The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister(91)

At the door, Holden gave me a peck on the lips.

“You said we could kiss. Can I at least get a real one?”

His lip twitched, but he hooked a hand around my neck and pulled me to him. Then hit me with a kiss so passionate, I blinked a few times when he let go.

“Goodnight, sweetheart.” He smiled.

“Uhh… Yeah. Goodnight.”

After he was gone, I leaned my head against the closed door, still reeling from that kiss. It’s going to be a long-ass two weeks.





CHAPTER 25


Holden



“Damn, to go without sex—by choice?” Owen took a bite of the apple he’d stolen from my fridge after stopping by on his way home from work the next evening.

Lala hadn’t gotten home yet, so I was killing time and entertaining my friend’s curiosity about my probably asinine decision.

“Can’t believe it was my idea.” I shook my head.

“Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.” He laughed. “I know one person who’d be happy about this, though.”

“Who?”

“Ryan. He’d be thrilled you’re keeping your hands off her.”

“You’re probably right.” I sighed. Owen had touched my sore spot. I swear, I had dreams about Ryan coming back to this life just to strangle me.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts.

When I opened, Brayden stood there with a goofy smile on his face.

“What’s up, man?” I waved him in.

“This is just a welfare check. Owen texted me to get down here. He said he thought you might’ve lost your mind.”

“I haven’t lost it—yet.” I rolled my eyes. “Yet being the operative word.”

Brayden leaned against the counter. “What’s going on?”

Owen took it upon himself to answer. “He wants to prove that what he and Lala have isn’t driven solely by sex, so your boy here made a decision. He’s denying her the D for two fucking weeks.”

Brayden’s eyes widened. “Since when did Catalano grow up? I guess we’ve all been too busy to notice.” He chuckled. “But seriously… Withholding sex? Isn’t that going to be a little…challenging for you?”

“Believe me, even one day has been hard—on both of us. I think Lala’s taking it worse than I am.”

“It must be tough being wanted so badly for your body, huh?” Owen chided.

“I used to be just fine with that, dickhead. But not with this girl. It sounds sappy, but…” I cringed at the words about to exit my mouth. “I want her to like me for me.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with Holden?” Brayden joked.

“Lala certainly never had a lack of brainiac shit to talk about with her last boyfriend,” I said. “I want to stimulate her mind as much as I stimulate other parts.”

“What if you unexpectedly start to feel differently now that sex is removed from the equation?” Brayden asked.

I shook my head. “No way. Even when Lala and I weren’t having sex, I wanted to be around her twenty-four-seven. I love just talking to her, spending time with her. That’s what we do best—before we got sidetracked by the mind-blowing sex.”

“Is this the part where I’m supposed to feel sorry for you?” Brayden taunted.

Then came another knock on the door. I hoped to God it wasn’t Lala walking in on this conversation. I was sure the guys’ faces would be a dead giveaway as to what we’d been talking about.

Thankfully, it was just Colby. “What’s up?”

“Hey, man,” I said.

“Brayden just texted me to come down here. Said something funny is going on with you.”

I turned to Brayden. “Are you kidding?”

Brayden shrugged. “I’m sorry. But it is funny.”

After they filled him in, Colby reached his hand to my forehead. “You sure you’re okay, dude?”

“I might’ve lost my mind,” I conceded.

“Nah.” Brayden smacked my shoulder. “I think our boy is growing up.”

Colby chuckled. “This is like if Owen woke up one day and decided there were more important things than work. I wouldn’t recognize him.”

Owen took a bite of his apple and spoke while chewing, “Hey, don’t knock me when I don’t currently have anyone worth neglecting work for—unlike you two whipped pricks. Plus, I’ve decided I’m not getting married. Most women want kids, and those two fuckwad teenage brats in 410 have made me decide I’m never having any.”

“What did they do now?” I asked.

“I saw them in the elevator this morning. They asked me if I had change for a twenty. I did, so I gave it to them. When I got to the train station, I realized my wallet was gone. And my damn watch. They laughed when I went up to their apartment pissed off. They claim they were just screwing around, but I didn’t find it too amusing.”

I chuckled. “At least we won’t be putting kids out on the street when we evict them for not paying the rent someday. They’ll get two hots and a cot in prison.”

“Getting back to our celibate boy here,” Brayden said. “What happens after this two-week period? Say you prove that you can have a great relationship without sex. Then what? Does that solve all your problems?”