My Best Friend's Brother: A Standalone Friends to Lovers Romance (Soulmates Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

drown out the
sound.
     
    Not
that I was really listening anyway. On the contrary, I was trying to process-
and guess- what happened between him and Mike.
     
    To
be honest, though, I wished I could forget about Mike altogether.
     
    Sure,
things were fun in the beginning- and the sex had been energetic in a way that
made it easy to ignore our increasingly animated fights- but for the most part,
Shane was right.
     
    He
was no good for me.
     
    My
grades had dropped in two of my classes. I'd spent virtually no time with
Shane, and I hadn't gone to visit Izzy once since Mike and I started going out.
     
    But
worst of all, I didn't like who I'd become as a result of dating him.
     
    I
was more meek lately and unsure of myself. I'd started lying to my parents
about serious stuff, like my grades and how my boyfriend was treating me.
     
    It
was pathetic that someone could come into my life and overwhelm me like that
until I hardly recognized myself.
     
    And
when he squeezed my jaw, I felt fragile for the first time in my life, and I
hated it.
     
    I
wanted to feel strong and confident, and I wanted to be in a relationship where
my grades didn't suffer and the guy I was sleeping with didn't do things I
couldn't tell my friends about.
     
    So
I was grateful for Shane's help, grateful that I could count on him to talk
some sense into me and force me to take action… especially when all I felt
strong enough to do was curl up in the corner until the whole thing blew over.
     
    But
it wouldn't.
     
    The
only thing that was ever going to blow was Mike's temper as soon as something
else set him off, and even though I felt like a coward for letting Shane do my
dirty work for me, the important thing was that it was over and I was safe.
     
    If
only Shane didn't see me like a sister.
     
    I
swear our closeness was as much a blessing as it was a curse.
     
    Just
once I wanted him to look at me the way he looked at those girls I'd seen him with-
like my feelings and insecurities were the last thing he was thinking about.
     
    Maybe
that's why I kept dating guys who had no real respect for me- because I
couldn't figure out how else to get that possessive intensity that I always
craved from Shane.
     
    "God
I needed that," he said, crumpling the crummy white paper that previously
held his sandwich. "Is yours okay?"
     
    "Perfect,"
I said, covering my full mouth. "I owe you one."
     
    He
furrowed his brow. "Stop saying that. You don't owe me anything."
     
    I
swallowed. "Sorry."
     
    "And
stop saying you’re sorry." He raised his hands and threw the wad of paper
in a perfect arc so it landed squarely in the small green garbage in the
corner. "It doesn't suit you."
     
    I
knew he was right. I felt like all I’d done the last two months with Mike was
apologize. I'd started to say it even when it didn't make any sense.
     
    "Can
I save the rest of this?" I asked, realizing there was really another meal
in the half eaten sandwich before me. "Chuck it in your fridge for the
moment maybe?"
     
    "Of
course," he said, standing at the edge of the bed while I wrapped it up.
"Besides, you need to save room for dessert."
     
    I
furrowed my brow. "I thought the milkshake was-"
     
    "I
got extra Oreos," he said.
     
    I
smiled. "Oreos, huh?"
     
    He
nodded and took my sandwich over to the fridge.
     
    "Dessert
and a distraction then?"
     
    He
looked over his shoulder at me. "My thoughts exactly."
     
    My
eyes traced the length of his defined jaw. "I didn't even know you could
get extra cookies there. Is that another one of the perks of being big man on
campus?"
     
    He
closed the fridge door with his foot. "More like one of the perks of
saying please."
     
    "I
see." I propped some pillows up at the head of the bed. When I leaned
against them, I was convinced a burst of his cologne released around me.
"Do you have any milk?"
     
    He
scrunched his face. "There’s milk in the kitchen, but I have to warn you.
At least thirty of the guys that live here are