Letting My Brother’s Best Friend Take My V-Card Novel – I wasn’t the first girl Luke had in here… ‘Do me a favor, Luke. Stay out of my life. You wanted out, right? Now stay there!” I was yelling, and I didn’t care. Before I knew it, I raised my hand, and my palm was flying through the air to slap him. But Luke had his hand firmly wrapped around my wrist. His lips slanted across mine, exploring every inch of my mouth like he wanted to possess me. I was getting lost in his smooch. “Dude! No girls in here! You need to stop screwing girls in our locker room, man!” Someone called, and I snapped back to reality… For me,it’s my first peck. For Luke, it was just some peck with some girl in the locker room after a game. Reality sunk in, and it hurt. I needed to escape it as quickly as possible.
JESS I sat in the kitchen with my two best friends, devouring a pizza that was literally the answer to all of life’s problems. I watched them gaze out into my backyard, their eyes glazed over like they were daydreaming things I did not want to know. “This view isn’t half bad,” Sam said, and I rolled my eyes so hard they almost got stuck. “Listen, your brother Jess…” Laura started, but I was having none of it. I slapped my hands over my ears and closed my eyes, channeling my inner “I’m not listening, I’m not listening.” Laura pulled my hands away. “Stop. Stop right now. I do not want to know what is in your head, especially about my brother,” I pleaded with her, shoveling a piece of pizza into her mouth. Laura chewed and laughed at the same time.
“I’d like to have something other than this pizza in my mouth…” Sam offered, staring out the window. I groaned loudly and let my head drop on the counter. “Is that why we’re having pizza at my house… again? I thought it was because I’m your best friend, but now I know… You are just using me.” I complained. My best friends gave me sheepish grins and shrugged. “We can’t help it. You just have a better view than we do,” Laura explained. They were right—I did have a good view. I’ve had a good view since I can remember, but the thing about a view is that – you need to be outside looking in. “Sam, you got something on your face,” Laura pointed out, and Sam wiped at her face. “Where?” “Oh, it was just drool,” Laura teased, and I almost choked on my pizza. “Come on, Jess. I get why you don’t appreciate your brother – that’s obvious. It would be weird if you thought your brother was hot. But what about Tom? Just look at him. Dimples and so many muscles.
I could just dip him in chocolate and…” Laura trailed off, staring out the window lazily. “What about Luke? Weren’t you guys like best friends or something?” Sam asked, and I felt my heart sink a little. Outside, Luke was drifting on his back in our pool. He was the very definition of tall, dark, and handsome. Just add some tattoos and a heap of muscles – enough to be a linebacker for our football team – and then a stare that could make your heart stop – that’s Luke. I rested my head in my hand and sighed. I watched Luke grow up all my life—once I was on the inside, part of the friendship group. We were all close: Josh, Luke, and me. But then, somewhere along the lines, they started freezing me out. I stopped being invited to things, and finally, I just shrunk away into the background. I tried a few times and asked my brother what they were doing and if I could join, but he kept saying no. It’s not for girls. Then, when we got older, he said it was because he was protecting me. His sister wouldn’t be seen at parties or some bad things like that. Luke just avoided me entirely.
They refused to acknowledge me in the hallway or class. I simply stopped existing to them. I watched Luke’s body dip beneath the water, and then the top half of his body came up as he dragged his hands through his hair. He could do a Calvin Klein ad if he wanted, and he knew it, too. Luke used to be the quiet type, humble and warm. Now, he’s cold, hard, and mean. “Look at her. She wants him.” Sam teased, and I snapped out of my memories. “I don’t. I hate him. You know I hate him.” I said harshly and then stuffed another slice of pizza in my mouth. I chewed on it just as my brother walked in – oblivious to his effect on my friends. He was dripping wet and half-dressed. I swear, Sam and Laura almost killed over when he reached between them to grab a slice of pizza. “Jess. Order us another pizza, would you?” Josh barked, and I considered throwing him with a slice. “Jess. Order another… bla bla.” I mocked him as he left. Sometimes, my brother just had a way of ticking me off.
