Not the Only One (Book 1 in the Four of Us Trilogy)

Seventy-Three - May 28, 2018

Rachel

"MILES!" I yelled from the shower.

"What?" he answered back, and I could tell he was inside his closet on the other side of the shower wall.

"Ooops, sorry, didn't realize you were right there. I need some more conditioner!" I said, shaking the bottle with over exaggerated strength.

"Hang on, I'll get it..."

A few seconds later, he opened the shower door and held out a bottle of the too-expensive product my stylist makes me use. "Aww, babe, you bought my special hair stuff?"

"Yeah," he said distractedly, his eyes traveling over my body.

I cocked my head to the side. "What?"

"What do you mean, 'what?'" he asked, pulling his shirt over his head.

I giggled. "You just got out of the shower, silly. We'll be late to the cookout at Luke's." Since his father had been in jail, Miles had started staying at his house again a few nights a week.

He slid out of his shorts and stepped into the shower. "They can wait," he murmured, closing the door behind him and pushing me gently against the wall.

***

An hour later, we were finally pulling up at Luke's house. Luckily, they had already started grilling without us, and we were able to slide onto the deck with no one really noticing.

Except Brooke.

"You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago," she whispered as she handed me a Diet Coke.

"Yeah, well... we got a little distracted," I said, my eyes instinctively cutting to Miles, who stood next to Luke and Adam.

She laughed. "What else is new?"

"So? At least we can admit we love each other," I shot back.

Brooke crossed her arms. "Maybe we don't, Rachel. You ever thought of that?" she asked, taking a swig of her Dr. Pepper.

I pursed my lips and put my hand on my hip. "Really? You expect me to buy that?"

"I've slept with guys without being in love with them... shit, I've never even been in love," she said, pulling me to the empty side of the deck where no one could hear us. "I don't even know if I know what love is, Rachel."

I smiled. "You know how you can't wait to tell Luke when something exciting happens? Or you want him to be proud of you when you do something cool? Or when you just want to see him after a shitty day because you know he'll make everything okay again? Or when you look at him and you feel like everything is right in the world, even when it's a fucking disaster?"

She nodded, and there were tears in her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Brookie. That's love," I said, wiping a tear from her cheek with my knuckle.

She closed her eyes and smiled. "It is, isn't it?" I nodded and she opened her eyes suddenly. "Rach... what if he doesn't love me back?"

I laughed out loud. "That may be the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say. And you once asked me if little people lived in the TV and performed the shows live."

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "I was six!"

"He loves you, Brooke. It's obvious."

She sighed deeply. "Well, okay, maybe he does. But seriously, Rachel; I hope you guys are using protection when you're getting it on every other hour."