The Brothers Next Door (A Striker Brothers Romance #1)

by Terry Towers

“I bet.” Ivy’s green eyes remained on Trey’s dark ones, ignoring Ethan. “So Trey, any new girlfriends?”

  “Nah. Not for a while. Ethan and I are both having a bit of a dry spell.”

  Thanks a lot man. I’m an asshole and having a dry spell, you’re making me look more appealing by the second. As soon as the thought came to mind he frowned. He’d made his choice over a year ago. He’d told her he wasn’t interested, so it’s not like it mattered anyhow. Over a year of her ignoring his numerous calls said everything he needed to know. But dammit, she could have at least given him an opportunity to explain, to apologize, to smooth things over. But nothing. As soon as he said he couldn’t return her feelings she’d taken off and locked herself into her room, refusing to talk to him. And that had been it; the end of their friendship and dammit he’d missed her.

  “Listen Ethan, I know since I’m here now you really don’t have to, but I was hoping since mom and your dad are away for the week you could hang out at the house with me. It’s quiet and so empty, compared to the dorms, ya know?” She turned to Trey and added, “Both of you really. We could catch up.” She gave Trey a side hug.

  Anger and jealousy surged through Ethan again. Not cool.

  “Yeah, I guess. I’d still need to drop in each day to check on your mother’s parrot anyhow. Pepper is on a special medication and needs to be hand fed the medicine anyhow. And, well, you two don’t seem to have the greatest of relationships. Do they even know you came home?”

  “Yeah. They’ve known a while. And for the record that parrot had it out for me from the moment Mom brought it home. Nasty bird.”

  Ethan’s frown deepened. “They didn’t tell me.”

  “I told them not to.”

  “Why?” As soon as he asked the question he growled at himself. He didn’t want Trey privy to what went down between them. He shared virtually everything with Trey, but her professing her love for him was the one thing he’d kept to himself. “Never mind,” he grumbled under his breath, cutting off her chance to answer.

  Ethan looked at his friend, wanting to ask Trey to leave so he could talk to her in private. But what good would it do? She may be mad but at the same time maybe it was his overactive imagination, maybe he was the one still fucked up over what happened. Hell, looking as she was now, he imagined she had every frat boy on campus falling over himself to be with her. She was the package: a wonderful person, too smart for her own good and now drop-dead gorgeous to boot. There’s a good chance she was over him now and if he were to even bring up the idea of them together, she’d be the one rejecting him and he’d look foolish and conceited for thinking she carried a flame for him.

  “I was thinking that I could make us all some supper. Maybe we could all spend the evening catching up?” Ivy walked back over to Trey and gave him another quick side hug.

  Three hugs in less than ten minutes, seriously, what the fuck! Ethan seethed, then growled at himself for the foolishness of his emotions.

  “What do you say? I’ve learned some amazing recipes. Low fat and delicious! And it looks like there’s a case of beer chilling in the fridge.”

  A wide smile spread across Trey’s lips and he nodded. “That would sure beat the pizza we were planning on ordering.”

  “So, yes?” Her expression turned hopeful as she looked from Trey to Ethan and back again.

  “Yeah.” Trey nodded to Ethan. “How can we pass up an offer like that, huh?”

  Ethan’s eyes narrowed at Ivy. She had never taken this much interest in Trey before and she hated beer so he suspected she had planned this out already. What was her game? She’d never been like the girls they went to high school with, she wasn’t one to play games. Had that changed as she lost the weight? That would be such a damned shame, she had so much to offer a man she didn’t need to play games. Or it could just be his ego running wild again.

  If she had so much to offer then why did you turn her down? a voice at the back of his mind chimed in. He had no answer for that question, only guilt and regret. His mind quickly went back to the question: What was her game plan?

  Now she has a game plan? Man, get over yourself. Chances are she’s well over you, his conscience argued with him.

  “Yeah, that sounds wonderful,” Ethan confirmed, a little more dryly than intended.

