“It was you,” I whispered.
“Me? I tried to back off like you asked, not play the big brother role.”
He didn’t understand. I could still backtrack. My eyes lifted from his hand to his face. We were close enough that if he leaned forward a few inches, our lips would brush. Griff had a small frown on his face, and I wanted to lift my finger to smooth the crease between his brows.
I decided to open the door just a little bit wider with another honest response that danced around the brutal truth.
“It was the way you looked when you said you were going to the restroom. It made me wonder if I had it all wrong with my little lecture earlier that night.”
Griff’s frown deepened and I clarified, “When you interrupted me and Quentin.”
“I know what lecture you’re referring to. And you did have part of it wrong.” The frown dropped and he set his jaw with determination as he looked at me.
I sucked in a breath. “Which part?”
“You will always be family, Naomi. But I stopped thinking of you as a younger sister a long time ago.”
With that, the door swung wide open, leaving me dizzy as his words shook me, rattled around in my chest before settling deep in my bones.
Griff’s confession was all I needed to give him one of my own. “I’m not sure I ever thought of you as a brother, Griff.”
His lips tilted upward in the sweetest smile as his eyes closed for a beat, as if he was savoring the words. Was it possible Griffin felt an ounce for me of what I felt for him? Or did he simply recognize I wasn’t actually related to him so he had permission to find me attractive? A smile played on my own lips as my heart threatened to pound out of my chest and a lightness filled me.
But his next question wiped it right off. “Why does it feel like we shouldn’t be telling each other this, then?” Griff was earnest, like he was truly perplexed and hoped I’d have the answer. I did, and the reality of it reminded me why this entire exchange had been a mistake.
Griffin
I never should have asked the question if I didn’t want to hear her answer. I’d replayed Naomi’s words in my head all week.
“There’s too much at risk,” she’d said, even as her entire body swayed forward, closer to mine. “I’ve been doing a risk assessment and there’s too much at stake. My brother is your best friend, your sister is mine. Our parents are best friends. Family is our foundation. We can’t risk shaking our foundation.”
A group from work had interrupted us then, oblivious to the life-changing conversation we were engaged in, and I hadn’t gotten the chance to contradict her. She’d shut down, and been avoiding me all week. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. I’d been slammed at work, trying to get deals through before Christmas and the new year, and Naomi had decided to take advantage of our liberal remote working policy for the first time ever. Maybe she decided to work from her parents’ house because it was close to the holidays, but I suspected she was hiding from me. I wanted to call her or text her, but this conversation had to happen in person.
I drove to Calloway early on Christmas Eve, determined to see her. Sure enough, before I even got to my parents’ house, I spotted her at Airwalk, the local skate park. I pulled into the lot, unable to peel my eyes from Naomi as she ground over a low rail on her board. It wasn’t until I stepped out of the car that I realized how many people were around. I was a recognizable face in this area, and this wasn’t going to be the time to talk to Naomi like I wanted to.
Before I could take ten steps toward her, I was stopped by half a dozen people. There were old acquaintances from school who were home for the holidays, and younger kids who’d watched YouTube videos of me back when I used to compete. I kept waiting for Naomi to come over and save me like she sometimes did in these situations, but when I finally spotted her again, she was skating out of the park. Yeah, she was definitely avoiding me.
I told the crowd forming that I’d be back later this afternoon, and got back in my car to chase her.
She was skating fast, already on the street to her parents’ house when I caught her and rolled down my window.
“Naomi,” I called.
She glanced over at me but didn’t stop skating. “Hey, Griff.”
“Can we talk?”
“I have to get home to help my mom cook.”
“When can we talk? Because our conversation the other day wasn’t finished.”
She slowed and hopped off her board. I pulled over and parked a few houses from hers before jumping out of the driver’s side. If she was giving me an opening, I’d do it right here on the sidewalk. But the look on her face made me slow my steps. She looked resigned, and sad.
“The conversation was over, Griff. I think we should both forget it ever happened.”
“Forget? I’m not going to forget. I don’t want to forget.”
She pressed her lips together and I saw her fists clench at her sides. “Griff, please. I don’t want to ruin our friendship over this. We have to pretend it never happened.”
I studied her, trying to remember what she’d said about risk assessments. Did she really believe that? Now that we’d both acknowledged the pull between us, how could she simply walk away from it? But that’s exactly what she was doing. She walked backward, clutching her board to her chest like a shield. Her eyes pleaded with me to let it go.
But I wasn’t going to let it go. No, I was going to have to convince her to give us a chance.
Naomi
Airwalk was empty on Christmas Day, and it was a treat to have it all to myself. Christmas morning with my parents was awesome but without Beck and Jordan, it wasn’t quite the same. The Perrys would be joining us in a few hours though, and then we’d have a full house.
I skated around the park, carving up and down the ramp a few times before hitting the lower rails. My mind wasn’t on trying any new tricks and I was content to flow through the ones I’d mastered years ago. I was thinking about Griffin, as usual. Griffin, who had been the one to coach me at this park on most of the tricks I could now do with ease.
I didn’t think he understood how deep my feelings for him ran. Throughout my teen years, Griff had never had a girlfriend, only flings. I knew he wouldn’t treat me like a one-night stand, but being another short-term girlfriend to him would be just as devastating. He’d started dating more seriously about five years ago, and it’d been painful to watch. They never stayed together for longer than a few months though. I couldn’t become another one of Griffin’s ex-girlfriends.
Not to mention, what would Summer think? Beck? Jordan? Would they hate us together? Would they be pissed we were throwing off the family and friendship dynamic for a shot at… What exactly?
I heard another skateboard behind me and before I could turn around, I felt him at my side.
“Merry Christmas, Naomi.” Griff’s voice washed over me, and when I glanced at him and saw his warm smile directed my way, I smiled back. Maybe he was doing what I asked, and we’d go back to the way things used to be.
“Merry Christmas, Griff.”
We skated around the park together with minimal talking. I loved just being with him, sharing space, and I was grateful that our exchange last week hadn’t ruined that, at least. When I watched Griff grind the highest railing by a set of stairs, I switched mindsets and took on some more challenging tricks. Pushing myself felt good with Griff at my side. I didn’t mind falling on my ass when he was there to help me up.