“Why?” I kept looking out over the moonlit water, trying to ignore the heat of his body next to mine.
“About today.”
“You can’t help it if you don’t like me.” Inwardly I winced, not liking having revealed so much.
“Then I really do owe you an apology.”
I turned my head, not realizing just how close he was. His green eyes stared at me and it felt like a magnet pulling me to him.
“What do you mean?”
“I do like you.” His gaze drifted down to my lips and then back up to my eyes.
I turned away, determined not to let my hormones get caught up in the fantasy of Wyatt Jones again.
“As friends, I know.”
“We’re friends, yes, but it’s more than that.”
My head whipped around to look at him. “What?”
This time he broke the connection and looked out over the water. “I like you more than that. What happened in the truck, happened because of you, specifically you, sitting on my dick.”
I swallowed hard. “Why did you say it would happen with anyone?”
He looked down. “Because you’re Ryder’s sister. There are rules. One is that you don’t touch your best friend’s sister.”
“Where’s that written?”
He laughed. “It doesn’t have to be written. It just is.”
Feeling surly, I said, “Your loss.”
He groaned. “I’m sure that’s true.” He looked at me and the intensity made my breath catch in my chest. He pushed my long light brown hair that I’d released from the messy knot I’d had it in earlier out of my face.
“What are you doing?” I squeaked out.
“I’m contemplating kissing you.”
That should have excited me, but it only hurt me again. I turned away. “Let me know when you make up your mind.” I shook my head.
“You don’t want me to kiss you?” I heard humor in his tone.
I looked at him. “If you have to think about it, what does that say about me?”
He looked at me as if I was speaking Greek.
I huffed out a breath. “What a woman wants is to be desired beyond reason. It doesn’t matter who her brother is. There is no thinking. There’s just an overwhelming need to be with her that is bigger than all that.”
“You make fun of the bro’ code, and yet girls seem to have more rules.”
“It’s not a rule, Wyatt. You’ve been conditioned to think girls will take any crumbs you give them because…well…around here all the girls are willing to do that for you. But deep down, they all want to be special. They want someone who wants them so badly they can’t see straight-“
“I see you just fine.” His hand slid around my neck and pulled me to him until his lips fused with mine. I’d had many years to imagine what kissing Wyatt would be like. In my dreams, it was good. The real thing was a million times better. It was everything the romance books said it would be and more.
When he pulled away, I clutched at him, not wanting him to get away. He rested his forehead against mine. “I’ve wanted to do that since junior prom.”
I lifted my head to look at him, disbelieving.
“A guy can want someone but also want to do what’s right. It doesn’t mean you’re less than if I bust my balls to control my wanting you.”
My heart went to mush. “So, what now?”
“I want to be with you, but I also don’t want to get my head bashed in by your brother.”
I laughed. “He’d be okay with this. I know he would.”
My brother Ryder was the most laid-back, accepting person I knew.
He shook his head and looked out over the water. “You’re leaving in the fall. I don’t want to risk losing my best friend.”
I wanted to be angry that he was choosing Ryder over me, and at the same time, I understood it. I even respected it.
“So, we spend the summer having a secret romance.”
He looked at me. “You could do that?”
I shrugged. It wasn’t what I wanted exactly, but… Well...as it turned out, I was willing to have crumbs after all.
“There’s something romantic about a secret romance. Something just you and I have.” The more I thought about it, the more appealing it was. I’d have a part of Wyatt no one, none of the other girls he’d been with or my brother, had.
That summer was so sweet with stolen moments alone. Notes I’d find from him after he’d hung out with my brother. A few weeks in, he told me he loved me and with such joy in my heart, I confessed that I loved him too. By August, we didn’t talk like we were done when the summer was over. We talked like we had a future. Like we’d be together forever.
The only bummer was that I was still a virgin. There was lots of kissing and heavy petting, but that damn bro’ code kept him from going all the way with me. As summer drew to an end, I was determined to change that.
I snuck out of the house and met him by the oak tree near the river, bringing a blanket with me. We’d agreed to meet there that night when everyone else was in bed, as we did many times. I wore a flared short skirt and button top, and underneath I had the lacy panty and bra set I’d bought on my last shopping trip to Kearney.
He showed up with the smile that always made me swoon. He wore his soft faded jeans, a black t-shirt and cowboy boots. His gaze took a slow trail over my body. After all this time, I knew when I saw the mixture of desire and frustration in his expression. He wanted me, but that stupid bro’ code kept getting in the way.
“Did you see the stars?” he asked, sitting next to me.
“It’s a beautiful night.” Perfect for losing the v-card under the light of the moon, by the river, under the oak tree. I didn’t want to give him too much
