Rebel Roommate: A Brother's Best Friend Romance Read online

I take a drink of water and lift my chin. As I put the cap on the bottle, I glance at Wes and see he’s seething at the sight of Matt putting the moves on me.

  I turn back to Matt. “I’m Stacey. Clearly, you haven’t heard about the rules I live by.”

  Matt’s eyes are glued to my chest, which is currently not covered in a bra, and I’m sure my nipples are showing through my ribbed black tank top. I know the headlights are on, but he could really make a better effort of keeping his focus on my face. It’s times like this that I don’t care about my nonexistent sex life if there are only guys like this around here.

  I make a V with my fingers and dart them toward Matt’s face and drag his vision up to mine. “Eyes up here, buddy.” When he snaps his attention back to where it should be, I point to his hat. “My brother had a high school coach who said wearing your hat backward signifies the direction you’re going in life. You might want to take note.”

  Wes lets out a loud laugh as I head back to my room, satisfied with my little dig at Matt.

  Matt flips his hat around and runs ahead of me, blocking the doorway and leaning against the frame, trying to act sexy. If I didn’t just catch him blatantly checking me out, I might have thought he was cute, but he has douche bag written all over his face.

  “What rules do you live under?” He tilts his head with a smirk.

  “You know exactly what she’s talking about, Matt. Chad will beat you to a bloody pulp if you touch her.” Wes rises from the couch, heading toward us. The glare in his eyes is shooting daggers into Matt.

  Matt holds up his hands with a look of satisfaction. “Sorry, didn’t realize you were so off-limits. That’s too bad.”

  Wes yanks Matt by the shoulder and shoves him down to the couch. Matt just laughs it off as Wes lowers himself onto the couch, content Matt has backed off.

  I’m standing by my door, watching them stare at SportsCenter while talking. One of the other guys, a blond with a deep tan, rises from the couch and walks to the kitchen. I go back in my room and take a seat at my desk, realizing my schoolwork will be way more interesting than hanging out with them.

  I’m opening up my laptop when there’s a knock at the door. The blond is standing in my doorway with two beers in his hands.

  “Thought you could use one of these.” He holds up the bottles and makes them dance in the air.

  I swivel my chair in his direction. “Thanks. You on the team too?”

  “I play left field,” he says as he walks toward me and hands me a beer.

  I stand and take it from him, and we air cheers. We both take a sip.

  “I’m Adam.”

  “Looks like you didn’t get the memo.”

  “You mean, the one that said we shouldn’t introduce ourselves to Chad’s sister, who is obviously smart because she worked her tail off to get into Berkeley? No, didn’t get that one.”

  “Seriously, fucker?” Wes chimes in from my doorway.

  Adam strains his neck to yell back to Wes, “It’s just a beer. Calm down.” Adam sips from the bottle and smiles in my direction.

  I’m laughing at Adam’s smugness as Wes clears his throat loudly, causing Adam to drop his shoulders, turn around, and walk away, leaving Wes to command the entryway to my life—both metaphorically and physically.

  My mouth parts in a what the hell expression.

  Wes saunters into my room and stops a few feet away from me. “No guys in your room, Squid.”

  Gone is that happy and comical Wes, and in his place is this territorial brooder. He might be loyal to my brother, but there is such a thing as loyal to a fault.

  I narrow my eyes at my brother’s best friend as I stand and strut toward him. “Listen, Knight, this shit was cute and all when we were teenagers, but I’m a legal adult woman who can have a beer with a friend.”

  “You just met the guy.”

  I let out an exasperated breath as I step up to him. “Okay, well, he’s your friend, and you let him into our home. I hardly find him to be a threat.”

  Wes’s eyes widen, and his mouth parts. “You like him?”

  “No,” I say quickly and then add, “I mean, he’s cute, but you didn’t even give me a chance to decide if I thought he was worth talking to.”

  “It’s easy. Just stay away from any guy on the baseball team.”

  I cross my arms, mimicking his gesture, and lift my chin. “Great. That just leaves football, soccer, lacrosse—” I count out on my fingers.

