Page 7 of Sexting My Best Friend's Brothers
A roar goes up from the front of the room. I follow his gaze. Harper walks in first, beaming, waving at people in a gold sparkly dress.
But then, stepping out from behind her…
Oh my god. The photo didn’t do it justice. Not even close.
Tessa stands in the doorway, and for a second, the noise of the party just… stops.
The dress is a threat. It’s a slip of crimson silk that pours over her body like liquid fire. It clings to her hips, plunges recklessly at the neckline, and leaves her arms and shoulders completelybare. It’s the kind of dress that whispers touch me and screams ruin.
“Damn,” I whisper.
Beside me, Ethan goes completely motionless. I glance at him. He isn’t looking at her face; of course, he isn’t. He’s staring at the high slit in the skirt that teases the smooth skin of her thigh every time she takes a step. He looks furious. He looks hungry. He looks like a starving man staring at a feast he knows is poisoned.
“She wore it,” Asher murmurs, sounding almost impressed.
“She’s provoking us,” Ethan growls. “She did this on purpose.”
“Mission accomplished,” I mutter.
Tessa scans the room. She looks flushed, her eyes wide and panicked, looking for an exit that doesn’t exist. She looks terrified.
And then she sees us.
Her gaze collides with mine across the crowded room. I see the exact moment the recognition hits her. Her eyes widen. A blush burns up her neck, staining her chest a guilty, blotchy red that clashes beautifully with the silk.
I lift my glass in a mock salute and wink.
She looks like she wants to dissolve into the concrete.
“Here they come,” I warn as Harper grabs Tessa’s wrist and drags her toward us. “Game faces. Don’t look at her chest.”
“I’m going to kill her,” Ethan mutters. He buttons his suit jacket, smoothing the lapels down with unnecessary force.
They reach our circle.
“Look who I found!” Harper announces, squeezing Tessa’s waist. “Doesn’t she look amazing?”
Tessa looks like she’s about to vomit. “Hi,” she squeaks.
“Hi, Tessa,” I say. I drop the charm and simply stare. “It’s been a while. You look… grown up.”
Beside me, Ethan is stripping the dress off her with his eyes, sweeping from the hem of the silk to the pulse fluttering in her throat.
“Different,” Ethan corrects, his voice rough. “She looks different.”
Nobody speaks. Tessa’s chest rises and falls too fast. She looks ready to bolt.
“Here,” Harper says, oblivious to the tension, shoving drinks into our hands. “Vodka tonic for Owen. Whiskey for the killjoy. And a club soda for Ash.”
“Thanks,” Asher mutters, gripping the glass like he wants to crush it. He hasn’t stopped looking at Tessa’s bare shoulders.
“I know, right?” Harper beams, catching him staring. “I’m still in shock. I honestly expected her to show up in a turtleneck, but I guess she finally decided to live a little.”
Asher’s eyes drop to the plunging neckline of the red silk. “Hard to imagine,” he grinds out.
Harper laughs, clinking her glass against mine. “But honestly, don’t scare her off.”
She grabs my arm, her manic energy. “Okay, enough talking. It’s my party. We’re dancing.”
