A silhouette looms at the door. It’s my brother. His silent presence suffocates the room, and he hasn’t even made a sound. His judgmental stare bores holes into my skull.

I ignore him, mashing the buttons of my PlayStation. It’s a futile enterprise, because Liam refuses to be ignored. He walks into my room without an invite—asshole—and blocks my view of the television.

I look up. "What?"

Liam crosses his arms, disapproval written all over his face. "We need to talk."

"In a minute, I’m in the middle of—"

Liam’s foot knocks the TV, shutting it off.

A frustrated scream bursts from my throat. "Dude, I was eight hours into that game!"

"You mad, little bitch?"

I launch at his knees and knock him over. He collapses to the floor, shaking the whole room. Then I grab his head and dig my knuckles into his scalp. "How do you like it?"

Liam’s lips whiten as he fights to draw breath. "Air!"

I release my hold around his neck, and the bastard laughs.

"Gotcha."

His hand whirls from nowhere, slapping me. My cheek explodes with a sharp sting. "What the hell’s your problem?"

Red-faced, he shoves me backward. "That’s for being such a dick to Gigi."

I sink into the mattress, rubbing my burning skin. "What?"

"She told me what you did."

"Which is what? I’ve bent over backwards for that girl, and she won’t give me a freaking inch."

"That’s because you keep going on about getting laid, you idiot. The girl’s not some flavor of the week you can dump whenever you feel like."

I push myself up to my elbows. "What are you talking about?"

"I’m talking about you messing around with her feelings!"

I goggle at him. "Since when do you give a shit about Gigi?"

"The moment I pulled my head out of my ass, baby bro." Liam’s grin flashes across the room. "She’s been talking to me for days. Asking me for advice on how to deal with you. Why you’re so mean to her."

"Really?" My face grows hot as Liam’s gaze narrows. "Hold on, I’m not mean to her. Why—?"

"Dude." Liam shakes his head, ashamed for me. "Do you not get it? Gigi is in love with you."

My voice jumps an octave. "What?"

"My God, Ronan." He sinks into my office chair, laughing. "How do you manage to get laid? Must be the football thing, because there’s no one upstairs."

I stare at him, unwilling to believe him. "You are so full of shit."

"She’s into you! Always has been! Why do you think she gave you a hard time? Gigi is carrying a big one for you, and you’re fucking it up."

"How?"

"By pushing a one-night stand on her."

This isn’t adding up. "How did you become Gigi’s confidante?"

"The girl’s super lonely after her fiancé dumped her." Liam plays with my Star Wars toys, flying an X-wing through the air. "I talk to her when she’s outside. You’re usually training."

How did I miss this? "She said she has a crush on me?"

Annoyed, Liam throws the X-wing at me.

It bounces off my jaw. "Ow, stop being a fucking—"

"No, man. You stop. We fucked around with Good Girl when we were young, but now we’re grown-ass men. And we need to act accordingly. That means, stop fucking with her emotions! She doesn’t have a crush. She’s in love with you."

My head reels from this information. "That’s not possible. We haven’t seen each other in years."

"And now you’re back. Your presence is dredging up all the old feelings." Liam stares at me, pity filling his dark blues. "Dude, how can you not see this? Gigi has always been head over heels for you. Think about it. You were the hot guy next door who paid her so much attention."

"Yeah, by cutting the hair off her Barbie dolls." I’m still ashamed of that one.

"I never said it was a healthy love." He tosses one of my signed footballs in the air. "I mean, you were basically a bastard to her the moment Dad left."

My face burned. "You weren’t innocent, either."

"I was mostly there as a witness. And backup." He catches the football. "You were the one with the feud."

I’d forgotten what sparked my first stupid prank against Gigi. It might’ve been frustration from my dad’s absence—and the sweet, trusting girl next door was an easy target. I put that girl through so much shit, and the whole time she had a crush on me.

More than a crush. Overwhelming shame consumes me.

"I don’t want to hurt her. Maybe I should back off."

"No," he says sharply. "You need to go on a date with her."

"Why?"

"Because it’s the least you can do. Give the poor girl a taste of what it’s like to be with you. Don’t treat her like some Tinder slut you throw away after one night."

"I wouldn’t do that!"

"If you screw this up, Mom will be pissed. Gigi’s mother will tell ours, and then she’ll kill you. You’ll be cut from the will."

"I’ll be making a shitload of money by then, but I see your point. I don’t want to spend the rest of my break apologizing to Mom."

"Exactly." Liam bounces off the chair. "Show her a good time."

"Okay."

My brother disappears into the hall as I sit with my jaw agape. I never—ever—considered Gigi’s feelings for me might be more serious—that this whole time she nurtured a crush that grew into something deeper.

I don’t know what to do.

I hadn’t considered her as a potential girlfriend. We have a history, but it’s one mostly filled with tears and schoolyard pranks. Come to think of it, most of my childhood memories involve Gigi.

She was always there, waiting for me to grow up, and all I did was cause her misery. It’s not too late to mend things. I owe her this.

Sliding my phone from the nightstand, I find Gigi’s name. I touch the button to call, my stomach clenching when it rings. A curious warmth spreads through my body when she answers.

"Hello."

I lick my lips, heart pounding. "Want to go on a date?"