In Love with My Brother's Best Friend: Complete Box Set (2 page)

“
Um,”
I began.

“
Don't
say a damn thing,” he said. “You will be there. You're my
sister and one of my best friends. I need you there. I don't know
what's had your ass running from here for the last ten years, but
this is important. I've come to visit you so many times. It's time
you came home for once. I'm not taking no for an answer. If I have
to, I will come and get you. Whatever your beef is with Florida will
have to be put aside for one weekend. It's not like whatever it is
will be at my wedding. You can come straight here and go straight
back.”

I
sat silent for a moment.

“
Tina,”
he said softly.

“
I'm
not sure I can get the time off,” I said.

“
You
don't work the weekends, dork,” he said.

“
Why
do I tell you so much about my life?” I asked in a sad tone.

“
I
need you, Tina,” he said. “Say you'll be there for your
big brother's wedding. This is important to me.”

“
Big
brother by ten minutes,” I said with a snicker.

“
Tina,”
he said sternly.

“
Fine,”
I said.

“
Really?”
he asked.

“
Yes,”
I answered feeling defeated.

He
was right. I hadn't visited at all, and he'd come to see me so many
times. Renee had even come with him several times. They'd been
together a little over a year. I was surprised they were getting
married so soon. We were close to thirty, so I guess it wasn't soon
in that way. I just figured he'd date her longer or at least have an
engagement, but who am I to say what's right. I didn't know the first
thing about relationships. I'd been able to avoid anything serious my
entire life. One man had managed to ruin all of that for me.

I
wanted to ask Tim if Jackson was going to be there, but I didn't want
to give the jerk the satisfaction if my brother told him I'd asked
about him. Of course he'd be there. He was the only person closer to
my brother than I was. There was no way he'd miss my brother's
wedding.

I
hung up the phone and pulled the blanket over my head. It had been
ten years since I'd seen Jackson. He'd been stuck in my head ever
since my thirteenth birthday when he walked up behind me and scared
me worse than I'd ever been scared in my life. That was the day I
knew I had a crush on him.

My
stomach twisted in knots, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. All I
could think about was how I was going to face him after all that
time. I only had two weeks to prepare myself for what I was about to
walk into.

Tina

I
finally pulled my ass up from the couch, put my stuff away, and
climbed into bed. The lights were out, and I couldn't help but watch
the numbers slowly change on the clock. I was exhausted, but I
couldn't sleep. All I could think about Jackson and the day all my
dreams came true. What a joke.

Jackson
joked and messed with me all the time about kissing me after that
party. He did it to piss Tim off, and it worked every single time. My
brother would get so mad and threaten to kick his ass. Jackson would
laugh and walk away. I learned very quickly to let him go. If I had
responded even a little, he would have kept going until I'd have run
out of the room from embarrassment. There was no way he would have
ever given me the time of day. He was popular. There wasn't one girl
that wouldn't have wanted to go out with him. I was one of those
girls. The older we got, the more I wished he meant those jokes. I
couldn't tell you how many times I thought about what it would feel
like to kiss him and feel his lips on mine. It used to piss me off to
see him hanging all over some girl. I'd feel sick to my stomach every
time. When he left for college, I was only sixteen and cried my eyes
out. Nobody saw me of course. There was no way I would ever let him
find out that I liked him. He'd have never let me hear the end of it.

Three
days after graduation, my parents rented two hotel suites. One was
for me, and the other was for Tim. I was so happy that they'd made
sure our rooms were far apart. The hotel was right on the beach, so
there was a chance we would still run into each other, but it was
better than having my brother watch after me the entire night. We'd
just turned eighteen a few weeks before. Our parents couldn't afford
much. We grew up in a smaller town. My mom stayed home to raise us
while my dad worked hard just so we could get by. They combined our
graduation and birthday gifts on those rooms. We each invited some
friends to stay over, and our parents left us alone once we were all
checked in. I'd never been so excited about a birthday party before
that.

We'd
managed to avoid seeing my brother and his crew the entire afternoon.
I'm not sure how we did it, but I was relieved. Some of the girls met
guys on the beach earlier and had brought them back to the suite. It
was super dark out and I wanted a few minutes to myself away from the
noise, so I went out and walked down to the beach. There wasn't
anyone around. I took my flip-flops off and walked along the edge of
the water feeling the sand between my toes. When I'd gotten far
enough away that I couldn't hear a thing, I sat down in the sand and
looked out into the world. The moon from above lit the water, and I
watched it sparkle as the waves moved softly and the water moved back
just before it reached my feet.

My
mind wandered off to college and how it was going to be. I was going
away to school by myself. It was going to be the first time I would
be without my brother watching out for me. No matter what I did, he
was always there. It wasn't easy getting dates when he was the same
age and threatened all the boys. What did it really matter, I
thought? I'd never have the boy I really wanted anyway. I wasn't like
a lot of my friends. They were loud and outgoing. Not me. I was quiet
and shy. That didn't help in finding guys my brother wouldn't chase
away either. I fell back onto the sand and looked up at the moon, as
I thought about what it would finally be like to be on my own.

