I Love My Brother's Best Friend — Chapter 12

“Ah, ha, ha, ha!” Aaron burst out laughing. He accidently rolled onto my carpeted bedroom floor, but that still didn’t stop him. I shot him a glare that he didn't acknowledge or just didn't see. Either way I was mad.

“It’s not funny,” I said through gritted teeth.

He dried his eyes not metaphorically, he was really crying, “Yes, it is. You and Chase hooking up. That’s pretty damn hilarious.” He burst out laughing again and then finally once he sobered up he realized I’d left out how that led to Jake and I kissing, and he asked about it.

Aaron really didn’t care about the guys I dated or hooked up with in Chase’s case. It was only Jake that he had a problem with because he broke my heart. Aaron got to see how miserable I was. Jake was never going to get back on his good side no matter what he said or did. Though if some one took my best friend's virginity and then left I probably wouldn't be a huge fan either. However my best friend is a guy and that seems a little different.

I guess I figured Aaron could take care of himself. He probably wouldn‘t have minded a humo-and-dump anyway. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice, loving guy, but he's still a guy.

But Aaron and Adam protect me for different reasons. They both love me, but it's just different. Adam doesn't think I can be indepent about guys. He still thinks of me as his innocent baby sister. Aaron though just can't stand it when I get hurt. He's like the medicine that relieves the pain while Adam is the padding in the helmet to make sure you don't get hurt in the first. They're a tough gang to get through.

“Well,” I fidgeted with my long sleeves. I pulled them over my hands until they were half way up my middle finger. Then I proceeded to straighten them up. It was a habit that I’d gotten into doing whenever I was stressed or nervous. I liked to have something else to focus on.

“Spit it out,” he probed from my bedroom floor with an encouraging frown. Note the sarcasm.

“When I asked him why he kept kissing me he said he was just messing with me. So I kinda decided to mess with him.”

“Whoa, Skye, one summer without Adam and you’re a whole new person,” he grinned proudly. I laughed slightly at his unjustified pride in me.

“I don’t think it was Adam who did this to me,” I sighed, “I think it was Jake.”

He nodded in agreement, “So what are you going to do?”

“What can I do?” I exclaimed, “It’s like sexual warfare!”

“Shush,” he made a rapid motion to quiet down with his hand, but he was still laughing, “Do you want Adam to hear his conversation?”

“Almost,” I groaned, “He’d kick their asses and they’d leave me alone.”

“And him and Chase won’t be friends anymore,” he half sang.

For some reason that felt like a stab in the gut. It felt like someone was twisting the knife just to torture me. I’d always wanted Adam and Chase to stop being friends so Chase would just go away, but the thought of that actually happening now killed me. Especially because it would be all my fault.

“Stop trying to make me feel guilty,” I snapped.

Aaron laughed yet again, “Sorry.”

"I'm glad you find my love life so amusing," I shot at him and got up from me bed with a grimace. I was angry and I was taking it out on the wrong person.

I sighed and laid down next to him on the floor. "Sorry," I whispered

We stayed silent for a long time just poking the other one occasionally to see if they were still alive. Given the chances of dying were pretty slim, but you never know. We’re usually never this quiet.

“What would you do?” I whispered.

“Dropped both of them and find a real man like me,” he winked. When my face didn’t become amused he sighed, “Okay, maybe not like me, but it was a serious suggestion.”

I nodded weakly, “Easier said than done. They won’t leave me alone.”

Aaron’s cell phone began to vibrate.

He pressed answer on this iPhone and started to talk. It was Jen. He turned his head to me and gnawed on his lip as if deciding to ditch me or not.

I nodded my head and made a little waving motion with my hand for him to leave and go see his girlfriend.

He smiled, kissed me on the nose, and ran out of my room, leaving my door open, but I was too lazy to go close it. I sighed and closed my eyes. It felt like I sat there forever before another body laid down next to me. I figured it was Adam or Aaron came back so I kept my eyes closed and slowly breathed.

“Adam,” I said prepare to asked him about Chase’s dating status.

“Try again,” I heard Chase say almost sadly.

“Oh,” I opened my eyes, “What are you doing here?”

“Adam went over to Damien’s,” he half shrugged keeping his shoulders against the carpet.

I nodded warily, “And you didn’t go with him?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” I moved my head so it would be facing him. He was blushing slightly. That was the second time I made him blush.

“About what?” I whispered and let my breath hit directly onto his neck since we were so close. Our shoulders were squashed together and our legs were bumping into each other. Admittedly, it kind of felt nice. It was like we were a cozy old couple who could just be silent together and be happy at the same time.

He let out an unsteady breath, “Us.”

“Us?” I asked surprised. I wasn’t aware there was an ‘us’. Or at least I assumed that there wasn’t when he said he was just messing with me.

“About the kissing thing,” he clarified with a cough that cleared my mind and derailed my train of thought.

“Look, Chase, I’m not dumb,” I scoffed and he turned his head to face me, “I knew what you meant. I’m not a little thirteen year old chasing after the hunky guy. I think I can-.”

He shut me up quickly by pressing his lips hard onto mine, but he pulled back fast.

“Okay,” I protested, “I’m not chasing after you. You totally-.”

He cut me off again with another hard, needy kiss. It was like his soft lips were silently begging me to shut up. That time when he pulled away I stayed silent and let him talk.

“I wasn’t just messing around I honestly wanted to kiss you. I want to keep kissing you. And I don’t want you to kiss anyone else,” the way he said the last part was somewhere in between a command and a pleaded. It made me feel tingly all over and butterflies crowded my stomach. It just made me want to kiss him even more.

“So what, you have feelings for me?” I asked unsure of what was happening.

He looked downaway from my eyes and nodded his head. He was so cute. That was the first thougght that popped into my mind. The strong need to kiss him subsided and all I wanted to do know was hug him.

“Okay,” I said plainly.

“Okay?” he asked looking up at me again and desperately searched my eyes for, what I was assuming, an answer.

“Okay,” I continued softly, “I have feelings for you too.”

He pulled me closer to him by the small of my back and kissed me. This time it was soft and grateful and happy. It was just as passionate yet less animal like. It made me smile against his mouth. His was too... he was too much Chase. He could drive me utterly crazy. Whether he did it sexually or mockingly was up to him and I hated that, but Chase was the one doing that. So it was okay.

He pulled away and smiled down at me, “So will you be my girlfriend?”