The Crush by Ward Penelope (best book recommendations txt) 📕

had to laugh at how swiftly he disappeared to the opposite side of the house. Was this how it would always be when Nathan came home now? Jace and I would act like a couple of scrambling birds?

“Hey…” my brother said as he entered, throwing his keys on the small table near the front door.

I stretched as I stood up from the sofa. “Hey! How was your day?”

“Good. Sold another car.”

“Oh my God. Really? That’s freaking awesome!”

“I know. I’ve been on a roll.”

“What happened with you today?” he asked.

That was kind of a weird way to phrase the question. Riddled with guilt, I said, “Nothing much. Work was boring.”

He drew his brows together. “No, it wasn’t.”

I thought I might pee my pants. “Hmm?”

“You weren’t at work today.”

My stomach sank. “What are you talking about?”

“I hit the drugstore on the way home and ran into that chick you work with. Denise, I think her name is? She said you were out sick and asked if you were okay.”

My heart hammered in my chest.

“Oh.” I looked down at my shoes, feeling so freaking guilty for lying. And he didn’t even know the half of it.

“Why did you lie to me?”

My brain scrambled for an answer. “I…took a mental health day.”

“Is this about that guy? Did he do something?”

Blinking, I had to think for a moment. “Colton? No. We’re not seeing each other anymore, but that was my choice. This has nothing to do with him. I just needed a break today and didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to think badly of me for lying to my boss.”

His expression softened. “You know I wouldn’t think that. Is everything okay? You struggling or something?”

As his genuine concern for me grew, so did my regret for having to lie to him. “No. I’m fine. I just felt weird admitting to you that I skipped out on work.”

His brows drew together. “Well, I find that kind of troubling, to be honest.”

“I’m sorry, Nathan. Okay?”

Jace walked in at that moment. “What’s going on here?”

“My sister thinks it’s okay to lie to me. That’s what’s going on.”

Jace’s face turned practically white.

I spoke before he could freak out too much. “Nathan ran into one of my co-workers at the drugstore. She asked him about me, since I called in sick today. I told Nathan I went to work, because I felt funny about playing hooky. I shouldn’t have lied.”

Jace’s eyes moved between Nathan and me. He looked as guilty as I felt.

“Yeah. I agree. It was dumb to lie,” he finally said.

Nathan turned to me. “It’s not the fact that you stayed home from work. I could give a shit about that. It’s that you thought it was okay to look me in the face and lie. It makes me wonder what the hell else you’re lying to me about.”

Jace swallowed. “Alright, man. Go easy on her. Everyone tells white lies from time to time.”

I knew he felt the need to defend me because he felt bad for not taking some of this wrath. I smiled, but paranoia started to seep in. If my lie about work got my brother this upset, I could only imagine how badly he would lose it if he knew the real reason I’d stayed home today.

Nathan suddenly stormed out of the living room. “I’m going to get a beer.”

As he left, Jace and I just looked at each other. There were no words necessary. We both knew we were fucked.

Chapter 16

Jace

Fifteen days.

For fifteen days I’d been sneaking around behind my best friend’s back, sleeping with his sister and afraid to say I was loving every minute of it.

It had also been fifteen days since I’d given up my morals to be with a girl I wanted with every inch of my being, even though I knew I was wrong for her.

And it only took fifteen days for me to wonder if I was actually falling in love with Farrah. What I’d once assumed was infatuation felt stronger than ever. Would you die for someone you were infatuated with? There was no doubt in my mind that I’d die for Farrah. Infatuation didn’t seem like the right word to describe what we had anymore.

She was the first thing I thought about when I woke up, and the last thing I thought about at night. I also found myself depressed whenever I thought about my self-imposed one-month time limit, at which time I was supposed to just forget about everything that had happened between us and move out. How was I supposed to give up these feelings and pretend they’d never existed? Yes, I wanted to protect Nathan. But at what cost?

Meanwhile, Farrah and I had been meticulous about not getting caught. No more skipping out of work or doing anything out of the ordinary that might tip Nathan off. We went to our respective jobs each day, but at night, she’d say she was hanging out with Kellianne. Her friend was the only one who knew about us, so she acted as our alibi. Farrah would even park her car at Kellianne’s house in the event Nathan happened to drive by. I’d meet her there and scoop her up in my truck. Then we’d drive at least an hour away—somewhere we wouldn’t be recognized—and go to a hotel. At some point close to midnight, I’d drive her back to her car at Kellianne’s, and she’d head home. Then I’d go back to the hotel and spend the night there, or return to the house later, depending on the night, to change things up. We’d repeated this pattern every day for over two weeks.

Tonight was a little different, though. Nathan had scheduled family movie night. I would have preferred to be alone with Farrah and not under Nathan’s microscope, but we couldn’t exactly cancel. Nathan had invited Crystal, so that would serve as an extra distraction from any inappropriate looks or vibes Farrah and I might emit toward