AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shrugs. “The three of us have been together for ten years. You’ve always loved Zoey. It just took you a while to figure it out yourself. I was there the day I saw the lights come on. It freaked you out. What I don’t get is why the hell you haven’t done anything about it.”
“Am I really that obvious?”
He shakes his head chuckling. “You know you’re answering my question without answering my question, right?” When I don’t say anything, he shakes his head again. “All right. No. You’re not always that obvious, and not to everyone. I know because I know you. Just like I know her, and know she feels the same about you. The guys know because you have a very jealous and possessive streak when it comes to her.”
“It’s not jealousy,” I grumble. “I just watch out for her.”
“No, Jay. I watch out for her like a protective brother should. You’re territorial. I want to keep the douchebags and assholes away from her. You want everyone with a dick to stay away. Hence, you getting pissed that Kyle got too close to her tonight.”
I rake my fingers through my hair, pulling a little. “So, who is it not obvious to then. Because I had no idea anyone had a clue.”
Another shrug pulls at his shoulders while he takes another drink from the bottle before passing it back to me. “It’s not obvious to Zoey. She thinks you’re out of her league.”
A humorless snicker escapes me. How in the hell could she possibly think that? I ask Zane as much.
“I don’t know, man. Why does she think half the shit she thinks?”
“Okay so who else hasn’t noticed my obviousness?”
“You should know the answer to that, Jay. The girls. Not one damn girl in this school thinks you have a thing for anyone. They all believe you only have eyes for them or that you just need convincing.”
I cringe at that thought. There’s never been a single girl I’ve come across that could hold my attention for very long, save one. “I’ve never been anything but upfront with those girls. I’m not a player.”
He gives me a cocky grin with a raised brow. “Not a player in the accurate sense of the word, but a player nonetheless.”
I am not a player. I have never had any interaction with a girl where I led them on or encouraged any type of feelings. It was always made very clear it was all about sex. The physical act alone. Nothing else.
I’ve often wondered what Zoey thought about my escapades. She’s never mentioned it to me at all. I wonder if she knows the only reason I was with any of those other girls was because I thought there was no chance I could ever be with her. I hate to use the excuse that I’m a guy with needs, but if you thought there was no chance you would ever get the girl you wanted, would you just stay celibate forever?
Didn’t think so.
“Brings me back to my other question. How are you okay with this? With how I feel? You know I haven’t been sitting around – you know – waiting.”
He turns to me with sincerity and seriousness in his eyes. Not something that anyone gets from Zane very often. With a hand on my shoulder he draws in a breath, “I’m okay with it, Jax, because I know you love her. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that you would do everything in your power to make her happy and keep her safe. Damn! You’ve been doing it for ten years already. I don’t think there would be anyone better for her than you. As far as your extracurriculars, I know you never felt anything for any of those other girls. You’ve never been anything but honest about what you expect out of any of them."
I exhale a hard breath. Fuck, I love him so much! “What about the fact she’s my best friend? You’re my best friend. What if, by some miracle, I convince her to give us a try and I fuck it all to hell. I’ll lose both of my best friends at once.”
His brows furrow deeply as he considers my words. “Shit, Jax. You really think I’d dump your ass?”
“She’s your twin sister, Zee. You’d be a piece of shit brother if you didn’t.”
He looks thoughtful for a minute. He really considers my words. I wonder if he sees the significance of all of this for me. That I have so much to lose if I go for it, and it blows up in my face.
After several minutes – at least that’s how it feels – he finally speaks. “Maybe you’re right and that would make me a shit brother. It would also make me a shit brother if I dumped you. You, man, are my brother just as much as she’s my sister.” A slow, shit-eating grin then spreads across his face. I prepare myself for the coming inappropriate comment heading my way. “That would mean anything between the two of you might be considered a little incestuous.”
I laugh for the first time since we got to this damn party. “You know you need help, right?”
He keeps grinning like the damn idiot he is. “So, what are you going to do about it? Go after the girl or keep standing here avoiding?”
Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.
That’s what I want to do. Because once I approach her – once I put it out there – there’s no going back. “How can you be so sure she doesn’t know how I feel? Using your own logic, shouldn’t she know just like I do?”
“Jax, you know Zoey. She doesn’t see that shit. She never notices that guys check her out constantly. She doesn’t see how hot – God I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. She’s not insecure but she isn’t full of herself. She’s just Zoey. And for the record, you claim you have no idea how she feels either.”
“I don’t know if I didn’t see as much as it goes against all the rules.”
“What rules?”
