First Lust_My Best Friend's Little Sister Romance

by Lauren Wood

  “How long are you going to keep ignoring me?”

  “I’m not ignoring you Ted. What are you talking about? We talked this morning at the meeting. You had some good ideas for the second shift, remember?”

  “I’m not talking about for work Callie. I’m talking about you’re ignoring what is going on between us. It used to be good. We were good together and everything changed after David found out. He’s not completely okay with it yet, but he’s coming around.”

  “No, he’s not Ted. He made me promise that I wouldn’t see you like that anymore. He felt very strongly about it and I don’t want to upset him again. It’s not worth it. You two are good friends and you don’t need someone like me getting in between the two of you. It just doesn’t make much sense to me.”

  I don’t know why, but my temper was rising. She was always giving me reasons why we couldn’t be together. I felt like I had to remind her of the reason that we should be together. It was all I had, the physical connection we shared, but when I started to move towards her, Callie backed off even further. She knew my game and wasn’t going to let me play it.

  “That’s far enough Ted.”

  “Dammit Callie, I’m not Ted!”

  Her eyes got wider, and I realized how loud I was. The last thing I needed was to draw attention up here. David was down on the floor and I didn’t want him to know I was up here talking to his sister. He was not over it as much as I liked to say and think he was. I wanted to go back to the way it was when no one knew about us. It wasn’t what I really wanted, but it was better than nothing. I wanted Callie, no matter what way I got her.

  “And I’m not your girlfriend Ted. We had good times together, but they must end. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Did you have something to say pertaining to the business?”

  I didn’t know what to say to Callie when she was like this. It was not at all what I’d thought it would be. I thought this would be like before where she accepted my apology and we could go back. I was starting to realize that she didn’t want to go back, no matter how badly I wanted to, there was nothing left between us. I knew as I was looking at her that I was not going to be able to change her mind. That was the hardest part of all.

  ***

  “What did you do to my sister?”

  “What did I do? What are you talking about David? I haven’t done anything to your sister. She won’t even talk to me.”

  “You’ve tried talking to her?”

  He didn’t like that response, but since she wouldn’t even give me the time of day, I certainly didn’t want to fight with him about it. It was useless to do so.

  “Yeah, a while back, but don’t worry, she kept up with her promise.”

  David didn’t like that I knew about that, but I was still trying to figure out what I had to do with Callie and what was wrong with her?

  “I want to know what happened recently. She’d acting strange.”

  “And you think that I’ve got something to do with it?”

  He agreed, and I told him that I didn’t. “I see her for the weekly meetings, that’s it.”

  David looked at me, trying to judge if I was lying or not, but I didn’t say anything. It was almost back to normal, but the way he was acting now reminded me of before. I still blamed him for losing Callie and though he was a good friend, I felt like Callie was the other part of me that I’d been missing all these years. That was a lot to give up and I don’t think I was ever going to forgive him for that, especially if I never found anyone to take her place in my heart.

  “So, you have nothing to do with her being out every night this week and coming in this morning in a bad mood?”

  I didn’t like to hear that she was out while I was waiting for her to come around. The jealousy from before was threatening to bubble over.

  “No, I don’t know who she’s been with at night, but I know it’s not me.”

  David was still scrunching eyes, but he saw something now that made him pause.

  “You really cared about her, didn’t you?”

  I didn’t want to answer him because I thought I’d made myself clear about it before. I cared a lot about Callie, still did. She was the one that got away, twice now.

  “Yes, I do. I made you a promise and I would have broken it a hundred times over, but she wants to have nothing to do with me. You made her promise and she holds to her word better than I do.”

  That made him smile and it made my heart sink even further in my chest. It was exactly how I knew it was going to be. David didn’t care about it. He was just happy she was listening.

  “It’s a good thing for her that she does. I would have made it hell on her otherwise.”

  “You would have? How?”

  He waved me off and said that it didn’t matter. “I just want to know who she is messing with now. I don’t like it.”

  “You have to let her date David, no matter how much you don’t like it. She’s not a child. She’s grown.”

  I didn’t agree or disagree. He was taking this brother thing a bit too far. Three months ago, he didn’t even have a sister.

  “I want you to help me David. Since you care about her, I think you’ll help.”

  “How do you want me to help you?”

  “I want you to find out what she is doing. I can’t because she knows I’m watching. She leaves when I’m gone, and I need to know where she’s going. I need to make sure that she’s not with some bad guy.”

  “Like me?”

  “Yes, like you. Like I said before. You’re a good friend, but a horrible boyfriend. I don’t want her getting hurt by you.”

  “Well no need to worry about it. I was the one that got hurt.”

  David looked at me sideways. “Come on Ted. It’s like you’ve always told me before, a chick is just a chick.”

  I had said that before, but this was different. Callie was different. She was not just some other chick. She never had been.

