Page 83 of Filthy Rich Brother's Best Friends

The air out here feels almost as thick as it did inside. I clench my fists as I start moving. I don’t know where the hell I’m going. I just know I need distance.

From her. From them. From the truth.

I’m furious.

How dare Miles put me on display like that. Asshole should have kept his mouth shut. I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately, but he’s been a mouthy fuck. He keeps calling me out on bullshit he would’ve let slide before we moved next to Lola.

And Jude—smug bastard didn’t even blink. He shows up with gifts and a big smile and gets the girl without even trying. He's never once had to earn his place in life. He’s had everything from the start. I don’t doubt that he’s happy to share, I just don’t get why.

It makes me want to hit something.

Then there’s Lola.

She wants to play it like she’s innocent in all this. She’s not. She’s the one tearing us apart piece by piece—she’s ruining us. She keeps saying she doesn’t want to choose, but that’s bullshit. Choosing not to choose is still a choice.

She kisses all of us with the same mouth, whispers the same soft sounds no matter whose hands are on her. It’s bullshit and I don’t fucking care.

Except I do.

I’ve had her in my bed, in my hands, in my fucking mind. I don’t want to share. I never said I could. I never said I would.

She keeps pulling us in, stringing us along. She looks at me like I’m everything, then turns around and falls into bed with one of them.

That doesn’t stop me from wanting her anyway though.

I want all of her. And it’s killing me that she won’t give me everything.She’s only offering a part of herself—that’s not how I play.

I keep walking aimlessly, trying to get away from these feelings.

I think about a time back in college. Lola was visiting Wes for the weekend and we’d taken her out to some party with us. She was seventeen and too young to be there, not that she’d ever let that stop her.

I had one too many drinks, and I was mouthing off about some guy Lola was talking to—a frat douche with chinos and a beemer. I said he was basic, boring.

I remember the way she let me have it. She met me blow for blow, never backing down.

“If you’re that threatened by him, just say so. But don’t pretend your opinion matters. You’re not my brother, and you sure as hell don’t get a vote.”

No one had ever spoken to me like that. She saw right through the attitude and the posturing and still went toe to toe with me. Even now, years later, I can still hear the exact tone of her voice. I think that was the moment I started wanting her.

That was the first time I realized she wasn’t just Wes’s little sister. She was her own fucking amazing self and I’ve been chasing her ever since.

But wanting her hasn’t been simple. It’s raw and sharp and burns every time I touch it.

That girl years ago at that college party wouldn’t have let me walk away. She would’ve stopped me dead in my tracks.

So why did she let me walk away today?

“You already have me,”I think.“You’ve always had me. That’s the damn problem.”

By the time I make it back to the studio, I half expect them all to be gone. I’m surprised to find they’re still there.

I push the door open. It shuts behind me with a thud. They all turn.

“I’m not sleeping with your roommate.”

“Okay…and?”

I move closer to her. “I don’t know, maybe I wanted to push you away. You’re dangerous. You have to know that. I don’t know how to handle this. But I don’t know how to walk away from you either.”