The Sextet - Entanglements [The Sextet Anthology, Volume 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) by Cheryl Brooks, Mellanie Szereto, Bethany Michaels, Elizabeth Raines, Niki Hayes, Morgan Annie Page B

kidding about having a crush on her—and she was just as pretty at thirty-one as she’d been as a high school senior, maybe even more so. Softly curling red hair, green eyes, freckles, a terrific smile, and a body that a lot of girls would envy—and men should have coveted. No, she shouldn’t be getting dumped. She should have found some nice guy by now. One who would love her as much as she deserved.
    A sharp pang of jealousy struck him as he washed the dirt from his hands. Jealousy? He hadn’t seen Trish in months, but the feeling came back so easily—the same feeling he had when he watched her getting into Jeremy Kramer’s car to go to the prom. The sight of her in that emerald-green dress took his breath away. He’d felt so many emotions at that moment—anger, jealousy, envy—emotions he knew he had no business feeling. But he was a kid back then. He wasn’t a kid anymore, and she wasn’t dating Jeremy.
    He was about to back out when she handed him a towel. Maybe this way was better. Show the offensive appendage to a girl right up front. If she stared at it with the same horror she would display for a rattlesnake, there was no point in investing any emotional currency in the relationship. Yeah. Just like that. Whip out your hairy dick and show it to her. He wouldn’t have to worry about it then because he’d probably wind up in jail.
    He followed her into her bedroom. Trish’s bedroom…Never thought I’d ever get the chance to be in here. If only he’d been invited to her bed for a different reason. Glancing around while she rummaged through her closet, about all his nervous brain could register was that the room was done in greens and blues.
    She emerged from the closet carrying an assortment of belts and straps. “I found three. We can use yours, too. You won’t be needing it for a while.”
    Without thinking, Aidan unbuckled his belt and pulled it off. He trusted her. Must have been the babysitter angle, or the fact that she was older. Maybe it was because she was a nurse. Or maybe it’s because you still have a crush on her.
    No, not a crush. He’d been thinking about her ever since his mother had told him she was living in her parents’ house again. Maybe that was why he’d let Danielle walk out. Not that he could have stopped her—at least, not without making a scene. So much for “I love you, Aidan.” She’d actually said the words. Obviously she hadn’t meant a single one of them.
    Trish motioned for him to lie down on her bed. How many times had he dreamed of this moment? Too bad she was only there to perform minor surgery on him. Without a word, she looped her belt around his wrist and buckled it to the bedpost. A scream was already rising in his throat. Keeping quiet would be next to impossible. She gave him the same reassuring smile she would give to someone who was about to get an IV started. “This will hurt a little,” she would warn—the way any nurse would do. She seemed calm and professional—just a nurse performing yet another delicate but painful procedure on yet another patient. She obviously didn’t have any sexual feelings toward him, nothing that would interfere…
    He’d simply been the neighbor kid she babysat for once in a while, but she meant so much more to him than that. When his parents finally decided he was old enough to stay home alone, he’d felt like he’d passed a major milestone in his life—until he realized what it would mean. Aside from the fact that she was smart and had a knack for explaining things that most teachers couldn’t match, he simply enjoyed being with her. He was still carrying a torch for her when she went away to nursing school, but having given her no clues as to how he felt, she couldn’t possibly have known the truth. Sure, they saw each other on her breaks from school and had more recently kept in touch online, but it wasn’t the same, and it had never been as much as he wanted.
    His gaze swept over her as she tied his