Tasting My Boyfriend's Brother

14: Making Chris Jealous

**Zinnia's POV**

I kissed Grayson Russo.

I KISSED Chris's brother.

God, I'm so stupid!

I jammed my door shut, my back crashing against it as I tried to catch my breath. My heart slammed against my ribs, the sound reaching my ears. I could barely hear myself breathe.

What was I thinking?

Making Chris jealous? Yeah, right. He was just using me to get on his brother's nerves, and I fell for it!

I FELL for it!

I wanted to die. I wanted to toss myself out the window.

My lips tingled. The sensory image of his lips touching mine replayed in my mind—the feel of his tongue brushing against mine, the way his scent invaded my senses, and the way his hand caressed my body.

My finger twitched, hovering over my lower lip. I pulled it away, clenching my fist.

Why the hell did I kiss him back?

I could already imagine him smirking.

God!

I ran my fingers through my hair, banging my head against the door.

I needed a shower.

I needed some sleep.

Yes.

It would all go away and be better in the morning.

I took one step forward when a sound cracked through the silence. My heart jumped.

Was it him?

Did he come here?

I wouldn't put it past him to come to my room or climb through my window...

Was my window open?

"Zinnia!!"

The voice came from the other side, but it wasn't Grayson. It was a very angry Chris.

My pulse calmed, but this wasn't any better than Grayson being there.

I unlocked the door, and he stormed inside. Veins lined his forehead, his eyes burned crimson, his jaw tight—he looked like he was one second away from combusting.

And it felt so good.

I wasn't the only one suffering.

That's what you get for abandoning me in a restaurant with your annoying brother!

"Do you think this is some game? I told you I was going to meet Elara and you, what? Made out with my brother?"

Leaving me at the restaurant is one thing.

Standing here yelling instead of apologizing is another.

"Are you insane?" I snapped. "You left me at that restaurant for almost four hours before you texted me telling me you were with Elara! I thought you were in the restroom!"

"I—"

"I'm not finished," I cut him off. "Do you think I'm stupid? That I'm some toy you can use however you please?"

He didn't answer.

I kept going.

"No, I'm not, and I'll never be. I'm a human being, Chris! A freaking human being!"

"You're making it sound much worse than it actually is."

Wow.

A scoff escaped me.

"You can't even apologize?"

"You're the one who should be apologizing! I told you to stay away from Grayson! It's not even been three freaking days, and now you're making out with him. Do you even know who he is? Do you even know what he does?"

"You kissed Elara... multiple times."

Bile crept up my throat.

"It's different! I already told you it's for show."

"Is it really? Because I'm starting to believe it's not—"

"Why would I ask you to come here if I didn't love you? Why would I take you on a date if I didn't love you? Why can't you understand that everything I'm doing, I'm doing for us?"

His eyes grew moist.

I drew in a breath, my chest tightening.

"Why are you being so selfish?"

Selfish?

SELFISH?

I could take anything, He could call me any name but Selfish... That was something I couldn't take. Not after all I sacrificed, not after all I did for him.

I turned, gesturing to the door.

"Get out."

"I—"

"Get the f**k out!" I yelled, tears brimming in my eyes.

He exhaled, ruffling his hair as he walked to the door.

When he reached the doorway, he stopped and turned to face me.

"Just so you know, I didn't just leave you at the restaurant. Elara's father tracked my location to the place, and if he'd seen us together, I can't fathom what he would've done."

With that, he turned and walked away, shutting the door.

The silence engulfed the room, followed by the creaking sound of the bed as I crashed onto it.

I drew in a scattered breath, the air filling my chest, but it did nothing to lift the pain that had already settled in my heart.

The tears came rolling down before I could stop them. I crossed my arms and buried my face into the mattress.

I wanted to go home.

I was tired of all this.

Maybe Iyra was right.

Maybe we needed to break up.

Just the thought made my heart bleed.

I loved Chris.

