Broken Beautiful Hearts(2)

My street looks like it belongs in a small town—the huge trees arching over the road, the Cape Cod–style homes, and the “tiny library” on the corner that reminds me of a pink dollhouse.

On the drive to Tess’, I try to come up with a cool way to tell her about UNC. But I’ve got nothing. We both know that colleges mailed out early admission and athletic scholarship letters this week. If I show up at her door holding a folded piece of paper, it’s too obvious. Not that it matters. Even if I don’t manage to surprise Tess, she’ll still make a big deal about my news. That’s what best friends do when something amazing happens to you.

I park next to Tess’ building and I start to get out with the letter in my hand. But at the last minute, I drop it onto the passenger seat for her to find when she gets in. I jog up the concrete steps, avoiding the crumbling stair the city was supposed to repair two years ago. I punch in the security code for the front door.

I’m dying to tell Reed my news. A benefit of dating my best friend’s brother is that when I come over to hang out with one of them, I get to see them both.

Seven months ago, Reed was just Tess’ hot older brother—until a party, four games of beer pong, and a car ride changed everything. Tess and I weren’t the only juniors who showed up at the epic spring break party at Chicken Johnson’s house. But we were the only juniors stupid enough to play beer pong with Chicken and the wrestling team. The guys were all seniors like Reed, and they outweighed and outdrank us.

After I spent an hour in the bathroom holding Tess’ hair while she puked, Reed carried her out to his car. He looked hotter than usual, in a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips and a gray 18TH STREET MIXED MARTIAL ARTS T-shirt that outlined his muscular chest. He wasn’t over-the-top gorgeous. The combination of Reed’s blue eyes, crooked nose, buzzed black hair, and brooding expression was more gladiator than pretty-boy.

But he had sexy nailed.

Tess passed out in the back seat, and I ended up riding shotgun. It was a first. Tess always sat in the front, and I preferred it that way. I’d harbored a monster crush on Reed for years, but I didn’t really know him—or do things like sit next to him in the car … or talk to him.

I didn’t say a word until we got back to the apartment, except for the occasional “uh-huh” to make it seem as if I was participating in the conversation. Reed carried Tess to her room and deposited her on the bed as I stood in the doorway.

“Make sure she takes Advil when she wakes up,” he said as he walked toward the door—and me.

I froze and Reed had to squeeze by me to get through the door. He moved to his left and I moved to my right, and I ended up with my back against the doorjamb and my face inches from his collarbone.

He wrapped his arm around my waist and looked down at me. “You have really pretty eyes. They’re sort of gold.”

People had complimented the color of my eyes before. From certain angles, the contrast between my light brown skin and dark hair made the hazel flecks in my brown eyes look gold. But this was the first time a hot guy was saying it.

“They’re just brown.”

“Golden brown.” Reed brushed my hair over my shoulder and his fingers grazed the back of my neck. I bit my bottom lip and held my breath.

His eyes lingered on my mouth. “Do you know how sexy that is?”

At that moment, with my heart racing and Reed touching me and staring at my mouth, the only thing I knew was that I wanted him to kiss me. He ran his thumb across my bottom lip, and I gasped.

Reed tightened his hold on my waist and backed me out of Tess’ room, pulling the door closed behind him. His hand slid down to my ass and he leaned into me. “I should’ve done this a long time ago.”

I had to remind myself to breathe.

When Reed finally kissed me his lips were rough from years of fighting. But I didn’t care. His mouth kept finding mine—over and over.

“I want to kiss you again,” Reed whispered. “Tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that. How does that sound?” He kissed me again.

Then he pulled back and flashed a cocky smile. “You want to get something to eat tomorrow night? I have a fight, but that won’t take long.”

It took a moment for me to realize he was asking me out. With his battered good looks and scraped knuckles, Reed wasn’t homecoming-king material, but that didn’t have a negative effect on his social life. He had a reputation for being protective, wild, cocky, and fun—something that had been seriously lacking in my life.

Girls stopped Tess in the halls at school to dig for information. Did her brother have a girlfriend? Where did he hang out? Would Tess put in a good word for them?

Reed Michaels—the object of their affection—had spent the last ten minutes kissing me, and now he was asking me out on a real date? How could I say no?

Why would I?

“Yes.”

It’s hard to believe that night was seven months ago.

I was stumbling through my life back then, trying to figure out how to keep going without my dad, and Reed helped me through some of the low points.

On the other side of the apartment door, something heavy hits the floor with a thud.

I knock and Tess yells, “Just a sec.”

She opens the door, holding her braids together behind her head with one hand. “I’m almost ready.”