Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3) (23 page)

“I know you’re
not.” I framed his vulnerable face with my hands.

“I don’t know.
Maybe that’s why these five dates were so important to do.”

It finally
clicked in place. “Because you wanted to work for it?”

He nodded. “I
wanted it to be different.”

“I’d be lying if
I said hearing that we’re something different doesn’t make it feel special.”

“It is, and I
guess that was my fucked up way of saying so.”

I brought my
lips to his for a sweet kiss. “Let the exploration games begin.”

***

I woke with a
hot body tangled up in mine. Colby had made good on his promise to explore
every inch of me. Afterwards, we’d gorged on chocolate cake and then both
passed out in a sexual coma following another round. Now I could see the
morning light coming through the shade and figured I’d get up to make some
breakfast. Trying to extricate myself quietly, I smiled when he snagged me
closer, putting his arms around me in a spoon position.

“Where you
going?” he questioned in a sleepy voice, nuzzling his lips on the back of my
neck.

“I thought I’d
make pancakes.”

“Mm, does it
require getting out of bed or putting on clothes?”

“It does,
especially if you want bacon. Hot grease and naked don’t go well together.” I
inhaled when his fingers reached around, finding me ridiculously wet for him.

“Is this for
me?”

“For you,
because of you. At this rate, I’ll have to bring a change of panties whenever
I’m around you.”

“That’s such a
turn-on. You have no idea how much I want to slide into your delicious heat
right now.”

I could feel his
erection poking me from behind and smiled. “Well, then, breakfast can wait.”

He gripped my
hips and adjusted himself. “Kenz?”

“Mm?” I tried to
shove back only to have his hands hold me in place.

“I don’t have a
condom on.”

“Oh.” I noticed
he wasn’t moving to grab one. “You’re not out of them, are you?”

He expelled a
breath. “No. But uh, are those birth control pills that you take in the
bathroom?”

 He must’ve
noticed them amongst my things. “Yes, but—”

“I know what
you’re going to ask. I get tested every six months for the life insurance
thing, and I’ve always worn a condom. It’s been a hard line for me never to go
bareback.”

“Wow. That
wasn’t what I was thinking, although I guess the safe sex talk is important.”
Especially given the number of partners he’d probably been with, but it hadn’t
been the first thing on my mind.

“Then what was?”

“I just figured
with me on the pill and you using condoms, we cut the possibility of accidental
pregnancy down even further. And I kind of thought the risk of having a baby
might be your worst fear in life.”

“Having a baby
isn’t what scares me the most. It’s more about who it would be with. The thought
of having a child with someone I barely know is what terrifies me. Because then
what? Share custody, holidays, try to have a relationship based on that
pregnancy? The nightmare would be not getting to be a full-time dad to my kid.
But with you—it’s different.”

I wasn’t sure
how to respond, given that I was completely blown away by his admission.

He misunderstood
my silence. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. We can use a condom.”

I turned over to
see him blushing. Clearly talking about this type of stuff was new to him. “I
only paused because I was processing how incredibly mature that is. Most people
think of pregnancy in terms of how it would ruin their life, but you’re
considering something more important.”

He shrugged,
looking uncomfortable. “I’m not saying it would be good for either of us right
now. Obviously, you shouldn’t go off the pill or anything.”

I imitated the
sound of a car crash trying not to laugh. “You should’ve stopped while you were
ahead.”

He pinned me to
the bed. “That’s what happens. My mouth always gets me in trouble.”

“I can think of
some ways it could get you out of trouble.”

He quirked a
brow, smiling roguishly. “Is that right?”

“Definitely. But
not right now because we’re about to have sex without a condom for the first
time.”

He practically
growled with the thought. “Why are you on the pill by the way?”

“It’s used for
more than just birth control you know.” I really didn’t want to get into the
details of the female menstrual cycle or the fact that I’d been on it since age
sixteen to help with cramps.

“Sorry. If it
wasn’t obvious before, it probably is now that I’ve never had this sort of talk
with a woman before.” He buried his face in my neck, nudging my legs wider,
then stopped suddenly.

“If you’re
having second thoughts, it’s okay.” My hands rubbed down his back.

“I’m not, but I’m
trying not to come like a teenage boy at the thought of feeling you within five
seconds.”

