“Brit,” I begin.
“Kade, don’t. You are right. That kiss should never have happened.” Sadness mars her beautiful face, and it’s killing me. Taking two significant steps in Brit’s direction puts me in her personal space. Without hesitation, I secure her in my arms. It takes a few seconds before her arms wrap around my waist, and I would be lying if I said it didn’t feel right having her body against mine.
“Britney, out of respect for you and your brother, you have to go.” My words blow painfully past my lips; my actions contradicting what I just said. I tell her to go but squeeze her tighter, not wanting to let her go. She drops her arms, releasing me from her hold, but before I free her from my arms, I bring both hands up, cupping her face and lean down, and brush my lips across hers.
“I gotta go.” Britney pulls away and darts for the front door. She grabs her bag off the table and runs out of the house, slamming the door behind her. I want to go after her, but I can’t trust myself to let her leave if I do. Instead, I sit on my couch and watch her from my camera while she waits for her Uber.
Using her sleeve, she wipes away what I can only assume are tears. Just as I stand up to go outside, I see headlights at my gate, and Britney walking toward the vehicle. Stopping, I watch as she slides into the back seat, followed by retreating lights.
Me: Text when you’re home.
B: OK.
It isn’t too long before she texts me that she’s home.
Why did I have to fuck this all up?
8
Deacon
Before punching in Kade’s gate code on the keypad, I notice a car in his driveway. He never brings chicks home, but when I look closer and see the custom license plate “WINO4LF”, that’s when I realize it’s my sister’s car. Gripping the steering wheel until I’m white-knuckled, I throw my truck in reverse and peel away from Kade’s place. If I go through those gates, I’ll beat the shit out of my friend. He fucking knows he’s not supposed to fuck around with my sister, yet here they are, once again, alone.
As I speed down the street toward my family’s winery, I pass Sydnee heading in the opposite direction I’m going. So, I turn around and follow her back the other way. My CarPlay alerts a text from Britney, so I click on it to play through my speakers.
Britney: It’s not what you think.
Me: Enlighten me.
Britney: Meet me at the winery.
Me: Not a chance.
When we reach Kade’s, I tailgate Sydnee up to the house. Slamming my truck into park, I jump down and march over to the passenger door, yanking it open.
“Hey, watch it! This is my car, not yours, dickhead.” Sydnee’s outburst is warranted, but I pay no attention. My focus is on Britney and why her car is here.
“You need to calm the fuck down and stop acting like a lunatic,” Britney snaps the second she has the opportunity.
“Why’s your car here, Brit?” It’s not her I should be hostile toward, but she’s the one in front of me, so she’s the one who’s going to get the verbal lashing.
“You know what, Deacon? She’s your sister, not your fucking property. If she wants to fuck your best friend, I say let her.” Looking over the roof of Sydnee’s car, I see she has exit the vehicle. If looks could kill, the heat behind her death stare would be enough to kill me. Fuck. She’s pissed, I’m pissed, Brit’s pissed. This morning couldn’t get any worse.
“What the fuck is going on out here?” Kade’s voice booms in the morning air.
“Captain Asshat here thinks you and Brit hooked up,” Sydnee answers for all of us.
“Why else would her car be here after I left your place last night, Syd?”
“Both of you shut up. I can speak for myself.” My sister shoves me away from the car so she can get out. With her heels on, she’s pretty close to being eye to eye with me. “Brother, I love you, but you have to stop this overbearing insanity. There is nothing but friendship between Kade and me. You made damn sure of that. So, unless you want me to start hating you, you’ll back the fuck off. I’m an adult, and you will not dictate who to spend time with, got it?” Britney’s not messing around, and I guess she does have a point.
“You’re right.”
“Dammit, D. What is—wait, what?”
“I said, you’re right. You’re my sister, and Kade is like the brother I didn’t get. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t trust that he’s holding up his end of the pact. Right, bro?” My attention turns to Kade, who is now standing at the driver’s side of Britney’s car.
“Whatever you say, bro.” Kade’s pissed and has every right to be. I don’t know if it’s the stress of the job right now or what, but now that I think back to the last couple of days, I have been an overbearing asshole to my sister and a dick to Kade.
“Dude, I’m apologizing here.”
“Move, I’m going to be late for work.” Britney pushes past me as she walks to her car. As I close the door to Sydnee’s car, Kade—like the nice guy he is—opens the door to Britney’s car. I see words exchanged, but don’t butt into their conversation. I’ve done enough pissing in Cheerios this morning.
“You’re still a dick.” Sydnee doesn’t waste the chance to call me out on my shit. That’s one of the many things I’ve always liked about her.
Maybe that’s my problem. Sydnee and I would still be dating, but I couldn’t make my sister and Kade adhere to the sibling pact if I continued to date Syd, so I broke it off. It doesn’t mean I stopped liking her, or that I don’t get jealous when I know she’s seeing someone, but she’s not mine. Therefore, I can’t say a damn word.
On a few occasions, I have wanted to tell Britney to go for Kade so I could get back together with Sydnee. But, when Kade and I would be out having a drink, I would have a front-row seat to see the women flirting with him and who he follows home.
Britney is better than any of those women and deserves a man that will treat her like a princess. I believe deep down that if Kade wants Brit, it’s because he can’t have her. Once he’s gone there and done that, he’ll get bored and drop her, leaving her heartbroken and me with one less friend.
Once everyone is in their vehicles, we take off so Kade can have some peace. I follow my sister to the winery, not to bug her, but to go work out. After I’ve swum my laps and done five miles on the treadmill, I take a quick shower and make my way over to Britney’s office.
“Knock, knock,” I say while rapping lightly on the metal doorframe to my sister’s office.
“D, if you came here to pick another fight, leave. I don’t have time for your childish antics.”
“I’m not here to fight. I’m here to apologize—again. I’ve been an asshole.”
“Ha! That’s an understatement.” Her head turns so she can read my facial expression.
The one person in the world who can see through my bullshit is my sister. I’ve never been able to lie to her, not even when we were kids. She insists I have a tell, but has never told me what it is. When you think about it, it’s smart of her not to divulge that tidbit of information; otherwise, I would be able to get away with lying to her.