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

CHAPTER 41 JESS

Lying on my bed, I scrolled aimlessly through my feed, trying to distract myself from the turmoil inside me. The morning had been a whirlwind, and I was still reeling

from the confrontation with Luke. My thoughts were a chaotic mess, making it impossible to focus on anything for more than a few seconds.

Suddenly, a message popped up on my screen, causing my heart to skip a beat.

Luke: Jess. We need to talk.

I stared at the message, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. The last thing I wanted was to talk to him, especially after everything that had happened. I locked my phone and threw it beside me on the bed, taking a deep breath to calm myself. But my phone pinged again, making my heart race.

Luke: Jessica. Just answer the phone.

Anger surged through me, fueled by the frustration and hurt that had been building all morning. I grabbed my phone and typed back furiously.

Me: NO

I sent the message, hoping it would be enough to deter him. But within seconds, his name flashed across the screen. He was calling me.

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I hesitated, my thumb hovering over the "Decline" button. But something inside me-maybe curiosity, maybe the need for closure-made me swipe to answer.

"What do you want, Luke?" I snapped, not bothering to hide my anger.

his voice

don't have anything to say to you," I retorted,

me out," he pleaded. "I

spat back. "How you pretended to care about me, only

frustration creeping into his voice. "Just, let's talk

to hang up, to block him out of my life completely. But another part of me needed to hear what he had to say to understand

the weight of the morning's events pressing down on me. My

you know

where. The tree house. Our old

a

Me: FINE

was pizza, and we sat around the table like a normal family who did this all the time. But the truth was far from it. My parents were rarely home, and Josh and I had learned to take care of ourselves. "So, Jess. How's senior year? Do

piece of pizza and swallowed hard. "Yeah. I

in. "I got a few offers, and so did Luke," he beamed, and my

on her tablet. "Hun," she said, pulling my dad's attention.

heart sank. I knew it was too good to be true. I dropped my

storming off to my room. I knew it was childish, but

and threw myself onto my bed, tears streaming down my face. The hurt and anger bubbled up, and I

III

CHATTER #1

at the screen

see you

something inside me pushed me to get up and face him. I glanced at the clock. 21:00.

I stood up and went to the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face. I looked at my reflection, seeing the sadness and hurt in my eyes. As good as it's

risk her saying anything to Josh now that they were... whatever they were. Maybe Sam, but I just