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

CHAPTER 71 LUKE The second the words left Jess's mouth, the world aroundcollapsed. Everything slowed to a crawl. I turned to face Josh, bracing myself for the storm that was about to hit. He was already shaking with fury. His fists clenched so tight his knuckles were bone white. The air between us was suddenly gone.

"Josh," I started my hands up in surrender, my voice steady. "I'm sorry. I should have told you-" "You!" Josh's voice was a low, dangerous growl, the kind that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. "You and my sister! You!" His words were barely more than a breath, forced through gritted teeth, each syllable cutting into me. "You're my best friend! My brother! The next thing I knew, he launched himself at me, a wall of muscle and rage. I barely had tto brace myself before his shoulder slammed into my chest, driving the air from my lungs. We crashed into a table, sending drinks and glasses flying.

All I could see was Josh, red-faced and wild-eyed, coming atagain, and I knew I deserved it. But I was too proud to give him more than one shot.

Instinct took over. I rolled with the momentum, pushing him off and scrambling to my feet just as he swung at me. His fist connected with my jaw, and a white-hot burst of pain shot down CHAPTER 71 12887chery my neck as my head snapped. But I was on my feet, adrenaline pumping, every nerve on fire.

I swung back, my fist catching him in the ribs. He grunted, but it barely slowed him down. He was a linebacker, just like me, built to take hits, to keep going no matter what. He charged again, and we went down hard, slamming into another table. Chairs screeched across th The club was in chaos around us. I could hear shouts and the scrape of furniture being shoved out of the way, but it was all background noise. All that mattered was Josh-Josh, who was supposed to be my brother, now looking atlike I was the worst kind of traitor. "How could you?" he roared again, his voice breaking as he landed another punch. My head snapped back, and for a second, I saw stars. But I didn't back down. I couldn't. This was as much about Jess as it was about us.

I managed to get a hold of him, pushing him off and landing a punch of my own square to his gut. He doubled over, but only for a heartbeat. Then he was back, and we grappled again, neither of us willing to give an inch. Just as I was about to throw another punch, I felt strong hands grabfrom behind, pullingoff him. Another set of arms hauled back Josh, and suddenly, we were both being dragged toward the exit, our feet barely touching the ground. "Bouncers," my brain registered through the haze of pain and anger. They were big guys, but it took all their strength to keep us apart. Josh was still thrashing, trying to get to me, and I wasn't much better.

56 CHAPTER 71 The next thing I knew, we were outside, the cool night air hitting my face like a bucket of ice water. The bouncers didn't give us a chance to catch our breath. They tossed us out onto the pavement, hard and fast. I hit the ground with a grunt, my palms scraping against the rough concrete.

Josh landed a few feet away, already scrambling to his feet, eyes locked on me, still seething with rage. But the bouncers were between us now, a solid wall of muscle.

"Enough!" one of them barked, his voice cutting through the tension like a knife. "Take it somewhere else!" The pavement felt like ice beneathas I sat there, beaten and bloody. My lip was split open, and I could barely move my jaw without wincing. Josh was next to me, looking just as messed up, if not worse. His left eye was nearly swollen shut. A bouncer took pity on us and threw us a couple of ice packs before heading back inside.

I pressed the ice pack to my lip, feeling the cold sting against the cut. Josh held his to his eye, not saying a word. We both just sat there, staring at the ground, trying to catch our breath.

After a few minutes, I couldn't take the silence anymore. "Listen, man," I started, my voice rough, still raw from the fight. "I should've told you..." Josh cutoff, waving his hand like he didn't want to hear it.

"I know why you didn't. I get it." His voice was flat but not accusing.

But I couldn't let it go. "No, you don't, man," I said, turning to face him. "I tried to stay away from her. I tried to make her hate CHAPTER 71 me, but... it just happened. I know I'm the last guy she should be with. I'm sorry, Josh. I swear I won't go near her again. She deserves better than me, and I fucked up."

He looked atthen, really looked at me, and for a moment, I thought he might take another swing at me. But he didn't. Instead, he just stared, like he was trying to figure out what the hell to do with me.

"Both of us are assholes," he muttered, the bitterness clear in his voice. He let out a slow breath, the tension stillthick between us. "I just... I can't think about this right now, man. You and my sister. I need to fix things with Laura. I have to." I nodded. "Yeah-if I were being honest, man, I don't think there's a chance of that," I said quietly, and Josh nodded, slumping back against the wall.

Josh finally spoke again, his voice barely more than a mumbe mumble. "I forgive e said, trying to convince you," he sa himself as much as me. But you have to promise that it ends now." "Yeah, it's over. No need to worry about that." I replied, feeling the weight of his words.