“Oh.” I smiled,
listening to him get his breathing controlled, trying not to rush this. This
was a big step for him and for us.

Suddenly I
froze, watching him jump out of bed when my brother’s voice filled the room.

 “Holy shit,
he’s at the front gate.”

“What?” It took
me a moment to realize Brian’s words had been coming through the gate intercom.
He was asking to be buzzed in. That was infinitely better than having him
actually in the room which had been my initial horrified thought.

“Your brother is
at the front gate. Shit. Um. Why don’t you get in the shower and I’ll, uh, let
him in?”

My eyes scanned
down to his erection. “Maybe you should take the shower, and I’ll get the door.”
I was already up, frantically dressing in sweats, and hastily picking up our
clothing off the floor.

“Don’t worry,
it’s quickly deflating.” He threw on his flannel bottoms and quickly ran out to
the kitchen to buzz Brian in.

When I joined
him, I saw he was swiftly breaking down the sweetheart table that had been set
up for the dinner from last night. I helped put away the candles and flowers.
We both looked at one another when the knock came, taking deep breaths.

“I’m guessing
we’re agreed on not telling him?”

I nodded. “Yes, unless
you want to deal with that, but I certainly don’t. Not in the next five
minutes, especially.”

His relief was
obvious. “Agreed. Did you know he was coming?”

I smacked him
lightly on the arm. “Of course I didn’t. I was about to have you slide into me
bare when the universe decided to cockblock me from amazing sex.”

He groaned,
adjusting himself. “Shit. You had to remind me. Guess you’re answering the door
cuz I’m in need of that time in the shower, after all.”

I grinned all
the way to the foyer and then took a calming breath, needing to give myself a second
to get into the role of little sister.

Act like you
aren’t wishing you could join Colby in the shower. That you can’t still feel
him from last night and, most of all, that you really appreciate your brother
traveling three thousand miles to check on you.

Okay, here goes.

Opening the
front door, I plastered a smile on my face and forced all thoughts of a missed
sexportunity with Colby out of my mind. “Hey, Brian.”

“Hey, sis.” He
moved in for the hug and then stepped back, assessing me. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah. Much
better than yesterday. You didn’t have to travel all the way out here though as
I would’ve called you later.” I closed the door after he came inside.

“I know, but I
had to be in town later this week for some meetings in the LA office and
thought I’d come early once I found out about Mom. I tried calling you last
night and this morning to tell you I was on my way. Where’s Colby?” He took a
look around the living room.

I shrugged,
trying to appear nonchalant. “Shower, I think. And I turned off my phone since
I didn’t want to talk last night. Sorry. I was about to make breakfast. You hungry?”

He nodded and
pulled up a stool at the kitchen island. “Yeah. Aren’t you supposed to have
your boot on?”

I glanced down,
realizing my ankle was indeed bootless. “I normally put it on after a shower, but
breakfast called first this morning.”

He seemed
somewhat satisfied with my answer, and it was better than telling him my boot
was probably still somewhere in the sex-tangled sheets in Colby’s room.

Taking a seat at
the kitchen island barstool, he prodded, “So tell me what happened with Mom.”

I filled him in
while making pancakes.

He was quiet, yet
when turned to see his face, I could tell he was angry. “It’s bad enough she
can’t be supportive of you, but if she thinks I’d ever come home again if she
takes you off of the medical insurance to get her way, then she’s sadly
mistaken. That’s taking it too far. Same with threatening your trust fund.”

I smiled at him.
“Although I greatly appreciate the solidarity, I’d never ask you to choose
sides.”

“It’s not a
matter of taking sides; it’s a matter of choosing what’s right. I plan on
calling her later.”

“To say what?”

“That she’s
being unfair to guilt you into coming home.”

“Thanks for being
so supportive.”

“Always. So I
have some news…”

He was grinning
so clearly it was the good sort. “Do tell.”

“I’m proposing
to Sasha in the near future. Already picked out the ring, but I’m waiting until
she’s moving down to Charlotte to pop the actual question.”

I squealed,
coming around the island to hug him. “Aww, that’s great news. I’m so excited
for you guys.”

Colby came out,
looking fresh from the shower, and took in the scene with a quirked brow. “Hey,
Brian, nice to see you. What’s going on?”

“Brian is asking
Sasha to marry him.”

