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“Well, more like who I’ve got on my mind.”
“Dream.”
The word came out of my mouth without any thinking involved. Truth be told, she’d been on my mind, too, ever since I’d found out that she was coming back to town.
He grinned at my response. “So, you’re thinking about her too, huh?” He ran his hand through his shaggy hair. “God, I don’t know what it is about her. But I can’t get her out of my head.”
“I’ve got a suggestion – it’s because she’s hot as hell.”
Evan chuckled. “I know. I mean, shit, how could anyone not notice that about her right away? But it’s not just that. There’s something more to her, something special. It’s something that I don’t know how to describe, exactly.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Silence fell over the car, as if both of us were trying to puzzle out that certain something about her.
“It’s like…it’s like it’s hard to be around her, like everything she does pushes me over the edge,” he said, breaking the silence. “I know it’s been years since we saw her, butI can’t think straight when I’m near her.”
I left Duncan’s subdivision, driving toward downtown. The streets became more crowded on both sides of us, lined with apartments and businesses, and plenty of people out for an evening stroll in the warmer-than-usual weather.
“Well, you’re going to have to get used to that,” I said. “Because she’s going to be back in town for a while – and so are we.”
“It might be temporary with her, right?” he asked. “Might just be that she and Adam are having some relationship drama and they need some space apart.”
I shifted in my seat, gripping the wheel tightly at the mention of Adam. Just like the mere mention of Dream’s name made my heart beat faster and my cock twitch to attention, hearing Adam’s name was enough to send a pulse of hot anger through my body. The guy had always been a prick, nowhere near good enough for Dream. To hear that he might’ve done her wrong…
I pushed it all out of my head. Focusing on that would be a surefire way to get me to drive like a maniac.
“Could be,” I said. “Either way, I’m guessing she’s going to be here for Christmas, at least. That means you’re going to have to get used to her being around, for a little while anyway.”
He smiled. “I’m looking forward to it. Do you think she actually thinks of us as family
? You know, since our parents were, well, you know.”
“I don’t know. Technically she’s not related to us anymore. It was all a legal thing, and not like we were raised together or anything. I doubt she ever thought of us as her brothers. Did you think of her as a sister? I mean, not just in a protective ‘little sister’ way either, but like a real sister?.”
“Not really.” He shrugged.
“So I don’t see what the big deal is. Nothing has changed between us. Dream is the same to us as she always was.”.” As soon as I said the words it occurred to me that it would be damn near impossible to think of Dream like anyone else. She was too special for that.
He ran his hand through his hair again. “I still think it’s a bit screwed up. Here I am, here we are, talking about her like she’s just any other woman. But she’s not. It’s Dream - the girl we swore to protect growing up, and it feels wrong wanting to date her. But damn, she sure knows how to push me over the edge. And you know the worst part?”
“What’s that?”
“She’s not even trying! All she has to do is show up and be herself and it’s enough to make me go insane. God, imagine if she actually tried to seduce me!”
I chuckled, trying to keep my thoughts off how I felt the same way. Wasn’t sure why, but I felt the urge to hold my tongue. What was I supposed to say, that I wanted her too? The situation was strange enough already.
Evan went on. “But none of that matters, right? If she’s back in town and dealing with all sorts of bullshit courtesy of Adam, doing anything with other guys is probably the last thing on her mind. Especially if that other guy happened to be one of us.”
We reached downtown, the tight grid of roads flanked with dozens of businesses and brick apartments. There were parks and fountains and everything else a quaint small town needed. It wasn’t long before I was in front of Evan’s pad. He lived on the top floor of a mixed-use building, the bottom floor occupied by Red’s, a bar we frequented. It was still pretty early, but Red’s was already hopping with clientele – likely upperclassmen from the local college.
“Maybe it’s not so crazy,” he said, speaking as if thinking aloud. “Like you said, our dad and her mom are done. We might have a special bond, but we’re not actually family. What’d be so bad about going after her?”
I couldn’t hold back any longer. I smirked, then spoke.
“If that’s the case,” I said. “You’re not going to be the only one to want her.”
Evan turned to me and cocked his head, as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard me right. Then he laughed.
“Thanks for the ride, bro. You know, I think I’m gonna grab one more at Red’s. You down?”
“Nah – driving, remember?”
“Oh yeah. And thanks again, by the way. See you tomorrow morning, bright and early – right?”
“Yeah, bright and early.”
He reached over and gave me a friendly swat on the back before bounding out of the car and heading into Red’s. Through the window, I watched as he spotted people he knew at one of the tables, greeting them with a big smile and throwing his arms out as if he wanted to pull them all into a bear hug.
I put the car into gear and pulled back onto the road. As I drove home, I knew one thing for sure – I couldn’t wait to see Dream Stokes again.