  He steps closer to me. “I’m sorry. I meant, stay away from any guy on campus.”

  “You’re being a Neanderthal.”

  “You agreed to the rules.”

  “No, I didn’t. I listened while you went off on some ridiculous notion of how this living arrangement would go down. I hate to break it to you, but you’re not my brother, so you don’t get to protect me like this.”

  “Thank God for that.”

  My heart drops to my stomach, and I inhale a shaky breath. I could slap him. What an awful thing to say.

  I push past him, punching my shoulder into his chest to make him move from my doorway, and I march into the living room.

  “Stacey, wait …”

  I’m out the door with my hand in the air, not wanting to hear what he has to say. Adam is sitting next to Matt at the end of the sofa. I sandwich myself between him and the armrest, grabbing the throw pillow I added to make the couch a little more comfortable and holding it on my lap as I tuck my feet underneath me.

  “Glad you could join us,” Adam says. He notices I left the beer in my room, so he takes a bottle from the coffee table, twists the top, and hands it to me.

  “Thanks.” I’m giving Wes the side-eye as he takes a seat back on the other side of the couch.

  With his legs spread wide, he drops his chin low with a slow shake of his head.

  “You cool?” Adam asks me.

  I nod. “Yeah. Just a little roommate conflict.”

  He laughs as he leans in and whispers, “Wanna fuck with him? Change the channel. Put on anything other than this, and he’ll throw a hissy fit.”

  I like this guy even more now. I lean forward and grab the remote. I have no idea what the stations are here, so I punch in a random set of three numbers, keeping my eyes on Wes, just to mess with him.

  Just as Adam predicted, no sooner do I change the channel than Wes sits up super straight and bangs his fists on his knees. His mouth hisses a curse. I roll my eyes at how ridiculous he’s being until I see what I did.

  “Holy shit. You’re so much cooler than your brother said,” Matt hollers as he leans forward toward the television.

  “Girl, you went for the big guns,” Adam adds as my eyes open wide at the television.

  The television that’s now playing porn.

  Holy fuck, I turned on a porno. How did I do that?

  I didn’t even know we had a porn channel. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, but as I see the couple go at it on the screen, I realize that the probability of a guys-only apartment subscribing to some skin stations is pretty high.

  Ew, wait. Does my brother watch this stuff? Gross.

  “Change it,” Wes commands.

  I might be in shock by the fact that people are boinking on the screen, but his tone makes me defiant, and I need to make my point and set the record straight.

  “Nah,” I say like I’m passing up another beer instead of a direct order.

  “It’s my house,” Wes growls. “Turn this shit off.”

  “It’s my house, too, and I say we watch it.” I raise my eyebrows at him, going in for the kill. “Better yet, maybe we should ask our guests.”

  “I’m good,” Matt says.

  “Same here.” Adam grins.

  “Stacey, you have no idea what you’re doing,” Wes states.

  I roll my head back. “It’s just a show. In France, they have sex shows that are performance art pieces. Look at it as adults watching live art.”

  “You want a show?” he threatens, and I groa
n.

  “It’s not like we’re gonna have a gang bang.” I turn to the guys. “You guys aren’t going to try to take advantage of me because there’s porn on the screen, are you?”

  “Nope,” Adam says quickly.

  “No.” Matt seems confused.

  Wes, on the other hand, is practically primal.

  “You”—he points to Adam—“move over there.”

  Adam does what he said, and Wes takes the spot next to me, securing his place as my protector.

  “Fine. You want to watch porn? Let’s watch.” Wes settles in next to me and puts his feet on the coffee table, crossing them at the ankles.

  I wasn’t prepared for him to call my bluff. In fact, having him here, so close, is a bit unnerving.

  I turn my attention back to the screen, trying to hide my shock and act like watching porn with these guys is something I’ve done a million times.

  I sip my beer slowly. Not wanting to down it too quickly because I want that one thing to play with to calm my nerves. I’ve never watched people have sex like this, and when you add in who’s sitting around me, it feels a little wrong but kind of in a good way.

