All Chapters of Dear best friend's brother, kiss me while you can: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

♤♤JAKE’S POV♤♤Summer’s voice still echoed in my mind. Louder than anything else. Louder than the voices in my head telling me to let her go. How was I supposed to let her go?All of a sudden, Tristan’s laugh grated down my spine— too loud for the food court, too sharp for my head. I watched his mouth move, some joke about the blonde at the next table, but it didn’t stick. None of it did.A tray clattered behind me. A little kid squealed. Neon signs flickered overhead, throwing everything in that cheap, stale glow. I hated this mall. Hated the families. Hated the couples drifting past with sticky hands and soft smiles. Hated how every time I blinked I saw Summer instead.“…bro, you even listening?” Tristan snapped his fingers in front of my face.I blinked. The memory of Summer still didn’t fade.“What?”He rolled his eyes, kicked his boot against mine under the table. Beside him, Marcus and Kian stifled their smirks over sodas and half-cold fries. The blonde glanced our way again, th

♤♤JAKE'S POV♤♤I blinked at Kat. The mirror behind her was cracked. Or maybe that was just my vision splitting. My throat felt raw when I forced the word out.“What did you just say?”Kat tilted her head, hair stuck to her neck with sweat. She looked more sober than I expected—her pupils wide but steady, her mouth still curled up in a beaming smile.She brushed her thumb across my jaw. Her voice soft, “I said what’s your address, Jake? Or do I have to drag it out of you myself?”My stomach turned, slow and sour. I tried to replay it in my head—what she’d actually said, what I thought I’d heard. It didn’t match up. Nothing matched up lately.“You didn’t—” I swallowed. The restroom stank. My reflection looked back at me like it knew I was going crazy. Really crazy. “You didn’t say anything else? I just… Did you say Summer’s name?”Kat’s smile froze. She blinked once—slow, puzzled—then her brows pinched. “Summer? Who’s Summer?”My pulse slammed into my ears. The club bass was gone—this w

☆☆SUMMER’S POV☆☆I woke up pressed so tight into Hayden’s chest I could hear his heartbeat arguing with mine about who got to be louder. If I tilted my head just right, I could feel him breathe against my hair—soft, deep, that half-awake hush that makes you want to pretend you’re asleep forever.Which was exactly what I was doing.Pretending.Except Hayden Dylan ruins pretending. He’s the type who finds you halfway to a dream and drags you back to reality with his maddening beautiful grin and a thumb brushing your bottom lip. His fingers traced lazy circles on my hip.“Hey, nugget” he murmured, voice wrecked from sleep. “You awake?”“No.” I said it into his skin.He laughed. I felt it echo in my bones. He always does that—makes even my lies sound like confessions. I cracked an eye open. “You’re staring again,” I mumbled.His thumb paused. “You weren’t supposed to notice.”“I always notice.” I tucked my chin against his chest, glaring up at him. “Stop it.”He dipped his head, pressed

☆☆SUMMER'S POV☆☆After we’d half-flooded the bathroom, we made breakfast. I said we. What I meant was: Hayden cooked. I sat on the counter in one of his shirts, legs swinging, reading to him while he cooked.He flipped pancakes like a man trying to prove he could keep me here forever with batter and bad jokes. I let him try. He kissed me every time he flipped one. The drive to campus was quiet. His hand rested on my thigh the whole time—not tender, not possessive. Just there. Like an anchor. He didn’t park at the curb like normal people would. He pulled up right in front of the dorm entrance.I unbuckled my belt slow, waiting for him to say something that would make me stay. He didn’t. He just watched me, eyes dark under the stray beams of sun slicing through the windshield.He helped me lug my life into an ugly brick building that smelled like perfumed air and paint. Students dragged boxes down narrow halls. Laughter bounced off the walls. He carried my suitcase and the heavy box of

☆☆SUMMER'S POV☆☆I didn’t take the phone. Not yet. I just stared at it. Unsure if I wanted to touch it. Afraid it might burn my skin.“Are you mad I answered?” Celeste asked, voice floating through my ears like smoke.I shook my head slowly. “No. Not at all.”I reached for the phone. Good thing it didn’t burn. I was okay. However, my fingers trembled.“Thanks,” I said.Celeste’s smile widened—sharp and sugarcoated.“You’re welcome,” she whispered. “I’ll be outside.”She left without waiting for a response. The door shut behind her. And I lifted the phone to my ear. My voice cracked. “…Jake?”“Hey, Summer.”Something was wrong. I could tell just by the tone of his voice.“Jake, are you good?”He stuttered. “Yeah. I’m fine.”“You don’t sound fine. Where are you?”“I’m being hospitalized.”My heart jumped to my throat.“What? What do you mean hospitalized? Jake, where are you at the moment? What happened?”“Don’t worry too much about me. I just had too many drinks and had one hell of a