Jase and I began picking up the markers and folding the game board as everyone else took dishes into the kitchen.
He looked at me as he grabbed the game box off the table. “Nice drawing.”
“You guessed pretty fast,” I replied.
He met my eyes for a heartbeat, something vulnerable hidden there, then looked away. “Yeah. I guess I knew what you meant.”
That spark moved through me again. I wanted to say a dozen things, but couldn’t find the words.
Instead, I went with, “We make a good team.”
“Always have,” he agreed.
The house wasquiet when I wandered downstairs later.
The digital clock on the microwave glowed, telling me it was just after two in the morning. My brain couldn’t turn off after a day of travel, laughter, family, and the way Jase had said,“Nice drawing,” at the end of our Pictionary game, like it meant something more to him.
I poured myself a glass of water and sat at the island, staring into the dark. The light above the stove cast a soft glow acrossthe granite countertop. “You planning on staying down here all night?”
I looked up.
Jase stood in the doorway, barefoot, wearing a T-shirt and a pair of sweats. His hair was rumpled, but he still looked far too cute for his own good.
“Couldn’t sleep.” I shrugged. “Figured this way I wouldn’t wake you and Faye up.”
As far as everyone else in the house knew, Faye was spending the night in my room, but Jase had joined us shortly after everyone had gone to bed.
“Well, she’s passed out, but you’ve never been able to sneak out without me noticing.” He leaned against the opposite counter, his gaze holding mine for a beat before he looked away. Silence stretched between us.
Finally, he sighed. “We probably should talk.”
My stomach dropped. “Yeah. Probably.”
He poured a glass of water, then took a sip. “So, the night at the villa. What was that really about?”
This was my chance to lay it all on the table and see what would happen. “I’m not exactly sure when, but I feel like ever since Faye came into the picture, she’s turned my life upside down.”
He nodded. “Mine too.”
“We’ve shared girls before and nothing ever came of it,” I continued. “But once she came to visit us in LA, I was sure I wanted more.”
He cocked his head to the side. “I get that, but what does that have to do with what happened between you and me?”
I took a deep breath. “Somewhere along the way, while I was trying to figure things out about her, I realized that themoreI wanted wasn’t just with Faye. It includes you. I probably shouldhave talked to you about that before just diving in and kissing you, huh?”
He chuckled. “The kiss definitely caught me off guard. And the blow job after? Well, that wasn’t something I thought would ever happen in a million years.”
“Sorry—”
“You don’t need to apologize,” he jumped in. “I wasn’t grossed out or pissed off or anything like that. Just surprised.”
“That’s fair. I didn’t exactly ease us into it.”
“No,” he agreed. “You really didn’t.”
There was no anger in his tone. Just honesty.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’ve never thought about you like that before. Not romantically. Not sexually. You’ve always just been … you. My best friend. My brother.”
