IT’S JUST A CRUSH….. OR IS IT??

Ruby

“If you wear the red satin top, then I have to change,” Violet declared, tossing a handful of potato chips into her mouth. She was leaning against the kitchen counter, her phone glowing with open shopping tabs. “Because if we both show up looking like stop signs, people are going to think we planned it.”

“I’m wearing the red top, Vee,” I sighed, scrolling through my own phone while slumped in a kitchen barstool. “I’ve had it planned for three weeks. You can wear the black mesh one.”

“The black one makes me look like a cool witch. Which I love, actually. Done.” Violet tapped her screen decisively.

I went to take another sip of my iced coffee, only to realize I’d already chugged the entire large cup. My stomach gave a warning rumble.

“Ugh, I’m about to burst,” I groaned, pressing a hand to my waist and sliding off the stool. “I need the bathroom.”

“Go ahead, use the one down the hall,” Violet waved a hand, not looking up from her screen.

I hurried down the quiet hallway toward the guest bathroom. I didn't bother knocking—

The room was thick with heavy, hot steam.

Before my brain could register the sound of running water, my eyes locked onto a figure standing in the shower stall. Broad, carved shoulders. Dark hair slicked back under the spray. Water cascaded down a deeply toned back, tracing muscles I had never, in all my years of coming over here, imagined existed on my best friend brother.

I froze mid-step, my breath hitching in my throat. I couldn't move. I couldn't look away.

Then he turned around under the spray.

My eyes dropped instantly, completely out of my control. The water ran down his chest, tracing defined abs, and pooled down his lower stomach. He was completely exposed—circumcised , noticeably thick, and hanging heavy at a semi-erect angle that made his impressive size impossible to ignore. It was a stark, overwhelming sight, far larger and more imposing than anything I’d ever seen before.

My hands flew to my mouth, sealing in a squeak of absolute terror and shock.

Caleb wiped the water from his eyes with the back of his forearm. He didn't cover himself. He didn't rush for a towel. He just stood there under the pounding water, his gaze dropping to meet mine with deadpan indifference.

“What happened to knocking?” he asked, his deep voice slicing straight through the sound of the shower.

“I—I—” My mouth worked, but no sound came out. My feet felt glued to the bathmat, my cheeks burning with a heat that threatened to consume me whole.

Caleb cocked one brow, taking in my paralyzed state without an ounce of panic.

“You want a picture to go?” he asked quietly.

“I’m sorry!” I squeaked out, finally finding my legs. I scrambled backward out of the doorway, grabbed the brass handle, and slammed the door shut between us.

Desperate to relieve myself and escape the hallway, I bolted upstairs into Violet’s bedroom to use her private ensuite instead. My hands shook as I locked her bathroom door behind me, splash-washing cold water onto my burning cheeks. Get a grip, Ruby. Just go back downstairs and pretend it never happened.

After finishing up, I unlocked Violet's door and hurried out into the upper hallway toward the stairs.

I rounded the corner too fast—and slammed straight into a solid wall of warm muscle.

I gasped, staggering back. Caleb was standing right outside his bedroom door. His dark hair was dripping wet, water droplets clinging to his broad chest, and a grey towel was wrapped dangerously low on his hips—slung so far down it aggressively emphasized the sharp V-line slicing into his lower stomach.

My eyes darted up to his face, wide with mortification.

Caleb looked down at me, taking in my sheer panic, and let out a low, amused chuckle. "In a hurry, Ruby?"

"S-sorry," I squeaked, ducking around him and practically sprinting down the stairs back to the kitchen.

Caleb

The drain in my ensuite shower was completely backed up this morning—some hair clump or pipe issue I hadn't felt like dealing with during my weekend trip back from campus. So, I grabbed a fresh towel, headed downstairs, and commandeered the guest bath.

I was just washing the soap off my face when the door clicked open.

I turned around, expecting to tell Violet to get the hell out, but the person standing in the doorway wasn't my sister.

It was Ruby.

She was standing there in a long, oversized shirt, dark leggings hugging her curves, and her hair piled into a messy bun that looked like it was held together by sheer luck. Her eyes were wide, practically glued straight to my lap. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth, her face turning a violent shade of red right in front of me.

She was staring like she’d never seen a fully grown man before—and given the high school kid she was dating, she probably hadn't. I knew what I was packing, and the stunned, wide-eyed terror on her face proved she was taking in every inch of it. I didn't bother hiding a thing. Let her look; it wasn't my fault she walked in.

“What happened to knocking?” I asked, keeping my voice flat.

I expected her to scream, throw her hands over her face, and bolt. Instead, she just stood there. Staring. Her eyes were practically wide enough to fall out of her head, her breath coming in shallow hitches as she rooted herself to the tile.

I leaned back slightly under the water spray, utterly unbothered, letting a cocky, amused smirk touch my lips as I enjoyed her sheer panic.

“You want a picture to go?”

That did it. The color drained from her face before rushing back twice as hard. She muttered a panicked, breathless apology, grabbed the door handle, and yanked it shut, slamming it so hard the glass in the shower door rattled.

I turned off the water, grabbed my towel, and loosely low-slung it around my waist before heading upstairs to get dressed in my room.

Just as I stepped into the upper hallway, Ruby came rushing out of Violet's bedroom like she was escaping a fire, colliding right into my chest.

She bounced back, her eyes dropping straight to the low dip of my towel before snapping up to my face in absolute horror. The sheer mortification in her eyes was priceless.

I couldn't help the low chuckle that escaped my throat as I looked down at her. "In a hurry, Ruby?"

She stammered out another frantic apology, ducked past me, and practically sprinted down the stairs.

I shook my head, walking into my bedroom with a smirk. Unbelievable.