My Brother's Best Friend (Crazy in Love Book 1) (5 page)

              She leads me to a bedroom that is five times the size of my old one when it was only my mom and me and asks me sweetly, “Do you need anything else, Colin?” I stare at her and think how much I would give for her to stay in this bedroom with me and just let me look at her all night, but I shake my head and tell her, “No, Reagan, thank you, this is perfect. Will I see you tomorrow?”

              She nods excitedly and says, “Yeah, all of us will be heading out on the beach in the afternoon with a lot of your team. We’ll be surfing and playing football. You’ll enjoy it, I promise.” Stunned, I say, “So tonight wasn’t the end of the party, huh?” She laughs softly and explains, “No, Rocklend, tonight was only the beginning. The drinking and partying will last all weekend. You guys start your season next week so this is the last big party weekend for a while. Wallace should’ve told you to get ready for it.”

              After that, she walks out, and I say to myself, “No, Wallace should’ve told me to get ready for you. That’s the warning I really fucking needed.”

              The next morning, I sleep until after twelve. I think the combination of alcohol, an expensive ass bed, and sweet dreams about a certain girl that is too pretty to be real made me have a longer rest than I’ve had in years. But as soon as I open my eyes, I’m eager to get up and ready to get on the beach.

              Hanging out with Reagan in another bikini sounds as close to heaven as my imagination can go. Showering fast, I rush downstairs and stop dead as I see Wallace in the kitchen with a red head that I think I saw around Reagan last night. His hand is resting between her legs, and I can hear her moaning softly.

              Embarrassed, I try to back off softly without being noticed, but Wallace turns his head and nods slightly at me in acknowledgement. Our eyes meet, and he’s not upset or thrown off that I’ve stumbled upon them. He looks like he could be doing homework or eating a sandwich right now instead of the beautiful girl in his arms. The girl has her eyes closed and``                            head back, looking lost in the moment. But Wallace is aware of me even while still seeing to her pleasure. I wonder if I’ll ever be as composed as he is about everything. Some of me hopes not because he doesn’t seem to get a whole lot of amusement out of life. Nothing really seems to touch him, but I can tell that he cares about his sister, Blaine, and football. That’s about it.

              I quietly step back out of the kitchen and walk to the door that leads to the back porch. I know exactly who I’m hunting as I step out into the pool area. And I hear her voice and laughter beckon me as I walk towards the back gate and entrance to the beach. When I reach the point where I can see the sand and ocean, I spot her almost immediately on a board paddling out deeper to where some other guys on my team and Blaine are sitting on their boards.

              Intimidated, I watch her reach the other guys and almost immediately start trying to paddle and catch a wave. Fearlessly, she goes pushing her board into the wave and standing up easily before riding it all the way to shore. She starts scanning the shore as she picks up her board and notices me before I decide if I need to hide or go say hello. I’ve no fucking idea how to surf, and she looks like a damn professional out there riding waves.

              I’m starting to feel like the differences between us are going to be too vast for me to overcome even if she draws me like nothing has before. But she waves me over to her and despite my doubts, I quickly make my way to her side.

              She’s wearing a miniscule yellow bikini that barely covers her smooth skin. It’s hard for me to make eye contact with all of her that is on display and wet in front of me. She teases me, “Hey, sleepyhead, I peeked in on you early this morning, but you were still completely out of it. You looked so relaxed and peaceful that I couldn’t make myself wake you up.”

              Curious to see what she wanted, I try to guess, “Oh, did you want to see if I wanted to come surf with you?” She shakes her head and tells me, “No, I wanted to see if you wanted to go to breakfast. I’m always starving after I drink and dance, but we’ll do it another time.”

              Damn it, I would’ve given anything to have her alone for breakfast with me. Why did I have to have the best damn sleep of my life at her house when I could’ve had the best morning of my life if I would’ve just got my ass up? “I don’t drink a lot so I think that made me sleep hard last night, but please, next time, jump or pour a bucket of water on me. Because I’d always want to go to breakfast with you.”

