FALLING FOR MY BESTIE

1.Just Friends

A soft moan escaped her lips as he thrust deep into her core, until she couldn’t even breathe properly. A hot, breathless moan filled the room, sending pleasurable shockwaves through her body, making her want more of him—all of him. His name threatened to spill from her lips, swallowed by the heat rushing through her veins.

She grabbed the sheet tighter as he kept pounding into her. He looked down at her lips; her heart made a double flip as he bent lower. She closed her eyes, about to taste the lips she had always imagined to be soft and strawberry-sweet—when rays of sunshine suddenly attacked her vision.

“Hey Summer, wakey wakey... responsibility calling… I can’t afford to be late to school.”

Alessandro burst through the door with a steaming cup of coffee.

She groaned, eyes wide, as memories flooded in—suddenly aware that she had been doing nothing but dreaming of hot, messy s*x with her best friend. I have to get a grip on myself, she thought, cautioning herself to minimize her collection of erotic romance novels, because her imaginations and dreams had been really freaky these past few days.

She pulled the duvet over her head as her breasts clearly stuck out of her nightwear. Oh my goodness, this is embarrassing, she thought, hiding under the duvet.

Alessandro laughed at her childish antics but plopped down on the bed and tried to pull the sheets off her. He groaned, trying harder, but she held the sheets tighter.

In their battle for the sheets, Alessandro accidentally tugged down her skirt, exposing her pink panties and making her shriek. She didn’t want to believe Alessandro had seen her half-naked. Her cheeks burned.

Alessandro rolled his eyes as she quickly got up, her loose, curly long brown hair falling wildly over her shoulders. She held the sheets tighter.

“Oh God, I love your bed. I’m so jealous,” he laughed. She silently groaned, hating how she ended up in such an embarrassing state with none other than Alessandro—her crush, her weakness, but also her best friend.

Recently, she had been acting all girly around Alessandro. He saw her as his bro, and she was trying to change that—desperately. Annoyed that he didn’t find her sexy or appealing in just her panties, she tried to push him off the bed—but it didn’t go as planned. She tripped and landed butt-first on the floor, making Alessandro laugh even harder.

A frustrated breath escaped her lips. She struggled to get up, but got tangled in the sheets.

She could hear Alessandro’s amused chuckles as she wrestled with the duvet. What a best friend I’ve got, she thought sarcastically, trying to suppress the swirl of heat and humiliation rising in her chest.

“Summer Hottie, Pinkie Panties… aren’t you gonna ask your best friend for help?” he asked in a mocking tone, his voice teasing but thick with something unspoken.

She didn’t want to be mocked further, knowing full well that Alessandro never missed a chance to tease. She groaned aloud, lifting her hands in mock surrender. He laughed harder and got off the bed.

“Don’t just stand there like a moron—help me out…” she whined, feeling drained both from the mess with Alessandro and not being found sexually appealing by her bestie. He helped her untangle from the sheets, and she quickly pulled on her skirt to avoid another embarrassing scene as he helped her up, the duvet dropping to the floor.

Alessandro’s green orbs flickered with mischief as he smirked.

“When I take you in for a ride, I wouldn’t want to shift a pink panty.”

She gasped at his crude but erotic remark, her face flushing a wild, helpless blush. It wasn’t just his words. It was the way he said it—with that voice, low and sinful, like he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

She glared at him in protest.

“Stop that…” she groaned, feeling like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room.

“C’mon, Summer… all I saw was bone, okay?” He placed his index finger below his chin in mock thought, but his gaze lingered a little longer than usual, making her heart skip.

She couldn’t even ask him to take back his words, even though they stung. She rolled her eyes, trying to suppress the tears that threatened to fall. Alessandro didn’t find her sexy or appealing in any way, and the thought of that made her head spin. She didn’t even realize how deeply she was falling for him—and it was terrifying.

“Why are you so early anyway? It’s just 7 a.m.,” she asked, just to avoid breaking down in front of him.

Alessandro’s green eyes lit up again with mischief.

“Do you remember that sexy new girl, Valentine Dax?” he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Valentine Dax—a beautiful blonde who had transferred to their school—had been worshipped by the entire football team the moment they laid eyes on her.

“So…?” Summer tried to sound casual, but her voice wavered just slightly.

“I think I’m in love with her…” he said, then flopped back on the bed, covering his face with his palms.

Summer immediately felt her heart drop. Even though Alessandro was a rough playboy and had never admitted falling in love before, this felt too sudden—too painful—for her poor heart to take. Her face paled, and she rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

Hidden behind the bathroom door, she let the tears fall down her cheeks. She was torn between hopelessness and despair.

Turning on the shower, she let the water wash away her tears and the ache from her chest. But no amount of water could erase the way her heart ached when he said her name like it meant nothing.

Alessandro’s faint voice called for her to hurry up and come downstairs.

After showering, she dressed in an off-white shirt and blue high-waisted jeans. With brown knee-high heels and her bag slung over her shoulder, she walked out of the room.

Downstairs, Alessandro was whistling while making pancakes. The tantalizing smell filled the dining room, but Summer’s mood was nowhere near its usual teasing vibe. Normally, she’d be annoying Alessandro in the kitchen—but today, though the smell was drool-worthy, Summer felt full. Empty.

Alessandro walked in with two plates of pancakes. He was a good cook, only making meals for his mother and Summer. He had learned a few years back when his mom was hospitalized. Alessandro frowned slightly when he saw her sitting quietly at the dining table.

He plopped down in front of her and studied her face.

“You’re Summer, aren’t you?”

Summer rolled her eyes and took her share of food from him.

“Don’t tell me it’s your time of the month already, because I’m not ready to deal with your unnecessary mood swings.”

Alessandro tsked in a serious tone, but Summer glared at him, stabbing her food.

He kept glancing at her, wondering what had soured her bubbly mood. After breakfast, he did the dishes and they rode together in his car to school. Although they had agreed that Summer would drive to school while Alessandro drove back, her mood was so low that he refused to let her drive.

“Should I stop by a pharmacy?” he asked.

Summer rolled her eyes at his words. If only he knew how much he was shattering the engravings of my heart every time he hooked up with other girls.

“No need, Sand. I’m fine,” she replied. Alessandro nodded and left her to wrestle with her thoughts.

Summer kept stealing glances at him during the ride. Ever since her parents had divorced—and later died—Alessandro had been her armor.

He had helped her through the pain of the divorce and the chaos of the child custody battle. When her parents died in a fatal accident, it nearly broke her, but Alessandro was still there. Somehow, through it all, she had fallen for him—hard.

She stared out the window, lost in thought. Having feelings for Alessandro could ruin everything they shared. But she couldn’t just bury them, and that hurt even more. Maybe she needed to date someone else to move on. Maybe that was the only way to protect her heart from him.

With one last glance at Alessandro, she began forming a plan to save her feeble heart.

She had always loved him—from the moment she knew what love was. But he had only ever seen her as a friend.

After her parents died in that fatal car crash years ago, she had shut herself off from the world. And only Alessandro… only he had been able to reach her. Now, he owned her heart. And he didn’t even know it.