He slings his arm around my shoulder, kissing my temple. “Love you too, little sis. Always.”
“You two are legit crazy,” Myndi says, and I hear the amusement in her tone. “How the hell did anyone survive living in a house with the two of you?”
“We mostly just ignored them,” a familiar deep masculine voice says from behind. I brush knotty strands of blonde hair back off my face and grin at my pseudo-brother.
“Sup, bruh?” Ryan greets Slater with a loud slap on the shoulder.
“I’m heading to Lil Bob for a workout before the party tonight.”
My eyes drift over Slater, noticing the new tatt on his left arm and the rippling biceps stretching tight under his formfitting shirt. Slater has always enjoyed working out, but since his Mom passed six months ago, he’s become a little obsessed. He’s a permanent fixture at the sports facility the students have christened “Lil Bob.” I guess it’s part of his coping mechanism, and I’ll never criticize him for that. Just thinking about his mom brings tears to my eyes, so I can only imagine how he must feel.
Noticing my lingering gaze, he arches a brow, and I blurt the first words to land in my brain. “You cut your lovely hair.”
His lips curl up at one corner. “Not since the last time we met. Your observational skills suck, Belle.”
Slater is the only one to call me that. I was obsessed with Beauty and the Beast when I was little, and Slater used to tease me saying I wanted to be Belle for access to the library. But he was only partly right. I did daydream about being Belle, but I was no different than any young girl my age, and I wanted to be her for the prince. Not the books! Anyway, the name stuck, and Slater has called me Belle ever since. Ryan prefers Tornado, Mom insists on using my full name, and Dad always calls me Buttercup. Most everyone else calls me Gabby. Dylan and I have pet names for one another, chosen when we were kids before either of us fully realized what we would become.
Some girls might hate being known by so many names, but it’s always made me feel special.
I stick out my tongue, and Slater laughs.
“I swear your haircut must have its own Twitter profile by now,” Ryan supplies, mock scowling. “If I see one more tweet about how hot Slater Evans is with his buzz cut, I’m gonna puke.” He punches Slate in the shoulder. “It’s good to know at least one girl is immune to your charms.”
Myndi is watching all the back and forth with amusement, and I half-expect her to whip out a bucket of popcorn and settle in to watch the show.
Reaching up on tiptoes, I run my hand over Slater’s shaved head. “Wow, it’s so soft.” He flashes me a blinding grin, showcasing his perfectly white, perfectly straight teeth. “Maybe I can convince Dylan to follow in your footsteps.” Slater’s smile fades, and his Adam’s apple jumps in his throat.
“Dylan would look so hot with that haircut,” Myndi agrees.
“I’m gonna head,” Slater says, eyeballing Ryan. “See you back at the house.” He gives me and Myndi a quick wave. “Catch you later.”
“You coming to the party?” Ryan asks, his gaze bouncing between me and Myndi.
“I’ll be there,” she confirms with a smile, and they share a look. I have a feeling that train wreck is gonna happen whether I stage an intervention or not.
“I’m not sure. I don’t know if Dylan has something planned for after dinner.”
Myndi smirks, her mind clearly gone to the gutter, and Ryan frowns a little. Guess he doesn’t like the idea of his sister having sex any more than I like thinking about him and his hordes of female admirers.
I kiss Ryan on the cheek before looping my arm through Myndi’s again. “I’ll text you later,” I say, starting to walk away. “Have fun and stay safe!” I practically have to drag Myndi away, watching with resignation as she glances over her shoulder, shooting him a final drawn-out look. “You like him.”
Her smile disappears, and she chews on the corner of her lip in an obvious tell.
“It’s okay if you do,” I rush to reassure her. I’ve never understood the apparent taboo of getting with your friend’s brother or vice versa. It’s not like there’s any shared DNA or blood relation, so who cares?
You should be free to love who you love without barriers.
“You’re both adults, and you can do what you want. I just don’t want you to get hurt, and Ryan’s not exactly boyfriend material.”
“I know that, and I’m not looking for a replacement boyfriend. I want to focus on my studies this year, and boys will only get in the way, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun. I don’t want my vajayjay to shrivel up and die from lack of use.”
I grin. “That would never happen around here, and you should do what feels right. I’m a judgment free zone, but you’ve got to promise it won’t come between us. If Ryan fucks things up, I don’t want it to affect our friendship because you mean too much to me.”
She squeezes my arm. “I would never let anything come between us. Especially not the weaker sex.”
We both burst out laughing at our own private joke, and as we make our way through campus, I hope she’s right.
Chapter Two
“You look beautiful, baby,” Dylan says when I emerge from our bedroom, ready for a night of celebration. I’m wearing the black lace dress he loves and my black and gold strappy sandals. I’ve curled my hair into soft waves, and it hangs to my shoulders. I’ve kept my makeup minimal, knowing he prefers the more natural look. Plus, I’m too lazy to spend ages in front of the mirror, primping and preening. Au naturel suits me just fine.
“And sexy as hell,” he adds, stalking toward me like a man on a mission.
I back up, raising my palms out in front of me. “We don’t have time,” I protest when he flattens my back to the wall, bending down to kiss that sensitive spot under my ear.
“I’ll be quick,” he murmurs, pressing a trail of hot kisses along my neck while his hand slides up the inside of my thigh.
“You’re insatiable lately.” We’ve had a healthy sex life since we popped one another’s cherry when we were seventeen, but Dylan has been acting like a sex-obsessed addict the last month, and he can hardly keep his hands to himself.
Not that I’m in any way complaining, you understand.
Tilting my head back, I readily grant him more access to my neck.
“You turn me on so much, Gabby. It’s like the longer we’re together, the more I want you.”
For a geeky tech nerd, he sure is a diehard romantic with a special affinity for words. I cup his smooth cheeks, staring into his clear hazel eyes. “I love you, Dylan. More with every passing day.”
His lips meld to mine, and I angle my head, kissing him deeper as an ache starts throbbing down below. Dylan shoves my dress up to my waist and cups me through my panties. “I love you, Dimples, and you’re mine. All mine. Now and forever.”
I don’t need any convincing.
For the longest time, I’ve known I was his. Only ever his.
Sliding my panties aside, he slips two fingers inside me, curling and twisting them at the right angle to hit the perfect spot. My hands fist in his messy brown hair as he drops to his knees, tugging my panties down my legs and burying his face in the apex of my thighs. Dylan could ask me to agree to anything while he’s eating me out, and I’d be powerless to resist. He knows exactly how to work me into a quivering mess, and I love how enthusiastic he is.