If you haven’t figured it out as yet, I’m a realist and a pragmatist, while also being a dreamer. Don’t ask how that works. I don’t really know. My best friend, Sally, says that I’m an enigma. I tend to agree with her. I don’t even understand myself sometimes. But enough about me, let’s get back to TJ. Like I said before, he’s hot. Like really, really hot. Tall-dark-and-handsome hot. Or, as Sally would say, take-off-your-pants-and-fuck-me-tonight hot. Of course, I wouldn’t say that—well, not out loud I wouldn’t. Though, I’ve had many dreams where I’ve said that and more to TJ. “Take me now, TJ,” being the phrase most often uttered in my dreams. And he always rises to the occasion. If you know what I mean. And it’s not just about his looks, or the fact that he’s rich. I’m not one of those types of girls. I like TJ because he’s a good guy. He helps feed homeless people at Thanksgiving and he’s a Big Brother to this kid who is pretty bratty. And I know he’s not a psychopath, or at least I hope he’s not. I’ve known him since I was a baby, so I would hope I would have seen the signs.
You may be wondering, if I like TJ so much, why don’t I just go after him? Well, for one, he’s my brother Cody’s best friend and has been for 20 years. So he’s known me since I was a little kid with snot in my nose and I guess that makes him think of me as his little sister. But I sure don’t think of him as an older brother. And I’m determined for him to notice me as more than a little girl. There’s just one problem, though. There are parts of him that I don’t really like. I mean, I think he’s hot and sexy and I have dreams about him, but in real life, sometimes he’s an arrogant asshole who thinks he’s God’s gift to women, thanks to the many hot women who throw themselves at him daily. So, yeah. I have a bit of a moral dilemma on my hands. Should I go for it, knowing he’s an asshole, or should I leave it alone, because he’s an asshole? And to make it perfectly clear, TJ doesn’t care who knows that he’s a player. That’s one of the reasons why Cody told him that if he ever laid a hand on me, he’d find his two front teeth knocked out on the floor. That didn’t exactly help my cause when I was younger and openly flirting with TJ.
So now I’m at a crossroads and I’m not really sure what to do. Why is it so important for me to decide now, you ask? Well, he’s going to be spending the weekend with me and Cody and the parents at our lake house. It’s a tradition in my family to go to the lake house every fall, right before winter hits. And TJ always comes because, as I said before, he’s practically a part of the family. I know, I know—I shouldn’t be fantasizing about my brother’s best friend like this. I grew up with him, he’s an asshole who teased me mercilessly, and I know he’s a player, but all I can say is he’s hot and I can’t help that my body catches fire when I see him. He’s all that I can think of every night before I fall asleep and so I’ve decided to see if I can take our relationship to the next level. I mean, we did share a special kiss when I was 16. It was hot. But it freaked him out. He was 22, and to him, kissing me was akin to being a pedo. However, I’m no longer 16 and I wanted him to know that in every way possible. That’s why I’m planning on trying to seduce him this weekend. It will be hard with so many people around, but I’ve come up with a plan.
“That’s our bestseller.” The sales lady beamed at me as I fingered the sexy underwear. “It’s called the Lacy Suspender set. It’s guaranteed to get your man all hot and bothered.”
“I can see that.” I grinned back at her as I played with the soft, flimsy material. “It’s very hot and sexy.” And it really was. The only worry in my mind was what my parents would think if they saw me cavorting around in this get-up. It was a bit risky to attempt to wear sexy underwear on a family trip, but what option did I have? It wasn’t as if TJ and I hung out on the regular. I didn’t really see him unless there was a family event he was invited to, and Cody didn’t invite me to hang out with him much outside of that.
“Yes, it is.” She winked. “But then again, all of our stuff at Agent Provocateur is sexy.”
“That’s true.” I nodded as I looked back down at the barely-there bra and panties with matching suspenders. “How much?”
“Only one hundred and ninety, ma’am.” She continued smiling at me as my stomach dropped. $190? For almost non-existent underwear? I bit my lower lip as I stood there. That would almost deplete my bank account and I knew I couldn’t use my parents’ credit card. Not here at a lingerie store. Especially because I was only supposed to use it for emergencies, now that I was an adult and out of college. I knew that they wouldn’t think that seducing TJ was an emergency. “Will that be cash or credit?” The sales lady’s voice was sharp and I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was worried she’d just wasted the last twenty minutes with a customer who might not be able to pay.
“I’ll use my debit card,” I said and grabbed my wallet from my bag, my heart beating rapidly. Bye bye, $200, but hello to TJ in my bed.
***
“Sally, my parents are going to kill me. Nonno is going to kill me. This might be the last time you talk to me. I think they’re going to send me back to Italy.”
“First off, why would this be the last time I talk to you? They do have phones in Italy. And secondly, how can they send you back to Italy? You’re not from there. And lastly, your nonno is not going to kill you. You’re his favorite granddaughter.”
“Yeah, I’m his favorite, but when he figures out what I did, he’s going to have a heart attack,” I muttered as I stared at myself in the mirror. “He’s going to wish he was back in Napoli.”
“He never lived in Napoli,” Sally said matter-of-factly and I groaned loudly.