Bitter

Tim helps him get set up in the water, and Ellie sits down next to me. “What the fuck, Wren!” she whispers to me. “You never told me Jake’s brother was fucking gorgeous!”

“He’s alright.” I shrug my shoulders.

She rolls her eyes. “How come when I was single and asked you if you knew any guys, he was never on the fucking list? You just wanted to keep him all to yourself!”

“I did not!” I laugh. She’s not entirely wrong though. I never mentioned Reed to her or anyone for that matter, but that’s just because I needed someone to talk to at family events. The couple times Reed brought someone were miserable. He’d still have my back if something major happened, but it wasn’t the same.

She gives me a more serious look with a soft smile. “Sooo...are you guys like dating now?” she asks.

I let out a sigh. “No. We can’t do that. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.”

She places her hand on my knee. “What do you want to do?”

I glance over at Reed, and he smiles at me before jumping into the water. I turn back to Ellie. “I want to be with him.”

She gives my knee a squeeze. “Then don’t change that because of what people might think. Honestly the only people who might have a problem with it are both your families, and from what I know, neither one of you should care about that.”

I laugh and roll my eyes. “It’s not that simple.”

“Do you love him?” she asks.

I open my eyes wide. “No! I mean…” I pause. “Of course I do…” I pause again. “He’s been one of my closest friends for the past six years.”

She smiles. “Wren, it’s me.”

I look down at my hands in my lap. “Yes,” I whisper.

She smiles bigger. “Good. Then go watch your man being all sexy and shit and the rest will fall into place.”

I give her a grateful smile. “Thanks, Ellie.”

After a couple laps, Reed climbs back into the boat while Tim takes a turn. Ellie says she wants to drive the boat, so we sit behind her. Reed wraps his arm around my shoulder, and I turn to him and smile. “You want another beer?”

He shakes his head. “No. I want to have a clear head tonight.”

“Oh?” I smile bigger than I want to. “Why’s that?” I ask innocently like I don’t know exactly what he’s talking about.

He gives me a mocking face. “Yeah, in case you fall off the boat and I have to drive you to the emergency room or something.”

I laugh and playfully touch my hand to his chest. “Oh, that’s true. You might need to give me mouth to mouth or something.”

He shakes his head. “Don’t make me push you off this boat,” he jokes.

I wasn’t expecting it when he cupped my jaw and leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. And fuck, I definitely wasn’t expecting how much I would like it. He pulls back a moment later and brushes the hair whipping in front of my face back.

I give him a shy smile before Ellie shouts at us. “Hello! You’re supposed to be my spotters!”

“Whoops!” I laugh as we turn and make sure Tim didn’t fall off his board yet.

We spend the next couple hours boating and helping them get the boats out of the water for the winter once the storage people arrive. I quickly shower before dinner, and I come down just as food is being delivered. Ellie ordered from some nearby restaurant that they love.

The guys are grabbing plates from the kitchen, and Ellie pulls me to the table away from them. “I miss you and all, but I told Tim we need to get out of here right after dinner.”

“That’s okay. You need to be somewhere?” I ask.

She giggles. “No, but you two need to be alone.”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. I live with the man.”

She gives me a knowing smile. “Well, after you get done with whatever I know is about to happen, you guys should talk.”

I sigh. “I know.”

I’m really glad I got to see Ellie. I didn’t realize how much I needed a friend to talk to about everything until I actually was able to do it. I give her one final hug after dinner before they take off, and she tells me we’ll plan something next time with no boys so we can really catch up.

I close the front door behind them, but before I can even turn around, Reed has me boxed in against it. He runs his nose along my shoulder and up my neck. “God. I thought this moment would never come.” He exhales harshly as his hand falls from the door and runs down my side.