Spin My Love (My Love #1)(4)

They cheer as they run to get their bags.



*****



“I did not say that!” I gasp, outraged.

“Yes, you did, sis.” Gage laughs. This is the worst part about hanging out with my brother; he loves to bring up embarrassing stories from the past, and trust me, he knows heaps of them. Truth be told, I looked a little different when I was younger. Well, very different. I was plump, okay, chubby, and not too much to look at. While I wasn’t really bullied, I definitely wasn’t popular. Much the opposite of my older brother.

“I did not follow Tane Miller around!” I deny. I’m lying, because I so did. These stories are the worst, the ones from our youth involving Tane. I hate having his name brought up, over and over again. All of our memories now feel tainted. I place a fake smile on my face, pretending that speaking of him doesn’t make me want to punch something. Or someone.

“Giselle, you walked the long way home every day just to spend more time with him,” Gage adds, rubbing his hand over his chin. Gage and Levi were obviously aware that I had been infatuated with their friend, but I don’t think they ever realised just how deep it went between Tane and me. They all treated me like I was way younger than them. Two years wasn’t much—at least, to me—but Tane acted like it was. There was always an emotional connection between us, a cord that tethered us together. We were friends, but I always thought it would turn into more. He had even hinted as much.

“When you turn eighteen …” He trails off, a hint of colour in his cheeks.

“What?” I ask, tilting my head to the side. I was fourteen and sitting on the hood of my parents’ car with Tane, just talking, about anything and everything.

“I’ll take you to one of those parties you’re always begging to come to,” he finally says.

I pout. “You and Gage go now! And you’re sixteen!”

“Yes,” he says patiently. “But we’re boys.”

I gasp. “That’s not fair.”

“I never said it was,” he replies, grinning.

“You just don’t want me to go so I don’t see you with Sarah,” I grit out.

The smile drops from his face. “Who told you about that?”

“We go to the same school, Tane. What did you think? No one gossips?” I reply, looking away from him.

“You’re young, Giselle. You don’t need to be talking about these things,” he finally says, reaching over and tugging on my hair.

“I got asked out on a date,” I announce to annoy him.

“By who?” he growls.

“None of your business,” I reply, sliding off the car. “Have fun with Sarah.”

He slides off and follows me into the house. “Who, Giselle?”

“Why don’t you worry about your own girlfriend?” I snap, feeling hurt. I hate fighting with him, but the double standards need to stop.

“She isn’t my girlfriend,” he replies, exasperated.

“Then what is she?” I ask, turning and staring at him right in the eyes. I want him to admit it, to my face.

“She’s … someone to keep me occupied until you are old enough.”

Both of our mouths drop open. He can’t believe he just admitted that, and neither can I.

“I mean … f*ck … I didn’t mean …”

“You like me,” I announce, my lips curling up.

Tane sighs. “You know I do, but you aren’t ready, Giselle.”

“I will be,” I reply. And then I will be all his.

His lip twitches. “Yes, you will. In a few years.”

“A few years?” I gape.

“Tane! We’re going surfing, are you coming?” my brother asks, walking towards us.

Great timing, Gage.

Tane nods and they walk off together, but not before he throws me one last pleading look.

“Leave her alone, Gage,” Levi adds with a chuckle, pulling me back to the present.

“I wonder what ever happened to him,” Gage muses. I know he’s not referring to his career, which everyone knows about thanks to the media, but why he doesn’t ever catch up with his old friends anymore. Why he left without turning back.

“Who cares,” I mutter under my breath as I roll the dice, trying to redirect everyone’s attention to the game of Snakes and Ladders we were playing with Justin and Parker.

“If only Tane saw Giselle now,” Levi says with a sexy half-smile. I inwardly groan. I definitely wasn’t about to tell them that he had seen me, and all I was worth to him was a wham, bam, thank you ma’am. Hell, he didn’t even buy my breakfast. Or talk to me, for that matter. The thought makes me angry. Mostly at myself.

“Giselle is too smart to get involved with someone like Tane,” Gage says dismissively. That hurts. I shift uncomfortably, squeezing my eyes shut for a second.

“So where has Keira gone today?” I ask, changing the subject.

“Out,” Levi says pointedly. That means Keira has found a new boy, but Levi doesn’t want to say in front of Justin, her son.

“I see,” I say softly. That explains the cleavage and stripper heels.

“I got a six,” Justin announces happily. He’s such a good kid. He continuously pushes his sandy-blond hair from his face, revealing those big brown eyes. I should tell Keira to get him a haircut, but I can only imagine how she’d take that.