The WRONG Brother (Love You Forever #1) - Alexis Winter Page 0,20
taking the pins out of her hair on the limo ride home. She looked sad, lost, broken.
The gate on the privacy fence opens and I turn my attention to it, wondering if Preston left his party early. It’s unlikely, but who else could it be? My eyes lock on Piper. She looks like she’s been crying, and immediately, my emotions go on high alert. Did Preston cause this? Did he hurt her? I’ll fucking kill him if he hurt her.
“Calvin.” She says my name and the tears start to fall.
I hold up my arm and motion for her to join me on the patio bench. She races to me, hiding her face in the crook of my neck.
“What’s wrong, Pipes? Did something happen?” I ask, hugging her tightly to my side.
She pulls back and wipes the tears from her eyes. “Preston is hooking up with Hannah as we speak, and I mean, I knew there was a possibility he would turn me down, but I didn’t expect him to run off with her before I even had the chance to tell him how I feel.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Why doesn’t he love me, Calvin?” Another tear falls from her eye and rolls down her cheeks.
I reach up and gently wipe the tear away. I’ve talked to her about my brother many times over the years. “He does love you, Piper. He just doesn’t love you the way you want him to.”
She nods. It’s something I’ve told her more times than I can count. “What’s wrong with me? I mean, am I ugly or something? Please don’t lie to make me feel better. Just tell me the truth.”
I take a deep breath, slowly releasing it as I lock my eyes on hers. “You’re not ugly, Piper. You’re beautiful—too beautiful and too good to be with someone like my brother. You see how he is with girls. You really want to be another one of them?”
She rolls her eyes. “At this point, I’ll take anything I can get,” she says around a giggle. “I guess I was just hoping he’d be different with me. Like yeah, he screws around with a lot of girls, but I thought maybe I could be the one who changes him. The one who makes him see that one girl who loves you is better than 20 who only want you for something. I know it’s stupid. He’s never going to change.”
“I wish I could make this feeling go away for you. I’d take away all your pain if I could, but I can’t. This is something you have to take control of yourself. Maybe going off to separate colleges will be the turning point. You know: gain some distance, meet new people, live different lives.”
She nods as her eyes slowly move up to lock on mine. With her facing me, our noses are almost touching. She wets her lips and I can’t help the overwhelming feeling that consumes me. I want to taste her. I want to feel how soft those lips are—taste their sweetness.
“You’re really something special, Pipes. Don’t think you’re not just because Preston doesn’t see what the rest of us do.”
Without warning, I close the distance between us. My rough, dry lips press against her soft, smooth ones. She sucks in a breath the moment we touch, but she doesn’t pull away, and I’m not sure why. Instead of breaking our kiss, her tongue comes out and dances with mine. My body blazes as I deepen the kiss. My hands cup her cheeks and hers move up to wrap around my neck. She pulls me closer and I feel myself come alive. Just as I’m about to pull her on top of me, I hear the slamming of a car door, and Preston yelling, “Piper! Where are you?”
We quickly pull away just as the back gate opens and he rushes in. “There you are. Why did you leave? Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve left with you,” he says, walking over. She stands up and looks at him, then down at me, and back.
In this moment, I know what she’s doing. She’s choosing. And she chooses him the moment she takes his hand and lets him walk her away from me.
“Drink that shot!” Piper tells Preston as she pushes the shot glass over to him, pulling me from my memory.
“Seriously? Another one?” he whines.
She smiles and her glassy green eyes light up. “Oh yeah. You’ve