Fairytale Love - Becca & Brian (10 page)

“Okay, so what’s the deal with you and B-dog?” Krista asked as she plopped on the couch and crossed her legs criss-cross-applesauce style.

“Nothing.” Becca felt instantly defensive, but tried not to let it show in her tone as she sat on the shorter end of the L-shaped couch, facing her sisters.

“Really?” Krista asked, raising her eyebrows then looking over at Haley with an ‘are you buying this?’ look on her face.

Normally, Becca indulged her sisters. Growing up, since she was the baby, she’d looked up to them, and truthfully, she still did, but she was tired. And the Brian pool was the very last subject she wanted to dive into. Especially since she’d been mentally swimming in those very waters so much lately, that she felt like her mind was shriveled up like a prune.

“I’m tired, guys,” Becca announced as she stood up. All she wanted to do was get some sleep and
not
think about, worry, or obsess over
Brian
.

“Wait.” Haley held up her hand to stop Becca. “Just sit. This is not a gossip fest. We’re
actually
worried about you.”

Becca sighed. She saw in her sister’s eyes that she was serious.

Sitting back down, Becca tried to put her sister’s mind at ease by explaining, “There’s nothing to be worried about. Honestly. I’m fine. Brian and I are fine.”

“You two seemed…off tonight,” Haley said delicately.

“Off?” Becca knew that she felt like things were strained between her and Brian, but she would never have guessed that anyone else would have picked up on it.

“I think the ‘off’ Hales is referring to is the two of you seeming like you wanted to rip each other’s clothes
off,
” Krista said bluntly.

Becca shook her head at how ridiculous that was. “Brian does
not
want to rip my clothes off.”

“Aha!” Krista exclaimed as she pointed dramatically at Becca. “So you admit
you
do!”

“No, I don’t!” Becca’s eyes widened as she looked between her sisters. Knowing that the more she protested the worse things would look, she shrugged and tried to play it cool. “I mean, he’s…cute. But he’s
Brian
.”

Haley scooted closer to the edge of the couch. “Listen, it’s none of our business—”

“Yes it is,” Krista interrupted.

Haley ignored Krista as she continued, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but we just thought that, if we were picking up on the right signals, then you might be feeling a little overwhelmed.”

“And confused,” Krista added.

Becca was torn. If she opened up and talked to her sisters about what was going on, it would make it real somehow. But…it was real whether she said it out loud or not.

“Nothing’s going on. I’ve just… I don’t know. I’ve been feeling… It’s hard to explain, but ever since last summer, I’ve thought…or, um, been wanting…” Becca’s voice trailed off. She knew that she wasn’t making any sense.

“To rip his clothes off,” Krista finished helpfully.

“Yes,” Becca admitted as her shoulders slumped, “I’ve wanted to rip his clothes off.”

Krista smiled and woohoo’d while Haley nodded her head in understanding.

“I don’t know what I’ve been thinking. It’s
Brian
!” Becca’s hands flew up in frustration.

“I have to say, ol’ Brian boy has always been a cutie, but these last few years, he’s been looking mighteee fine.” Krista wagged her brows.

“I know, but it’s Brian,” Becca restated emphatically.

“You keep saying that like it’s a bad thing.” Krista shook her head like she had no idea why it would be a bad thing.

“Is it upsetting you because you’re friends?” Haley asked with genuine concern.

“No,” Becca immediately answered. “I mean, yes, but we’re not just friends. We are…more than that. He’s like…”

“If you say family, then this just got weird,” Krista teased.

Haley swatted at her, and Becca rolled her eyes.

“Well, he is. I mean, not
family
, but he’s like… He’s Brian,” Becca said, trying to explain.

Krista raised her hand like she was in school and wanted the teacher to call on her. “Okay, I’m confused. Is he
Brian
?”

Haley came to her defense. “This isn’t funny.”

“It’s kind of funny,” Becca admitted as she felt her lips turning up at the corners.

If she couldn’t laugh at this, then she knew it would make her crazy. And Krista could always make her laugh. Her redheaded sister had a likeable irreverence that was kind of contagious.

“See? She’s smiling.” Krista pointed to Becca, obviously proud of herself.

Haley rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched in amusement.

Krista turned back to Becca. “So the million-dollar question is…drum roll…are you going to tell him?”

“No.” Becca’s hair fanned out behind her as she shook her head with force.

“No?” Krista and Haley both asked at the same time, looking shocked by Becca’s response.

“No. It would make things…weird.”

Krista tilted her head. “I hate to break it to you, Becca-boo, but things are already weird. You should have seen your faces when I interrupted whatever I interrupted outside.”

Haley’s head spun to Krista. “What did you interrupt outside?”

“I’m not sure. I just know that this one’s”—Krista pointed at Becca—“face was bright red and Brian looked like he’d gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar—if the cookie jar was Becca’s pants. And then he looked like he wanted to punch something.”

“He looked mad?” Haley asked, confused. “Who was he mad at?”

“I can’t prove it, but I think it was at himself. If the mooning looks and sad puppy-dog eyes B-dog was flashing at Snow White all night were any indication, then I think our dear little sister is not the only one who has acquired some unwanted feelings for their best friend.”

“Hello. I am in the room,” Becca spoke up. Her sisters always did this. They discussed her like she wasn’t there.

“We know,” Krista acknowledged—a tad too condescendingly for Becca’s taste.

“Don’t you think you should talk to him about this, Bec?” Haley asked. “I mean, when I told Eddie how I felt, I was terrified and it was hard, but look how that turned out.”

“That’s different. You wanted to
be with
Eddie,” Becca said, pointing out what she figured was completely obvious.

“You don’t want to be with Brian?” Haley asked.

