Still at the station, Adelyn dialed her sister's number and waited patiently while it rang. The answering machine picked up. "Hey, Evie, it's your sister. I wanted to know if you wanted to come with to look at wedding dresses this afternoon during my lunch break. Give me a call if you get this message before-"
"Adelyn? Hey, sorry, I was in the shower. So, you're going shopping for wedding dresses today? I'd love to come!"
"Great!" Adelyn smiled. "I'm glad you picked up. One of my bridesmaids is picking me up at noon, and she said that we could stop by and get you on the way."
"Perfect! I'll be ready by the time you get here. See you soon!"
"Bye, Evie."
Evie crossed her legs and admired her shiny red nail polish as she waited for her sister to come out of the dressing room.
"So, you go to the University of Minnesota?" Adelyn's bridesmaid, Lalie, wanted to know.
Evie looked up at her and nodded. "Yes. I'm a junior. Studying business."
"That sounds promising," Lalie smiled. "Have you met Kyle yet?"
Evie froze. "Kyle?"
"You know... your sister's future brother-in-law... Kyle. He's a sophomore there. I take it you haven't met him?"
"I might have seen him around..." Evie muttered as she looked back down at her nails. "He kind of looks like Justin, right?"
"Yeah," Lalie smiled. "He and my boyfriend, also known as Justin's brother, Phil, are sharing the duty of best man, you know."
"Oh, really?" This was news to her. If Kyle were the best man and she was the maid of honor, they would definitely be seeing more of each other outside of school. She could possibly use that to her advantage. "You're with Justin's brother?" she said, pretending that she wasn't interested in Kyle. They'd all know in due time...
At that moment, Adelyn came out of the changing stall in one of the most beautiful white gowns Evie had ever seen. "Wow," she said, as she and Lalie stood up. "Justin will fall over if you wear that!"
"She's right," Lalie agreed. "And you can't get married if the groom's unconscious."
Adelyn laughed as she turned around before the mirror. "He won't pass out."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that!" Lalie warned. "Let me find you a veil. I'll be right back."
Evie watched as Lalie dashed off to the other side of the store to pick out the perfect veil to go with Adelyn's dress. Then, she looked back at her sister. "So have you talked to Justin lately?" she asked, a casual tone to her voice.
"Just this morning before I left for work. Why?"
"I'm only curious."
"Come on, Evie. Someone doesn't just ask a question like that without having a reason."
"I'm worried for your relationship!" she insisted. "It's not healthy if a couple doesn't communicate properly."
"And you know this because you do so well in your relationships," Adelyn said, rolling her eyes as she puffed out the skirt of her gown.
Evie frowned as she adjusted the glasses on her nose before taking a step closer. "You learn from experience," she replied. "And as far as I know, you only had one boyfriend before Justin."
"I don't know why you're picking fights with me, Evie, but stop it! Justin and I communicate just fine."
"Really? Are you sure he's not hiding anything from you? Mom told me all about when he got sent to jail. He kept his true identity from you the whole time. How do you know he's still not telling you something?"
"Justin can't lie to me anymore. Trust me. I know him like I know the back of my hand. If he were to try and lie to me, I would know it right away."
Evie leaned against one of the stalls. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. Men are sneaky."
"Quit being so negative," Adelyn demanded just as Lalie returned with a gorgeous veil. She placed it on top of Adelyn's head while the store attendant secured it with pins. "After five dresses, what do you girls think? This one or the third one that I tried on?"
"That one," Lalie said right away.
Evie nodded. "I agree. That dress is a knockout. You'll have Justin on his knees begging for mercy."
Adelyn smiled as she turned around one more time. "Then this is the dress," she told everyone. "I want him to be so blown over that he won't be able to close his jaw for days."
That night, Justin crawled into bed beside Adelyn and put his arms around her. "Did you have a good day today, honey?"
"A very good day," she smiled, and then leaned over to kiss his forehead. "Evie, Lalie and I actually went to the bridal shop downtown and I picked out my wedding dress."
"You did?"
"I did. And don't you dare think about looking all over the apartment for it, because I hid it at my parent's house. And they won't let you inside either."
"Great," Justin mumbled. "Now I have to wait."
"Yes, you do. So get used to it."
He grinned at her, and leaned in for a kiss, but she pushed him away.
"My sister said something really weird today."
Justin moved back. "She did?"
"Yeah, she was grilling me about whether or not you and I have good communication. She thinks you're still lying to me about something."
Justin put his head on his pillow and stared at the ceiling. Who the hell did this girl think she was? And what was she trying to do?
Adelyn propped herself up on her elbow and looked down at him. "Does Evie know something I don't? What are you keeping from me, Justin?"
"This is really dumb," Justin smiled. "And I really don't know what's going on, but I think it has something to do with my brother."
"Your brother?"
Justin chuckled nervously. "Well, you really wouldn't believe what happened... and I don't know why your sister wants you to find out..."
