Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card

trying to ground myself. What the hell had just happened?

The words Josh had said swirled in my head, their rawness, the honesty-it had cracked something open in me. |

should've been furious, should've slammed the door in his face the moment he confessed, but instead, | felt...

lighter. Like the pieces of my heart that had been broken were slowly coming back together, even though |

wasn't sure if | wanted them to.

"Josh?" Jess's voice rang out from the couch, startling me.

| turned to see her sprawled out with a blanket over her legs and a bowl! of popcorn on her lap. Her eyes darted

to me, her brows raised. "Wait, was that my idiot brother? What the hell is he doing here?"

| took a shaky breath, walking over to the couch. | plopped down beside her, letting out a soft laugh that | wasn't

sure was from nerves or genuine amusement. "Yeah. That was your idiot brother."

Jess smirked, leaning her head back against the couch. "Was he

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here foror for you? I'm guessing you?"

| shook my head, a small smile tugging at my lips. "He cto apologize for cheating... Imagine that-Josh

apologizing and promising to be a better human."

Jess snorted, tossing a piece of popcorn into her mouth. "I can't believe it. My brother-the macho football player

who sleeps with anything that wears a skirt-is now groveling at your feet. | never thought I'd see the day."

Her words madelaugh, the sound soft and unsure. "Honestly, | didn't think I'd ever see it either. The biggest

walking red flag in school, and here he is... suddenly a green flag?" | glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Though, to be fair, Luke surprised you just as much." Jess threw her head back and laughed, the sound filling

the room and easing sof the tension in my chest. "Okay, fine, I' Il give you that. Luke really did cout of

left field. Who would ve thought the asshole was really the good guy, and the good guy was a wolf in sheep's

clothing or whatever Bryan was?"

We both laughed then, leaning into each other like we used to back in high school when we'd giggle over stupid

things, utterly oblivious to the chaos around us. For a moment, it felt like we were those girls again, two

wallflowers blending into the background. But then | looked at her-really looked at her-and realized how much

we'd both grown.

"Can you believe it?" | asked softly. "We were the girls in the. background. The ones no one noticed. And now,

somehow, we're here."

Jess turned her head to me, her expression soft. "And we ended

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up falling for the two boys in school who could've had anyone they wanted."

"Yet they chose us," | finished, the words coming out in a quiet whisper.

Jess smiled, her eyes glinting with a mix of mischief and something deeper. "Exactly."

We sat there silently for a moment, the weight of it all settling between us. | felt her shift beside me, and when |

glanced at her, she was watchingcarefully. "Look," she started, her tone softer now. "I'can't tell you what to

do, Laura. It's your heart. But... I've known Josh my entire life. And I've never ever -heard him say things like

that. Not to anyone."

My chest tightened at her words, and my throat felt like it was closing up. | knew what she was saying. | knew

what Josh had said. And, deep down, | knew I'd already forgiven him. Just like Jess had already forgiven Luke

when he screwed up. It wasn't about forgiveness anymore-it was about accepting it.

"l already forgave him," | admitted quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. | leaned my head back, staring at

the ceiling as the words left my lips. "I think | always knew | would. | just... needed tto get to this point."

Jess grinned, bumping her shoulder against mine. "Well, congratulations. You've reached the point." She grabbed

a handful of popcorn and shoved it into her mouth. "Now, doa favor and go tell my emotionally constipated

brother that he can stop crying or pacing or whatever the hell he'TRUST

JOSH THE PAST

The house was too quiet.

| walked into the dark kitchen, the weight of the day pressing heavy on my shoulders. Jess was finally hfrom

the

hospital, my parents had gone back to their hotel, and Luke was probably with Jess, That lefthere, alone with

my thoughts- dangerous territory.

| tossed my keys onto the counter, the sound cutting through the silence, and dropped into one of the kitchen

chairs. My head fell into my hands as a string of curses tumbled out of my mouth. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

| didn't know how long | sat there, running everything over in my mind, wishing | could go back and undo the

past. The image of Laura's face, her tears, her voice when she said, It meant something to me, played on a loop

in my head, rippingapart. How had | been this stupid? How had | let her get away?

The longer | sat there, the darker my thoughts became. My hands balled into fists on the table as frustration

churned in my chest. | couldn't stop thinking about what I'd done-how I'd. ruined everything we'd had because

I'd been scared like a coward. And then | saw it-headlights filtering into the dark house

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through the front window.

For a second, | thought it was Jess or Luke, but they would've just walked in. Whoever this was had knocked.

My heart started hammering, the sound loud in my ears as | pushed up from the chair. A small, stupid piece of