AllFreeNovel
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Matthew starts the game, and I get ready to play. We’re sitting on the floor in front of the flat-screen TV like a couple of kids who got a new toy for Christmas. This whole day has been a little surreal. Never in my life did I imagine I’d be sitting on the floor, playing video games with a bunch of guys who have already started treating me like a brother.
We play, racing our little cartoon cars until we get to the final lap. I’m trailing behind by a hair, and suddenly Matthew hits a roadblock, and I zoom past him, crossing the finish line with a huge number one flashing on the screen.
The guys behind me all cheer. I think I even hear Sara and Natalie cheer with them. The girls have had their heads bent together talking about whatever it is girls talk about while we’ve been busy trash-talking each other.
“Are you fucking kidding me? I want a rematch, let's do this again,” Matthew says, trying to start the game over.
“Face it, bro, the new guy is better at Mario Kart than you. Your reign is over,” Nolan teases.
“The next tournament will be mine.” The guys just laugh at him, and Adam gestures for me to head into the kitchen with him.
“You want another beer?” he asks, opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle.
“Nah, I’m all right. I’ll have to drive Nat home after a while.”
He nods his head at me and I can hear the other guys in the living room teasing and yelling at each other. The parents are sitting in the dining room, not paying a single moment of attention to the craziness happening in the living room.
I focus on Adam, who runs a hand through his dark brown hair. He’s only a few years older than me, but for some reason, it feels like our age gap is closer to twenty years right now.
“Look, I don’t want to go all I’ll kill you if you hurt her ‘cause that’s not really me. Matthew definitely, but not me. I’m the logical one,” he jokes but grows serious again before continuing. “But I was sixteen when Natalie started hanging out with our family, and watching her grow from the sad little girl she was into the spitfire she is now… I don’t think I’d be doing my big brotherly duty if I didn’t question what you want from her.”
“I get what you’re doing, man. She deserves the world. I know I’m not good enough for her. I’ll never be good enough, but she’s it for me. She’s the one I’ve always wanted, and she’ll be the one I’ll want forever.” I shrug my shoulders because I’m not sure what else he wants to hear from me.
“As long as you make her happy, that’s all we want for her. Based on how she’s been acting these last couple of months, I’d say you do.” He smacks me on the shoulder and leads us back into the living room. Natalie looks up when we walk in and furrows her brows, questioning what we were doing. I just wink at her, and the smile she gives me could melt just about any man.
What I told Adam was true. I’ve always wanted her, and I’ll want her for the rest of my life, even if it’s selfish of me to keep her. She says all I need to do is love her, but it’s going to take some time for me to feel confident it’ll be enough for her. On some level, I’ll always wonder, but I’m just enough of a bastard to not care.