Adelyn suddenly sat up straight in bed. "Are you sleeping with my sister!?"
"God, Adelyn! No, I'm not sleeping with your sister! What kind of a man do you think I am!?"
"I'm sorry, Justin, I don't know what I was thinking. Of course you're not." She fell back down beside him and kissed him quietly. "Then what is this about?"
Justin sighed. "I really didn't want to tell you this, but your sister lured my brother into her apartment and seduced him."
To his surprise, Adelyn began laughing. "No, really, Justin. What is this about?"
He looked over at her and frowned. "I'm not kidding. He came over here this morning panicked about hurting my relationship with you. He said she practically jumped him!"
"And you believed him?"
"Why wouldn't I? He didn't even know you had a sister, Adelyn. When he came over here saying she's his lab partner in chemistry class, I had no choice but to believe him."
"Justin, Evie isn't that kind of girl. We've had conversations about this before. She told me that she would only sleep with someone if she was in a serious relationship. I don't think Kyle is her serious relationship."
"Well, she lied! She invited him to his apartment and then brought him to bed! Did you really think Kyle was going to say no and walk away? He's a barely a man, Adelyn. He wasn't going to turn her down."
"If that's true, then maybe you need to have a talk with Kyle."
"I did. I didn't make him tell me about any of his past relationships, but he's not dumb. And he told me he used protection, so at least we don't have to worry about that," he said with a sigh of relief as he leaned over to kiss her. "I want my brother to finish school before he starts a family."
"Me too, Justin. I'm just really confused about something."
"What?"
"Why would my sister want to lure your brother in like that?"
Justin shrugged, giving her a grin. "He is a handsome man, you know."
Adelyn laughed, giving him a shove. "You know he looks exactly like you! But I'm not talking about whether or not she was attracted to him. I just don't think she'd seduce any man that she barely knew."
"She must have some sort of a reason."
The two of them were silent for a moment and then Adelyn moved to climb on top of Justin. "Would you be opposed to me seducing you?" she asked.
Justin grinned at her. "Right now? No, I can't say that I would be opposed to that."
The next morning in chemistry class, Evie saw Kyle walk in out of the corner of her eye. He took his seat next to her and pulled out his books. She looked to the front of the room and noticed that Professor Adams hadn't arrived yet. With a smile, she leaned closer to him. "Did you tell your brother on me?"
Kyle didn't answer right away. "No," he finally said. "And don't talk to me."
"Why? You are coming to my parent's house tonight, aren't you?"
He finally looked over at her, an obvious shocked expression on his face. "No! I won't be going to your parent's house! I don't know why you want them to meet me so bad, but they're not going to know me until the rehearsal dinner. I'm not your boyfriend, Evie."
"Then why did you sleep with me?"
"Do you really need to ask that question?" he wanted to know as he paged through his book and found chapter two. "Isn't it obvious? Evie, I'm nineteen years old. If a pretty girl decides she wants to..." he trailed off. "What the hell do you think I'm going to say?"
"Okay, I get it," she frowned at him. It actually was quite obvious. If she didn't think she could get him into bed, she wouldn't have even tried. "Will you pretend to be my boyfriend, Kyle? Please?"
"Why!?"
She picked up her pencil and wrote the date on the top of her notebook page. "You don't understand what it's like to be me," she mumbled.
"Yes, I do," he told her. "Justin told me all about you."
She looked back at him. "I thought you said you didn't tell Justin."
"Well," he mumbled, staring back down at his book. "So maybe I did."
Evie smiled. She knew he'd tell Justin. She barely knew either brother, but it was obvious that they told each other everything. "Is he going to tell Adelyn about us?" she wanted to know.
Kyle shrugged. "I don't think so. He was kind of freaked out about it. He told me not to tell anyone."
She didn't like that answer. "Why can't you tell anyone?"
"He doesn't want your parents to find out," Kyle said, leaning closer. "He thinks it'll make them hate my family even more than they already do."
"You have to come to my house!" she said, grabbing his arm and forcing him to look at her. "Please, Kyle... you have to come. I do whatever it is you want me to do... just come and meet my parents!"
According to the clock on Evie's bedroom wall, it was exactly nine-fifty-one, and Kyle gulped as he looked back into her eyes. She had him backed up against the headboard, her legs straddling his lap. When she kissed him, he kissed her back, but somewhere in his heart, something tugged. He tried to ignore it as she pulled off his clothes and then removed her own. He reached out and pulled her close, but when their lips touched again, he couldn't continue, and he pushed her away.
He pulled the blankets around him and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Evie wanted to know as she tried to get closer, stretching her palm over his chest and pressing her lips to his neck.
"Everything," he mumbled. "This isn't worth it. If I show up at your parents house pretending to be your boyfriend, my brother will disown me."
She wove her fingers through his hair and kissed all the way up the side of his face. "He'll forgive you," she said between kisses. "No matter what my parents think he's still going to marry Adelyn. I'll tell you a story if you promise not to tell your brother."