I
closed my eyes to soak up the sound of the water moving and took deep
breaths to pull the fresh air into my lungs. I'm not sure how long I
was there. Any sound from down the beach had quieted completely. I
couldn't remember the last time I had felt that relaxed. My mind was
clear in that moment, and I was happy.

“
What
are you doing out here alone, Tiny?”

I
heard the deep, familiar voice and jumped. It was a voice I would
never forget. It was the same one that filled my dreams. I felt him
sit down next to me but didn't open my eyes.

“
Shit!”
I yelled out. “Stop doing that to me.”

“
I
didn't mean to scare you,” he said.

“
I
didn't know you were here, Jackie,” I said.

That
was a total lie. Of course I knew he was going to be there. My
brother mentioned the day before that Jackson had gotten home from
college that morning and would be at his party. He missed Jackson.
Those two had been inseparable ever since I could remember. I'd
managed to avoid him the entire day. What the hell was he doing so
far down the beach, I wondered? I'd walked that far off on purpose so
nobody would find me. I just needed some time alone to think. At
home, there was always someone around me. Privacy wasn't something
that ever happened at our house.

“
I
got home yesterday,” he said. “Sorry I wasn't home in
time for graduation.”

“
Tim
was fine,” I said. “He didn't cry over you not making it
or anything. What are you doing out here?”

“
I
left the room and ran into one of your friends. That crazy one. I
can't remember her name. She said you left the room a couple of hours
before and wasn't sure where you went. I just wanted to make sure
everything was okay,” he said.

He
seemed genuine in his concern which was unusual. I was prepared for
him to start messing with me. Jackson being nice to me never lasted
very long.

“
I'm
good,” I said. “Nobody came by and snatched me up or
anything. You can go back to your friends before Tim goes out looking
for you.”

“
You
shouldn't be this far down the beach by yourself,” he said.

I
still hadn't opened my eyes. I'd been able to avoid him on most of
his trips home that year. There was no way I wanted to see him
looking even cuter than the time before. It would just mess with my
head. That was another good thing about going away to college. There
wouldn't be a chance of running in Jackson anywhere. If I worked
things right, I would be able to avoid coming home much and could
avoid him all together.

“
I'm
a big girl,” I said sarcastically. “I'll be just fine. I
doubt anyone is going to come out here to mess with me. I can take
care of myself.”

He
didn't say anything back for a minute, but I hadn't heard him get up
and leave. Was he still there, I wondered? Slowly, I moved my head
toward where he had been sitting and opened my eyes and jumped when
his eyes connected with mine. Had he been watching me?

“
I
thought you were gone,” I said.

His
dark eyes were looking straight into mine. I felt like he could see
straight into heart and felt my body shiver. There was no way I
wanted him to know what I really thought of him. That was too scary
for me. The moon lit up spots of his dark hair that had grown a bit
beyond his collar. He was seeing too much. I pulled my connection
from him and let my eyes roam down his chest. He was wearing a tight
white t-shirt. Even with barely enough light, I could see his muscles
tug against his shirt. He'd always been fit, but he looked better
than ever. My eyes continued down to see he was wearing a pair of
basketball shorts and had nothing on his feet. When my eyes moved
back up his body, he put his hand under my chin and lifted so my eyes
were back on his. As soon as his skin touched mine, I felt something
intense. Sparks flew through me and warmed my body. It was something
I had never felt before. He had the biggest smirk on his face, and I
quickly pulled my face from his fingers.

“
Nope,”
he said in a whisper. “I'm still here. What are you doing out
here by yourself, Tina?”

It
was the first time ever that he had spoken to me without using that
stupid nickname he made up when I was a little girl. I was smaller
than the rest of my class and the class below me. He said it once,
and it stuck forever. I was only seven when it started, so of course
the only thing I could think of calling him was Jackie. That stuck
forever as well. I had never one time called him by his real name
either. Not to his face anyway.

I
looked back at his face and noticed the scruff he had on his chin. He
was usually clean shaven when I'd see him. That scruff definitely
added a more manly touch to his perfectly sculpted jaw. Get it
together, I thought to myself. If I let him see me even the slightest
bit on edge, he would give me shit about and I knew it. I was waiting
for him to say something stupid as it was.

“
I
just wanted to be alone and enjoy the sounds of the water. I'm not
one for tons of noise. Our room was getting pretty crazy. Some of the
girls had some guys with them from the beach earlier. There were too
many people, and I needed a break.”

I
knew he would understand that. He'd known from being around our
family for years that I wasn't a fan of craziness. I was quiet and
kept to myself.

“
Did
you leave your man in there with the rest of them?” he asked
with narrowed eyes.

“
No,”
I said. “I didn't feel like dealing with all that today. I just
want to enjoy the freedom of being able to be my own person now,
without having someone always looking over my shoulder.”

“
You
mean Tim?” he asked.

“
I
don't want to talk about it,” I said. “He's probably
looking for you already. You better go.”

“
He'd
do anything for you,” Jackson said. “You know that
right?”