“I think we’ve already established that she wants to
be
with Brian,” Krista said.

The more they talked about this subject, the more anxious Becca felt. She stood again. “I appreciate you guys wanting to talk about this, but honestly, I just want to go to bed.”

Haley and Krista both stood as well, and Krista said, “Okay, look. I know I’ve been joking around, but seriously, I think you should talk to Brian. You two have been like peanut butter and jelly since…forever. Just get it out in the open. I know it probably sounds about as good to you as a root canal, but I think it’s the only way to move past…whatever’s going on between you two.”

Becca nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

Her sisters pulled her into a group hug before Becca headed upstairs.

As she lay down in her bed, Krista’s advice kept running through her brain. Maybe her sister was right. Maybe telling Brian was the best way to deal with this. Maybe…

T
he sun shone brightly through the windshield of the Jeep as Brian pulled into The Diner’s parking lot. His eyes turned to the beauty sitting next to him. The rays of light beaming through the glass caused Becca’s dark hair to shimmer.

God, she was beautiful. His eyes drank in her profile. Her long, dark lashes, button
nose,
and ruby-red lips were so perfect that it actually caused an ache in his chest. How had he gone so many years and not seen, really seen, what was right in front of his face? He’d always known that she was attractive, but heartbreakingly stunning was a new discovery for him.

Nerves were pinging through his entire body as he took the key out of the ignition. This was it. He was going to tell Becca what he’d been feeling over breakfast. It was the right thing to do. He knew it. He also knew that he felt like he was about to come out of his skin.

He heard a loud click as Becca said in a forced, too-happy tone, “Got it on the first try.”

Looking over, Brian realized that she was talking about her seatbelt. The memory of the two of them sitting beside each other in a blanket of darkness, nothing existing in the entire world except the two of them, their lips centimeters apart, rushed back to him.

When Brian’s eyes met hers, he saw a faint blush appear on her china-doll cheeks. The light tint did what he would have sworn was impossible—it made her even more beautiful.

Letting out a small puff of a laugh, Becca grabbed her purse and was out the door in a flash. Literally, all he saw was a flash of dark hair as she exited the vehicle, which he immediately attributed to the fact that she was probably picking up on the weird vibes he was putting off.

Smooth. Real smooth, Casanova.

After opening the door, Brian stepped onto the pavement of the parking lot and sighed. He hoped that, once he came clean, these awkward moments between them would stop happening. They were killing him.

He and Becca had never even gotten into a real fight. Not because they hadn’t disagreed before. They had. But they’d always just talked it out.

Like when Brian had started ditching school, smoking weed, and drinking after his mom’s surgery had left her wheelchair-bound during their freshman year of high school. Becca had shown up at the park he’d been hanging out at with the rest of the stoners and given him a piece of her mind. He hadn’t been happy that she’d called him out, especially in front of his new ‘friends,’ but he hadn’t yelled at her or even argued with her. He listened.

She’d said her piece and left. Then, even though it took a few days, her words finally sank in and he stopped doing all that stupid shit. He started going to school again, stopped getting high and drunk, and actually dealt with the feelings he was having about his mom being in a wheelchair.

He’d dealt with those feelings the same way he was going to deal with the feelings he was having for Becca—by talking to his best friend.

The small bell over the glass door dinged as Brian pushed opened the door. Becca stepped inside in front of him, and even without permission from his brain, his eyes zeroed in on her round, firm backside. His blood started pumping at the way the denim of her shorts was distressed in all the right places, showcasing her curves like the work of art that they were. He tightened his hands in fists, trying to ignore his overwhelming desire to reach out and touch her. His eyes continued down her toned, shapely thighs and his mouth watered at the sight.

“How many?”

The voice snapped him out of his inappropriate visual journey. Brian looked up and saw the hostess waiting for an answer expectantly.

“Two,” he said, taking in a deep breath to try to get his body’s response to Becca under control. The smell of coffee, bacon, and syrup immediately hit his senses as he inhaled deeply. “And if the booth in the back is open, we’d like to take it.”

“You got it.” The young brunette smiled as she grabbed two menus and showed them back to ‘their’ booth.

On the way, Brian’s stomach once again let him, and everyone in his general area, know just how hungry he was. As they slid into the booth Becca’s brows rose, her blue eyes looking up at him as she grinned.

“A little hungry?”

“Yeah.” Brian nodded.

Becca’s brows furrowed as worry filled her expression. “I noticed you didn’t eat much last night. And I know you love burrito night.”

It was true. Burrito night at the Sloan’s had always been a crowd pleaser, but no one enjoyed it quite as much as Brian had. He held the Sloan family record for most burritos consumed on burrito night with a remarkable eight burritos. Surprisingly, he’d stripped the title not from one of Becca’s huge, male cousins. Nope. Eleven-year-old Brian had beat out tiny, petite, fifteen-year-old Krista, who’d been the reigning record holder for years, coming in at an impressive six burritos. Brian still couldn’t believe how much food Becca’s sister could consume and not gain an ounce. It was crazy.

Last night, he’d barely finished one. “I just had a lot on my mind last night.”

Becca’s head tilted to the side. “Is everything okay with your dad?”

The waitress interrupted their conversation, and Brian was happy for the short reprieve. As they placed their orders, he decided that, even though he’d planned on saving his family stuff until after the ‘big’ talk, it might be better to lead with that, especially since he had no idea where the other conversation was going to take them.

“Dad’s fine,” Brian began. “As long as he takes it easy. The problem is Brit didn’t qualify for financial assistance, and after Brenden hurt his ankle, he lost his scholarship. So dad’s decided that he needs to go back to work… full time.”

Becca’s eyes widened. “He can’t do that. I thought Dr. Corbin said that he needed to retire.”