“Of course it can. I’m sorry I asked that. It was insensitive.”

  “It’s okay,” I replied. “Come on. Let’s sit down.”

  I led him to the sofa. It was strange to be in the living room of this house with Bowie. We had always hung out in the basement over here.

  He didn’t let go of my hand as he looked directly into my eyes. “I’ve loved you most of my life. Even when we weren’t together, I measured every girl I dated against you, and they always failed. I hated that I did it. I won’t lie. Drove me crazy.” He let out a small laugh, then shook his head. “Then, you were there in front of me, like my subconscious had summoned you. It felt like someone had knocked the air from my lungs. I wouldn’t even let myself look at you. I even worried everyone around me could hear my heart slamming against my chest. No one else makes me feel like that, Gen. You’re it for me. And if I have to face Kye, accept your friendship with him to have you, I will. I do. It took me some calming down to realize that if there was something between the two of you, then it would have happened by now.”

  I thought he’d already come to that conclusion. The words he’d hurled at me when he left my apartment said as much.

  His eyes softened, and he looked guilty. “I said some hurtful things because I was scared. I was terrified of losing you to him. When I said them, it was what I had been hoping. I realized later, although I’d said them in a nasty way, it was the truth. The two of you are just friends, and I don’t think you want more with him. That was my jealousy talking.”

  He had every right to be jealous. I’d not handled any of this the right way. I opened my mouth to respond when the door opened and Kye walked into the house. All words left me as I stared at him over Bowie’s shoulder. Kye’s gaze swung from me to Bowie, and he paused only briefly, then quickly covered the moment of shock on his face before he closed the door behind him.

  Bowie let my hand go and stood up to face Kye. I hurried to do the same. This was not how I’d wanted to tell Kye about Bowie. I had hoped to explain this first. I had wanted to do it last night and then chickened out.

  Kye rubbed his jaw as he stared at Bowie before looking back at me. “Damn, Baby Doll, you could have prepared me.”

  Guilt, worry, fear, frustration swirled inside of me. All the things I had practiced in my head to say to Kye went poof. I couldn’t remember any of them. I felt like I had betrayed him, which was ridiculous. But I had lied to him in a way. By not telling him.

  “She was putting it off. Worried about how you’d feel about us. That’s what our disagreement was about. Why I shut her out,” Bowie said when it was clear I wasn’t going to respond.

  Kye tore his gaze off me to give Bowie a hard glare. “Is that what it was? You ignoring her. Refusing to answer her calls and texts. Making her cry. That was a disagreement?”

  I had to speak before Bowie said the wrong thing. Forcing my feet to move, I stepped around Bowie. “Kye, he was right. He wanted me to tell you. He begged me to. I was … I don’t know. I was just unsure how you’d take it. With all our history, I was nervous, and I kept putting it off. I should have told you. I was going to so many times, and then I couldn’t say it. I got scared.”

  Kye tilted his head, and the cold expression he’d given Bowie was gone. He looked wounded, which made my chest hurt. “When have I ever done anything to make you scared of me? I want you happy, Baby Doll. That’s it. I’m not sure he’s the one to do it though.”

  Before Bowie could respond, I took another step toward Kye. “I wasn’t scared of you. I was scared of upsetting you. For this reason. I know you still hold it against Bowie about how he handled things years ago. But we were the ones who had messed up. Bowie was a kid. We all were. That’s the past, and we are all different now. Time changed things. You see that, don’t you? Just like you and I have changed, Bowie did too. We grew up.”

  Kye glanced back at Bowie before meeting my gaze. “I don’t want you hurt. I don’t like it when you cry. He made you cry already.”

  “I’ve apologized for that, and I intend to make it up to her. I had to work through some old shit in my head. Shit that you’d caused,” Bowie said.

  Kye’s body tensed, and I reached out and grabbed his arm.

  “He’s right. We never got closure on what happened. He needed time to accept that we are and will always be just friends. That the kiss he had seen was a drunken mistake. Not something you meant to do.”