  Chapter 2

  Ivy

  Despite it being over a year and her transformation, just seeing Ethan again sent Ivy’s emotions whirling. The hurt, the fear, the attraction and even the love came rushing back. He’d always been well-built, but he appeared to have gained even more muscle. He’d matured into a man even more attractive than he’d been, although she’d never have guessed it possible. She hated him for it, but hated herself even more for how much she still wanted him; how much she wanted him to want her…

  But he doesn’t, she silently reminded herself as she pulled the pan of chicken breast from the oven and set it on top. Nothing has changed.

  “Need any help?”

  Ivy froze as she heard Ethan’s voice behind her. Closing her eyes she slowly counted to five before reopening them, pasting a smile on her face and turning to face him. “If you don’t mind grabbing a strainer and getting the pasta ready that would be great. The sauce is done and waiting in the saucepan.”

  She turned back to the cupboard, reached up and pulled down three plates. To her dismay her hands shook ever so slightly. I’m not that girl anymore.

  Ethan stepped up beside her with the pot of spaghetti and gave her a little hip bump. “I got this, if you can grab some beer from the fridge and set the table.” She attempted to worm her way back to the spot she’d once been, but he gave her another nudge with his hip.

  “Stop it!” Laughing, she bumped him back. “Bully.”

  He chuckled. “Your part here is done, little sis. Now go get that beer. And I’m not a bully, you’re just in the way.”

  Looking up, Ivy’s eyes caught his rich blue ones. For a brief second, time rewound to before she proclaimed her love to him and they were friends again goofing around while preparing supper. During that moment, she contemplated dropping the whole thing and settling for just having her friend back again. The thought was a fleeting one.

  “What’s a guy gotta do to get some food around here?” Trey asked, walking into the kitchen. “Something smells delicious.”

  Ivy pulled her gaze from Ethan’s and looked over her shoulder at Trey. “As a matter of fact it’s done.” Turning away from Ethan, Ivy walked over to the fridge and grabbed three bottles of beer, opened them and set them onto the table as the men plated up the food and set it onto the round four-person oak table. Normally she’d steer clear of alcohol, but she decided to make an exception for the week.

  The men sat down with Ivy between them.

  “So what’s this sauce?” Trey asked, swallowing the first bite of whole wheat spaghetti. “It’s amazing.”

  “It’s a secret,” Ivy replied, giving him a wink. “And it’s low fat.”

  “And what’s a guy got to do to find out that little secret?”

  Ivy’s eyes locked to Trey’s and she saw something there. It wasn’t simply friendship like it always had been. There was a definite interest. While she’d thought she’d felt a spark with Ethan before she went away to college, this was the first time she’d ever felt any type of spark with Trey. But then again they weren’t as close as she had been with Ethan. See Ivy, there you go. He didn’t have any interest at all when you were Ethan’s fat stepsister, but all of a sudden now that you’re thin he’s flirting with you. Coincidence? Doubtful.

  “That’s a secret as well.” A saucy smirk spread across her lips.

  Trey groaned, rolling his eyes at her before thrusting another forkful of spaghetti into his mouth.

  “How is school going, Ivy?”

  Ivy turned her attention back to Ethan. “Good.”

  He raised a brow at her, clearly wanting her to elaborate.

  “It’s challenging. Much harder than
I expected to be honest.”

  “But you’re doing well?” He stopped eating and focused all of his attention on her. She shifted uneasily in her seat. She’d already had this conversation with their parents, she had no desire to have it with Ethan too. She’d been so focused on creating the “new her” that her studies had fallen to the wayside.

  “I’ve had a lot on my plate. Going away to college is so much different than high school. With so much going on at campus, sometimes it gets hard to focus.”

  “But you graduated with high honours, Ivy. You’re fucking smart and study hard, you’re on a scholarship for shit’s sake, you should be breezing through.”

  Ivy stabbed at the spaghetti with her fork and twirled the pasta on her plate, her face flushing slightly. “I still study hard, but maybe not as much as I should.”

  “Why?”

  Ivy frowned, anger bubbling to the surface. “Jesus Ethan, you sound like Mom. Lay off. So I like having a social life for a change. Maybe it’s nice to actually get to go out on dates and have guys interested in me.”