              She smiles at me like I gave her the biggest compliment before she asks the question I was dreading, “Do you surf?” Grimacing, I shake my head no decisively because the last thing I want to do is attempt to learn in front of all the guys on my team. She reaches out and touches my shoulder in a comforting way, but my body responds excitedly to her skin on mine before she says, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll teach you sometime when nobody else is around. I don’t like learning anything new with people watching so we’ll get you some privacy before attempting to catch some waves together.”

              As she stands in front of me, all I want to do is reach out and stroke her tan glistening skin. The urge to pull her into me is hard to force down, and as I’m about to give into it, Blaine comes up behind her and flips her over his shoulder. He gives me a mocking look before yelling, “Someone needs to get in the pool!” Reagan’s beating on his back and yelling at him, but he’s so much bigger than her that she doesn’t make any impact.

              Pissed, I try to push down the feelings of jealousy and anger that threaten to overwhelm me as I see his hands on her. What the hell does he thinks he’s doing interrupting us like that. I’m starting to dislike their relationship, and I don’t like that he’s possessive of her at all. Do I feel in the same league as Reagan? Hell, no. But I don’t think I care anymore. She’s already got me wrapped, and I don’t think I’d even want to be free if I could.

              Slowly I follow Blaine back to the house. Harrison comes out of the ocean and starts to walk beside me. He says, “Look, man, I can see that there’s something there already between you and Reagan. But Blaine will make your life a living hell if anything happens between the two of you. Not to say that she isn’t worth whatever shit you’ll catch from him, but I still wanted to warn you that it could happen.”

              I groan and tell him, “Thanks for the heads up, man, but I’m starting to figure out it’s not going to be easy or simple with her. But he might push me to the point where I’ll be as pissed as he is. I’m already wanting to punch him in his damn face.”

              Harrison chuckles and responds, “That’s what I told Daniel, man. You don’t seem like the type of guy to mess with, and Blaine is used to not being intimidated and having Wallace to back him up. But if Reagan wants you, Wallace isn’t going to get in the middle of this one. As long as you’re okay fighting Blaine, you should be alright.”

              And I realize as Harrison talks about it, I am okay with a fight to put Blaine in his place. I’d much rather do that than not pursue Reagan. I’m starting to realize that I’m not going to let anything stand in my way from trying to get that beautiful girl.

              Picking up my pace, I get to the pool as Reagan is complaining at Blaine and climbing out of the water. Grabbing a towel, I step towards her and reach out an arm, “Here, sweetheart, use this and dry off.” Blaine growls at me, but I pretend to not even notice as I enjoy watching Reagan move her body around till she feels dry.

              I ask her quickly as she hands me the towel, “Do you want to go for a walk?” Her eyes meet mine, and she grins up at me with a twinkle in hers. “Sure, that sounds wonderful. I can work on my tan and get exercise.” I grab her hand and lead her back towards the beach as Blaine watches us.

              He doesn’t say anything, but I know he’s angry as I observe him ball his hands up into fists. We walk down the steps, and as we reach the beach, I say, “Yeah, he’s kinda possessive of you, right?” She sighs deeply and explains, “Yeah, he is, and I don’t like him as anything more than my family. But I don’t have a lot people that really love me, and he’s one of them. So even though he can drive me crazy; it isn’t something I can do a lot about. Because I’d much rather he be around annoying the hell out of me than not. Wallace and I have known Blaine since we were kids.”

              After she finishes her explanation, she gets a determined glint in her eye and asks me, “So are you close to your parents?” Thrown, I glance down at her to see if I can read what her intentions are behind the question, but I don’t really get a lot from her expression. I disclose to her, “Uh, that would be a no. My dad cheated and left my mom and me a long time ago. My mom stuck around, but she’s never really cared that much about me. Now, she’s newly married and obsessed with her new husband. He’s not interested in getting to know me or anything. They bought a house and moved to a new town without even asking me what I thought about it. And they put me in the pool house because they want their privacy. So I don’t have a lot to brag about when it comes to parental involvement.”

