I walk in around ten-thirty with a few of my boys. The place is already crowded with sweaty bodies swaying drunkenly to the music. The girls move suggestively, some teasing, some seeking, and the guys all stalk their prey, only ever vaguely aware that they’re being stalked just as surely.
I learned early on that girls are as likely to be looking for a hookup as guys. High school taught me that. And I indulged, I’ll admit. But in recent years I’ve learned the value of selection, in letting them come to me.
But right now, I’m not looking for a hookup. I’m looking for Beth.
The bar isn’t huge, but it’s stuffed with students, and I don’t spot her for a good fifteen minutes. In fact, it’s Beth who spots me. Or, rather, it’s Lani.
“Not exactly winning any awards tonight, bodyguard. Where have you been?”
My eyes roll, like they often do in response to her comments, and they skip right over her and land on Beth.
Fuck me she looks gorgeous. Her long blond hair is styled in loose waves and she wears dark eye makeup and a pale lip color. It’s a sultry effect, and if there’s one thing I really don’t need my best friend’s kid sister being, it’s fucking sultry.
“Hey, kid,” I greet her, if only to remind myself that she’s still that tow-headed little girl who used to tantrum me into tea parties and watching The Little Mermaid. But it doesn’t really work, because even the nickname, kid, has become a term of endearment, and it only highlights the fact that she is most definitely all grown up. As does her form-fitting top and equally tight jeans.
Beth stares a minute, and I watch her take in my very boring black T-shirt and dark jeans. It’s not the first time I’ve caught her checking me out, and it doesn’t please me any less than it has before. A soft blush paints her pretty round cheeks, and I think about other things I could say to her or do to her that would make her blush.
Fuck, I need to stop.
“Do you want a beer?” I ask her.
“Sure.”
I look to Lani and raise my eyebrows, offering her one as well.
“Yes, please,” Lani says, and I order them two Amstel Lights.
Derek is on Lani in seconds, and I’m not surprised. He’s been asking about her practically nonstop since our first party at the house, and his interest is no secret. And I can’t blame him either. She is definitely an attractive girl.
It’s impossible not to compare her to Beth, being as they’re almost always side by side these days. And, as I’ve always found when I’ve compared a girl to Beth, she’s just lacking in the ways that actually matter.
Because Beth is so unique that it’s hard to believe she’s real. How does a girl possess equal parts naivety and badassery? Confidence and that sweet, quiet humility? Deep blue eyes that both widen in innocence and narrow in ferocity. She thinks she’s awkward. But it’s the world that’s awkward. She’s fucking perfect.
“So where’s this friend you invited?” I ask Beth.
Beth turns toward the entrance, her pretty features falling into a frown. “I don’t know. I thought he’d be here by now.”
He? My gut clenches. Why, I don’t know. I’m friends with plenty of girls, and there’s no reason why Beth can’t befriend a dude…except that she looks like a seductive fucking angel, and any guy cozying up to her is surely looking for something else. “You said you met him in your psych class?”
But she’s still searching the entrance, brows pinched together as if it will help her see better, as if it will make this guy appear, and then suddenly I’m pissed. Who the fuck is this guy to make her wait? Or worse—stand her up? Irrationally my arms tighten and tense, itching to throw a punch. And it makes no sense, because whoever this guy is, I don’t want him hanging out with Beth, anyway.
This is the juxtaposition of us. It has been for years. She is family and a little sister and someone to protect, and at the same time, deep in my gut, despite a lifetime of denial…I know I want her for myself.
But that doesn’t mean I can act on my feelings. I tried once, and I almost destroyed something that means everything to me.
Just then, I spot that guy. The one who was staring at me outside of Standman. The one who was staring at Beth. I automatically look to my left, to my right, taking stock of my brothers, my back-up.
“There he is,” Beth murmurs, and I turn to her, stunned.
“That guy? Are you fucking serious?”
Beth’s eyes go wide and she blinks at me. “Oh, right, I forgot you saw him that time.”
What the actual fuck?
“Look, David, I know he’s a little different. But he’s really nice, and we’re friends now, and I really need you to stand down.”
Stand down? It’s then that I realize my arms are flexing and my chest is puffed out.