  “If you wanted her as more than a friend, that would have happened by now,” Bowie added. “It just took me stepping back and calming down to get that clear in my head.”

  Kye didn’t look back at him. His eyes stayed fixed on me. There was something there that I didn’t understand. He seemed lost. “Does he make you happy?”

  I nodded. “Yes, he does.”

  There was a flash of pain in his eyes, and I battled with the urge to throw my arms around him and assure him he’d always be my best friend. That was a position no one else could have. But for Bowie’s sake, I remained where I was. I had to draw the line, not blur it.

  Kye lifted his eyes to look back at Bowie. “Don’t hurt her again. That’s your only warning.”

  Bowie was silent for a moment, and I was mentally pleading with him not to say something to set Kye off. When he came back from doing Mafia things, he was always on edge.

  “I don’t plan on it,” he finally said tightly.

  Kye raised his eyebrows, and I saw his jaw clench. “I need more than your fucking plan. I need your word.”

  “Kye,” I said, squeezing his arm in an attempt to get his attention.

  “It’s okay, Gen. He’s been the one taking care of you for the past few years. I get it. I respect it,” Bowie said behind me.

  I didn’t take my eyes off Kye.

  “I didn’t do it for you,” Kye said through his teeth.

  “I didn’t say you did. We both love her. For her sake, let’s call a truce. I’m not here to come between your friendship. In fact, I might be the only man who gets it. Most guys would hate that her best friend is a guy. Especially someone like you. You’re intimidating to those who didn’t grow up with you.”

  Bowie was right. I watched as Kye let his words sink in and hopefully calm him. When he looked back down at me, he searched my face, his eyes scanning me for any sign that could give him a reason to argue this.

  Finally, he nodded. “Okay. If he’s what you want.”

  Relief flooded me. “He is.”

  Kye stepped back from me, and I let my hand fall away from my hold on him.

  “I have some things to do. I’ll leave the two of you to it.”

  Then, he turned and walked back to the door without another word. When it closed behind him, I let out a sigh. Although it had gone better than I’d expected, the ache in my chest wasn’t completely gone.

  Kye—Seventeen Years Old

  Closing my eyes tightly, I laid my head back on the sofa and wished the six-pack of beers I’d drunk could take the image of Genesis, naked, with Bowie fucking her, out of my head. Truth was, I had been fantasizing about how she’d look while being fucked for years. It was one of my favorites to get myself off. But in my fantasies, it was me filling her with my cock. It was me making her moan. My name she cried out.

  Bowie had now taken that away from me too. He’d tainted it. Made it his.

  My free hand balled into a fist, and I threw the empty bottle of beer in my other hand against the wall.

  “FUCK!” I roared.

  Why did it have to be like this? There were a million other girls out there for me to want. Why did it have to be Genesis? And why the fucking hell had Bowie gone and made her his? It wasn’t fair. It was me she looked at with those big, worshipful eyes. Me, who she let call her Baby Doll. Me, who she hung out of her window and talked to at night. Not Bowie. If one of us got to have her, it should have been me.

  The door opened at the top of the stairs, and I threw my arm over my face, covering it. I wasn’t in the mood to explain the broken bottle of beer to my mom. She was already pissed about my newest tattoo. Lately, she’d been angry with me about all kinds of shit. Dad had been pushing for me to move in with him. He’d said she’d never truly understand me.

  “Kye?” The sweet voice that ranked above all other voices said my name, and I dropped my arm from my face and sat up.

  Genesis stood at the bottom of the stairs, frowning at me, and then her gaze swung to the broken bottle near her feet.

  I jumped up. “Don’t move. You could get cut,” I told her.

  She watched me as I walked over to her, then let out a squeal as I put my hands on her waist and picked her up, moving her over the broken glass to a safer area. My hands didn’t let go of her waist right away though. The warmth of her skin under my palms felt too good, and I wanted it to seep in some more. I suddenly felt an urgent need to take the little I could have of her before Bowie somehow stole that too.

