Page 212 of Nobody's Girl

My heart swells with love for him as I saunter over to him and throw my arms around his neck. “You are amazing. Do you know that?”

He touches his forehead to mine. “She loves you and you love her. I’m not trying to take anyone from you, princess. I only want you to add me in.”

Damn it, he’s sweet!

Will he always be this way? Will my life with him always be like a fantasy, almost too good to be true?

CHAPTER 23

KYLE

“What do you mean you’re going with them?” I ask Laura as I sit on her bed and watch her pack.

“Eden invited me and I said yes. He has a mansion and I’d like to see where Ally will be living,” Laura answers.

“So he’s taking her to meet the parents. I can’t believe Al’s marrying him on her birthday. Do you know she and I were supposed to leave for Texas on her birthday? What is it with that girl and losing her virginity on that day? I mean, come hell or high water, she’s getting laid on her birthday.”

“Kyle! You shouldn’t talk about her like that. You know how over-protective her parents have been. She’s about to burst, I’m sure. Add that hot guy to the equation and she’s most likely having hot flashes waiting to get a taste of him.” Laura says.

“I can’t believe you’re talking like that right in front of me,” I say as I hold her by her shoulders, making her stop packing for a minute to realize who it is she’s talking to. “So are you into this guy now too?”

A blush covers her cheeks. “Me! Oh, he’s Ally’s, Kyle. Don’t be silly.”

Suddenly, I’m pissed. “Laura, I’m trying to make this look like it’s easy for me to hand her over to that guy, but it isn’t. It’s killing me. If I thought you were falling for him too, it might send me over the edge.”

Laura looks me in the eyes. Hers are a light blue, very similar to mine. Her hair is a lighter blonde than mine, long and shiny. She has it up in a ponytail and I have the sudden urge to pull it down so I can watch it fall across her shoulders.

“Kyle, what do you mean by that?” her voice is but a whisper.

“I mean, I don’t want you to go with them. Stay here with me,” I say, and can’t believe what I’m doing.

Slowly, she blinks as she takes in what I’m saying. “Kyle, why would you say that?”

“I may have lost Ally, but I don’t want to lose you.”

Her plump, pink lips quiver. “We’re just friends, right?”

Are we? Isn’t that all we ever were?

I remember a time when I was fifteen and I wanted both Laura and Ally. I couldn’t make up my mind. I kissed Ally first and Cody made me believe I could never get away with kissing Laura too, to find out which one I liked best. He told me they’d both end up hating me.

Ally is moving on, leaving me behind, and Laura, too, really, no matter if she’s letting her go for a weekend to the palace or whatever Prince Steals Your Girlfriend lives in. We will all be left behind while Ally becomes the princess that dude always tells her she is.

I lick my lips as I look from hers to her eyes. “Are we?” I ask.

Her eyes dart to my lips. “I’m Ally’s best friend. I can’t be anything more than your friend.”

I swallow hard. What am I doing? Am I really making a move on my barely ex-girlfriend’s best friend?

I’m sitting on her bed and she’s standing in front of me. I slide my hands down her shoulders to her waist and pull her in between my legs.

“She’s left me. Set me free. Truth be told, Laura, I don’t want to be free. I want to be tied to someone. I don’t like loose ends. I like them attached to someone. If I may confess something to you, I want you to know that when I was fifteen, I wasn’t sure which one of you two I liked the most.” I pause so she can breathe, because she seems to have stopped. I pull her in a little closer. “It was Ally who I kissed first. Cody made me believe if I ever tried to kiss you, so I could find out which one of you I really liked, I would lose you both.”

Her hand caresses my cheek and I melt into it. It feels so good. “I had a crush on you that I hadn’t told Ally about. When she told me you kissed her, I just about smacked her. I wanted you, but I kept my mouth shut.”

She wanted me too! I knew it!

“Here I am, Laura. I’m free and so are you.”