The Fight In Us: A Brother's Best Friend College Romance (The Four Book 4) by Becca Steele (little readers .txt) 📕

She shuffled closer, leaning her head on my shoulder. “West would be lucky to have you. I agree that he should be sure of what he wants, but if you want my opinion—and too bad if you don’t, because you’re getting it anyway—he’s really into you. Really, really into you. If he hasn’t already come to that conclusion by himself, I’m sure it won’t take him long to realise.”

I tilted my head to rest on top of hers. “Thanks. I hope so. I’ve liked him for so long.”

“I know, I could always tell,” she said with a small laugh. “I don’t think it was obvious to anyone else, though.”

“I hope not.” I cringed.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, watching Kinslee and Raine. “You know what, though? We both have amazing taste in men. The Cavendish brothers are fucking hot.” She lifted her head to grin at me.

“I think they’re the ones with amazing taste.” Climbing to my feet, I offered her my hand, pulling her up from the floor.

“That’s true.” We made our way back over to Kinslee and Raine, where she handed me a knife. “Are you going to stop holding back now and show us how it’s done?”

“If you insist.”

After our allotted time on the throwing range was up, we headed into the attached café area to get drinks. Queuing to pay, we were informed that our drinks were complimentary. Winter was just about to question it, when a smooth, male voice came from behind us.

“Afternoon, ladies.”

I turned to see Creed, owner of Skirmish, his lips curving into a smile as he took the four of us in. His large muscular body was covered in grey suit trousers and a white shirt, and he had a suit jacket draped casually over one arm. His golden eyes glimmered with humour as Kinslee visibly flinched, and I bit my lip, trying not to laugh as I remembered the first time she’d been introduced to him. She’d had the same reaction then, too.

“Creed. I’m guessing you’re the one behind our free drinks?” Winter smiled at him. He inclined his head.

“I am. I was making the rounds, stopping in on my way back to London, when I noticed your car outside,” he told her. “Couldn’t leave without saying hi.”

“This is Raine,” I interjected, giving my friend a gentle nudge forwards. Unsurprisingly, she had a similar reaction to Kinslee, which seemed to amuse Creed even more.

“Always a pleasure.” He stepped away from us, lifting his hand. “Drinks, food—whatever you want, it’s on Skirmish.”

After he’d gone, we made our way to a large table in the corner of the café. “That guy gives off some seriously scary vibes, doesn’t he?” Raine pulled the wrapper off her straw. “Or was it just me?”

“Thank you!” Kinslee exclaimed. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

Winter laughed, leaning back in her chair. “He’s gorgeous, though, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” we all agreed at once, then laughed.

“He’s a good guy,” she continued. “Or maybe good isn’t the right word, because he’s neither good or bad. He’s…he’s just…Creed.”

“Yeah, that guy is all kinds of shades of grey.” I dug in my pocket for my phone, which was buzzing annoyingly.

“Fifty shades?”

“Ha ha. I heard there were like a hundred different actual shades.”

I tuned out the conversation as I saw the name on my screen and navigated straight to my messages.

West: Having fun?

Me: Yeah. I got the highest score in knife throwing *grin emoji*

West: No surprise. You’ve got skills

A smile spread across my face.

Me: What are you doing?

A few minutes passed before I got the next message, and it was worth the short wait. He’d sent me a selfie of himself, Cass, Cade, and Z, all hot and sweaty from their football match. He was grinning straight at the camera, at me, while Caiden had my brother in a headlock and Zayde was tipping water over his own head. He’d written “just finished football” under the picture.

My smile grew wider, and when I received the next message, I knew I was grinning like a lunatic.

West: Wish you were here

I set the image as my phone wallpaper, then sent back a one-word reply.

Me: Same

Under a minute later, another message came through.

West: Do you need a lift home? I feel like taking my baby for a drive now it’s not raining

Me: I’m assuming you’re referring to your car as your baby AGAIN *eyeroll emoji* But if you want a drive I won’t say no

West: 20 mins. Wait for me

THIRTY-SIX

My DBS rolled to a stop outside Skirmish, and my gaze went straight to Lena, waiting outside the entrance. When she saw me, a smile curved over her lips, and my heart stuttered. Her smile grew wider when she slid into the car, and I loved that I was the one to put a smile on her face.

“Hi.” Leaning across the car, I cupped my hand around the back of her neck and drew her into a kiss. She pulled away much too quickly for my liking, laughing at whatever face I was pulling.

“Hi, friend.” She emphasised the word, making me groan.

“Don’t remind me.”

Another laugh escaped her. Clipping her seat belt into place, she turned her attention to the view as I navigated away from Skirmish. “Where are we going?”

“Dunno.” Pausing at the car park exit, I glanced in both directions before manoeuvring onto the road. “I just felt like driving, and I wanted to see you.”

“Oh.” Her voice was quiet, almost unsure. I felt her eyes on me as I turned the wheel to the right, heading back in the direction of Alstone. Fuck, I wanted to touch her so badly.

“Talk to me,” I said instead.

We talked for over an hour about anything and everything as I drove around without a destination in mind. Even though we’d known each other all our lives, everything felt new. Which I guess it was—we were connecting on a different level now.

After a while, the sidewards glances began again. From both