  Genesis lifted her eyes to look up at me. Those eyes of hers had always made me weak. I had blue eyes, but they weren’t like her kind of blue. Mom had said Genesis had aquamarine eyes. I didn’t know anyone else with their perfect shade of ocean and sky.

  “I was looking for …” She paused and glanced around, and the frown between her brows appeared again. “What happened?” she asked.

  “Bottle broke,” I told her, making myself drop my hands instead of leaning down and smelling her like a maniac.

  She was Bowie’s girl. No smelling her. No burying my face in her neck. No licking that place at the base of her throat where her pulse gave away her reaction to things when her expression didn’t.

  “How?” she asked, then shook her head. “Never mind. Is Bowie here?”

  Fucking Bowie. My fist balled up again.

  “You lose him?” I asked.

  She shook her head and grinned, as if I were making a joke. My eyes dropped to her neck, then down to her cleavage. When were her tits gonna stop growing? Fuck, it had been easier when she was flat-chested. The urge to tug her neckline down and clamp my mouth around one of her nipples was strong.

  I moved back to stand in front of her. Smell her vanilla-cinnamon scent. Feel the warmth from her body. Imagine how she looked as she was orgasming. My eyes moved to that spot on her throat. The pulse was there, making it clear I affected her. I placed two fingers over the small, pumping vein gently and caressed it.

  “Kye,” she whispered in a shaky breath.

  “Yeah, Baby Doll?” I replied, lifting my eyes to meet hers.

  The way her eyes shone back at me with uncertainty but clear interest took the next move out of my hands. I couldn’t have stopped myself if I wanted to. Bowie could have walked in the damn room, and I’d still need this. She was a fucking siren, and I was weak.

  I brushed my lips over hers twice, and the soft gasp that came from hers sent me over the edge. My mouth locked down over hers, and I teased her lips with my tongue until she opened for me, leaning in and pressing her body against mine. I cupped her face with one hand and ran the other one up her arm, then circled her neck with my fingers. The moment her tongue moved over mine, I was lost. She tasted better than anything my dreams could have conjured up.

  “What the fuck?!” Bowie’s shout was like a bucket of ice water being dumped over our heads.

  I knew then that nothing would ever go back to the way it had been.

  Eight

  Genesis

  October 15

  Bowie had gone to pick up our dinner while I opened a bottle of his favorite red wine and prepared the living room for our movie date. He had been back in South Carolina the past week, and he had shown up to surprise me today. We were doing good with the back and forth.

  Chloe owned a clothing boutique in town. She had several of them in Florida now. Even one in Key West, where she now lived. She’d hired me do the ordering for all the stores, do the window display at the Ocala store, then send the picture to the other stores so they could do something similar. The best part was, she’d offered for me to sell my own designs in all the stores. I was so thankful for her allowing me to do this. I wasn’t sure when I’d finish my degree, but this was hands-on experience. I had a chance to sell my clothing to the public.

  I was currently wearing one of the items from my first store order. Chloe had asked if I could start a lingerie section. She’d had several requests from her stores managers. The lavender satin nightgown I had slipped on had matching thong panties and barely covered my butt. Bowie liked visual things, and I was glad I’d bought this one today when the shipment arrived.

  I heard the keys in the door rattle and began pouring the wine into the glasses. I waited for him to come into the kitchen and say something about what I was wearing. Smiling, I stood there, acting like I was busy with my back to him. Bowie didn’t ever get real creative with sex, but I was determined to eventually get him to lose his cool during sex. Maybe some sweaty, out-of-control, dirty-talking sex in the kitchen would finally happen for us.

  His footsteps stopped, and when he remained silent, I turned to see what was wrong.

  Kye stood there, staring at me. Not Bowie. The look in his eyes was something I had never seen before. Kye was a man-whore. A strong wind could make the man horny. But still, my traitorous body tingled when I got a look of him drinking me in.

  I crossed my hands over my chest and glared at him. “What are you doing here? And stop looking at me like that!”

