Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother Chapter 122

“What the fuck?”

I bolt upright, heart leaping into my throat. Tyler’s voice. Loud and confused and standing just a few feet away.

I blink rapidly, wiping sleep from my eyes. His figure is backlit by the faint grey morning light trickling through the frosted cabin window. His messy hair sticks out at all angles, pajama pants twisted around his hips.

He’s staring directly at me.

Or—more accurately—at me curled in Asher’s bed. Asher sitting up now, legs draped over the edge, one hand still resting on my shin.

“What are you doing there?” Tyler asks, voice thick with sleep and confusion.

My brain short-circuits. I open my mouth to speak, to explain, to say anything that sounds normal—but Asher beats me to it.

“You pushed her off the bed.”

Tyler blinks. “What?”

Asher stands, towering suddenly. Calm, but absolutely not in the mood. “In your sleep. She fell. Could’ve hit her head.”

I glance down, my fingers digging into the blanket. Tyler looks at me, back to Asher, and… laughs.

Actually laughs.

“Damn,” he says, dragging a hand down his face. “I’m so sorry, baby. I was out cold. Didn’t feel a thing.”

I stare at him. “You’re not… mad?”

“Mad?” He yawns. “Nah. Honestly, I probably slept better with the whole bed to myself.”

And that’s… what he cares about.

The space.

The comfort.

Not me falling, not my head, not the fact that I was curled up in another man’s bed when he woke up.

I glance down again, some part of me trying not to feel too much. Asher shifts beside me, then lifts my legs gently off of him and heads to the washroom without a word.

Tyler drops back onto the bed and groans. “Still cold in here.”

I clear my throat. “But the cabin’s kind of nice, isn’t it?”

He shrugs. “It was okay. But I’m not made for rustic life.”

Of course not.

We get dressed slowly. I pull on a pair of black leggings, a ribbed cream sweater, and zip up my snow boots. I braid my hair to one side while brushing my teeth, watching Tyler struggle with his jacket zipper like it’s a personal insult.

Asher comes out in a black henley and jeans, his damp hair curling slightly at the ends. He doesn’t speak much as we gather our things, just slings his duffel over his shoulder and opens the cabin door.

Outside, the world is white and soft and bright. A thin sheet of snow clings to the trees and rooftops. It’s still early, but the light is strong enough to make me squint.

Tyler starts complaining almost instantly.

“Jesus, my toes are freezing.”

“You wore ankle socks,” I remind him.

“Yeah, well… who knew I’d be hiking through the North Pole just to sleep?”

“Dramatic,” I mutter.

“Also, did anyone else hear, like, scratching outside last night? Could’ve been raccoons. Or a bear. Or a ghost.”

I roll my eyes. “It was probably wind. Or a tree branch.”

He shivers exaggeratedly. “This place is like a horror movie setup. Honestly, I don’t know how we survived the night.”

Asher just walks silently ahead of us, long strides cutting a path through the thin snow. I catch his eye briefly. He gives me the smallest shake of his head, like, I can’t.

I bite my lip to hide my smile.

The lodge smells like heaven.

Warm cinnamon, sizzling bacon, and sweet maple syrup. My stomach growls instantly. Inside, the kitchen’s been transformed into a buffet-style breakfast spread. Pancakes stacked high. Bowls of scrambled eggs. Plates of toast, fruit, bacon, and sausage. And—thank god—coffee.

Tyler makes a beeline for it, muttering something about needing caffeine before facing humanity. I grab a plate and start assembling food. Asher stands next to me, quiet, then pours coffee into a mug and slides it across to me without a word.

“Thanks,” I murmur.

He nods.

Tyler returns, half-frozen and shivering like a wet dog. “Okay, I officially hate the forest.”

Someone from the group looks over. “What now?”

He flops into a chair. “Our cabin is haunted. And also cursed. It’s cold, the beds are like slabs of wood, and I swear I heard demon whispering in the trees.”

A few people laugh.

“Maybe the demon was trying to escape *you*,” someone calls back.

Another says, “Tyler’s just mad he didn’t get the cozy main house room.”

That’s when Rebecca pipes up from the kitchen island. “Oh, by the way, Drew left this morning—family stuff. So there’s an open bed in the lodge now if anyone wants it.”

“You’ll have to bunk with—” she starts, but Tyler’s already halfway across the room.

“I’ll take it!” he says brightly, beaming. “Dibs. Done.”

I blink.

He doesn’t even ask if I want to move too.

Doesn’t even look at me.

He’s already chatting with someone about where the room is.

And I’m… a little stunned.

But mostly?

Relieved.

He won’t complain all night now. Won’t shove me off the bed. Won’t sleep so close it makes me claustrophobic. I’ll have the cabin to myself.

Or maybe not just *myself*.

I look up—and meet Asher’s eyes across the room.

He saw the whole thing.

And I can tell by the look on his face… he understood exactly what I felt. Every flicker. Every shift. Every beat.

He just nods once.

And I let myself breathe.