1
Andre
Lyla and Maddox.
Maddox and Lyla.
My sister and my best friend.
My best friend and my sister.
Fuck.
The front door banged behind me, and I froze, not wanting to wake my parents. Despite me being twenty-four, Mom still got pissed if I woke her up when I came home drunk.
I’d needed every one of those beers, not to mention the chasers, as I’d come to terms with the news of Lyla and Maddox’s blossoming relationship. My stomach growled and I crept into the kitchen to find something to eat. Alcohol always gave me the munchies. Finding a bag of chips in the cupboard and a dip in the refrigerator, I poured myself a soda and sat at the counter.
The events of my return home reeled through my mind. It had meant to be a relaxed and chilled out few days before starting my new job at the Cali Heights Country Club. I’d planned to catch up with Maddox and Wes, two of my best friends. I hadn’t expected to find Maddox and Lyla wrapped around each other.
I done what any big brother would do.
I’d flipped.
My cheek still stung where Lyla had slapped me. Honestly? I probably deserved it for not taking her seriously. I’d reacted badly to finding them together and behaved worse. Apparently bro code no longer meant anything around here. My anger had gotten the better of me and I’d given Maddox a beating. I regretted it now though.
For as long as the four of us, me, Maddox Riley, Wes Young and Jack Cairney, had been friends, there had been rules. No dating sisters. No dating leftovers. I guess since I dated a lot, this hadn’t left my friends much to work with in the small-town of Cali Cross. Wes had been with Scarlett Winters since forever. Jack had left on his motorbike racing adventures; no doubt conquering women worldwide with his dark good looks and slightly arrogant attitude. I’d seen a few of his social media posts with the grid girls and my eyes had definitely turned green.
I popped a chip into my mouth and grinned as I thought about Wes and the number of times I’d teased him about Scarlett.
“How can you be with the same girl through high school? You really want to be with only one female your whole life?”
Wes had teased me right back though. “You didn’t leave me much choice. And if you hadn’t screwed up so badly, you could’ve kept the same girl your whole life too.”
Even thinking about her made me groan. I swallowed some soda, wishing it was beer.
Willa Harlow.
The one who got away.
Or rather, the one I drove away.
Willa and I dated for around a year, between junior and senior year. She was everything and I loved her. I would always love her.
But love hadn’t made me less of an idiot.
I might have accepted it, but it still pained me now, even after all this time.
Tempted by twins… Stupid me took a bite of the forbidden fruit. Well, forbidden fruits in this case.
I’d been working at the Cali Heights Country Club over spring break and they were staying there with their parents. At the start, I didn’t realize they were identical; two raven-haired beauties, not just one. I did my job; helping them with drinks, advising on tennis lessons, telling them the best places to go. Except I thought I was only ever talking to one girl. One night, I was out at one of the bars in Cali Heights when they appeared in front of me. At first, I thought I’d drunk too much and that my eyes were playing tricks on me. Then they’d promised double the fun and I knew I wasn’t dreaming.
It was one night that ruined everything between Willa and me.
The end of senior year was painful after she called us off and kept her distance, refusing to even talk to me. Maddox, Wes and Jack were torn between congratulating me on my antics and yelling at me for ruining the best thing I’d ever had.
During the summer, she’d headed to college early and I hadn’t seen her since. I often thought about what would have happened if I hadn’t been so stupid. Would we still be together even though we were at different colleges? Would we have come back to Cali Cross? So many unanswered questions.
I let out a heavy sigh and crunched on the remaining chip, before tossing the empty bag into the trash. Not needing any more reasons for Mom to ream me out, I replaced the dip in the refrigerator and put my empty glass in the dishwasher.
