Chapter 49
Travis
Iwatch my best friend’s stare turn from shock to anger as he looks at me while his twin sister straddles my lap.
Panic jolts through me like an electric shock. “I can explain.”
He drops his bag on the floor, his mouth hanging open. He shakes his head, like he can’t believe what he’s seeing.
He steps forward. “What the fuck are you doing with my sister?”
Gently, I move Anna off of me and stand up.
“Nick, calm down,” Anna says.
He doesn’t say anything in response. He doesn’t even look at her. He’s too busy glaring at me.
I don’t blame him. He just caught me—his best friend, teammate, and roommate—doing the one thing I was never, ever supposed to do.
“I thought you weren’t coming back till tomorrow,” I say.
“I took an early flight to help you after what happened with your dad.” Nick looks at his sister, then at me again. “But it looks like you're doing just fine.”
“Nick, that was uncalled for,” Anna says.
“It’s not what you think,” I say to him.
He balls his fists at his sides. “Really? Because it looks like you’re about to fuck my sister.”
“It’s not like that,” I say.
He narrows his gaze at me. “So you weren’t about to fuck my sister?”
I huff out a breath and shake my head. Frustration zooms through me at how crass he’s being.
I remind myself that he’s shocked and upset, and his anger is understandable.
“Nick. Stop it,” Anna says.
He ignores her again, his focus solely on me.
“It’s not like that,” I say again. “We’re together, Nick. We’re dating. We’re in a relationship.”
“What?” His tone is a mix between total shock and a crazed laugh of disbelief.
I don’t say anything. I need to give him a second to process this before I try to explain.
“But…you don’t even like each other. You hate each other.” He looks between the two of us.
“Not anymore,” I say.
He lets out a bitter laugh. “I can see that.” He tugs a hand through his hair. “You couldn’t find some puck bunny to keep your bed warm? You had to set your sights on my sister?”
I can feel the anger and frustration radiating off of him. This isn’t how I wanted him to find out about Anna and me. And if I don’t figure out a way to get him to understand, I’m going to lose his friendship forever.
“I’m sorry you found out about us like this,” I say, keeping my tone calm. “And I’m sorry we hid this from you, but—”
“She’s my sister, Travis. You know the rules. Don’t fuck with your friend’s sister, mom, or ex. Ever.”
“God, Nick. Shut up.”
Anna’s booming voice jolts us both. We turn to her.
“What is wrong with you?” she asks her brother. “Why are you being such a jerk about this?”
Nick stares at her. “It’s guy code. You don’t get involved with your friend’s sister.”
She crosses her arms and stands up tall. “That sounds like a made-up, arbitrary rule. It also sounds like the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. And kind of sexist too.”
Nick blinks at her. “You don’t get it.”
“No, Nick. You’re the one who doesn’t get it. We don’t need your approval or your permission to be together. Do you even hear yourself? Do you even realize how ridiculous and unfair you’re being right now?”
Nick’s brow lifts slightly at his sister’s sharp tone.
“When you and Poppy hooked up and became a couple, I didn’t pull this protective sibling crap on you.”
“That’s different,” he says.
She lifts an eyebrow. “Really? What’s different about it?”
He looks like he wants to say something, but he stays quiet.
“When you and Poppy started dating, I didn’t respond negatively.
Yeah, I was shocked, but I supported you both.
Because you’re adults, and you can do whatever you want.
And because I care about you both, and as long as you treat each other well, I’m happy for you,” she says.
“I gave you a lot of grace when you got with Poppy. I could have thrown a tantrum. I could have freaked out about how worried I was that you two would break up and make things awkward between all of us. But I didn’t.
Because I don’t have the right to police other people’s love lives. And you don’t either.”
He blinks, and the look in his eyes turns thoughtful. He’s thinking hard about what his sister is saying to him.
“Do you realize how much that hurts, Nick? To see you react this way? Do you realize how unfair it is that you can be with whoever you want, even my best friend, without thinking about how that makes me feel, but when you find out about my relationship with your best friend, you make it all about your feelings?”
His brow knits, and he’s quiet for a long time. His expression turns pained. His shoulders slump, and he looks down at the ground. “I didn’t think of it that way.” His tone is soft and regretful.
“Well, you should.” She pauses, her tone softening. “And listen, I’m sorry we hid this from you. I know that wasn’t cool. But honestly? We wanted to keep it just between us at first. We didn’t want to upset you.”
Nick huffs out a breath. He nods like he’s starting to understand.
“But no matter how you feel, Travis and I are together. He’s my boyfriend, and I’m his girlfriend. Yeah, we disliked each other for a long time, but we got past that and realized that we like each other. And we’re going to be together whether you like it or not.”
She steps closer to me, her eyes softening as she gazes at me. Warmth swoops through my chest, seeing the way she stands up for me and our relationship. How she fights for me, even against her own brother. How she’s willing to put her relationship with her sibling on the line. For me.
My heart pounds harder and faster. The words that I’ve been aching to say to her since yesterday spark on my tongue. The words I almost said to her while she comforted me earlier today…the words that I almost said to her just before Nick walked in on us.
Need pulses through me. I’m so fucking in love with her. And I want to tell her right now.
But I hold back. I don’t want the first time I say those three words to be in front of her brother, right after arguing with him.
But that doesn’t take away from this feeling. This overwhelming, all-consuming feeling that I’ve never felt before.
Fuck, I love her. I love her so damn much, and I can’t wait to tell her.
Nick looks between us again, his gaze softer now. “So you guys are, like, serious? You’re not just messing around?”
“I’m dead serious about your sister,” I say. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Ever.”
There’s a sparkle in her eyes as she smiles at me.
When she turns to look at her brother, her sharp gaze is back. “Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. I’m serious about Travis.”
Nick rests his hands on his hips, slowly nodding as he looks down at the ground.
A second later, he looks up at his sister. “You’re right. I’m an asshole for reacting the way I did.” He lets out a heavy breath. “I just…it was a little shocking walking in on you two doing…whatever it was that you were doing on the couch.”
“I can understand that,” Anna says. “I certainly wouldn’t enjoy walking in on you and Poppy fooling around.”
We’re all quiet for a long moment. Nick looks at us. “I’m sorry for my reaction. I was out of line.”
Anna nods. So I do.
Nick clears his throat and looks at me. “Can we talk?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“I’ll be up in your room,” Anna says.
When she walks past Nick, he stops her and hugs her. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she says. When they break apart, she gives him a pointed look. “No obnoxious threats about how you’re going to kick his ass if he hurts me, okay? You know that won’t fly with me.”
He cracks a smile. “Yeah, I know.”
She heads upstairs. Once she’s gone, Nick turns to me. “Let’s go talk on the porch.”