Chapter 1
The rain was pouring down outside.
Emily's breath was steady against my neck, she was already fast asleep.
Early the next morning, Emily rushed out for a job interview.
That left me and Olivia in the room.
Olivia rolled over, her eyes red and swollen, staring straight at me.
"Ben," Olivia said, her voice hoarse and barely above a whisper, "do you think people are pathetic?
"Even though we know we shouldn't touch, shouldn't even think about it."
Her fingers slowly traced the spot where Emily had been lying.
"But we can't help ourselves."
The sound of rain outside never stopped.
The coconut scent was so strong in that moment, it was almost suffocating.
It started when I was about to graduate from college.
I was Ben Carter, twenty-two at the time. I was young, full of myself, and convinced I had life all figured out. Looking back now, I was plain clueless.
My girlfriend was Emily Carter, a design major. She was cute and honestly, a bit absent-minded.
And then there was her best friend, Olivia Sinclair. I still remember the first time I saw her. She was the kind of girl who could make every guy on the street do a double take, to get another look.
The funny thing was, she never seemed to realize it herself.
It was a Friday afternoon when Emily texted me: [Ben, my new place is all set up! Come over tonight, Olivia wants to hang out too!]
I replied with a quick "okay," but honestly, I was a little nervous. Emily had mentioned Olivia a million times, but I'd only ever seen her in photos.
In those pictures, she had long hair, bright eyes, and a figure Emily always raved about.
By the time I got there, it was already getting dark.
Emily's place was a cozy one-bedroom apartment in an old neighborhood, not big, but she'd made it feel really warm and inviting.
As soon as I opened the door, the smell of hot pot hit me.
"Hey, you made it." Emily bounced over and wrapped her arms around my neck, then lowered her voice. "Olivia's in the kitchen mixing up the dipping sauce. She seems kind of down today."
"What's going on with her?" I asked.
"I don't know either. I tried asking, but she won't talk about it," Emily said.
I slipped off my shoes and walked in, and there she was, Olivia.
She stood with her back to me at the kitchen table, her hair loosely tied up, exposing the pale nape of her neck.
She wore a plain white T-shirt and jeans. When she heard me come in, she turned around.
The photos didn't even come close to capturing how gorgeous she really was.
"Hey, you must be Ben, right?" she said with a smile that never quite reached her eyes. "Em's mentioned you like a million times."
Her voice was a little husky, but honestly, it was kind of sexy.
"Hey," I said, nodding, suddenly not sure what to do with my hands.