Home > More Than Possess You (More Than Words #6.75)(6)

More Than Possess You (More Than Words #6.75)(6)
Author: Shayla Black

“Shit. She told you?” Xavian frowns.

“She hinted.” I stretch the truth a little. Okay, a lot.

“And you guessed the rest…” He sighs. “Look, I was surprised when she asked me instead of you. Maybe it’s because you two are so close, and she doesn’t want to mess with your friendship? Or maybe she just doesn’t see you that way. I don’t know. But it will be fine. I’ve done virgins before. I swear I’ll give Echo a good time.”

His words buzz in my brain. Echo asked him to take her virginity on Friday night?

What the fuck?

“You agreed to do it?”

“Yeah,” he says like it’s a no-brainer.

“Seriously? You never do any girl unless she’s the hottest in the room. Echo is…Echo.”

X rears back. “Dude, what are you talking about? She’s smokin’.”

Sure, if you like baggy shirts, ankle-length skirts, and clunky footwear. I don’t. She’s adorable…in her way. She’s got a cute face. Admittedly, her eyes are killer. Her outfit yesterday was attention-getting. But overall? I don’t see it.

“Besides, I think she’ll be an adventurous fuck.” He shoots me a sly grin. “I’m looking forward to popping her cherry.”

The way he talks about her, like she’s just any piece of ass, charges fury through my veins. I lunge at Xavian, teeth gritted. “You will not touch her. Ever. Not one finger. Or you will lose them all. Do we understand each other?”

X frowns. “What the hell? I’m not going to hurt her, just give her the ‘vitamin D’ she asked for.”

Fury turns to lava and nearly oozes from my pores. “Echo did not ask you for dick.”

“Not in those exact words. But…you know. She’s finally ready to get laid. Who can blame her?”

I can. She’s said for years that she’s waiting for someone special to make her first time memorable. Xavian isn’t that guy. She should be too smart to fall for his well-used charm. So why did she pick him?

Seriously, is there any way she’s in love with him?

“Don’t be pissed, dude. Why does it matter?” He cocks his head. “Are you put out that she didn’t choose you?”

Kind of. Yeah. I’m her best friend. No one is closer to her. And she didn’t confide in me. She knows I’d do anything in my power to make her happy.

What if she asked you to take her to bed?

I don’t know.

“What exactly did she say?” I demand.

Maybe X misunderstood. Maybe he heard what he wanted to and ran off with some half-cocked idea. Maybe he’s even yanking my chain.

Xavian shrugs. “Just that she’d promised her sisters she’d never let guys or partying derail her education. But by graduation Friday morning, she will have officially kept her word. Then…I don’t know. I guess she’s curious about sex.”

The promise is true enough, but the curiosity? That’s not Echo.

Why is she suddenly throwing away her V-card? Is she embarrassed? Is she trying to keep up with Kella, who will proposition any fellow K-Pop, anime-loving metrosexual dude who makes her vagina twitch? Which is great—for Kella. She’s happy with variety and never gets attached to any guy she fucks.

Echo isn’t built like that. If she got naked with Xavian, she would regret it. And she would cry. I would have to pick up the pieces. Then I would have to kill him.

This has shit show written all over it. I need to stop it.

Luckily, I’m both motivated and devious. “Maybe you’re right. It’s cool of you to do her a favor and all, but have you thought about…after?”

“No. I’ve slept with a bunch of girls I still call friends. It’s only weird if someone makes it weird.”

“Sure. I’m in the same boat with Jayci, Lindsay, and a few others. You’re totally right.” Except when it comes to my best friend. “But how will Echo be once the deed is done? Look at the movies she picks. Beauty and the Beast. Fifty First Dates. While You Were Sleeping. Pretty Woman. When Harry Met Sally. Sixteen Candles. And what does she refuse to watch? Titanic. The Notebook. Ghost. The Bodyguard. La La Land. All movies where the two main characters don’t end up together. Think about that.”

“You saying she’d turn into a clinging vine?”

“Like ivy growing on the sunny side of a house, pal.” I clap him on the back with a nod.

Honestly, I have no idea if it’s true, but I’m not going to stand by and watch this debacle to find out.

Xavian pales. “I didn’t think about that. It will make the whole group weird if she can’t separate a favor from death-do-us-part.”

“Yep.”

“Is that why you’ve never gone there?”

In all honesty, I never gave hooking up with her a thought. We met as kids. Sure, I noticed when Echo grew boobs and her hips filled out. She’s female, and I’m not blind. But she’s always just been…there. She’s my kind, outdoorsy best friend whom I taught to drive because her workaholic parents were too busy. She’s my soft-spoken hippie-chick sidekick who makes the best French toast on the planet—which is why I can forgive her for puking after too much wine, her Boho-chic vibe, and her love of sappy movies. But she wants the sort of happily-ever-after her sisters both seemingly have. I’m no one’s forever…but I won’t let Xavian rip off her rose-colored glasses.

“More or less,” I reply. “And I’d never want to hurt her.”

“One hundred percent.” X nods like he’s rethinking everything. “You’re right. I hate to disappoint her, but…”

“I’m telling you, man, what’s going to happen if you agree to this.” I shrug with a nonchalance I don’t feel. “But do what’s right for you.”

And I’ll do what’s right for Echo—even if she doesn’t know it.

I already have a plan to ensure Xavian is so busy Friday night, he doesn’t have two minutes to piss, much less pluck my best friend’s V-card.

Echo will be furious if she ever finds out, but I stand by my decision. And I know how to deal with her. Besides, she’s always quick to understand and even quicker to forgive. How bad could it be?

 

 

Chapter Two


Friday, May 11

 

The end of the week finally rolls around. Echo texted me yesterday afternoon with the news that she’d finished her last final of college ever. And she got a ninety-four. I congratulated her and offered to take her to dinner at her favorite seafood place to celebrate.

Echo rarely turns down food, and she never says no to Pescada Fresca.

But last night, she did.

Her refusal bugged the shit out of me. It shouldn’t have—it’s entirely likely she was exhausted after a grueling week of tests—but I spent half the night keyed up and agitated, wondering what the hell is up with her.

I’m still vaguely unsettled as I greet Kella and Graham to watch the last of our matriculating friends officially graduate. Unfortunately, Maryam still isn’t over the flu.

The ceremony is a typical commencement—hours of speeches, unfamiliar names, and a sea of single-colored robes—but finally Xavian Costa and Echo Hope walk across the stage and receive their degrees.

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