A Crush on Her Best Friend's Brother: Complete Box Set (17 page)

Karen:
Call me if you need anything.

Karen:
When are you going to tell your mom?

Karen:
I wish I were there with you.

Karen:
We're going to find you the coolest apartment.

Rachel
laughed as she thought about her friend. Karen mentioned wanting to
live with Rachel when she was at home. She was something else. What
would Karen say if she knew? Would she be mad that Rachel had been
with Brad without her knowing? Would she be happy for them? She felt
like such a horrible friend for keeping a secret.

Rachel:
I'm going to tell her very soon. I'll let you know as soon as I do.
What are you doing tomorrow? I should have come home this week. I
miss you.

Instantly,
Rachel's phone buzzed.

Karen:
I'm staying home. Since you're not here and Sam is at school, I have
nothing to do. What do you think your mom's going to say?

Rachel:
You didn't tell anyone did you? My mom's going to be mad. It's going
to be a lot for her to handle. I know that. Hopefully, it will all
work out. I shouldn't have to live with her and her man for too long.
I feel bad. I don't want to cause any trouble for them. I'm sure he
agreed to me living there. What will he say about a baby?

Karen:
I haven't told anyone. If your mom's man won't let you go there with
the baby, my parents will let you stay here. I wonder what my mom
will say. You saw how she acted with Brad and the bite mark on his
neck. I thought she was going to lose her shit. I can only imagine
what she's going to say about you having a baby.

Rachel:
Shut up! I'm going to get ready for bed. I need you to know
something. I love you, Karen. You're the best friend a person could
ever ask for. I appreciate you coming to make sure everything was
okay. You have no idea how much that means to me. No matter what
happens when I tell my mom or your parents, I want you to know that
you're awesome and I love you. I know people are going to be
disappointed and probably very upset with me. I just hope it all
works out.

Karen:
It will all work out. They can't stay mad long. There's nothing they
can do to change it. We're all going to love this baby like our own
blood. You know how my mom is. She says you're her third child. You
know she's going to call the little one her grandchild right after
she gets done kicking your ass for letting some ass knock you up.

Rachel:
I love you.

Rachel
was upset about her saying some ass knocked her up, but there was no
way she was getting into that discussion at the time. She put her
phone down and picked up the ultrasound picture she brought with her.
Tears were in her eyes as she thought about her precious little baby.
Would she be a good mom? Would her little one have everything they
needed? She knew what Brad said about being with her, but she wasn't
sure what was going to happen. What if he changed his mind? After
spending those few hours with him, she knew it would crush her if he
decided he didn't want to be with her or wasn't ready to be a father.
She heard something behind her and quickly dried her eyes.

Brad
walked around to the front of the couch and leaned down.

“
Are
you okay?” he asked. “Come back to bed.”

He
put his hand under her chin and pulled it up so he could see her. His
face saddened as soon as their eyes met.

“
What's
wrong?” he asked.

She
took a deep breath in and let it out.

“
I
should go home,” she said. “I can't do this. Being with
you again has made me realize how hard it's going to be when you.”

She
stopped and looked at him.

“
When
I what?” he asked, as he put his hands on her knees.

“
Nothing,”
she said. “I can't sit around and wait for you to break my
heart.”

“
What
makes you think that I'm going to break your heart?” he asked.
“How can you be so sure that you won't break mine?”

Rachel
rolled her eyes and smiled.

“
I'm
in love with you, Brad,” she said.

He
opened his mouth to say something, but she put her finger over his
lips.

“
Let
me finish before you say anything. I'm not just falling in love with
you. I've been falling in love with you since I was thirteen. When
you didn't care about that kiss, it hurt my feelings. When I went to
high school and saw how girls were all over you and you acting like a
jerk, I couldn't stand it. That didn't stop how I felt deep down. I
just couldn't believe the Brad I liked was the same guy. When you
left for college, I knew it was my chance to get over you. I dated
other guys, but they weren't what I was looking for. When you came
home, I stayed away from you. I knew that if I saw you, I would think
about you even more. As long as I pictured you as the asshole from
the football team, I could push my feelings deep down inside of me.
When you opened the door that day over Thanksgiving break, if felt so
good to tell you what I thought. It didn't help though. Every single
feeling I ever had came to the surface, and new ones developed. When
I say that I'm in love with you, I mean totally and completely crazy
in love with you.”

She
closed her eyes for a moment before starting again.

“
I
thought that pushing you away the past three months was what you
needed. I still believe it is. For three months, I told myself that
we weren't going to be together. I knew that I was going to raise the
baby alone. I was preparing for that. After just seeing you for one
second, my world was crashing down, and I felt like I couldn't
breathe. I can't imagine how I would feel if we were together for
months or years and you decided I wasn't the one for you. Look at my
mom. Do you know how many years it took her to finally be with
someone after my father? I can't imagine how I would ever move on
from you. We've only seen each other a few times, and I'm so far
gone. I can't imagine spending time with you or living with you and
then you leaving. You are the one man that could crush my entire
world, Brad.”

“
Why
are you so sure that I'm not going to want you? I don't understand,”
he said.