The two men
shook hands and gave one another a brotherly hug. “Congrats, man.”

Brian resumed
his seat and I was thankful for the distraction while he talked about the
timing of the next few weeks with regard to Sasha selling her condo and
switching jobs. As I dished up breakfast, my brother chatted on. Funny enough,
it was easier than I’d imagined being comfortable around Colby in front of Brian.
Maybe it was because he seemed clueless or he had a lot to talk about, but I
didn’t feel strange.

Colby, on the
other hand, looked completely stressed.

“So, how do you
think Mom will react to your engagement news?” I asked.

Brian shrugged.
“She won’t be thrilled, but I don’t need to explain my reasons or need her
blessing. Hell, all she should care about is if I’m happy and if she’s not,
I’ll shut her down. I may not tell her for a while considering we need to have
words about you first.”

I was envious of
what I could only wish was my attitude towards her. “You don’t have to do
that.”

“The hell I
don’t. Why were you at your apartment in the first place? You’re still living
here, right?” He glanced between the both of us, eating his pancakes.

“Uh, for now
until I can drive. Although, with the car service, I could probably move back
anytime. I was in my apartment because I needed to get some things and clean.
Rotten luck that I was there when she came knocking.”

“Seriously. On
the other hand, I’m sure she would’ve flipped to find out you were staying with
this guy.”

He was teasing, yet
I could tell by the way Colby’s jaw clenched, he’d taken it as a direct hit on
his character.

“Yeah, well, if
it wasn’t for this
guy,
I’d probably still be crying on the floor of my
apartment from last night. He brought me pink snowballs.”

Brian looked
towards Colby. “Dude, I owe you one.”

He scoffed at
the attention. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

Brian turned his
gaze on me. “Must’ve been bad for you to be crying.”

 “Yeah. It
wasn’t great,” I murmured.

“Did you want to
stay here over the next few days Brian? I have the second guest room,” Colby
offered.

Was I a terrible
person by wishing my brother would say no?

“If you don’t
mind, I’ll stay a few nights and hang out with Kenzie. My meetings are on
Thursday, which means I’ll move to a hotel downtown on Wednesday night.”

I got up to
clear my plate. “That’d be great.” Except for the fact I’d have given anything
to have Colby inside of me at the moment. Bad sister.

“I actually need
to travel out to New York for a couple of days for work, so the timing is good
for Kenzie to have the company,” Colby announced.

Happy my back
was turned towards my brother, I fixed my gaze on Colby, but he wouldn’t meet
my eyes. Funny how he hadn’t mentioned the trip before my brother had crashed.

“In fact, I
should get packed. Um I’m just going to grab some things from the closet in
your room real quick Kenz.” Colby excused himself to go into the master
bedroom.

“I should get my
suitcase from the car and call Sasha. Be back in a few.” Brian ruffled my hair
and then was out the front door.

Wasting no time,
I followed Colby into the bedroom to find him with a garment bag and small
suitcase already open on the bed. “Since when do you have a trip to New York?”

“I have some
meetings with Josh. I was planning to wait until next week, but this works out
better with your brother in town.” He barely looked up while taking clothes out
of his dresser.

I stepped between
him and the bed, putting my hand on his chest and forcing him to meet my eyes.
“Listen, if you’re freaking out right now, you need to at the very least own up
to it and not leave me wondering what in the hell has happened.”

He took a deep
breath, glancing towards the door.

I answered his
unspoken question. “He’s out in the car talking to Sasha and getting his
suitcase.”

“Okay, I’m
freaking out a little bit,” he admitted.

“Enough to end
things?”

His shock was
immediate. “No. Is that what you want?”

I exhaled in
relief. “Not at all, but I guess I needed a little reassurance here since
you’re practically running out of the house.”

His fingers
cupped my chin. “We’ll be fine. This was just unexpected.” His hand dropped
like a stone when we both heard the front door open and shut. “I’ll be home in
two days.”

***

By Wednesday I
was ready for Brian to hop back on a plane eastbound. Not that I didn’t
appreciate his counsel and support, but if I had to hear him offer to pay for
one more thing, I was going to threaten not to talk to him. You know, for ten
whole minutes because, let’s face it, my older brother meant well and had the
biggest heart, not to mention the best intentions. During lunch he tried a new
tactic.