  Chapter 24

  Theodore

  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I had almost told David no. I should have now that I was here, but at the time, I was curious to see where Callie was going. She was seeing someone, and I wanted to know who. I don’t know why I wanted to know or what I would do about it when I figured it out, but I knew that I just had to know. It was driving me crazy and I wasn’t going to be able to let it go.

  Now I wish that I’d never came because I didn’t like what I saw. It had taken a couple of days for me to follow Callie to her destination. She looked like she was in trouble, but when I saw who answered the door to the small apartment that she pulled up to, I felt rage take over. It could have been anyone and I would have been mad, but the man who was standing there, smiling at her was a man that I hated.

  Gary was not supposed to be here. He was not supposed to be meeting with our boss, my Callie. This much I knew for sure. But he was the one she was meeting. Callie had a small bag with her and I imagined that it was her toiletries that she would need for the following morning. That meant she was going to stay the night and that made me sick to my stomach.

  A big part of me wanted to follow her into the hovel and beat the man’s face in. It wasn’t going to solve anything, and I would most likely go to jail, but it would make me feel a hell of a lot better. I was already seeing the scene go down in my head and I paused so that I could really think about it. I was going to mess up, again. What was it about Callie that made me do these kinds of things?

  I was about to get out of the car when my phone rang. I looked at it and saw that it was David. I wanted to tell him who it was, just so he would see that I wasn’t so bad. She could pick men like Gary, which was no man at all.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Followed your sister like you wanted me to and found out where she’s going.”

  “Well, where are you? Don’t leave me hanging.”

  “I’m at a co-worker’s house, right outside of it.”

  I was going to make him work
for it a little bit. This was all his fault after all. If he wouldn’t have forbade us from being together, maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about a jerk like Gary. He hated woman and now he was going to make a fool out of Callie.

  “Who?”

  “I will give you three guesses.”

  “Stop fucking around Ted, who is it?”

  I could have let it go on a little longer, but I just couldn’t. I wanted him to know what I had to know. “It’s Gary.”

  The silence on the other end spoke volumes and I could only guess what was going through him mind. I was sure that it was much the same as what was going through mine. I couldn’t believe it and I felt sick to my stomach when I thought about it. How did he deserve a woman like her? He didn’t. It was just that simple.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “Nope. This is what you wanted. Gary is nothing like me.”

  He told me to shut up. “Are you going to do something?”

  “No David, I’m not. You were clear that you didn’t want me nowhere near your sister. This is your problem. I just thought you should know.”

  I hung up and though I’d told David otherwise, I was tempted to go in there. I wanted to smash the man’s face for even having the inclination that he could have her. She was mine.

  But the truth was that she wasn’t. Callie had made that clear and though it was easy to blame David, she’d made her own decisions and getting me out of her life was one of them. How could I compete with that? And how the hell was she going to pick Gary over me?

  Leaving was hard, but I couldn’t look back. I was going to say something to her in private, but here, with Gary in the house, I knew that all I was going to do was go to jail if I got out of the car.

  David called me back a couple of more times, but I ignored his calls. I wasn’t dealing with him. I did what I said I would do and I told him what was going on. It was his decision from there what he wanted to do about it. It wasn’t on me anymore. She was mine, but that wasn’t how Callie felt about it.

  Until she realized what we had with each other, there was really nothing that I could do about it. As much as I hated to admit it, my hands were tied. I really didn’t like the feeling and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I needed to get her out of my mind. There was only one way to do it and though I knew that it wouldn’t be what I was looking for, I found comfort in the bright lights of the club. It had been a long time since I’d been here, and I needed to take my mind off Callie now, more than ever before.

  Chapter 25

  Callie

  He had this look on his face that made me even more uncomfortable than I already was. I knew that I wanted this to be over, but Gary was just making this take longer than it had to. He had a little power over me and he was using it to his advantage. He’d already gotten money out of me, but now it seemed like he wanted more. Gary wasn’t getting anything more. When I told him that, he just laughed at me.

  “You are going to give me all that I want Callie. I know your type and you’ll do anything to keep your perfect little life altogether.”

  He didn’t know me very well. I never did care about money or reputation or anything else really. All I cared about was how I was going to be able to get out of here in one piece. I was so close to letting David deal with him in his own way. I knew what that way was, and I was trying to avoid it, but if Gary kept pushing, I was going to have no choice.

  “You’re wrong Gary. I won’t give you anything more. I’ve given you all I can stand to.”

  Gary got up and pushed a hand threw his dirty blonde hair. He knew that he had me over a barrel, but I was trying to convince him otherwise, no matter how untrue it really was. I knew that in one way or another, Gary was going to ruin it all. I should have refused the blackmail in the beginning because now it was taking on a life of its own and I didn’t like where it was headed.

  “That’s sounds good, but we both know that it’s not true. You will do what I want and give me what I want. I don’t really know what all the fuss is about with you. You’re pretty, but you’re not all that.”

