***
"Hey, buddy!" Rhys wrapped me in a tight hug as he flung open the door to Bailey's apartment. The smell of something garlicky slapped me in the face, and my stomach growled loudly. I realized I hadn't eaten more than a piece of toast all day. It was something I was horrible about doing since Laila died. Feeding my damn self.
"Hey, you." I hugged him tightly and glanced up to find Bailey watching us. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and once again, I lamented over not getting to see it down. It would have been a little too much to ask her to take it down. Too intimate and maybe a little weird of me.
She looked like a model. Her light pink dress hugged her breasts and flared a little at her hips. It was long sleeved, but the length of it brushed about mid-thigh on her. She had on designer winter boots and a pretty necklace. She looked like she was ready to go out for the night, not BBQ with friends.
"You've gotten fat." Rhys moved back and patted my sides, squeezing my ribs.
"Ouch! Fuck man. That's not fat. It's muscle." I reached up and rubbed his head. "Like your big, ugly head."
He laughed. "You've met my little sister, Bailey."
She joined us and offered me a smile that calmed me. She might have been unsure of herself, but she was hiding it like a pro. Fuck. Maybe it was me who was unsure. For the first time in a long time, I was nervous.
"Hey." I reached out and gripped her shoulders before leaning over and kissing her cheek. "You look beautiful."
I wanted to hug her so damn bad, to feel her pressed against me, but there would be no hiding the hard-on it would leave me with. She was invading my thoughts and my dreams more and more over the last few weeks. It was becoming an obsession of sorts, which fucked with me, so I did what I always did when I was freaked out. I stayed away from her.
No way she felt the same way I did. And I wasn't entirely sure how I felt, but I knew I wanted her something fierce.
"Thanks. My friend Ellen just disappeared into the bathroom. She's been waiting to meet you." Bailey moved back, turned and walked into the kitchen. My eyes moved down the back of her perfect body, and my dick pulsed a few times in my jeans.
"I saw that." Rhys popped me in the chest and gave me a look.
"Dude. She's beyond beautiful. You couldn't have fucking warned me when I went looking for her that she wasn't the little brat we picked on? What the fuck?" I narrowed my eyes and lowered my voice.
He laughed loudly. "I told you she had grown up. Idiot."
"Whatever." I followed him out on the patio where the grill was already going. The weather had dropped drastically, and I wouldn't have been surprised if we had a snowy Thanksgiving by the looks of things.
"You interested in my kid sister?" He closed the door behind us.
"No." I slipped my hands into my pockets and blew out. A cloud formed in front of me and lingered. "Yes. Fuck. I don't know. She does something to me, Rhys."
"I'd beat anyone else's ass, but you're like a brother to me. If you're interested in taking her out, I'd trust you to do that."
"No." I shook my head and glanced back over my shoulder to see her working in the kitchen. "I didn't know she was your sister the first time I saw her." I stopped myself from telling him just how much she turned me on. There would be no coming back from that. He might have been my best friend, but this was his only sister, and she was younger. There were limits to what I could say.
"No? She looks the same to me, man." He nodded toward the kitchen. "Can you grab me a plate to put these burgers on?"
"Yeah, sure." I opened the door and paused. "Want a beer?"
He lifted his. "Already got one. There's a six-pack in the fridge. Help yourself."
"Alright. Thanks." I closed the door behind me as a cute blonde walked out of the bathroom and gave me a look.
"You're the pirate, right?" She tilted her head and studied me.
"Hey! Ellen. This is Jeremy." Bailey jogged around the corner from the kitchen. Her cheeks were pink and eyes wide.
I laughed and extended my hand. "Pirate, hm? Not sure how to take that."
"She meant because you save booties." Bailey glanced at Ellen and widened her eyes farther.
It was comical.
Ellen responded, her voice slow as if she were trying to follow Bailey's every move. "Yes. That's what I meant?"
I laughed and shook her hand. "Well, nice to meet you, Ellen." I glanced over at Bailey, who was rather mortified. "I'm going to grab a plate and a beer if that's okay?"
"Oh yeah. Let me help you." She turned and walked into the kitchen.
"I'll be on the deck with your fine-ass brother." Ellen wagged her eyebrows at me and smiled before walking out on the patio with Rhys.
I walked into the kitchen and stopped short. I had to reach out to stop myself from plowing Bailey over.
"I'm so sorry." She rested her hands on my hips, the innocence on her face left me realizing that she wasn't aware of how intimate her grip was. "I told her about you being in the Air Force, and then we talked about why you were out and-"
She droned on, but I couldn't hear anything else but a soft hum. The smell of dinner cooking and the site of her in her pretty pink dress made the world dissipate.
"I'm gonna kiss you." I reached up and cupped her pretty face.
"Wait. What?"
"Shhh." I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers as I pulled her fully against me. My cock pressed to her stomach, and she had to know how much she turned me on. There was nothing I could do more than show her.
Her moan lit me on fucking fire. I had to have her. Soon.
Now.