Her Best Men

Our gorgeous guide.

Our strong, unwavering Tinkerbell.

The nickname was cheesy as fuck, but the best one to describe her.

Small in stature, but she was powerful as hell beyond her size. She grew into a strong woman, bypassing that ‘girly-girl’ stage altogether. Makeup was never her thing, and she didn’t give a fuck about what her hair looked like. She’d rather lounge around in sweatpants and a t-shirt without a bra on than wake up an hour early just to piece herself together.

And trust me, I didn’t mind the times where she was braless – not one damn bit.

The moment I discovered girls didn’t have cooties, I was all over Kyra. Not physically, but in my mind. I kept my crush a secret because I didn’t want to be teased about it, but I also kept it close to my chest because I didn’t want to be rejected by Kyra.

I strode right up to the front door of Kyra’s home and knocked on the door with my knuckles.

Mark answered the door immediately as my brothers ran up behind me. I could hear them panting and heaving, the c

old air causing them to wheeze as Mark shook his head. He stepped off to the side and invited us into his home, silently ushering us in from the cold before he shut the door behind us.

“Honestly, I’m shocked you boys weren’t already waiting outside like a pack of dogs,” Mark said.

“Where’s Kyra?” I asked.

“Hold on. Kyra! Where are you?!”

“In my room, Dad! What’s up!”

“The gaggle of gossips are taking up my foyer!”

Yep. That was the nickname Kyra’s mother bestowed upon us. While most women just saw a bunch of rowdy boys, Michelle had seen a bunch of gossips in the making. And she wasn’t wrong. We all took after our own mother in that respect. But the term of endearment shot my mind back to a time when Kyra’s mother was still alive.

Her death affected all of us, and there wasn’t a holiday that went by that I didn’t miss that woman’s laughter.

The moment Kyra rounded the staircase with a smile on her face, I was transfixed. Her smile lit up her large brown eyes, and her honey-blonde hair was almost down to her luscious breasts. It seemed that a year in the city had only made her more gorgeous, and my heart was pounding in my chest so hard I couldn’t even hear the words she was speaking.

My eyes feel to her left side. There was no ring, and for a second, I had to digest that little piece of information. She’d sent us all a picture of the ring when it happened. You could fucking see that thing from Mars.

But as I stared at her left hand, taking in the sight of her bare skin, I felt that same spark reignite in my gut.

“Hi,” I said.

She threw her arms around my neck, and I had to talk myself through my breathing just so I could wrap my arms around her in return.

She was warm and inviting, and she smelled like lilacs and raspberries. I wanted to hold her closer. I wanted to rip her clothes off. I wanted to pin her to the wall and devour her body, licking up her tantalizing juices and freeing those beautiful sounds I’d dreamt about for years.

But she let go of me too quickly, and just like that, the greeting was over.

“Tinkerbell!” Ethan exclaimed.

“Oh, my gosh, how’re you doing?” Kyra asked.

“Better now that you’re home,” Ethan said, grinning. “Now, where’s that massive rock you took a picture of for us?”

“What?” she asked.

I tried to get Ethan’s attention, and the look on my face was what prompted the other guys to look down at her hand.

“Your engagement ring. You know, that massive thing you could see from—”

Ethan grasped Kyra’s left hand and felt the bareness of her skin, and I watched his entire face fall. He slowly brought her hand in front of him, his fingers encircling the place where that ring should’ve been. There was the faintest of tan lines, just enough for someone to know something had been there if they looked hard enough, and suddenly, I watched every muscle in Kyra’s body stiffen.