  “So it’s a guy. You’re going to let some asshole screw up your future?” His eyes were burrowing into her. If she didn’t know better she’d have thought she saw a flash of jealousy in his blue eyes.

  “God, Ethan, you’re like a dog with a bone!” She cringed as she heard her voice rising with each word. This wasn’t at all going the way she wanted it to go. “I’m just supposed to remain a virgin the rest of my life? Maybe instead of going to college I should have joined a convent and not bothered working my ass off to lose all the weight I did.”

  “I expect you to respect yourself more than to go ‘girls gone wild’ at some university and throw your future away.” Their gazes locked, neither one willing to break. Ivy gritted her teeth; how dare he!

  Trey clearing his throat uneasily pulled Ivy’s gaze from Ethan’s and she looked back down at her plate, thankful for the diversion. “I think maybe you’re overreacting a bit, man. Ivy’s always had her shit together; I doubt she’s throwing her future away. Just chill.”

  Looking over at Trey, Ivy shot him a smile of gratitude. She never expected Trey to swoop in and rally for her. “Thank you Trey. I’m just getting my footing.” She shot a look at Ethan. “That’s all.”

  Reaching over to her, Trey placed a hand on her leg, just below the hem of her dress, and gave her leg a little squeeze. Catching her lower lip between her teeth she tried to ignore the heat that formed under his hand and crept up her leg to ignite the need within her. There was no mistaking it now, there was definite chemistry with Trey.

  ~*~*~*~*~

  Ethan

  Ethan gritted his teeth as he looked over at Ivy and then Trey as they shared a look. He knew the look Trey was giving her, knew it all too well, and it was pissing him off. Trey had no right to look at her like that. He’d never had an interest in Ivy before. Her future was important, dammit. Maybe Trey didn’t give a shit, but she wasn’t his stepsister.

  Stabbing at the chicken he thrust a piece into his mouth and chewed fiercely, not really tasting the food, but attempting to pull his thoughts from the idea of Trey and Ivy together. The idea of the two of them naked, together, limbs entwined, Ivy moaning his Trey’s name flashed into his mind. It was driving him near insanity.

  The thing was that it wasn’t so much the fact that he didn’t want Trey with Ivy, but it was the fact that he was the one Ivy was supposed to want. But instead, she was arguing with him and giving Trey the sweet sexy smile that was supposed to be for him. Him dammit!

  Grabbing his half-empty beer he downed the remainder. Let it go man, let it go. You had your shot.… He couldn’t.

  “So instead of studying so you can be a doctor, like you’ve dreamed of being, you’re wasting it… For what, to get laid by some frat boy?” Pushing his chair back, he stood and made his way to the refrigerator and grabbed another beer. When he spun back around he was face to face with Trey.

  “What the hell is wrong with you man?” Trey whispered. “You’ve been worked up this past year because Ivy took off without a word to you and now that she’s back you’re being a fucking dick. Give her a damned break.”

  Taking a deep breath in, Ethan slowly exhaled as he twisted off the top of the fresh bottle of beer. “You don’t get it Trey and I don’t feel like explaining it. She’s not your responsibility.”

  “And she’s not yours either. What I get is she cooked us dinner and asked us to hang out with her for the first time in over a year and you’re going to chase her off. What the hell man?”

  “You don’t get it,” Ethan repeated. He looked over Trey’s shoulder to see Ivy, who was picking at the barely touched food on her plate, and another surge of guilt rushed over him. Trey was right, he was being a dick. She was here and he was finally going to have an opportunity to explain why he’d rejected her and he was close to blowing that chance – for what? His ego? Because she may be interested in someone other than him? “It’s complicated.”

  “Well, you have a choice, stop being an ass or I’m taking her out of here for the night. It’s not cool, man.”

  “Fine.” Ethan attempted to move past Trey, to be stopped. Their gazes locked. “I said, it’s fine.” Giving Trey a shove out of the way, Ethan stepped past him, walked across the kitchen and took his seat to the right of Ivy. “Ivy, I’m sorry.”

  She looked up from her plate and stared at him a moment. Brushing a lock of long auburn hair from her face she nodded and lowered her gaze back to her plate. “No big deal.”