  The guys all watch intently, and when Wes adjusts his positioning, my mind instantly goes to his pants, wondering if he’s getting hard, sitting next to me. The thought sends a weird sensation flowing through my body, which I try to ignore.

  The girl on the screen takes the guy’s cock deep in her throat, leaving some spittle to drag out as she leans back. I have nothing against porn. I’ve just never gotten into it, so seeing her actions is like watching a freight train veer off the tracks. I can’t take my eyes off if it.

  Matt talks to the television, “How does a girl deep-throat like that?”

  “It’s not that hard. At least for me, it isn’t. The roof of my mouth is way higher than normal people, so I have plenty of room before my throat,” I say nonchalantly to answer his question, not thinking about the ramifications that will follow.

  Adam chokes on his beer while Matt is quick to jump to his feet. “Let me see.”

  Wes pushes him away before giving me the evil eye.

  “What? I’m not doing anything bad by telling him about my mouth.” I roll my eyes while turning toward Matt and opening wide, rolling my tongue along the roof to show how far up it goes.

  “Holy shit! You aren’t kidding. Man, the tip of—”

  Matt can’t finish his statement because Wes flies off the couch, grabs my arm, and pulls me up with him, knocking Matt to the ground and yanking me to my room.

  Once we’re in, he slams the door.

  His chest is heaving, and there’s this edge to his face, making it look extra chiseled.

  “You can’t do that,” he bites out, getting in my face.

  “Do what? Talk to guys?” I step closer, not wanting to back down. If I’m going to hold my own around here, I need to set the boundaries now.

  “Don’t you know when you talk about your mouth, about those”—his voice gains a roughness—“perfect pink lips, all guys will think about is what they would look like, wrapped around their cock?”

  My mouth parts in stunned surprise. A tingle runs from my cheeks, down to my chest, and skirts around my belly.

  “You think my lips are perfect?”

  “Fuck,” he growls as the air in the room thickens.

  His eyes dart between mine and my mouth, and I don’t miss the way his jaw twitches.

  “I didn’t mean that,” he says, but his hooded expression shows something different.

  I run my tongue along my lower lip and watch as his chest rises with an inhale that he holds entirely too long. We’re standing inches apart, yet I can feel the heat radiating off his skin.

  I stare into his hazel eyes and get lost in the sea of green and gold. My heart is pounding against my chest, and it’s not because we’re fighting or because I watched porn in the presence of three guys. I’m about to fly out of my skin because the way Wesley Knight is looking at me right now lets me know that he’s thinking about my lips and how they would look, wrapped around his steel erection.

  I know because I’m thinking of it too.

  The front door slams, and Wes jolts back.

  “What’s up, Chad?” I hear Adam say loudly from the living room.

  Wes is quick to turn, leaving me standing alone in my room, confused as hell at what just went down.

  And how for the first time in years, I’m going to fall asleep, fantasizing about my brother’s best friend. I just don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

  Chapter Three

  “You coming out with us tonight?” Chad asks from my bedroom door.

  I slide my laptop onto the duvet and rub my eyes. “Where are you guys going?”

  “Alpha Delta Phi is having a party.”

  “You mean, you’re okay with your sister joining you for a college party?” I taunt him.

  He defensively holds his hands up. “Hey, I haven’t been as bad as I was in high school, have I? Just don’t hook up with anyone in front of me because that would weird me the fuck out.”

  “You mean, like how I have to watch you maul Nicole’s face?” I make a mock gagging sound, which has him grinning.

  “Fine. I get it, but seriously, no hook-ups. A lot of these guys are just out to get their rocks off before they have to grow up in a few months. And the underclassmen are tools and a waste of your time. Now, if you do want to talk to someone, run it by me or Wes, so we can let you know if he’s a complete dirtbag.”

  “Wes is going tonight?” I push my book over and climb out of bed. “Maybe you should let him know I’m coming because he’s been avoiding me for the past few days. I think he’s mad at me.”

  “Why would he be mad at you?”

