CHAPTER 54
LUKE
It’s almost been a month.
That’s how long I’ve been doing my best to ignore Jess, and it’s been pure hell. Every day, I remind myself that she’s better off without me. I’m bad news for her, and I know it. But damn, she makes it hard. Especially now that she’s dating Tom, I can see it on her face though, sometimes. It’s a flicker so fast that anyone else would miss it, but it’s there. That little bit of resistance when Tom takes her hand or hesitation when he leans in to kiss her. A small part no, a big part of me likes it. Like’s the fact that she’s not able to give herself to Tom 100%, and that makes me 100% bad for her.
–
Josh is preoccupied with Laura, lost in his own world, leaving me stuck in the shadows, just watching–watching something I can never have. My chest tightens with frustration, and I try to shake it off, but it’s no use. I need to punch something.
The more I push her away, the more she invades my thoughts, dreams, and showers. Now I’m frustrated, and rage is pumping. through me. Maybe it was practice, or maybe it was because To walked into the locker room today announcing he plans on asking Jessica to Prom.
I hate fucking Prom. I hate what it means and just the whole idea of it, and I know Jessica feels the same, or at least I think she does.
CHAPTER 54
Swallowing my pride, I walked over to Tom and told him that I knew for a fact Jessica wanted to go with him. It’s a lie, but what the hell? The reason he came in to announce it in the first place was to get my approval. He needed Josh’s approval, but Josh wasn’t here right now, so he got me. I’m supposed to be her brother as well, right? What a fucking joke. I was the furthest thing from being her brother.
I did my best to keep myself as calm as possible as I walked out of the locker room, Tom behind me.
Out in the hall, I bump into Tiffany. The overexcited cheerleader’s shrill voice giving me an instant headache. She’s been useful as a distraction from Jess, and when she’s not talking, she’s not half bad. Tiffany was going on about something, but I stopped listening when I saw Jess walking in with Sam and Laura. For a second, I was confused; I thought Josh was with Laura. Maybe I heard wrong when he told me he needed to meet her out back.
Jessica wore that green, skin–tight dress that showed off every curve and gave everyone a view of her creamy, well–defined legs. I swallowed hard, my throat dry. She’s a vision, and it took everything in me not to stare.
“Luke, are you even listening?” Tiffany snaps her fingers in my face, pulling me out of my trance
“What? Yeah. Sure,” I mumble absentmindedly.
There’s a moment of silence, and then Jessica’s eyes flicker across the room, landing on me. I force my face into a mask of indifference, even though my insides are churning. She looks back at Tom, and I can see her mentally making the decision.
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