eat when you were hurt- or even upset."

  "But both of you guys were like that."

  She shook her head. "No. Don't get me wrong, I love you like a sister-”

  I felt my chest loosen.

  “But he’s the one that used to bring extra socks when we went sledding because he knew your feet always got cold. And he’s the one that used to save the blue and pink sour gummy worms cause he knew they were your favorite. He’s even the one that called the dentist to find out how soon you'd be able to enjoy a milkshake after you got your wisdom teeth pulled.”

  I stared at her.

  “It was always him. He was always thinking about you, conscious of you, borderline obsessed with your wellbeing."

  I swallowed.

  "I thought he was just a nice guy, but it was you all along."

  "We were just kids then, Izzy."

  "Maybe in the beginning. Until your Tiger Lily bikini came into the picture."

  I laughed.

  "Seriously, though. I mean, he stopped talking to Steven altogether after he asked you to that dance."

  "He did?"

  "And he never even told me he asked you."

  I pursed my lips.

  "Until an hour ago. And neither did you."

  "Maybe we did know," I said. "Maybe all three of us were in denial."

  "Perhaps. But I should’ve picked up on it years before that. I should've known as soon as he made up that game."

  I furrowed my brow. "What game?"

  "That Oreo thing you guys do."

  "Oh please. We were seven. Besides, I thought you guys picked that up at your old school?"

  "No," she said. "Shane made it up."

  "He did?"

  “Probably so he could get to know you better."

  "When?"

  She smiled. "The day he found out Oreos were your favorite."

  Chapter 50: Shane

  I'd lost track of how many times I'd forced myself to stop shaking my leg.

  "Here, honey," Brittney said, setting a beer down next to Kevin before draping a hand over his shoulder. "You sure you guys don’t need anything?"

  I was the only one that lifted my eyes from the card table. "I'm good, thanks."

  She bent down and gave Kevin a kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you when I'm done with my thing."

  "Sure, babe. Sounds good," he said, glancing away from his cards for a moment to offer her a quick smile.

  "Things seem to be going well with Brittney," I said after she left.

  Kevin nodded and played a card. "No shit. She wants me to meet her family over Thanksgiving break."

  I raised my eyebrows. "That was quick."

  He shrugged. "That was my first reaction, too. And then I realized what a lucky bastard I am that a girl like her would even give me the time of day."

  I laughed. "Oh c'mon. You don't smell that bad."

  "Very funny," he said, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. "What about Andi?"

  "What about her?"

  "How's it going?"

  I glanced up at the other two guys. Fortunately, they were as cool as they were introverted so I knew I could trust them. "I don't know."

  "What do you mean you don't know?"

  I pulled my phone out and checked it, but neither Izzy nor Andi had sent me anything. All I had was a message about wheelchair basketball being moved a half hour earlier the next day.

  "Shane," Kevin said, dragging me back to the task at hand. "Put your fucking phone away when we're playing cards."

  "Sorry, fuck." I laid my hand down. "I fold anyway."

  "Answer the damn question, too," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I thought things were going well with you guys."

  "They were," I said. "Until this morning."

  "What happened?"

  "Izzy came to town."

  He looked at me. "Have you told her what's going on?"

  "She sort of discovered it for herself."

  He wrapped a hand around his forehead and groaned.

  "I know."

  "You're an idiot."

  "The biggest, yeah."

  "Where is she now?" he asked, laying his cards down and gesturing for the other guys to play on.

  "At Andi's. Talking."

  He shook his head.

  "And it's kind of fucked up because Andi and I have barely made sense of things ourselves- at least out loud."

  "It's hard to do that with your mouth full."

  I rolled my eyes.

  "What do you think will happen?"

  I shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that it's the first time losing her has crossed my mind since we first got together and it feels really bad."

  He nodded.

  "Like as bad as you felt last year when you got food poisoning at the Sig's cookout."

  He clenched his jaw. "I'm still convinced that was a planned attack."

  "I think it was just a bad burger, buddy."

  He shuddered at the memory. "That is the sickest I've ever been by far."

  "My point exactly."

  "What are you going to do?" he asked.

  "Give them more time to talk it out, I guess."

  "Right."

  "Then maybe show up with food."

  "Can't hurt."

  "But I want to do something more,” I said. “Assuming Izzy doesn't totally fuck everything up."

  "More?"

  "I want to do something to show Andi how serious I am about her."

  "You mean something to prove you’re not the serial dating womanizer you were before she came along."

  "I wasn't that bad."

  He laughed. "You're the only guy who's hooked up with the Camden twins at the same time, and you still can't tell them apart."

  "That's not true. One of them has a tattoo on her hip."

  He narrowed his eyes at me. "Which one?"

  I scrunched my face. "Chloe?"

  He shook his head. "You're an idiot."

  "Claire?"
r />   "If you weren't my friend, I would hate your guts, you know that?"

  "And I wouldn't put up with your disgraceful beer pong skills," I said. "But my point is, I'm not that guy anymore. And I want Andi to know that I like the version of myself that I am with her, that I want us to go-"

  "What is this?" Brandon asked from across the table. "Dr. Fucking Phil? Do you guys want to play cards or can you not concentrate when you're on your periods?"

  "Don’t be a prick," I said, pushing my cards and chips across the table.

  Kevin did the same. "You guys can see that I'm obviously Dr. Phil in this case, right? Not the head case on the couch?"

  “All I see is two soppy tampons,” Brandon said, looking back and forth between us.

  I tilted my head to the couch across the room, and we carried our beers over.

  "Sorry to gush," I said, sinking into the ancient three seater.

