Free My Best Friend's Brother: A Standalone Friends to Lovers Romance (Soulmates Series Book 2) by Hazel Kelly

his attention was too much. It made me
feel like Cinderella when the prince can't see anyone but her.
     
    "What
are you trying to ask me, Andi?"
     
    The
sound of the key in the lock shook me from my trance.
     
    "Andi?"
Steph called, opening the door as far as the short chain would allow. "Can
you unbarricade the door please?"
     
    I
looked at Shane. "Never mind," I said, prying myself off the couch
and swerving towards the door. "Hey Steph. One second." I undid the
locks and pulled the door open.
     
    Steph
had that healthy glow she always had when she came back from one of her Jesus
love fests.
     
    "How
was it?"
     
    "Great,"
she said. "Tiring, but well worth it for the- Shane." Her eyes found
him across the room. "What a nice surprise."
     
    "Hey
Steph," he said.
     
    She
looked back and forth between us, doubtlessly noticing the booze on the table.
"Am I interrupting something?"
     
    "Nope,"
Shane said, standing. "I was just leaving, actually." He drained his
beer and bent over to grab his empties off the table.
     
    "Don't
worry about those," I said. "I'll take care of it."
     
    "You
sure?" he asked.
     
    "Yeah."
     
    "Well
it was nice to see you, Shane. Sorry if I cut the party short," Steph
said, sliding her duffel bag down the hall with her foot.
     
    "Not
at all," he said.
     
    Steph
picked up her bag, looked at me, and pointed down the hall. "I'll just go
drop my stuff and let you guys… yeah."
     
    Shane
walked up to the door with his hands in his pockets. "Thanks for the fine
drinks and company."
     
    I
smiled. "You’re very welcome."
     
    "If
I fail my econ test tomorrow, I'm going to hold you personally responsible- but
otherwise no regrets."
     
    "If
it were anyone else, I'd say you were a fool to spend the day drinking instead
of studying, but you've never flunked a test in your life."
     
    "True,
but like I said-" He stepped into my space in a way I wasn't used to.
"There's a first time for everything."
     
    "Don't
be a stranger," I said, opening the door.
     
    He
gave me one last smile before stepping out. It was full of something
mischievous and knowing.
     
    I
closed the door and felt my chest loosen like it hadn't since he arrived, and I
was about to slide the chain in the first lock when I heard a tap on the door.
     
    I
opened it again and let my eyes travel from the wildflowers under his feet up
to his face.
     
    "I
forgot something," Shane said.
     
    "Oh."
I took a step back and opened the door wider so he could walk back in.
     
    But
he only took one step. Right up to me. And in the same swift motion, he slid
one hand around my lower back and pulled my hair back with the other.
     
    Then
he kissed me before I even registered what was happening.
     
    His
lips were soft and warm and his tongue pushed slowly in my mouth, surprisingly
gently considering the way he'd grabbed me and pulled me to him.
     
    I
felt limp in his arms as I bowed against him, my chest crushed against his and
the bulge in his pants hardening against my stomach.
     
    After
a few swirls of his tongue, I found the strength to raise my hands and grip the
sides of his shoulders.
     
    When
he set me back down, I felt as incapable of standing as a Barbie doll and fell
against the doorframe.
     
    "Okay,"
he said. "I think that's everything."
     
    I
sighed and watched him walk down the hallway.
     
    Maybe
there was a first time for everything.

 
    Chapter 16: Shane
     
     
     
    My
feet barely met the pavement on the walk home, and moving forward required no
energy whatsoever.
     
    It
was as if I were on thrusters, kicking up a wake of good vibes behind me as I
headed back to the house.
     
    Where
did little Andi Oliver learn to kiss like that? And why the fuck wasn't I
informed?
     
    Not
that she was little anymore.  
     
    She
was a woman now- with curves in all the right places- and no amount of denying
that in my head was going to make my body forget it.
     
    Not
now. Not after holding her to me like that and feeling the way her