LITMIR.BIZ

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but she knocked again. Jake grabbed his boxers and pulled them on, then crossed the room and opened the door. But Caley wasn’t standing outside. Sam was.

      His brother peered inside. “Can I come in?”

      “Sure,” Jake said, stepping back to allow Sam to pass. “What’s up? It’s late.”

      Sam began to pace the width of the room, his shoulders tense, his expression grim. Then, he sat down on the edge of the bed and nervously twisted his fingers together. “I did like you told me. When I drove Emma back to the inn tonight, I told her it was time we were honest with each other. I said we needed to have sex before we got married.”

      “And she refused?”

      “No,” Sam said. “No, we had sex.” He shook his head. “And it was pretty bad.”

      Jake frowned. “Bad? Like how bad?”

      Sam flopped back and covered his face with his hands. “About as bad as it could get. She was so excited and so was I—at first. I wanted it to be romantic and special, but everything I did seemed so forced. And then, I—I couldn’t—you know.”

      “Get it up?”

      “More like, keep it up,” Sam said. He turned and looked at Jake. “You don’t think I need Viagra, do you?”

      Jake chuckled softly. “You haven’t had any problems before, have you?”

      “No! Never. But I was never marrying any of those other girls. What if this is the way it is with Emma? What if I can’t … perform?”

      “This happens occasionally. To every guy.”

      “Did it ever happen to you?”

      “Well, no. But I was never under the kind of pressure you are. When I encouraged you to have sex with her, I didn’t mean that you should do it just to get it done. It’s not like mowing the lawn or changing the oil in your car. There’s more to it than that.”

      “Like foreplay,” Sam said. “I know, I tried that, but she was in such a hurry. I started out thinking I’d have to convince her, but she was completely on board. I guess Caley told her it was important to be sexually compatible with your husband.” Sam paused. “I think Emma said crucial. That was the word. Or maybe it was critical. And that’s when I started to get really nervous.”

      “Yeah, I can see how that could happen,” Jake said.

      Still, he couldn’t really relate. With Caley, there was a need there that seemed to overwhelm all rational thought. When they were intimate, he didn’t worry about the mechanics, it just happened. It was raw, primal instinct that aroused him. And the fact that it always ended with incredible pleasure was nature at work.

      Jake sat down beside his brother and patted him on the back. “This doesn’t mean it will happen that way every time.”

      “What if it does? I wouldn’t want to marry me.”

      “It’s just a temporary thing,” Jake said. “Believe me. The next time, you’ll be fine.”

      “It’s not like I didn’t want to,” Sam said. “I mean, Emma is hot. She’s got this great body and the way she kisses me just gets me going. You know what that’s like, right?”

      Jake bit his bottom lip and forced a smile, his mind rewinding back to the afternoon he’d spent with Caley. “Yeah, I know what that’s like,” he muttered.

      “She and Caley are going out tomorrow night,” Sam said. “Girl’s night out. I know I don’t have to worry about that. If Caley is there, nothing is going to happen to Emma. But what if Emma starts looking around for a guy who can … do it?”

      “Maybe we should go out,” Jake suggested. “Take your mind off of your troubles. Just the best man and the groom, some male bonding.”

      “Yeah,” Sam said. “I’m twenty-one now. I can get into any bar.”

      “And I’ve got just the place.” Jake stood and grabbed his jeans from the floor. “Listen, you can hang out here tonight. There’s sheets and blankets for the sofa bed in the closet. I’m just going to run back up to the house and get us something to drink and then we can talk. We’ll get this all sorted out.”

      “Thanks,” Sam said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Maybe, someday, when you get married, I can return the favor.”

      Jake slipped into his shirt, then pulled on his socks and boots. “I’ll be back,” he said as he headed for the door. “Just relax.”

      He jogged down the stairs, then walked across the lawn toward his parents’ house. Jake pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Caley’s number. She didn’t answer, her voice message picking up at four rings.

      “Hey, there, it’s me. Listen, I’m not going to be able to make it tonight. Sam stopped by the boathouse after you left and he needs some company. Man problems. So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” He paused, holding back the next words he wanted to say. “Sleep tight,” Jake finished.

      The sentiment had almost come out without a second thought. Love you. That’s what he’d wanted to say, what he’d meant to say. But at the last moment, Jake had censored himself, wondering if it was too much too soon. The words didn’t always have to have such a serious meaning, did they? He did love Caley, but those feelings had changed and the words had now taken on a much deeper significance.

      Being with Caley again had brought back a piece of his life that had been missing. She made him believe it was possible to find a best friend and a lover in one person. And it wasn’t a stretch to add wife to that list.

      Jake shook his head. He’d never thought much about marriage. Maybe he always knew in some secret corner of his mind that there was only one woman for him. He stopped, then cursed softly. Was it supposed to be this easy? He’d always assumed that it would take forever to fall in love and even longer to figure out whether that love could survive marriage. But suddenly, it all seemed so simple.

      Jake’s phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket and squinted at the caller ID. He smiled when he recognized Caley’s number.

      “Hey,” he said. “Did you get my message?”

      “Yes. What’s going on? What are man problems?”

      “A couple days ago, I told Sam if he wanted to have sex before he and Emma were married, he should just tell Emma and they should do it. I guess it didn’t go so well.”

      “How did it not go well? Did Emma refuse?”

      “No. She jumped at the chance. She agreed and then they tried and Sam couldn’t perform.”

      “Oh,” Caley said. “That’s got to be a little scary. I mean, she was holding out, hoping it would be the most wonderful thing in the world and then …” She drew a deep breath. “Thank God this didn’t happen on their wedding night. Can you imagine what a disappointment that would have been?”

      “So I guess this plays into our plan,” Jake said. “They’re obviously both having doubts right about now.”

      A long silence came from the other end of the line and for a moment, Jake thought the call had been dropped. “So we should continue?” she finally asked.

      “I guess so,” Jake said. “What do we know about their relationship? Hell, we can’t even figure out what’s going on between us.”

      “Sex,” Caley said. “Lust. Curiosity.”

      “And that’s all?”

      “What else would there be?” she replied.

      He cursed the fact that they were discussing this over the phone instead of face-to-face. He couldn’t read her expression, couldn’t look into her eyes for the truth of her words. “You tell me.”

      “I

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