I’m In Love With My Brother’s Best Friend?! – Episode 28
The game continued beneath the warm light of the living room. Clothes lay abandoned beside half-finished drinks, but the questions had become more revealing than the penalties.
Cole asked why Kaitlyn had fought so hard to enter Professor Calloway’s course. He expected ambition, though perhaps not the seriousness in her answer.
She had come to college to learn, not merely to attend parties or escape Brent. Professor Calloway was the best in the department, and one final internship position could shape Kaitlyn’s future.
Cole called the goal admirable. The praise mattered because it recognized the part of her unrelated to beauty, innocence, or his desire. She wanted him to see her ambition as clearly as he saw her body.
Kaitlyn took her next turn with a question disguised as an assumption. Cole cared more about Ryan than he cared about her. The words silenced the playful mood.
Cole said she was wrong. Kaitlyn reached automatically for the penalty, but he stopped her. The answer required explanation before either of them could continue.
He cared about them differently. Ryan was his closest friend, yet the Sinclair family represented much more than friendship. They had once given him the only safe home he knew.
When Cole and Ryan were teenagers, Cole spent most of his time at their house. Kaitlyn had assumed he simply enjoyed being there. She never knew he had been escaping abuse.
Cole’s parents had hurt him and often failed to provide food. The Sinclair family was the reason he ate dinner most nights. They welcomed him without forcing him to explain every bruise or silence.
They attended his football games and cheered as though he belonged to them. Later, they helped him apply to law school and believe a different future was possible.
Kaitlyn listened in shock. Cole had appeared gifted enough to earn every opportunity alone—football programs wanted him, and law schools offered support. She had never seen the frightened boy beneath the success.
Cole said none of it would have happened without the Sinclairs. Losing Ryan therefore meant more than losing a friend. It meant losing the only family he possessed.
His fear finally made sense. Secrecy was not evidence that Kaitlyn embarrassed him. It was the defense of a home he had once desperately needed.
Kaitlyn moved closer, no longer interested in forcing a penalty. She wished he had trusted her with the truth earlier. Understanding could not solve the conflict, but it transformed anger into compassion.
Cole apologized for hiding behind Ryan instead of explaining. Vulnerability made him look younger, closer to the boy she remembered. Kaitlyn wanted to protect that boy without allowing him to control the woman she had become.
The rules demanded that someone continue. Cole told her it was her turn. His voice was steadier, but the confession remained exposed between them.
Kaitlyn studied him before making her next assumption. She could ask about Amber, football, or the future. Only one question mattered.
She said he had feelings for her. The statement sounded fragile despite its simplicity. Every kiss suggested yes; every retreat suggested no.
Cole held her gaze. For the first time, he did not search for a loophole involving Ryan, age, or professional rules. Kaitlyn waited without breathing.
His answer would decide whether the evening was merely another dangerous game. As Cole leaned closer, Kaitlyn realized he was finally prepared to speak the truth neither of them could take back.