Page 36 of Instigator

In person? Holy fuck, did my pants situation get uncomfortable. I shouldn’t be thinking about my platonic best friend in such an unfriendly way. It’s not like I’d ever considered pursuing her. There are boundaries. Unwritten rules.

And they all got thrown out the window when I realized Annie is a woman I’m attracted to in real life.

Now I have to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do about it.

Do I talk to her, or do I pretend I don’t know? Our conversation last night was so charged, so tense, and now…

How do I do this? What do I say?

I wasn’t ready to meet Annie. But I’m pretty damn sure there’s no escaping her. I can’t go on like this, knowing that we’re connected in real life and pretending we aren’t.

My Annie is a tech genius.

My Annie lives in Boston.

My Annie loves the bistro where I’ve seen Ceci on two separate occasions.

My Annie…

She’s mine.

I’ve had half a crush on Annie all these years. Her husky voice echoes in my ears, her sense of humor is unmatched, and her brains… whew.

Add in that I’ve had physical reactions to Ceci every time I’ve met her, and she’s one potent package. I thought it was her perfume that turned me on, but looking back, I think it was my subconscious drawing me to her.

She’s hot as fuck and has a killer brain. Is it any wonder that all the pleasure centers in my brain lit up like the Fourth of July?

Now I simply have to tell her. Offline, we’re little more than acquaintances. She works for the team, she’s friends with my sister…

But online, she’s my best friend, whether she knows it or not. And I can’t simply sit here and do nothing when she’s just across town, when we’re working in the same building every day and interacting offline.

I have to do this. I just don’t know how.

The sound of a key scraping in the lock startles me, and I look up from my oatmeal as my front door opens and my sister steps through, leaning on her cane. Must be a bad pain day. Ryan follows her over the threshold, then crosses the apartment so he can pull out a chair at the kitchen table for her.

Hailey makes a face. “You’re so gross.”

“Uh, thank you?” I don’t know what I did or said to trigger this reaction, but honestly… sometimes, I can be gross. Isn’t that true of everyone?

“I’m making eggs,” Ryan announces. “Do you want any?”

“Any of my own eggs?”

“Yeah. Hailey says I’m not allowed to eat oatmeal in the house anymore. If you’re not careful, she’ll outlaw it for you too.”

“It smells so bad,” she complains.

Ah. She hates oatmeal. Always has. I don’t get it, but I don’t have to.

“Deal with it.” Oatmeal is one of my safe foods. It’s hard to fuck it up. I start my day with a bowl every single day, have done so for the last fourteen and a half years. “I’m not making you eat it.”

She gags. “Nope. Not happening.”

I roll my eyes. “So why are you up here, stealing my eggs?”

“I can’t visit with my favorite brother?” She widens her eyes in innocence.

“Cut the shit.”