“
Look
at you,” she said. “You're an amazing athlete, super
sweet, and sexy as hell. There are so many women that you could have.
Once your career takes off, they are going to be falling at your
feet. I'm not stupid. They will be beautiful and carefree. I want you
to have fun and follow your dreams. Football has been what you've
always wanted. That's what I want for you. You are the only man I've
ever loved, and I will love you until the day I die. You need to
follow your dreams.”

He
reached up and put a hand on each of her cheeks.

“
Rachel,
you're my dreams. I'm in love with you. When I kissed you all those
years ago, it meant something to me. You were my sister's friend and
you were thirteen. All those times I played football in the front
yard, all I thought about was you watching me. When you started high
school, I hated when guys talked to you. I wanted to pummel each of
them. I knew you were off limits though. When I went to college, I
thought I could screw you out of my mind. It didn't work. Nobody was
you. I knew that I was going to claim you one day. You were going to
be mine. We were going to be together. I knew that couldn't happen
for a couple of years because of our age. I wanted to see you so bad.
When I came home, I would ask about you and try to find a reason for
you to come over. You always had an excuse for Karen of why you
couldn't. It tore me up for two years.”

He
let out a loud breath and then continued.

“
I
worked at a soup kitchen because it made me feel closer to you. I'm
glad I did. It taught me so much. When I heard you say that you had
been avoiding me because you couldn't stand the person I was, it
broke my heart. You're all I think about. For three months, I've been
going crazy. You've been pushing me away. I thought you changed your
mind about your feelings for me. I thought you found someone else.
It's taken all I have not to fly out there and tell you that you
belong with me. When Karen wanted to go and check on you, I booked
her a flight and sent her. That was the closest I could get to you.
The thought of you not wanting me was devastating. Yes, I enjoy
playing football. You came to every game in high school. I remember
you sitting in the stands, shivering in the cold. You were even there
when you were sick. You never missed them. Even when you couldn't
stand me, you were there. When I was nothing but some kid playing
ball in the yard, you were there.”

He
stroked her chin with his thumb and looked into her eyes.

“
You
cared about me when I was nobody on the field. I know you did. You're
my dreams, Rachel. I'm madly, deeply, and crazy in love with you.
I've known for years that we were going to be together. I just had to
wait until the time was right. There was no way I was messing up with
you. You're it for me. You are the woman I'm going to love forever.
I'm not going to break your heart. I'm going to protect you and take
care of you. I love this baby already. I can't believe we're having a
baby. You have no idea how happy I am. I've missed so much already. I
would have been there for each appointment. I would have been there
when you were sick. I know you have to finish these classes, but I'm
going to be there as much as I can. Once the year is over, I'm going
to be there every second. You won't be able to get rid of me. You can
try to push me away, but it's not going to work. I get to decide what
I want. Even if you don't want me, I won't be away from my child.
Don't think you're holding me back. My child isn't going to see his
or her daddy when he's home for a minute. My baby will see me every
single day. I love this baby, and I love you.”

He
took the paper from her hand and looked at it. She could see the love
in his eyes.

“
I
brought that for you,” she said. “I get another one next
week. That's when I can find out what we're having. I want to find
out. What do you think?”

“
We
can find out,” he said. “I'll be there with you.”

“
You
can't,” she said. “I can video chat with you during it or
something. You can't be there. The plane ticket would be expensive
and you'd have to get a hotel room. You can't stay at the dorm. My
roommate will be there. It would cost too much.”

“
I
will have to miss a lot over the next two months. That's not
something I'm going to miss.”

“
How
are we going to do this, Brad?” she asked.

“
Do
you love me?” he asked.

“
More
than you'll ever know,” she answered.

“
We'll
figure it out. Everything's going to work out. We're doing it
together.”

“
I'm
going to stay with my mom once I'm home. I'm hoping to be in an
apartment soon after. She'll be there to help me. You need to finish
your last year at school. We have to wait to see what happens after.
You know teams have been all over you already. I can bring the baby
to visit you, and you'll be home for holidays.”

“
You're
amazing,” he said, as he stood up and pulled her up with him.

He
wrapped his arms around her.

“
You
have it all figured out for us,” he said with a smile. “There
is no way I'm going to be that many miles away from you or the baby.
Your mom's not going to be the one taking care of you. I want you to
live with me.”

“
I
can't do that,” she snapped. “You have to finish your
last year of school and see what happens with football.”

“
I
will finish my last year of school. This apartment is mine. I live
here all year and there are two bedrooms. You can find a job here if
you want one that bad. You don't need to pay for an apartment back
home. I don't want you living with your mom either. I want you and
our baby here with me.”

“
You
have to concentrate on school and ball,” she said.

“
You
think that I will concentrate better with you and our child miles
away. I don't think so. You'll be here safe with me. That will help
me concentrate, baby. I want you to move here as soon as school is
over. I can fly there and help you move everything. We can drive to
your house and get the rest of your stuff. Once college is over for
me next year, we can decide if we want to go back home or stay here.
I promise to be here for everything you need. Your mom can come and
stay here for a bit when the baby is born.”

Rachel
let out a sigh.