Free Stepbrother Bestie (A Stepbrother Romance Novel) by Alycia Taylor Page B

“I’m sorry, Shawn. I want to be your best friend
again. I miss you and I would give anything to have us back, but…” I shook my
head, feeling panicked. “I’m just…sorry.”
    Within a second, I found myself turning
around and bolting in the other direction, afraid of what would have happened
had I stayed even just another moment.  

 
    Chapter
14
    Shawn

 
    I watched her walk away and immediately was
overcome with a sense of anger. I knew that there was a lot more to the
feelings that I was having then just simple rejection, but I didn’t want to
think about all of that right now; in fact, I knew that I couldn’t think about
it.
    If I did, I would go crazy, plain and
simple.
    So I watched what could have been walk
away and silently steamed from the intense sensation of emotion that I felt.
    Then again, I didn’t have too much time to
wallow in my pity, because just as Valerie was eclipsing from my sight, I heard
my cellphone ring. It chimed just the right tune to let me know that Dalilah
was summoning me.
    I knew that if I didn’t answer, which I
really didn’t feel like doing, she would continue to call until I got fed up. That
would only equate to more problems and so, I let it ring for a minute before I
picked it up.
    “Hey baby…” Dalilah answered slowly after
I said hello.
    “Hi,” I replied, not in the mood to be
lovey, considering I felt as though Valerie had just dangled her affection for
me, just close enough so that I would take the bait, before snapping the trap
closed on my heart.
    There was dead silence on the other end of
the line for a moment, just before she came back and said, “What’s the matter
with you?”
    I shrugged, even though I knew she
couldn’t see me. “I’m just…tired.”
    Dalilah didn’t care very much for my
tiredness, which was readily apparent when she grunted a sigh. “Well…I thought
you were going to come pick me up.”
    I scrunched my eyes shut as I tried not to
make any noise, which would signal that I had completely forgot. “Yeah…Of
course,” I told her when I trusted myself to speak. “I…I was just going to call
you. Is it all right if I just hang out tonight? I’m really beat…”
    “Yes, you are,” she answered after another
pause. “And no, it’s not.” Her voice suddenly sounded angry, but I couldn’t
understand why.
    “What?” I demanded, feeling intensely
annoyed. “What are you talking about?”
    “Look behind you…” she answered and I felt
a stab of fear run through my heart.
    I turned around quickly to see Dalilah
glowering at me. I could have sworn that I felt my heart stop.
    I wasn’t sure what she was up to, but I
was sure that whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t a good thing.
    Oh
God, I thought. What did she hear?
    “What are you doing here?” I yelled at her
through my fear and angst. At that point, I didn’t even care that she was going
to probably lash back at me, fully loaded and angry. I was still caught up on
the fact that she was following me and that made me livid.
    “I could ask you the same thing.” She glared
at me. “You don’t look like you’re too tired,” she moved in closer and added, “and
you certainly didn’t look too tired when you were cozying up to your girlfriend
over there.”
    “Fine,” I answered solidly. “But last time
I checked, I was able to hang out with whomever I wanted.”
    “She is the enemy!” she exclaimed, as
though by meeting with Valerie, I had done something inexcusable.
    I had to laugh, but it certainly was not
because I found much humor in the situation. I could not believe that she was
acting so foolish and petty. “I think you’re overreacting,” I replied. “I can
see whoever I please, Dalilah. What I want to know, is why you are here.”
    Dalilah backed up, as though I had
physically struck her. She gasped and her mouth hung for a little while, as
though she was shocked beyond measure. Finally, she replied, “You were late to
pick me up. You