Page 56 of Sexting My Best Friend's Brothers
“I’m eating,” I lie. “And sleeping. It’s just… launch prep. You know how it is.”
“I do,” she sighs dramatically. “My brothers are workaholics. Well, except Owen.”
I flinch.
“Yeah,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “Owen is… fun.”
“Has he tried to drag you to one of his weird experimental yoga classes yet?” Harper asks, tearing off a piece of croissant. “Or tried to get you to invest in a cryptocurrency based on alpacas?”
“No,” I say. “He just… took me to lunch.”
“Lunch?” Harper pauses, a piece of pastry halfway to her mouth. “Just lunch?”
“Work lunch,” I add quickly. “To discuss the appetizers for the launch party. He wanted my opinion on crab cakes.”
“Oh, thank god,” Harper laughs. “For a second, I thought he was trying to charm you. You know how he is. He flirts with anything that has a pulse. He can’t help it. It’s like a reflex.”
My stomach twists.
He flirts with anything that has a pulse. Is that what yesterday was? A reflex?
You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time, he’d said.
“Yeah,” I say, my voice hollow. “Just a reflex.”
“Anyway,” Harper continues, oblivious to my internal meltdown. “How’s the dynamic? Is Ethan being nice? Is Asher… speaking?”
“Asher speaks,” I say, thinking of the dark car ride. You wanted to be seen. “He’s just… observant.”
“He’s creepy,” Harper corrects fondly. “But he means well. He just sees the world in code. And Ethan sees the world in threats. You’ve got to be patient with them, Tess. They’re damaged goods.”
I frown. “Damaged?”
Harper’s smile fades a little. She sighs, looking down at her coffee.
“You know. The military. The stuff they don’t talk about. They came back… different. Tight. Like they were holding onto each other for dear life. That’s why they’re so protective of the company. And of me. It’s the only thing they feel like they can control.”
She looks up at me, her expression earnest.
“That’s why I’m so glad you’re there,” she says softly. “Because they actually listen to you. You’re the only woman I’ve ever seen them let inside the circle without running a background check first.”
The guilt is physically painful. It sits like acid in my stomach.
They let me inside the circle, and I slept with one of them.
“I won’t let you down, Harp,” I whisper. The lie tastes bitter in my own mouth.
“I know you won’t! You’re the best.” She glances off-screen. “Oh, crap. My lunch break is over. I’ve got to get back to the studio before my supervisor kills me. Love you!”
“Love you too.”
The screen goes black. I drop the phone onto the couch cushion and bury my face in my hands.
Damaged goods. Family. Trust.
I can’t do this. I can’t be the thing that breaks them apart.
I grab my phone and open the thread with Owen. I stare at his last message.