Chris loved me.

I knew he did.

I thought he did.

I hoped he did.

I closed my eyes, letting the tears fall.

A second later, I reached for my phone, considering calling Iyra, but it was already 2:00 a.m. She must've been asleep.

I almost pressed the power button when my gaze fell on Bruno's number.

I couldn't exactly tell him what was happening, but I needed someone to talk to. I didn't have to say it was me.

I could lie and say it was a friend.

Yes.

A friend.

My brother was a night owl, so he probably wasn't sleeping.

I dialed his line.

It didn't even ring before a robotic voice came through.

«The number you've dialed is not available. Please check the number and try again.»

I scrunched my brows, sniffling as I dialed the number again, but it was the same response.

Was he okay?

Did something happen?

I switched to text.

Me:

«How are you?

I hope you're doing okay. Please call me as soon as you see this.»

I clicked send, but it showed Not Delivered.

Unease curled in my stomach.

Something wasn't right.

I exhaled deeply, swiping my cheeks as I closed my eyes.

I needed some rest.

Anything that could help me escape this harsh reality.

---

The next few days went by in a daze.

Since that kiss, I'd barely seen Grayson.

More like I'd avoided him because I kept seeing him touching me in my dreams.

I cringed whenever I thought about it.

Chris, on the other hand, basically stopped talking to me.

No side glances.

No sweet nicknames.

Nothing.

He just straight-up ignored me while they prepared for their wedding.

"What do you think, Zee?" Elara's voice cut through my thoughts.

Right.

Mrs. Russo had dragged me into the living room for wedding preparations.

I blinked.

"You seem so lost in thought. Is everything okay?" Mrs. Russo asked, curling her hand around mine. "Or is Grayson troubling you?"

He's doing more than that.

He's kissing me in bathrooms and doing things he's not supposed to.

I forced a smile.

"I'm fine, ma'am. Don't worry about me."

I faced Elara.

"What were you asking?"

"I asked what you thought of a destination wedding. Is it something Chris would like?"

I chuckled nervously.

"Isn't he your fiancé? Why are you asking me?"

"You're his friend—oh, sorry, best friend's sister." She shrugged. "Either way, you're his friend. Don't you know what he'd like?"

Before I could speak, Chris walked down the stairs.

Without sparing me a glance, he made his way to Elara and pressed his lips against hers.

"A destination wedding is fine..."

"Really?"

"Of course. As long as it makes you happy."

Oh, I'm going to be sick.

I turned away—probably the worst mistake in history—because tell me why Grayson walked through the front door at that exact moment.

Drenched in sweat.

His hair stuck to his skin.

Dark spots lined the neckline of his singlet.

Gray sweatpants that shouldn't have made me gulp—but f**k, they did.

He flicked his hair back, then shot me a glance when he noticed I was staring.

He smirked and pulled up his singlet, wiping away his sweat with the hem.

Air stopped in my throat.

Those abs.

Those tattoos.

Jesus Christ, Zee.

You need help.

No.

I need to cleanse my eyeballs.

In fact, I need a memory wipe.

I was starting to get over the kiss, and now he added this to the list.

This stupid image.

God help me.

"Hey, babe," he called out.

I looked away, crossing my arms over my chest.

Mrs. Russo couldn't help the smile that formed on her face.

"You're blushing! You're so red!" she pointed at my cheeks.

"I am not!" I protested.

But seeing as it was pointless—and that I'd already embarrassed myself in front of the entire family and Chris—I stood.

"I need some water."

Yeah.

Good save, Zee.

Chris will totally forget the fact that you were ogling his brother right in front of him.

As I made for the stairs, a voice stopped me.

"Zinnia—"

It was Mr. Russo.

"Oh, sir."

"Please come with me. I need to speak to you."

Speak to me?

Did I do something?

Does he know about me and Chris?

I looked up slowly, fear ballooned behind my ribs.

"I'm right behind you, sir."