AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Your necklace looks nice with that shirt.”
I place my fingers on it. He’s never said a word about the fact that I wear the necklace he gave me every day. Even when I was dating other people. I’ve never taken it off, and I don’t plan to.
I keep my voice soft. “Juno, why do you wear that necklace every day?”
I can’t explain it right now so instead when our eyes meet, I say, “Will you kiss me?”
He looks at me startled but nods his head. He steps forward and wraps his hand around the back of my neck. Neither of us breaks eye contact. Right as he’s leaning in to kiss me, I hear my name. I pull back and look around.
Both of us turn to see Eli walking toward us, eyes blazing. Bode drops his hand quickly and steps back. Eli doesn’t even look at me. He walks straight to Bode. I’m afraid he’s going to take a swing at him. Instead, he shoves him. Bode takes a few steps back.
“My sister?” Eli yells. “You came down here to see my sister?”
Bode doesn’t answer.
“What the fuck, man? Juno...” Eli points at me. “Juno is the one who got away. The one you’ve been chasing for years?”
My eyes dart to Bode’s. He’s not looking at Eli anymore. He’s looking at me.
Eli grabs Bode’s shirt and gets right in his face. “When the fuck did this start? How old was she?”
“Eighteen,” Bode says.
I think Eli’s head might pop off. “You’ve been fucking my sister since she was eighteen.”
“No,” Bode says. He jerks Eli’s hands off him and steps back. “And don’t talk about her like that.”
Eli flicks his eyes over to me. I’m still looking at Bode. I say, “What did you tell Eli?”
Bode steps toward me and Eli growls. Bode ignores him and cups my face in his hands. “Juno, I want to talk about this. I want to talk about all of this, but I can’t do it in front of Eli.”
I laugh and look over at Eli who is still steaming. I nod, and Bode drops his hands.
“Eli, what are you even doing here?” I ask.
He’s glaring at Bode. “I was in town for work. I thought I’d swing by.”
“Eli, this is none of your business,” I say.
Eli points at Bode. “There’s a bro code, Juno. He’s my best friend, and you’re my sister.”
He turns to Bode and says, “I trusted you, man. When you offered to watch her in Italy, was that so you could fu...um, be with her?”
I don’t let Bode answer. I keep my voice low and calm. “I already said this, but I’ll just say it one more time. This is none of your business. I don’t care if he’s your best friend or not. None of this concerns you. Back off.”
I step toward him and poke my finger into his chest. “Eli, we’ve come to an understanding on this already. Who I choose to be with is my decision and no one else’s.”
We lock eyes, and his shoulders droop. “You’re right...you’re right. I’ll stay out of your business, but...”
He looks at Bode. “That doesn’t mean I’m not angry with him.”
Bode takes my hand and says, “Let’s go talk.”
As we’re walking into the house, Bode calls back to Eli, “I’ll text you later. We’ll talk this out.”
He doesn’t wait for Eli to respond.
