“How was the car?” she asks, batting her eyelashes.
“Great. Exactly what I needed.”
She starts typing and grabs her clipboard, instructing me to follow her outside. We conduct the same walk around we did yesterday, checking for any damage.
“Did you fill the tank?”
“Sure did.”
“Great.” She hands the board to me and tells me to sign. I make sure to read the fine print. The last thing I want is to be on the hook for something, especially with the price tag on this car. I hand everything back to her and notice how she’s leaning against the car. Yeah, I get it, but it’s never going to happen. I bid her goodbye and head to my Wrangler. Before I get behind the wheel, I take a few minutes and drop the top. It’s far too nice to be closed when you don’t need to be.
As soon as I’m on the road, I’m heading back toward town, but instead of going to my place, I go to Sophie’s, stopping at one of the coffee stands to pick up some Joe for the both of us. I’m still uncomfortable with the lack of communication. I’m praying she’s sitting at home, scared, because she feels the same way I do and that there’s nothing to worry about with my sister. What she doesn’t understand is that Ellie should have nothing to do with this. If Sophie and I make each other happy that’s all that matters. I’ve been in love with her since I hit puberty and after last night, I know my feelings are genuine. I don’t want to hook-up with her, I want to wake-up to her every single day.
When I enter her parking lot, I drive by her car slowly. Sure enough, her car is here, and the fear I felt is slowly turning back into anger. I park, shut my car off, and run up to her door. “Open up, Soph. I know you’re in there.” I bang on the wood a few times and wait. I can hear the television and someone shuffling around in there. I swear to God if Warren is in there, I’ll punch the fucker in the face.
The door opens and Sophie stands there, with her long hair in a messy bun. I’d say she’s happy to see me, but something is amiss. Her eyes are bloodshot, and she has dark bags under her eyes. Her mouth drops open to say something. Maybe she’s going to apologize or tell me to get lost. Either way, I don’t give her a chance. I hand her the cup of coffee I picked up for her on my way here.
“No one should start the day without a cup of coffee.”
She takes it and holds it to her chest. “Tanner.”
I hold my hand up. I don’t want an excuse. I want the truth. “Just tell me why you left, Sophie. That’s all I need to know.”
“Do you want to come in?”
I shake my head. “If I come in, I may find a way to seduce you and I have a feeling this isn’t what you want right now, so it’s probably best I stay right here.”
Sophie nods and sighs.
“The reason?”
She sighs again. “You’re my best friend’s brother and she means everything to me. I’m afraid if we get involved, Ellie will be hurt. I don’t want to lose her. I also don’t want to lose you and I think we should be friends.”
“Friends?” I question. “You want to be friends after what we did all night?”
Sophie blushes. Honestly, I probably am as I well. Last night was the best sex I’ve ever had. I’ve never had someone be so responsive to my touch, someone who could get me hard in seconds, someone who could bring me to my knees. Sophie did all of that and more.
“You know, it was Ellie’s idea we go out,” I remind her.
“No, it was Ellie’s idea you take me to the ball. You’re the one who insisted we spend time together.”
“You wanted to make your ex jealous. It worked didn’t it?”
She nods again. “But . . .”
“No but,” I say with a slight shake of my head. “I like you. I know you like me. I don’t see what my sister has to do with this.”
“She’s my best friend and you’re her brother. It’s not right,” she whispers.
“Right.” I don’t give her a chance to say anything else and walk away. I learned a long time ago, if someone has their mind set, it’s hard to change what they’re thinking. As soon as I’m back in my Jeep, I tell Siri to call my sister.
She picks up, her voice excited. “How was your night?”
“It was great until this morning,” I tell her blandly.
“What happened?”
I leave the parking lot and turn into traffic. My sister is a bit hard to hear because of the wind so I pull over. “You, in a roundabout way.”