              She moves the hair out of her eyes and looks at me with a serious expression before she says, “I’m sorry, Colin, but I understand that story, believe me. My mom cheated on my dad before she died in a car accident when I was young. My dad raised us and lets just say, he wouldn’t ever win father of the year. Three years ago, my grandmother took over raising us. And she’s mostly indifferent but gives us money like it’s going out of style. I absolutely hate parental figures. They’re all fake and pretend like they give a shit, but they really don’t.”

              I hear the pain and hurt that comes out in her voice, and this time I give in and pull her into my chest. I don’t want her to hurt because the adults in our lives don’t care about us. That’s on them, not us. She buries her face, and I stroke her hair as she lets out one sob.

              We stay like that for a long time, and I keep touching her gently as she hides her face. I wonder if this is why I’m so drawn to her. It wasn’t only her beauty or wildness. But the pain that she feels right below the surface is the same as my own. I want her to be able to depend on me, and I want to be able to take away her hurt and not let it build up and be too much for her to handle.

              Slowly, she eventually pulls her face up and tilts her head to look up at me. Her eyes are still watery, but she looks so delicately pretty with her wild hair blowing in the wind and her eyes shining that amazing color as she looks into my eyes.

              “Enough of the sad stuff, I need to know the good details now,” she says as she grabs my hand and starts to walk again. “Have you ever had sex?” I stiffen up and do a double take at her. “Don’t look at me in bewilderment, come on, Colin. It’s a legitimate question. Have you had sex?” I shake my head no and tense up. I don’t think I can handle her telling me about her sexual history without wanting to punch every asshole that’s touched her.

              “Oh, wow, that’s a nice surprise. I haven’t had sex either, and I don’t plan to until I’m at least seventeen. I don’t think it ever helps a girl if she has sex before she’s ready.” Relieved, I feel like I can breathe again and have to ask her, “You’ve never had sex, really?” She giggles this time and says, “Really, I haven’t, I promise. I’m not telling you I haven’t made out with a few guys, but I don’t want to hate sex because I jumped the gun on it. I’m waiting until I trust and want the guy, and I want to be at an age where I feel ready for it. Any guy that truly cares about me will respect that.”

              She puts some emphasis on that last part, and I’m starting to think she’s directing it at me. “I agree with you completely, Reagan. You absolutely need to wait till you’re ready, and I’d fuck up anyone that told you it should be any different.” She looks at me with what I think is respect and suddenly jumps in my arms and wraps her legs around me. Her weight is so light that I easily hold her to me and continue walking.

              She keeps staring at me, and her expression starts to turn into one of bafflement. Finally, I say, “What?” She leans her face into mine and says harshly, “You’re an idiot.” Confused, I ask, “What? Why would you say that?” She grabs the back of my head and whispers in my ear, “Because I was waiting on you to do this.”

              With those words, she pulls my head close and lands her full lips on mine. My body was already responding to her being in my arms, but now, I can feel my blood pumping hard through certain parts of me. With my lips on her, I feel almost wild with the high that comes from having her wrapped around me. She makes me feel alive and strong like nothing ever has in my entire life. I don’t think I could ever need something as much as I already need her. We kiss and kiss until she pulls her head back and looks at me with a satisfied smile.

              “For some reason, I knew it would be like that since I first saw you, Colin. That’s why I had to put that out there about me waiting until I’m sixteen. I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but I think it’ll be good for us. You’re going to make it hard though with how pretty you are.” I think she’s joking but as she looks at me, I see that she’s not. She wants me almost as bad as I want her.

              Reagan turns and starts to walk back to the direction of her house; I grab her hand this time and hold it as we go. I decide to ask her before we get around others where we stand. I know that I want us together, and I don’t think I could handle being one of a few hook up buddies. Already, I feel a level of possession over her that I can barely understand or contain.