Naughty or Nice - Alexis Winter Page 0,60

over as he processes the information I’ve given him, running his hand through his messy-but-styled dark hair. He opens his mouth to respond, but the car behind me honks its horn, pulling me from my fantasy.

“All right, all right. I’m going,” I mumble to myself as I hit the gas.

It’s funny, because I’ve imagined telling Preston how I really feel many times over the years, however, I never seem to figure out what he would say. Would he get angry? Would be confess his own attraction? I don’t know. And that’s exactly why I’ve never uttered those words to him.

Preston and I, along with his older brother, Calvin, grew up together. It didn’t hurt that his house was right across the street and our parents have been the best of friends for as long as I can remember. Preston and I were always together. While Calvin is clearly the better choice if someone’s looking for a relationship, Preston is the one my body has always craved.

Well, I shouldn’t say always. We were like best friends when we were little, then that boys have cooties phase kicked in. Even though I was deathly afraid of catching his cooties, we still made sure to cause trouble where we could. Preston was always the attention-seeker of the two brothers. It’s like he was addicted to it. If too much time had passed with him going unnoticed, he’d make sure to get the attention of everyone in his vicinity.

If I had to pinpoint the exact moment Preston stole my attention for a whole different reason, I’d say it was the summer between freshman and sophomore year. He’d been away with his traveling baseball team.

I remember Calvin and I were hanging out in his backyard, chilling by the pool, when Preston arrived home. He walked out the patio door, looked over at his brother, then met my eyes. He smirked and the sun was shining down on his dark hair that had natural highlights from spending the summer on the field. With his icy gaze on mine, he pulled off his shirt, revealing a rock-hard chest and defined abs. Over the summer, he’d changed from a teenage boy to a man, and I was in love. In those two seconds, I imagined pushing him up against the wooden privacy fence in his backyard and taking what I never knew I wanted until that moment. I saw us falling in love, getting married, having children, and kissing every second of every day. Then he jumped into the pool and the cold water splashed me, pulling me out of my daydream.

Since that day so many years ago, Preston has only managed to get better-looking. His body has become even more manly—so defined and hard. His angular jaw has become sharper, and he now has dark stubble across it that I imagine would feel amazing against my skin. His blue eyes are still icy, but they now hold knowledge and secrets, making them even more enthralling. His skin is always tanned from being in the sun—he loves anything outdoors—and his dark hair has somehow managed to keep those natural highlights that are a mix of caramel and cinnamon. The man belongs in an Abercrombie catalog.

With a face and a body like his, he gets everything he wants, and that means everything—including women. Any woman would be proud to have him on her arm. Hell, any woman would brag about a one-night stand with him. There would be no shame in confessing you had a short-lived fling with this man. In fact, I think there’s a local club for said women. Raise your hand if you’re another notch on Preston Young’s bedpost.

I know you’re probably wondering: Are you another notch on the bedpost? Well, my friend, I must admit I am not. Sadly. While Preston is what you could call a womanizer, he’s always held his relationship with me to a higher level. The most we’ve ever done is a drunken kiss during a game of spin the bottle back in high school. And let me tell you, it was what dreams are made of. But deep down, I wonder if Preston even sees me as a woman. For years I’ve wondered: What’s wrong with me? Why doesn’t he ever flirt with me? Why doesn’t he want to have a drunken one-night stand with me? The answers to those questions are still unanswered because I’m too afraid to ask them out loud.

I finally manage to make it to the