  "You aren't gushing," he said. "Trust me. I'd cut you off if you were gushing."

  "So you think you'll go meet Brittney's family?"

  He nodded. "I'd wear thong underwear and blush if it would make that girl happy."

  I laughed. "Looks like we left the table just in time."

  “Whatever. Brandon’s just bitter because he’s in love with Claire Camden.”

  “Oh shit. I didn’t realize.”

  “She’s the one with the tat, by the way.”

  “Right.” I scrunched my face and wished I felt guiltier for not giving a fuck.

  “Anyway, I guess Izzy didn't take the news well?"

  I took a sip of beer. "She nearly walked in on us, Kev. I don't know how I could even let that happen. It's like love's made me stupi-"

  "Whoa whoa whoa."

  "What?"

  "Did you say love?"

  "Yeah."

  "Now you're gushing."

  I sighed. "I know. And I don't even care. It's like that scene in Elf when-"

  "Elf?"

  "Yeah, the Christmas movie."

  "Let me guess,” Kevin said. “That's Andi's favorite?"

  "Actually, she prefers the one with the Island of Misfit Toys."

  He smacked his forehead with his palm. "There is only one best Christmas movie."

  I raised my eyebrows and tipped my beer against my lips.

  "Home Alone."

  "What are you five?"

  "It's a fact."

  "Whatever,” I said. “All I was going to say was that I like that part where Buddy the Elf is jumping around being like, ‘I'm in love I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!’"

  "Of course he's in love. Who wouldn’t fall for Zooey Deschanel? She's ridiculously hot."

  "You're missing the point."

  "No, I'm not. I get it. I do. I get that we only had to make it one more year to graduate as free men, and we've fucked it all up."

  "Yeah. That's about the size of it." And yet, I was looking forward to the future more than ever now that I believed Andi might play a big part in it.

  "Does Andi know you've gone soft in the head?"

  "I don't think so," I said. "But only cause I've distracted her by being so hard everywhere else."

  Kevin dropped his head on the back of the couch. "You’re so lame."

  "You would know," I said. "I saw you across the Quad last week."

  He lifted his head and furrowed his brow. "When?"

  "Wednesday," I said. "Right after Brittney asked you to hold her purse."

  He groaned.

  "But don't worry. I think you successfully managed to hold it far enough away from your body that no one would've mistaken it for your bag."

  "You're a dick."

  "I don't think it's that black and white myself, but-”

  And then it hit me.

  Chapter 51: Andi

  I furrowed my brow. "Are you for real?"

  She nodded. "To be honest, he made up lots of games when we were little, but that one was different because he didn't play it with anyone else."

  "He played it with you."

  "Yeah. If you were around."

  "Not only then-"

  "Yes," she said. "Only then."

  "I don't know what to make of that information."

  "You don't have to make anything out of it. I'm only telling you because I spent the hour before I showed up here walking around campus, trying to figure out how I could've failed to realize there was something between you guys."

  "Especially considering how accurate your inklings usually are."

  "Don't be a smart ass," she said. "I was right about The Rapture."

  I laughed. "You mean about it not happening?"

  "Yeah. And I picked up on Ashton Kutcher's genuine love for Mila Kunis even before he married Demi Moore."

  "True. You did totally call that one."

  "And I don't even know them," she said. "Meanwhile, the two people I love most in the world loved each other for fifteen years right in front of me, and I failed to see the signs."

  "It’s not like the signs were obvious."

  "Are you kidding? Didn’t you hear me say that he literally never spoke to Steven again after he found out he felt you up at that dance."

  I shrugged. "I had to throw him a bone. He was such an attentive date."

  She rolled her eyes.

  "I didn't do it to hurt Shane."

  "I know," she said. "And he knows. But, like, I remember the look on his face at the dinner table when I told my family you got accepted here-"

  "Is that Izzy I hear?" Steph asked as she came around the corner.

  "Steph!" Izzy stood up and went to give her a hug. "I didn't realize you were home."

  I rose to my feet. "I didn't know if you were taking visitors this evening in light of all the studying you've been doing, but seeing as how you're all decked out, I sincerely apologize. Can I get you a glass of-?"

  "Did you know about Shane and Andi?" Izzy asked, still hugging her.

  "I did," Steph said, making a face at me that gave away the fact that Andi was squeezing her a bit hard. "And I’ve never seen either of them so happy. I think they're ridiculously cute together."

  Izzy loosened her grip and stepped back. "Because I agree- or would like to as soon as possible- I'm not going to kill you for not telling me."

  Steph smiled. "That is so awesome of you because I actually have to be somewhere."

  I cocked my head. "I‘m guessing it’s not the library since I can smell your soft curls from here?”

  Steph raised her shoulders. "I have a date."

  "Lord knows you’ve earned it," I said. "Who’s the lucky guy?"

  "I met him at the retreat. He's a grad student."

  "Medicine?" I asked.

  She nodded.

  "He's taking me to Tortellini’s," she said, smoothing down the red dress that had successfully survived the dry cleaners.

  I smiled. "Wow. So he either really likes you, he's rich, or you're about to meet his parents."

  Her eyes sparkled. "I'm pretty sure it's the first one, but obviously I'll keep you posted."

  "You look gorgeous," Izzy said.

  I nodded. "No kidding. I almost forgot how well you clean up since you've been such a monk lately."

  "Yeah, well. It's been a while and-” She bent over and set her high heels on the floor. "All this being around you and Shane lately has made me think I might need to make time for-"

  "Little Steph?" Izzy asked.

  Steph flinched.

  "Please excuse her," I said. "She's been drinking all day."