  Ever since the porn on the couch debacle and that moment after, where I could swear he was going to kiss me, Wes has been a ghost. He can be the funniest man you’ve ever met or the most confusing one. Right now, I’m getting dizzy, trying to figure him out.

  “Just haven’t seen him around lately, which is weird because he likes to keep a routine.”

  “He’s just stressed about the season. His shoulder has been bothering him. Don’t worry about it.” Chad blows off my comment because he has no idea about any of it. If he did, he would have given me the riot act. “Get ready. We’ll leave in a few minutes.”

  “Dress code?” I ask as I walk to my makeshift closet.

  He motions at his ripped jeans and 5 Seconds of Summer concert tee. “Anything goes.”

  Chad exits my room, and I press play on my playlist now that my studying time is over. REO Speedwagon’s “Take It on the Run” plays through my speaker while I search for the perfect outfit for my first fraternity party. I don’t want to come off like I’m trying too hard, but I also don’t want to stand out like the newbie I am. It’s silly really. I’ll probably be older than most of the girls at the party, and yet I’m trying to blend in with the cool kids.

  I’ve always been the girl who could be friends with anyone. In high school, I had friends within every clique around campus. I’m hoping to create the same environment here.

  I decide on a pair of frayed denim shorts and a tank top with a flannel shirt tied around my hips for when it gets cooler later on. I put some big curls in my brown hair and apply some light makeup, just to accentuate my blue eyes. After smacking my lips with a glittery pink gloss, I head to the hallway.

  I keep my fingers wrapped around the doorframe and swing my body through to peek in my brother’s room. “You ready?”

  “Thank God you turned off that horrible music,” Wes says as he turns around from his spot by Chad’s desk.

  His mouth parts as his eyes travel up and down my body, landing on my navel that’s currently on display from the way my shirt rose up.

  “There’s no way you’re wearing that.” He stands up in protest, surprising me that he’s in here at all.

  “Oh. Hi. Long time no see, stranger,�
�� I say to him.

  “I can see your ass cheeks in those shorts,” he responds, his body bent over to check out my backside.

  I try to see behind me and end up spinning, like a dog searching for his tail. “No, you can’t.”

  Wes points to Chad then to me to make sure he sees what he’s talking about. Chad shrugs in agreement.

  “They are really short.”

  I drop my jaw. “You’re messing with me, right?”

  “People will think you’re wearing clothes you shrank in the dryer,” Wes adds with a devious smirk.

  I place my hands on my hips as I eye his ensemble. Dark jeans that hug his strong thighs and a fitted dark red T-shirt with a sideways zipper across the chest, which serves no purpose. His hair is raked back, like he used some product and let his fingers work their magic. He’s sexy as hell. Of course, I won’t be telling him that.

  “You’re one to talk. What, did you just throw on whatever was on your bedroom floor?”

  His eyes narrow as he takes me in before he changes his expression completely. His annoyed demeanor turns to laughing in an instant. “Fact: I spent about ten minutes too long on deciding what to wear tonight. Is the zipper too much?”

  Actually, it is because it’s bringing attention to his well-defined chest.

  “No, it’s fine. You look nice.”

  “Thanks.” He glides toward me, swaying his body like he’s God’s gift to women. “Now, back to the conversation at hand. You need to change. You look like a sexy cowgirl, and it’s not even Halloween yet.”

  “Well, yee-haw, motherfucker, because I’m not changing.” I turn to Chad and state defiantly, “I’ll be by the front door whenever you guys are ready to go. And the shorts are staying on.”

  I grab my purse and keys from where I hung them on the entryway hooks by the door. They said the flowers were too girlie, but I know they like not having to search for their keys anymore.

  I sling the crossbody purse across my chest and wait for them to exit the room. When they come over, Chad grabs his keys from the hook, flinging them around his finger, and Wes fiddles with his cell phone. I hold the door open and usher them out.

  They don’t hide their disdainful expressions at my clothing, but I stand up tall and smile in return. I use my key to lock up, and while their backs are to me, I give the bottom of my shorts a tug.