  ~*~*~*~

  Ivy

  “So are you seeing anyone now, Ivy?” Trey asked.

  Ivy’s head whipped around to gaze back at Trey, a smile returning to her lips, grateful for the distraction. Taking a deep breath in she slowly released it, building her courage. “Not right now. I’ve been dating but no one has really caught my attention for very long. So what about you two, you said you’ve been having a bit of a dry spell?” She looked from one face to the other.

  Trey shrugged. “It seems like this city is much smaller than it was when we were in high school. There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of quality dating material left.”

  Maybe ’cause you two went through so many in high school, she mused, but merely smiled. “Now that seems awfully hard to believe. You guys had your choice of girls before I left.”

  “Maybe we’re not the guys we used to be,” Ethan cut in.

  Looking back at Ethan, Ivy’s eyes narrowed at him. “What do you mean by that?”

  “We’re not in high school anymore, Ivy. We had our fun times, but I’m sure I speak for Trey as well as myself when I say we now realize there’s things more important than just looks and popularity and all those silly things that meant so much when we were teenagers.”

  “Those things seemed rather important to you a year and a half ago, Ethan.”

  Ethan sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “People change, Ivy.” He motioned toward her. “It’s evident that you changed, so why can’t we?”

  Their eyes locked, but neither one spoke. She had a million thoughts racing through her head, second-guessing her plot.

  “Well, that was a wonderful supper, Ivy.” The sound of Trey’s chair being pushed back broke into her thoughts and she pulled her gaze from Ethan’s to look up at Trey. “How about we go on into the living room and maybe throw on a movie or something? A comedy perhaps.” Trey’s eyes cut over to Ethan’s. “I think this conversation is over.” He cocked a brow up at his friend. “Don’t you?”

  Chapter 3

  Ivy

  “Beer anyone?” Ivy placed the beer on the coffee table in front of Ethan and Trey. This was their fourth while she nursed her first wine cooler. Just how she’d planned it. The awkwardness of the confrontation at the dinner table had seemed to die off as the night wore on and for that she was grateful. She needed them to be at just the right state that they’d be in a carefree mood and up for just about anyt
hing, but not so drunk they’d be useless. They were almost there. The idea wasn’t to go for the gold tonight, but plant the idea in their heads, let them simmer on it overnight – maybe for a few days.

  “Yeah, I’m about due for another, babes,” Trey said. He guzzled down the remainder of the beer in the bottle, placed it on the coffee table with the other empty bottles and accepted the fresh one from her. Ivy turned from Trey to offer to hand one to Ethan and yelped as his hand landed on her bottom with a playful smack. The slap left a sting in its wake.

  “Trey!” Turning back to him, Ivy gave his shoulder a swat. “Keep that up and I’ll have to cut you off.”

  “Oh, you don’t want to be doing that Ivy.” Placing his beer on the side table, Trey grabbed her hips and pulled her back and into his lap.

  Ivy squealed as she fell back onto him and wiggled on his lap as she attempted to settle herself on him. As she wiggled, she felt his shaft thickening beneath the layers of clothing and the ridge of his cock pressing against her bottom. Her body froze for a brief moment, surprised by his body’s immediate reaction to her, despite that being the intent from the beginning. He’d certainly been sending her signals, but it was still a little startling. She’d dated some at college, but was still getting used to men’s reactions to the new her.

  She was about to spring from his lap, but one look up and into Ethan’s jealous eyes reaffirmed her need to see this through. She was getting to him, making him feel how she’d felt the day he’d turned her away. Instead of squirming away, Ivy sank back into Trey’s embrace. As she leaned closer a whiff of his cologne drifted to her nose, a woodsy scent with citrus undertones; it was enticing, inviting her closer. It felt both awkward and incredibly good being in Trey’s arms.

  Redirecting her attention from Ethan to Trey, she grazed her lips along the side of his neck, pretending to inhale his scent. “Mmmm. I love your cologne.” His body tensed under her, his hands tightening their grip on her hips and he groaned softly, although not loud enough for Ethan to hear.