Page 65 of My Brother’s Best Friends Entanglement

Zachary steps into the soft light Dad had installed in the tree above the little alcove, knowing how I liked to read out here late into the night. "How much longer, Lex Luthor?" he asks, when he's within earshot, with a little grin on his face.

"Thirty-five minutes," I answer, knowing exactly what he's asking. Leon's best friends were there for the negotiation a few days ago, the way they are for most Riley sibling conversations, giving commentary from their permanent positions on our living room couch.

"Enough time for you to conduct a few more experiments with some beer bottles?" Zachary teases.

I groan. "You heard that?"

He grabs onto the thick tree branch above and leans a little closer to me with a smirk. "We all heard it. Some are taking bets to see if you'll come back."

"Hope you bet that I wouldn't."

His smirk turns into an all-out grin. "Wouldn't that be unfair? It would feel a little too much like insider trading. I'm privy to privileged information."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

He lets go of the branch and wanders over to plop himself down on the bench next to me. He smells like lemon zest and vanilla and the stuff of my dreams. "That would be telling," he whispers, bumping his shoulder against mine.

I whisper back. "Or, you could tell me what the over/under is, and we could split the winnings. It could be the beginning of our crime spree."

He laughs, head back, and I feel a little flare of pride that I'm the one to cause it.

"As diabolical as the villain I named you after. I've missed that sass," he says. "How's uni treating you?"

"Fine. Good, actually." I turn swish tea in my cup. "I'm thinking of switching into political science next year, from my general arts degree."

He cocks an eyebrow. "Yeah? What's that involve?"

"Well, a move interstate, for one. I've looked into what's being offered here as opposed to in Sydney and Melbourne, and their undergrad programs are a lot more comprehensive."

His face freezes for a second. Then he lets out a low, "Shit. Really, Lex?"

"Right? Can you imagine me living away from home?" I take a sip of my tea. "What am I thinking? I can't do that."

He shakes his head. "No, that-that's not what I meant by that. I was just...thinking what a change it would be. Leon would have a freaking heart attack!"

I look over him with smirk. "So, you're saying, there's a silver lining."

He laughs again. "See? What would we do without that mouth?" The laugh fades and his eyes drop to my lips. "What would I do?"

Suddenly, it's like the earth stops spinning and it's just the two of us, the scent of him wafting around us, his eyes locked on mine.

"Did I ever tell you that you're beautiful?" he whispers, so low I can barely hear him. And maybe he didn't, maybe this is all just in my head. In my dreams.

I shake my head, my cheeks burning. "I'm not. You're drunk, Zachary."

"I'm not. I'm DD tonight. And you are, you're so beautiful, Lex." His hand comes up to brush a curl off my face, and I forget how to breathe. "Especially right now. I mean, you've always been pretty but..." He curses under his breath. "Shit. I want to kiss you so bad." The words come out so quietly that I think I must’ve imagined them. Or it’s one of my dreams again. But then his chest starts to heave, even as mine stills. "Do you ever think about me kissing you?"

All I do is stare back at him, but something tells me that my eyes tell him everything he needs to know.

He inches closer, his thumb tracing the curve of my jaw. "Skin like silk. Sweet pink lips. I bet they taste like cherries," he whispers, his eyes flicking from my eyes, to my lips, and back again.

"Zachary..."

"I said 'shit' about you moving to interstate because I'd miss you so much. I just wanted you to know that."

I don't know what to make of that, whether it's because I never expect words like that from one of my brother's best friends, or because the way he's cupping my face has short-circuited my normally working brain.

"Would you miss me like I’d miss you, Lex? Would you miss seeing me almost everyday?” he whispers.