Uninhibited

I'll never know if I don't try

*
This got... interesting.

Briar takes my sister's hand, while her face reminds me of the dress she wore on her birthday, on that night. And despite what just happened, I find myself incapable of not smiling.

Whatever I thought I wanted, the way I planned on acting—which was stupid—isn't an option with her. I can't pretend. I really don't want to.

Truth is, before New York, I was in a slump, feeling like a fool for not seeing what was right in front of me. Then after New York, I wasn't in a slump anymore. And I know why.

Who was I kidding? She's not someone you forget.

I spot remorse in Briar's eyes as she unloads the junk she bought into my truck. I can't stop staring at her, watching as she takes off, glancing back every couple of steps. Teagan's likely dying to grab her phone and send a group text to the rest of my sisters with this breaking story.

Being the youngest—by a decent amount of years—my four sisters mom me to no end, always chiming in with advice. They've been encouraging me to put myself out there. Tara had set me up with her work friend, Amy, but it wasn't anything serious. Truth be told, every time she'd opened her mouth I wanted her to say something witty or silly, silently wishing she could be more like—

"Briar?" Teagan asks once the woman in question disappears into the store. "As in Briar Briar?" She doesn't dial down her colossal grin.

I inhale a deep breath and nod.

"Is Chaz is alright with—"

"Uncle Chaz is coming?" Molly asks, releasing her hold on my leg, giving me a second to replace the gas nozzle that clicked off when Briar bolted up from the side of my truck.

"No, baby. He'll be here for Christmas." She shushes my niece when she responds with a disappointed whine.

Every Christmas since college, he spends the holiday here in Georgia, treating each of my seven nieces like his own. He treats my entire family like his own. He calls my parents at least once a week.

"So?" Her eyebrows wiggle over her green eyes. Teagan and I are the only ones who inherited them from our mom. The rest got Dad's dark brown.

"She's just a... friend." I look at the ground.

Teagan doesn't buy it for a second. "Well then, what the shit—"

"Mama, language."

"Sorry, love." She directs Molly to wait in the car. "What in the sugar-honey-iced-tea was that?" That gets her another correction from the adorable five—today—year old, before the car door on the opposite side of the pump closes.

"I don't know. We're too different. We're both in messed up places, or—"

"Or full of shit! Oh, sweet baby Trey." She uses that motherly tone they all do. "Have you seen the way you two look at each other?"

"I can't see how I look at someone else." A smile twitches my lips. I'm not usually quick with the comebacks.

I can only imagine the goofy expression on my face, now that I'm not trying to deny that her mere existence doesn't make my heart—amongst other things—pound harder. When she'd first walked out of the airport, I had a complete Garth moment. With her hair fanned out, my heart was in my throat. I felt it. That stunned, scary, overwhelming feeling.

"Bring her." She rubs her palms together.

Around all of my family? "Not a chance."

"You like her?"

"Way too much," I admit.

"That's fantastic. She's so... so..."

"Amazing." I'm aware of how love-sick I sound, but it's true. Why didn't I call her? "She lives in Pennsylvania."

"She's here now, isn't she?"

"Yeah. But she wants casual." I think. "She's only here to help with some design ideas. It's not a big deal."

Her brow furrows. "Briar came here? From Pennsylvania?"

I nod.

"To see you."

My head's still at it with the up and down.

"And she seems nothing like that wet blanket." She's referring to Kyra.

"Definitely not." I turn to the store.

"Trey, driving or flying, or however she got here, is not a casual thing. I can tell you that from a woman's perspective. And she's gorgeous."

"Insanely."

"I wouldn't guess she'd need to travel a lot of miles for a booty call."

This isn't a conversation I wanna have with any of my siblings. Also, at the thought of her with someone else, I wince. I'd tried not to speculate about her dating anyone. Her response was the same as mine, not as if I can fault her, but it made my blood boil.

"I acted like a jerk."

A laugh escapes her. "She kinda did too. But I think she's pretty awesome, regardless."

"Same."

"Bring her."

"No chance in hell. She's already freaked out, and you guys would be all over that."

I stare at the front of the store, just under a mile from my parents' house. Cream painted bricks surround the tinted glass doors of the building she still hasn't come out of.

"Fine." Teagan smacks her lips. "But at least go in there and get her. Tell her you're sorry or say whatever you need to say, because I've never seen my little brother looking at a woman like that." She gives me a push and an encouraging nod.

"I'm not sure if she wants that. I don't know how to act."

"Just be yourself," Teagan says. "Give it a go. Maybe it'll be fun, and maybe it'll be more? You won't know if you don't even try."

She's right.

Her eyes search mine. "You're one of the sweetest men on the planet. If she doesn't want to be with you, that's her problem. But I've seen my share of looks and reactions."

I'm already headed towards the door. This is something I'd never have done in the past, or had the guts to attempt. I also wouldn't have hooked up with someone in a bathroom, twice. And forget considering going for a woman so far out of my league.

But if I let her walk, or stomp away, I'll regret it.

Teagan's right.

I'll never know if I don't try.

A/N: 💕💕