Boy Trouble

“Of course not,” I say when I realize they’re all waiting for me to answer.

“Your chairs, sir,” Amanda says, appearing with another server behind her. Each is carrying an additional chair to add to our small, intimate table.

Perfect.

On shaking legs, I stand, as does Eli. He adds one of the chairs to his side of the table and motions for me to sit. Stepping past him, I feel the heat of his body brushing against mine.

This is a bad idea.

Eli takes his seat, our shoulders touching. I shiver at the contact and turn my focus to taking deep, even breaths. All I need is for my brother calling me out for this… attraction I’m feeling for his best friend. This is Eli, the guy who made me miserable as a kid. What the hell is wrong with me?

Eli turns his head, leaning in even closer, placing his lips next to my ear. “You good?”

I nod. I can’t form words. Hell, I’m not even sure I remember my own name with him sitting this close to me. He pulls back, placing his hand on my thigh. In. Front. Of. My. Brother.

“Amanda, can you get two more glasses and some menus?” he asks.

“Yes, sir.”

“We already ordered,” he tells Cameron.

Cameron turns from where he was talking to Carla and his eyes volley between Eli and me. Then they drop to where his hand is obviously on my leg. I tense. I don’t think he can tell because we're sitting so close, but damn it, I should have pushed him away. I should have, but to be honest, I didn’t want to.

“What’s up with this?” Cameron points his finger at Eli and then me.

I freeze at his question. There’s nothing going on. Not really. Yeah, there’s been some innuendoes tonight, and there is something… attraction or maybe lust that seems to have been ignited between us, but that’s it.

Eli sighs. “You want to do this here, man?” he asks my brother.

Cameron nods. “Yeah, I think I do.”

I can’t tell if he’s pissed and can sense the tension between us or if he’s just wondering why we’re here having dinner together.

“Here, tonight, we’re four friends having dinner. However, before that, it was a man trying to get a woman to notice that she’s the only woman he sees.” Eli’s voice is strong. I peer over at him, and his eyes are locked on my brother’s. His hand is still on my thigh, and his thumb is tracing soothing lines up and down my thigh.

I open my mouth to say something, anything, but I’ve got nothing. Not one single reply because I’m stunned. Not just from his being frank with Cameron, but from his reply.

I’m the only one he sees.

“You want to date my sister?” Cameron coughs.

Carla moves to pat him on the back, and her eyes are wide and uncertain. I’m sure much like my own. She whispers something that I can’t hear, but Cam just shakes his head.

“Yes.”

“Mar?” Cameron turns his gaze toward me. “What do you want?”

“I—” I look over at Eli. His eyes say so much. They’re pleading for me to agree to whatever this could be. They’re full of resolve, letting me know this is indeed what he wants. “I don’t know,” I say honestly. I don’t know what I want, and I’m not sure what this is. This night has been intense, and I just don’t know. Eli and I haven’t really talked about this. We should talk about this, right? That’s how this works?

“Say yes, Marley,” Eli whispers.

This boy is trouble. “What am I saying yes to?” I ask him.

“To me. To us.”

“Is there an us?”

“I want there to be. I think we owe it to ourselves to see where this goes. I know you feel it too. The tension between us. The spark.”

I nod. There is no point in denying it.

“Marley?” Cameron asks.

This time when I look at my brother, I really look at him. I search for signs that he hates this idea, yet his facial expression gives nothing away. “Cam, how do you feel about this?”

“About this?” he asks, smirking. It’s the first sign he’s giving us that he’s not pissed. At least, I don’t think that he is.

“Eli and me. I mean, if we were to go out on a date,” I correct.

“You had it right the first time, babe,” Eli chimes in. “I don’t want to just date you, Marley, I want to—” He stops and looks over at Cameron before his eyes come back to mine. “I want to consume you,” he says softly, but from my brother’s laugh, I know he heard.

My heart is racing, and my palms are sweating. I toss a glare in my brother’s direction, which only makes him laugh harder.

“Hey.” Eli places his hand on my cheek. “Ignore him. It’s just you and me. Tell me you’re willing to take a chance on me. On us.” He leans in close as if he’s going to kiss me. “Whatever obstacles we hit, we’ll hurdle them together.”