Spending the evening together at Brooks and Vivian’s isn’t exactly what I had in mind though.

If I weren’t related to these people, I wouldn’t be here. This evening only promises uncomfortable conversation, the yearning for a woman who refuses to take our friendship to another level, and the delivery of news that will turn someone’s world upside down. Damn it all to hell, Brooks better offer the good alcohol.

I usually enjoy coming to my brother’s house. Vivian is always planning family dinners and, most times, all of Vivian’s girlfriends and I are invited. My time there offers a little taste of family life without the commitment of it. I love my nieces and nephews, but I’m blissfully content with my uncle status. Seeing them isn’t what has me in a sour mood, though.

No, it’s their other dinner guest who has me nervous and not feeling quiet myself. Campbell is the cause.

I met her, this gorgeous, intriguing woman, last year when Vivian and Brooks got engaged. I have, of course, dated other women, just as I’m sure she has dated other men since, but I can’t help but want her—only her. We have become close friends, enjoying each other’s company frequently; however, that’s where it ends.

I want more and she has halted me in my tracks.

Unrequited love, it’s a bitch.

Here I am pining away for a woman who has forever friend-zoned me. How I got there, I don’t know, but I’d pay any price for a one-way ticket out. I’m pretty sure I’m forever cursed to love this woman.

The gravel of Brooks’ driveway cracks under my tires as I pull up to their house. Bikes and scooters, tee-ball stands, and basketballs litter the front grass; all signs of an approaching summer vacation.

I park next to Campbell’s car and throw the folder of information she needed into a backpack. I’m pissed, and I know she will be as well, at what that folder contains. I can’t help but think Jack is hiding more than just what I’ve uncovered; I don’t trust him. I just can’t figure out his angle, but without a doubt, he has more cards than what he’s showing.

As soon as the car is shut off and the air conditioning ceases, the heat of early summer attacks me. I showered at the gym, but if I don’t run to the house, the sweltering temperature will void any hygienic courtesy I may have intended. Ball sweat and ass rot is what initially comes to mind, neither of which will help me to win Campbell over.

With my backpack over my shoulder, I run to the door and knock as I enter the house.

“Hey guys! I’m here,” I shout over the noise of children I’m met with upon my entry. There is no such thing as quiet in this house. Another reason I’m happy being just Uncle Lakin.

“We’re in the kitchen,” Vivian announces. I follow the adult voices and laughter to the back part of the house, giving hugs and kisses to the kids with each step.

“What’s in the bag? Gifts for us?” Grace asks, pulling on my backpack.

“Not this time, baby girl,” I say continuing my stride. “It’s a present for Aunt Campbell.”

“Lakin has a girlfriend. Lakin has girlfriend,” Blake and Emma sing together.

I pin them with my eyes, willing them to hush as we enter the kitchen together. “Dude, you disappoint me,” I tell Blake. “Bros before hoes, my man.”

The kids giggle, but Vivian perks up at my choice of words, and now it’s my turn for the facial scolding. “Sorry, Viv,” I offer with my boyish charm and smile.

Brooks walks around the kitchen island and offers me a beer. “Looks like you could use this, little brother, especially now that you’ve come under the radar of the PG patrol,” he chuckles.

“Thank you,” I say, gripping the beer into my hand and taking a long pull. The chill from the honey-brown goodness cools me down, and I savor that first gulp of the liquid gold. “And you’re an ass,” I add once I take the beer from my lips.

“So what is this about a girlfriend?” Campbell asks as she enters the kitchen from an extended hallway.

I don’t even register the words she’s saying; I’m too transfixed on the beauty before me. Her dark hair is wrapped into these curled swirls pinned on top of her head, which looks like something out of a 1940s pinup calendar. Her barely-there summer dress, has my hands twitching with the need to touch the delicate skin that’s exposed. In the back of my mind, I’m silently wishing we move our dinner outside in the hopes a breeze might catch her skirt just right.

Fuck, I need to get my creeper status under control.

“It’s nothing. They were just wondering about the backpack. These are the shirts you had me order for you.”

She gives me a look of confusion as I place the bag in her hands. “You know,” I encourage with a nod and a sideways glance, “the shirts you ordered.”

“Oh, I totally forgot about those. Thank you,” she says, playing along.

I don’t know if she wants Brooks and Vivian to know about the contents, but I figure that isn’t my decision to make, no matter how great it would make the dinner conversation.

She accepts the bag and scurries off to put it next to her purse. I can’t help but watch her leave the room, admiring the view. When she’s out of sight, I turn my attention back to my drink and notice Brooks watching me closely.

“What?” I ask innocently.

“No,” he says adamantly. “I know what you’re thinking, and the answers is no.”

“And just what am I thinking, big brother?” I say defiantly as I take a seat on a bar stool at their kitchen island. I know how Brooks has had a soft spot for Campbell since college. They remained close even after he and Vivian broke up all those years ago. Brooks sees her as a sister, and treats her as such, no one is or will ever be good enough for her.

“You play dumb, Lakin. I know how you are, and she’s is off limits,” he says matter-of-factly before taking a drink of his beer.

“Who’s off limits?” Campbell asks, returning from the living room.

“You are,” Grace interrupts, dancing through the kitchen. “Daddy said that Uncle Lakin isn’t allowed to like you.”

Bam! Just like that, Grace drops a big-ass white elephant in the middle of the room, and prances out of the kitchen like the elephant isn’t smothering me to death.

Campbell looks to Brooks, who doesn’t seem the least bit fazed that his daughter just made my evening awkward and uncomfortable. Her brows pull together, but I can’t read whether she’s upset that Brooks has forbidden a relationship with me or at the thought of actually having a relationship with me. Either way, it’s not looking good for me.

“I didn’t realize I had given you authority over my love life,” Campbell says. She has a smile on her face, but I get the feeling she is deflecting, not wanting to make a big issue out of his demand.

Fuck yeah, Cam. Tell him to go pound sand. If we want to date, fuck like bunnies, make a million babies, that’s our call, not his. I’m mentally cheering her on as Brooks silently contemplates the entire situation.

He finally places his beer on the counter and exhales loudly. “Cam, you know I love you and want the best for you. A romance between you and Lakin would go south quickly and could make a lot of relationships tense. For all involved, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

It’s like they are not even acknowledging I’m sitting here listening to them discuss how I’m a poor romantic choice. Awesome with a capital A.

I move my lips, preparing my voice to defend myself, when Cam speaks over me and anything I had to say instantly dissipates.

“Lakin and I are just friends, Brooks,” she explains. “We enjoy each other’s company and hang out a lot, but we are only friends.”

I sense a tinge of regret, maybe even sadness in her voice, but as soon as I think it’s there, it’s gone again. I silently beg for someone, something to save me, save the possibility of a relationship with Campbell, but no rescue arrives.