  I bit my lower lip to stop myself from saying something that I was going to regret. He was quick to put me down, but I could see by his expression that he wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I took a step away from him because that was the last thing on my mind.

  “You have your money. I brought it like you asked, but this will be the last time I come over here. People are starting to ask questions. I’ve played your game Gary, but I’m done now.”

  Gary wasn’t hearing me. He was coming towards me and I had to stop him with one of my hands up like I was warding him off. “No Gary, I’m serious. I will pepper spray the hell out of you if you take another step forward.”

  “Then what about David? Are you really going to let him go down and let the business go down with him?”

  He had me there, but the fact was that I was not going to mess with him in that way. Not now and not ever. He would never know what all the fuss was about like he said. It was bad enough that he knew all he did about David. I wished that David had been more careful, but of course, he wasn’t who he was back then. Back then he was just a line worker with not much to lose and now it was all going to come back and bite us on the ass.

  Gary was still getting closer and I moved to the door. I opened it and slipped out before he could stop me. I don’t know what he had planned on happening, but I wasn’t joking about the pepper spray. My hand was in my pocket and I was gripping it as hard as I could. I didn’t want things to escalate here, but I did want to stop him for what he was doing to our family. I just got David back and he wasn’t going to make something happen to him. I just wasn’t going to let it happen. I couldn’t.

  Getting into my car, I was shaking, and I should have waited a minute, but I couldn’t. All I could think about was how badly I wanted things to be different. If only Gary wouldn’t have known what he knew. I could have gone the rest of my life, never having to see what the inside of his house looked like.

  I’d left my bag there, but there was no way that I was going back for it. I wanted to forget that I’d ever met that man and I was going to have to think of a way to get rid of him. He thought that since he made me give him a raise and a new job title that I was going to let him keep it. I didn’t know how yet, but I was going to make sure that Gary wouldn’t be around to cause anymore trouble.

  ***

  It was late when I got home because after I left Gary’s house, I went to the office to think. I don’t know how I was going to account for the bribe money, but I was going to have to get creative with it. I didn’t have the cash on hand that he was asking for and it was a larger amount than I would have guessed. Now, all I wanted to do was go home and go to sleep. It had been a very long day as far as I was concerned, and I was ready for it to end.

  The house was quiet when I got home, and I didn’t think I would see anyone. I was just about to the door when I saw Ted coming out of a car that I hadn’t seen parked there a minute ago. I don’t know if I missed it or if he pulled in beside me as I came in. I really wasn’t sure which one happened, and it didn’t matter. What mattered was that I was in no mood to deal with him or anyone else right now. It had been a long night and I wasn’t looking forward to a conversation with him. Neither one of us had anything to do with each other anymore.

  “Ted. What are you doing here? Is my brother still up?”

  That’s what I was really worried about if I was honest with myself. I know that David had noticed my absence and he wanted to know where I was. I didn’t want to have to tell him, so I would prefer that he think that I was on a date or something.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t went in there. I’m not here for him. I’m here because I wanted to see you.”

  “Come on Ted, give it a rest. I’m really not in the mood for this tonight.”

  “Did you wear yourself out earlier?”

  He had this smug sneer on his face that I
didn’t quite understand. I don’t know what he was talking about, hoping it wasn’t what I thought it was about, but there was nothing I could do to change it. I knew that it was going to be bad if he knew where I’d just been, but then how would he know? I was just being paranoid.

  “What are you talking about Ted?”

  “You know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about where you have been the last few hours.”

  “Are you following me or something?”

  “No, but I saw you over at Gary’s earlier. Seeing as you are just now getting home, it seems like you did more than go on a date with him. Where’s your overnight bag?”

  I didn’t want to answer him because for one, it wasn’t any of his business and for two, I didn’t want to have to explain myself. Like I thought about before if David found out, they could think what they wanted to think. Both men tended to jump to conclusions, whether they were right or wrong. It didn’t matter to me what they thought.

  Well it did, but there was nothing I could do to make them believe me. Ted was going to think what he wanted to.

  “I don’t have time for this Ted. I’ve had a very long day and it’s kind of creepy that you’re here right now and you know where I’ve been. What were you doing over there to see me?”

  “Your brother wanted me to find out who you were with. He thought it was me.”

  I made a disparaging sound and headed towards the door. He stopped me with a hand on my arm.

  “What?!”

  I was frustrated and close to tears as it was. The last thing I needed to do was get close to Ted. I wanted to, badly, but I made a promise.

  “You shouldn’t be seeing a guy like that Callie. He’s no good for you or just in general.”

  I didn’t want to believe that he was here, right now. “Why is it that you and David think that you can tell me who I can and can’t date? It was so much easier before the two of you got into my life.” I didn’t regret meeting David, but he was a lot of trouble sometimes, especially when he was trying to dictate what went on in my love life. It was all I could do not to scream at them both.