NoStringsAttached: My Best Friend's Younger Brother? (mm, enemies-to-lovers, frat) (Boys of Simson U. Book 4) by J. Allen Grady

Author:J. Allen Grady [Grady, J. Allen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: DarkLights Publishing
Published: 2023-06-15T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

MORGAN OCHS

“I… hope you enjoyed it?” Peter said with a nervous smile.

“It was the most perfect first date I could have imagined,” I said. “Just don’t try to top it any time soon. I don’t know if my heart could take it.”

He smiled down at me and squeezed my hand. “Are you alright? You seem to have gotten—?”

I smiled. “You seem anxious or— I don’t know. I was worried I’d done something?”

“No!” he said, smiling. “You are a dream come true.” He paused. “It’s scary.”

“What is?” I asked, thinking I knew.

“The higher you fly, the harder you fall,” he said. “I’ve avoided the hurt by avoiding relationships, but now I’m in a relationship with the boy I’ve wanted my whole life!”

Peter stopped and turned to face me, taking both of my hands in his. “When you realize who and what I am, I’m going to try not to let it destroy me, but at least I know how to bury my sorrow.”

I frowned angrily. “Can we not, on our first date, imagine the sex parties you’re going to use to forget me when I’m gone?”

He stiffened, stunned to silence.

“It’s just another way of holding me at arm’s length, you know,” I said a little more softly. “I know I can’t expect you to let me all the way in all at once. But can you try to stop actively pushing me away?”

“That’s not what I’m—” Peter looked flustered. Then he looked defeated. “I’m sorry. Deep down, I just know I’m not—!”

“You are! No matter how much you try to tarnish yourself, you are!”

“That’s not what the sex was about,” he retorted.

“I always thought it was, but I do realize I was wrong about that,” I said, squeezing his hands. “Waving it like a flag in everyone’s face was the way you held people like me at bay and let everyone else know you weren’t a forever type of man.”

“I… I… Just stop that!” he said, laughing.

“Stop what?” I asked, trying not to laugh.

“Get out of my head, shortcakes,” he said, teasing me with a name he hadn’t called me in years. My brother always called me mean names and pressured Peter to join in. He came up with things like “shortcakes,” which satisfied my brother since it seemed to make fun of my height.

“Only if you stop being such an asshole,” I said, stepping closer to him and craning my neck a little more to look deep into his eyes. “Can I ask you something I always wanted to know?”

“Anything,” he practically whispered.

“Shortcakes?” I asked. “Is Peter Maguire blushing? Jesus, it must be terrible. And I always thought you were being nice.”

“I hated it when your brother called you things like ‘creep’ and ‘pest,’ but he also ragged on me for not joining in,” he said, looking away for a moment. “He got to me because he asked me if I was sweet on you, and I was not ready to admit how I was feeling about you—to your brother, especially!”

“I can imagine,” I said, laughing.

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