𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 with soft and mature themes.
College senior Sierra adores her best friend Brian, but he inadvertently thwarts her love life on occasion. She didn't expect to meet Nick that night, but they quickly fel...
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Sierra doesn't stop when I call her name. By the time I clear the porch, there's no sign of her. Fear prickles my neck as I worry this is too much for Sierra. I can't lose her.
Shoes rustle on the grass behind me, and Brian's strong voice cuts through the tension when he shouts, "SiSi, where are you?"
"Who showed you that? I've never shown anybody that."
"Mark O'Connor."
I skid to a stop, searching for my girl. "Who the hell's that, and how'd he get a photo from my phone?"
"You tell me!"
"I love that girl more than anything. I'd never ruin it like that."
"B!" The guy I shoved calls for Brian. Jealousy flares inside as I find Sierra crying on his shoulder.
I sprint toward them, Brian hot on my heels. In a hoarse voice, I say her name. She sniffles, wiping her cute face with the crook of her elbow. "Nicholas."
I open my mouth, but Brian cuts in. "Sweetheart, come here."
I watch my life crumble. He speaks in an undertone, stroking the hair hanging down her back, and her shoulders shudder a couple of times. Of course, she'd go to him. He didn't take a sexy photo of her that got leaked. His ex didn't call her a whore mid-kiss. Not that I know of.
When he pulls back, he rubs it in by literally wiping tears from her cheeks with his sleeves.
The stress is killing me. "Um."
Brian doesn't look at me, just holds Sierra's shoulders, then cocks his head in my direction. "He swears he had nothing to do with that shit. What do you think?"
"Of course he didn't," she responds with a sniffle. She wriggles out of his hold to slip into mine.
"I'd never do that to you," I say, wrapping her up in a hug. "But I'm so, so sorry. I'll figure it out and fix this."
Her voice is feeble as she scrubs her face. "I know you wouldn't, but I'm so humiliated."
"I can easily convince Josh to publicly embarrass himself," the other guy says. "What should we have him do?"
Sierra laughs through her tears. "Chris!"
"Okay," I say, my lips trilling as I exhale. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pivot Sierra to rest her back to my front and speak to the guys. "First off, sorry about earlier—I panicked and jumped to conclusions. What's, um, what's your name?"
"Chris Peña."
I see the resemblance. Tall, wiry, annoyingly handsome, like he's part of a boy band. "Oh, okay, so you're—"
Sierra trails a hand down my arm. "One of the twins whose birthday party I went to last month."
I kiss her cheek, apologize to Chris again, then roll my shoulders back and face her best friend. Also tall and annoyingly handsome. "Even if you hate me, I'm not going anywhere."