“What if we call
it a loan? You stay in Los Angeles, do the internship in the fall, and we work
out the repayment details when you become famous.”

“Or, I could get
a job, like normal people, and do my internship come fall.”

“I thought the
internship was full-time?”

“It is, but I
could work nights and weekends.”

“I don’t like
that idea. Plus, where would you live?”

“A couple of the
girls I played lacrosse with will be seniors and are leasing a house. They have
an extra room I can rent.”

He shook his
head. “Come on. You’d be living in a party house. Believe me, no one out of
school wants to live with college students.”

“True. The thing
is, although I met Max Tambor, I may not get the fall internship, and even if I
did, it might not lead to anything.”

He frowned
across the table at me in the little Italian bistro in which we were grabbing
pizza. “What happened to all the hope you had for this opportunity?”

I shrugged.
“Reality literally hit me in the form of a car that this internship might not
be the end-all, be-all. Can I run an idea by you without you freaking out?” A
woman with whom I’d volunteered had suggested something on Monday that I’d been
kicking around the last couple of days.

“I won’t freak
out, but it doesn’t mean I’ll agree with you. What is it?”

I took a deep
breath. “I haven’t decided if this is what I want to do or not, but a lady I
met at the hospital told me about these programs around the world run by this
organization which places people in volunteer positions. She did it a couple of
years ago. You can sign up for anything from building a school to teaching
English or music—which is what I’m interested in.”

He looked
momentarily taken off guard, and then thoughtful. The thing I admired most
about my brother was his ability to look at something from all angles and ask
good questions.

“What country,
how long, and have you researched the organization?”

“The where part
is up to me, however I could choose a country such as Bali, for example. I can
do as little as two weeks, but I can do other increments or even extend if it’s
going well. The volunteers stay and work together.”

“What’s prompting
this idea?”

I was earnest in
my reply. “Volunteering at the hospital with those kids makes me feel joy like
I’ve never experienced before. It’s made me become more appreciative for
everyone and everything that’s positive in my life. And when I’m around them, I
have no problem singing.”

His face showed
his surprise as he knew I battled stage fright.

“I forget my
nerves, thinking instead of how much they love the music, and then before I
realize it, I’m enjoying it too. I’d forgotten how much I love singing. No
pressure, no expectation, purely the ability to transport them somewhere else
for a little while.”

He studied me
for the longest time. “Send me the organization’s website and let me do some research.
Obviously, you’re old enough to make your own decision, but I’d feel better about
it if Mark could run a background check on them first. I’ll support you if you
decide this is what you want, but I’d like to ensure it’s safe first.”

I nodded,
appreciating he’d want to confirm that it was. “Thank you. So, are you still
flying home tomorrow after your meetings?”

“Up to you.
Colby said he’s working late for the next couple nights at the office, so I
could stay longer if you want the company.”

I’d heard from Colby
a few times over the last two days through text messages telling me he was
thinking of me or that he missed me, but Brian made it sound as if Colby was in
LA. “He’s back?”

“Yeah, and from
what Josh said on the phone, Colby’s in a pisser of a mood. They had a
disagreement and, in little brother fashion, he’s dead set on proving his older
brother wrong.”

If I hadn’t been
taken off guard with the knowledge that Colby was here in Los Angeles and
hadn’t called me, I might have bristled at Brian’s comment on his behalf.

Finally snapping
out of my initial shock over Colby being back in town without letting me know,
I had to ask, “What was the disagreement between Josh and Colby about?”

“Business. Colby
wants to grow the Production Company into indie films and documentaries while
Josh prefers for him to stick with what’s profitable.”

“Wouldn’t Josh
trust his brother’s done his due diligence? Plus, isn’t it Colby’s company? I would
think with all of the—”

“Whoa, there.
Why are you annoyed with me?”

Oh, shit, my
questions had been asked in complete irritation. I took a deep breath. “Obviously,
I’m a little oversensitive when it comes to family members not supporting their
loved ones lately. Sometimes I don’t think Josh realizes how hard his brother
works.”

Brian sighed.
“For the record, I fully support you.”

“I know, I
obviously didn’t mean you. Sorry.”

He chuckled. “No
problem. Anyhow you don’t know both sides when it comes to Josh and Colby.
Trust me when I say there’s a history there when it comes to trust issues and
Josh having to step in.”