Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card (Jessie and Luke)

SAL, SUN, SAND LUKE

The water ran hot over my back, easing the tightness in my muscles as I rubbed my hand over my face, letting the steam envelop me. I barely registered the creak of the shower door before I felt her hands on me- Jess, her fingers warm as they roamed my skin, lingering in a way that sent a wave of calm through me before it turned hot.

She slid an arm around my waist, pressing against me, and I indulged in the velvety feel of her behind me. My hand found her wrist, holding it, feeling her pulse there, pumping fast.

I turned slowly, lifting my hands to her face, cradling it like something precious. My thumb brushed over the tender spot

just behind her ear, and her eyes fluttered closed, a small, contented sigh escaping her lips. The urge to kiss her swelled up in me, overwhelming and fierce. I leaned in, her warmth drawing me in like a lifeline. Then, something shifted. The warmth disappeared, the water turning frigid in an instant, biting into my skin like a thousand tiny knives.

"What the hell..." I whispered, my words swallowed by the icy water, the comfort of the moment vanishing into something darker. I took a step back, heart hammering, but Jess was still there in front of me, her expression no longer soft. She looked worried, reaching out for SAL, SUN, SAND

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Her face was different-strained, unfamiliar, almost unrecognizable. She opened her mouth, but the sound that came out wasn't hers. It was someone else's voice, distant and strange.

I tried to say her name, but a sharp, salty taste filled my mouth, burning my throat. My lungs felt like they were on fire, the water rising up inside me, thick and unrelenting. My hands flew to my neck as I stumbled backward, clawing for air. My vision blurred as I blinked throu droplets, but the water kept running out of my mouth as if my lungs were the fountain. "Luke!" Her voice reached me, distorted but desperate. "Luke! Wake up!"

It grew louder, sharper like someone was shouting from far away. I tried to focus, to breathe, to hold on, but Jess faded, her form dissolving like mist as I fought to reach her.

And then she was gone.

I woke with a jolt, my heart hammering as the echo of her voice hung in the silence. Bit by bit, reality slipped back in, pulling me away from her touch, her face, her warmth-none of it real.

I wasn't in the shower with Jess, not wrapped up in that brief, impossible peace. I was somewhere much colder and rougher, a harsh reality pressing against me with the unforgiving floor beneath my body.

Groaning, I lifted my head, feeling the ache in every muscle, the bitter, salty taste still clinging to my lips like seawater. That dream-no, that nightmare-

had been too real, Jess's face right there in front of me, her touch warm and steady, grounding me. I could still feel her heartbeat thudding against my wrist, the

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softness of her skin. It was everything I'd been missing, everything I'd been holding onto.

But it was all in my head, a hollow illusion, a desperate longing my mind had twisted up to keep me going. The sting in my throat, the rough, gritty texture of my skin under my touch-proof that Jess wasn't here, hadn't been here. "Luke!" A voice broke through, yanking me back to the present.

I forced my eyes open, blinking until the blur cleared, and there was Josh's face, his expression tight with tension, his lips pressed in a line. His eyes searched mine, worry etched deep, doing

his best to mask his own exhaustion. He looked just as worn out as I felt, the same unyielding frustration in his gaze.

"Hey, man, you with me?" His voice had a sharp edge, a note of worry he couldn't fully hide.

I swallowed, the taste of seawater refusing to fade, and forced myself to sit up, pushing through the fog clinging to my mind. "Yeah," I rasped, shaking off the remnants of that dream. "I'm here."

I blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the harsh light. "What the... Where the fuck are we, man?" I felt sand beneath my palms, and the sound of crashing waves slowly became clearer. I coughed a few more times, and Josh slapped my back, trying to help me clear my lu my lungs. Still, the salt had already burned the insides, and breathing suddenly did not feel all that necessary.

I looked up to see Josh's face become less hazy, and now, I could see the blood smeared across his forehead and staining