“Sorry, but do you think that was possibly a line?” I asked.
“He has a point. It sounds like he wants to have his cake and eat it too,” Brook said, finally talking some sense on the subject.
Halle seemed to deflate.
“I should have caught that he didn’t want to break up with Isabel, just get into my pants.”
“You okay?” I asked.
“No.”
“Tell him what you want,” Brook encouraged.
We both looked at Brook, and she nodded to Halle to encourage her. I looked back at Halle, and our eyes locked. She reached up and touched the side of my face, then leaned forward and kissed me.
My mind raced to try to figure this out, and it suddenly became clear: Brook and Halle had orchestrated this whole drama. Brook knew that I would be protective of Halle if I saw she was hurting. Hell, she’d watched as I’d helped Halle’s mother when she was in need. If I would do that, then I would certainly help Halle.
The question was, did I want to? Halle freaking James was being offered to me on a platter. Did my commitment to Brook mean I would never spend time with Halle again?
In my heart, I realized this would be the beginning of the end for Brook and me. I recognized that we planned for this to end at the conclusion of our senior year. I would be off to parts unknown, doing my movies, and Brook would be gone to college at the end of the summer. We both agreed that the long-distance routine would never work. It wasn’t fair to either of us.
What I had to get my head around was, did I want to take a step back in our relationship? Was I taking this way too seriously? I knew that Brook wasn’t as into us as I was. Was she adopting the right approach and beginning to guard her heart for when the end inevitably occurred?
I also had one crucial question to answer. Why did Halle represent the end of Brook and my exclusive relationship when we’d spent time with Chloe Larkin only two days ago? That one was easy. Chloe Larkin had just been a spot of fun, while Halle James was someone I could see myself with. I’d had a perfect reason for avoiding her and Zoe. In my heart, it would feel like the ultimate betrayal to Brook if I did anything with either of them.
When our kiss broke, I turned to Brook, who now looked determined. It seemed she could read my mind.
“I thought I would never say this, but this is for the best.”
“You do realize what this represents, don’t you?” I asked.
“It doesn’t mean we’re breaking up,” she informed me.
“We do need to talk about what it does mean,” I said earnestly.
“Later. Right now, I want you to give Halle a good orgasm before she does something stupid and jumps into bed with Ben Doman.”
The evil minx. She knew exactly the right buttons to push, and she knew she did. Why was I fighting this? Brook had just told me we would still go out, but we would be pulling back and just make it fun. I could do fun. Then again, maybe that was Mr. Happy talking. I shrugged to let her know I was on board. WTF!
I turned to Halle and put her into a serious lip-lock. If I was doing this, I wasn’t messing around. While I kissed her, I unbuttoned the front of her shorts, pushed my hand inside them, and found her soaking wet.
“I can feel how much you want me.”
I stroked Halle through the lace of her panties and caught the look of desire she flashed at me. She moaned and rolled her hips forward while her hands abandoned their quest to undo my shirt. I pushed Halle’s panties aside and teased her nubbin. When I made contact, her head dropped back, and her mouth fell open as she gasped with pleasure. Sitting up wasn’t going to work for me. I looked over at Brook.
“Move,” I ordered.
She scampered off the couch to give us room. I stood up, and my hand pulled out of Halle’s shorts. She blinked to try to understand what had just happened. I wanted to ravish her, kiss her, taste her.
“Lie down and lift your hips,” I told Halle.
She didn’t hesitate. I heard Brook moan; she was clearly as turned on as I was. Once Halle had lain back, I reached down and pulled her shorts and panties down. Halle let her legs fall open once I’d gotten her clothes off her bottom half. It was a clear invitation.
“This is how you should always look when we’re together,” I announced.
“Perv,” Brook said.
I looked back at her.
“I think you have too many clothes on.”
“What about you?” she shot back.
I took my shirt off and made a show of flexing. Both girls found that amusing.
Before I could ravage Halle, she sat up and took off her top and bra. She then got off the couch, dropped down onto her knees, and reached for my belt.
“What are you doing?” Brook asked.
“I want to taste him,” she announced. “Join me.”
If karma was real and the universe balanced itself out, I would be struck by lightning soon. Halle unzipped my shorts and released the hound. Her hand, impatient and hot, wrapped around my length as she slowly pointed it downward. She then took me in her mouth.
“Give me some room,” Brook said as she nudged Halle to get her attention.