"What?"
"Adelyn told me that she was the one who seduced him first. And if your brother isn't a hypocrite, he'll understand exactly why you did it."
Kyle closed his eyes as she climbed back on top of him. He just couldn't push her away. "You don't want me," he said. "I don't know why you're..." he stopped, shivering as she ran her fingers down his arms. "I don't know why you're doing this."
"Trust me, Kyle. I want you."
His eyes flew open as she pressed her body against his. After that, he stopped thinking all together.
Kyle regretted his decision, but it was too late to go back and change his mind. Evie felt so good against him, he wasn't even sure if he would have been able to change his mind had he had the opportunity. God help him, but he was weak.
She was kissing him hard, and just when he thought she might want to go at it again, the phone rang. Kyle groaned and pulled her back down, but she reached her hand over and grabbed the phone anyway.
"Hello?" she said into it. "Adelyn... hey..."
Kyle froze. This was it; he was dead. If he made one sound and Adelyn heard him there with her sister...
"Oh, really? What did he say?" Just as Kyle was trying to sneak away from her, Evie reached out and started tickling him. Kyle tried to grab her hand and pull her fingers away from his skin, but she was relentless, and before he knew it, he couldn't help but erupt in giggles.
"Adelyn... I can explain. I love Kyle. I really do!"
This time, Kyle got a hold of her wrist and didn't let go. "Give me the phone," he demanded as he tried to reach for the her cordless, but she kicked at him until he let go of her wrist.
"Hold on a second," she said into the phone and then put her hand over it. "You promised me you'd pretend to be my boyfriend!" she hissed to Kyle.
"To your parents!" Kyle reminded her. "Not to Adelyn, and definitely not to Justin. I never said I'd lie to them!"
"No, all you said was that you'd pretend to be my boyfriend. As far as I'm concerned, that means everyone. Now, sit back and maybe I'll kiss you some more when I'm off the phone."
Kyle's jaw dropped as he stared at her. He couldn't believe the situation he'd gotten himself into. When she put the phone back to her ear, he didn't wait to find out if she would kiss him or not. He got out of bed and pulled his clothes back on, but just when he was about to walk out the door, Evie, clad in her pink sheets, had her arms around him.
"Don't go, Kyle," she pleaded. "I need you."
"You don't need me," he told her. "You're using me, Evie. I don't care what I promised. You misled me."
"Wait, just listen to me for a second."
He sighed and turned around. "What."
"You can tell Justin the truth, but he can't tell Adelyn. You have to make him promise that he won't tell her."
"I don't even know why you're doing this! I'm not going to make Justin lie to his fiancé just because you want me to. If you really need me to go along with whatever it is you're doing, then I need reasons. The sex was great, really, but I know that that's not what this is about. There's something more you want... and it's not me."
She pulled the sheets tighter around herself and looked away from him. "You're right," she admitted. "This isn't about sex, but I didn't know how else to get you to cooperate."
Deep down, something stung in Kyle's chest. She was his first, and she hadn't even wanted him. He turned away.
"I'm sorry, Kyle. I never thought that you were a virgin until that morning after... but please, you have to help me. My parents are trying to control my life! They think I'm some perfect angel and that I'll do whatever they tell me to do. But I can't anymore! I don't want to major in business so I can take over their stupid company. I don't want to go out with doctors and business executives just to please them. I want to be with boys like you... and have wild times... like we did. And when they see you, they'll know that I'm not who they think I am."
Kyle looked back at her and noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears. "Do you hear yourself, Evie?" he asked. "If you want them to back off, all you have to do is tell them exactly what you just told me! You don't need me to prove a point. All you need is the truth. They'll understand. They'll have to. And if they don't, how are they going to stop you? You're an adult."
She frowned at him. "You should talk. If I remember correctly, you told me that your family made you go to school when you didn't want to. How is this any different?"
Kyle leaned back against the door. She was right. "At least you have a father," he said, being it was the only thing he had left to say. "You should appreciate the fact that he's there for you and he cares about you."
"He doesn't care about me," she told him. "He cares about what he can accomplish through me. Come to dinner, Kyle and show him that I'm more than his pawn. Kiss me when you know he's looking and make eyes at me from across the table. He'll never kick you out because you're Adelyn's future brother-in-law. Unlike my opinion, they respect hers."
Kyle looked down at the floor and gave another sigh. Her hand brushed against his and then she snatched it up, pressing her lips to his fingers.
"Help me, Kyle. I need you... I really do." As she said those last words, she placed her hand on the side of his face and stood on her toes to reach him. She kissed his lips so softly, that she sent his head spinning in circles.
"Okay," he said when she let him go. "I'll help you. But I'm telling Justin everything."
Chapter 8
Keeping the Peace
Family: Timberlake
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
Email Me (irishgirl982@yahoo.com)