While I was fuming, Laura and Sam were dazzled by his dimples and undressed torso hovering between them. “He is so attractive. Like oh my goooooooooo….” Laura groaned, and Sam joined in. “Both of you are about to slip off your chairs. Stop moping after my brother – he’s an jerk.” I sent Sam and Laura to my room with the rest of the pizza. I get it, though – I didn’t hold it against Laura or Sam. My brother and his friends were infamous in our school. They were bound to be football stars. You’d have to be blind not to want them. They all won the genetic lottery or something. Which I think is unfair, considering Josh and I are twins. Not fraternal, but still. Our parents have been friends with Luke’s parents for as long as I can remember, and we used to be three best friends. Josh and I are technically twins but not fraternal. We look nothing alike.
Josh is the sporty, well-built, athletic type. And I… Well, I take after my mother. I like to read and write. I don’t do team sports. I prefer to run alone when nobody knows I’ve slipped out of the house and everything outside is quiet. Being invisible suits me, and I like it that way. College will be my fresh start. I would step outside of the shadows then. Sam and Laura stopped talking the second I walked into my room. I hesitated – something was up. “What?” I asked, hovering in the doorway. Sam was the first one to say something. “So we were thinking… ” “Could you think any faster?” I pressed and sat down on the carpet next to them. “We were just thinking about college… We want it to be different.” Laura said, fidgeting with her hands.
“Yeah?” “Where is this going?” “We have to lose it this year,” Sam said. “Lose what, guys? What are you talking about?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. “Let’s make a pact that we lose our v-cards this year, before college…” “What!” I finally stuttered, but Sam and Laura were being dead serious. “You know we are right. We can’t go to college as virgins. It’s social suicide. We need to get it over and done with. Rip off the band-aid. What if I meet a cute guy, and he realizes that nobody has ever been interested in me that way? He’s going to wonder what is wrong with me.” Sam whined. She might have a point. I wanted college to be a fresh start – not just a repeat of high school. Now, all we needed was a party with a lot of guys and even more alcohol, and I knew where we could find one. — Laura and I sat behind my brother and Luke in AP English the following week. I preferred the back. It was easy to disappear behind my brother’s infamy. I could take this class in peace.
Laura didn’t mind because it gave her the perfect opportunity to ogle my brother. I nudged her side with my elbow and hand signaled her to wipe the drool from her mouth. Her cheeks went bright red, and she rolled her eyes, making me laugh. I was stifling my laugh when I looked up to see Luke staring right at me with a scowl on his face and his jaw set hard – his lips pressed in a flat line as if I had just pissed him off somehow. I raised my shoulders and shrugged, mouthing ‘What’ to him. I didn’t care for his disapproving look – he wasn’t my father, he wasn’t even my friend … not anymore. Luke can go shove it up his. Laura jabbed me in the side, making me yelp in my chair, and Luke turned back around, his arms crossed. I watched him grind his teeth. “What’s his problem?” Laura whispered, and I shrugged again. “No idea,” When Mr. Smith left the class for a moment, Josh leaned into Luke to tell him about a party Freddy was hosting. Laura and I leaned in, trying to figure out what they were saying. It’s not like we would be invited personally, but we could crash.
His parties usually had so many people that nobody would even notice us. Nobody noticed us anyway. “Dude, Fred’s this Friday. Are you in?” my brother asked Luke, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes again. Why would Luke not be in? Obviously, he would be in. Luke had a new girl every week—one mindless, pretty face with no personality after another. Freddy is the richest kid in the entire school and throws the wildest parties. His parents own an estate, and they are hardly ever home. I looked over at Laura to make sure she heard what I heard, and I knew she did by the look on her face. It seemed like losing our V-cards might happen sooner rather than later. The bell rang, and we shot up so fast that my head was a little dizzy.
I stumbled and grabbed the desk. “Jess, are you okay?” Laura asked, helping me keep my balance. After my run this morning, I knew I shouldn’t have skipped breakfast, and then I didn’t get a chance to eat lunch either. “Yeah. All good. I just need…” “To eat something.” A deep voice finished my sentence, and I looked up to see Luke standing over me with a scowl, holding out a protein bar. I arched a brow at him. Where does he get off telling me to eat? “I eat.” My response was pathetic, but I couldn’t think of anything better. Luke cocked his head to the side, dropped the bar, then turned around and walked out. “What was that…” Why was Luke so angry at me all the time? He was the one that stopped being friends with me.