  Kye licked his bottom lip, flashing his tongue ring in the process. “Damn, Baby Doll, what the fuck are you wearing?” he drawled, and then he pointed at my crotch. “Better uncross your arms. I am getting a view of something that you don’t want me to see.”

  I let my arms fall immediately. “Kye! Stop looking!” I scolded him.

  He laughed and covered his eyes with his hand. “Jesus, I didn’t mean to look. It was just right there. Why are you dressed like a fucking wet dream?”

  My body flushed, and I wanted to slap myself. This was not the way to react to Kye. Although I was pretty sure I had started to get fluttery around him when I turned eleven. Didn’t matter. He was my best friend, and he was a slut.

  “Bowie is here. He surprised me today. He’s gone to pick up our dinner.”

  “And you think he is gonna be able to eat and drink red wine when you look like that?” Kye asked.

  I was smiling, and I couldn’t help it. Sure, he was a slut, but when he complimented me, it made me slightly breathless, like I was still that eleven-year-old girl, wanting him to notice me as more than one of the guys.

  “What did you come by for?” I asked him.

  He had to leave before Bowie got back. The last thing I needed was to give Bowie any reason to doubt my friendship with Kye. So far, we’d been doing good. The three of us. We weren’t hanging out together or anything, but still, we were okay.

  “I was going to see if you wanted to go get ribs and play some pool,” he explained. “Clearly, I should have called first.”

  “Probably would have been a good idea, but I need you to go before Bowie gets here and knows you’ve seen me in this. He’ll freak out.”

  Kye nodded, keeping his eyes covered. “Yeah. I’d hate to hurt him when he took a swing at me.”

  Sighing, I walked over and grabbed Kye’s arm, trying not to think about how big and hard his biceps were. Not at all slim and toned, like Bowie’s.

  “Come on. Let’s get you out of here,” I said, leading him back to the door.

  “Do you dress like that often for him?” Kye asked me.

  “That is not your business,” I replied.

  “What? I see my best friend’s smooth, round asscheeks peeking out from under a satin nightie, and I can’t ask questions?”

  He needed to shut up. Unfortunately, Kye and his blond hair, blue eyes, and muscular, tattooed, and pierced body affected females, even the ones who didn’t want it to affect them. Like me. I did not want my panties getting damp over my best friend.

  I opened the door and shoved him out of it. Kye dropped his hand and turned to look back at me. I scowled at him before slamming it shut. I let out a sigh and rested my forehead on smooth wood. God, why did he have to see me in this? I was never going to hear the end of it.

  “I come in peace.”

  Kye’s voice startled me, and I spun around in the storeroom of his mom’s Ocala boutique to see him standing behind me, holding up two paper bags in his hands. Other than a few texts from him, saying he hoped I hadn’t caused Bowie to suffer a heart attack with my nightie and the usual good morning, Baby Doll text, we hadn’t spoken since last night.

  Putting the hanger down, I looked from the bags in his hands and back to him. “Is that so? Let me see what’s in the bags,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

  Kye gave me a cocky grin. “Gotta go to the park with me to find out. Picnic or nothing,” he replied.

  I glanced down at my phone and realized it was after one. I’d forgotten about lunch. I looked back up at him. “Do carnivores eat what’s in those bags?” I asked.

  Kye raised one eyebrow. “Baby Doll, what kind of question is that? Do you think I’m gonna bring you a meal without some fucking meat in it?”

  I sighed in relief. Bowie’s vegan lifestyle was a struggle. I should feel guilty for even being annoyed by it. Bowie had had to leave this morning. He had classes and work. Spending some time with Kye would help brighten my spirits before I headed to the hospital.

  “Deal. Let me tell Vera I’m stepping out for lunch,” I told him.

  Vera was the store manager, and at first, she’d not been happy about me handling so much. I’d managed to sway her though. She liked my window displays and the things I ordered. Sales had picked up.

  “She knows,” he replied. “Let’s go.”