I Love My Brother's Best Friend — Chapter 22

Recap:

I saw Adam's fist go straight at Chase's stomach and jumped in between the two. With an impossible force Adam's fist struck me directly into the stomach and I fell down immediately.

"Oh, gosh! Skye are you okay?" Adam kneeled down next to me.

I groaned and clutched my stomach. "What is wrong with the two of you?"

"We-" chace began, but I interrupted him.

"Just go away!" I screamed, "Both of you! Now!"

Chase's POV

How did this happen? I groaned. How did I end up sitting on the couch with an ice pack on my head next to my best friend after we beat each other up over his sister? I had to admit Skye was something. Not only did she put up with all the crappy things I'd done to herapparently not as well as I thoughtbut she took that punch like a man. She did fall, but Adam's punches were like compact cinderblocks coming at you. Particularly When he's mad. A lesson I wish I hadn't had to just learn.

"About me and Skye-," I began.

Adam interrupted me with a growl, "Shut up."

I turned my head towards Adam. I sighed, "Look dude, I'm sorry. It's just I really like your sister."

He turned his head to glare at me before accusing me, "You made her want to kill herself."

"You punched her!" I retorted defensively. He was about to reply when we heard the door swing open. I prayed it wasn't Mr. and Mrs. Barker.

It wasn't their parents. It was Jake.

I grimaced. I should've been more specific with my prayers. I almost couldn't handle the idea of Skye seeing him right after we had a light.

"Hey," he ignored our current appearence and asked, "Is Skye upstairs? I got a call from her saying to come over."

"Yeah," Adam sighed in pain and nodded his head to the stairs.

"Thanks," he grinned and walked upstairs.

My heart stung. Skye hated me and was in pain and he was going to get her. She was going to love him for saving her from me. Jealousy rushed through my veins as I thought about all the times he would get to kiss her and comfort her. And of course he'd get to sleep with her again. He'd get to see her naked and make her Oh god I thought I was going to be sick.

I scowled. Adam rolled his eyes at me, "What, now you have a problem with Jake?"

"I do not have a problem with Jake," I stated defensively.

He gave me a disbelieving look, "Yeah, okay."

"I don't!" I exclaimed.

"So that explains the 'I-want-to-rip-a-head-off-right-now' look," he said condesendingly.

"Maybe I want to rip your head off," I snapped stupidly. I was really sticking my foot in my mouth that night.

He raised an eyebrow at how ridiculous I was being. "You have a problem with Jake because of Skye?"

"I do not."

"Do too. Why though?"

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"He slept with Skye!" I screamed. Oh god! I scolded myself. Why couldn't I control my mouth tonight? Skye was officially going to hate me forever.

I leaned my head back against the couch.

"Skye's not a... you mean he's seen her... What?" Adam whispered.

"You're not going to kill him?" I asked slightly disappointed and slightly relieved.

"No," he Whispered again, "That was Skye's choice, I guess."

My jaw dropped and I felt furious, "So I get beaten up for liking your sister, but Jake gets a pat on the freaking back?"

"Maybe if you told me how you felt like he did you wouldn't have," he shrugged.

"He told you he liked her?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

Skye, Jake, and Aaron came walking down the stairs.

"I'm staying at Aaron's tonight," Skye announced to, I assumed, Adam.

He nodded, "I love you Skye."

"Love you too," she smiled.

So Jake got a pat on the back and Skye, Adam got an I love you, and I got a black eye.

Life stinks.

"Bye Skye," I smiled wearily. She ignored me and left with them.

"Nice try," Adam smiled.

"Shut up," I grinned. We were teasing each other again. At least we were back to normal.

****

"Hey, Aaron, can you give me and Jake a minute?" I asked my best friend.

"It's my house," he whinned.

"Thank you," I grinned.

"Fine," he sigh jokingly and left the room.

I couldn't believve I was actually going to have to say this to Jake. Not only that, but I couldn't believe I wanted to say it. How on Earth was I choosing Chase? He was horrible for me. He was jealous, posessive, difficult, complicatedall in all he pretty much drove me insane. So why you ask was I choosing him?

I was beginning to wonder that myself. Jake was good to me. He was caring, sweet, smart, and he never once made me want to die. But wasn't teenage love supposed to make you want to die sometimes? Teenage love was supposed to be perfect, amazing, beautiful, just plain awesome. I was supposed to have tears on my pillow and pain mixed with happiness. There must've been a reason I was constantly gravitating towards Chase.

Yet somehow when I was about to tell Jake this I was having second thoughts. Not about telling Jake it wasn't going to happen. I refused to string him along when I was still feeling this way about Chase. No, my second thoughts were about Chase. For some reason Aaron's words 'no one' rang in my ears.

I wasn't quite ready to rule out Chase, but I knew the right choice for me and Jake.

"I know," I swallowed and started my sentence over, "You told me you loved me-"

"Love, as in currently," Jake corrected.

I looked down at the floor. Then I looked to the bed he was sitting on, the ceilling, the posters on his walls, the window across the room from me showing a cluster on tree branches in the moonlite night which shone onto the light blue walls. In short, I looked eveywhere and anywhere, but him.

"Okay," I nodded, "You love me. So before I can tell you this I need you to know that I really love you too."

He smiled once he heard love and then seemed to remember I said that I had to tell him something else. He grimaced, "What do you have to say?"

"I can't, I mean we can't go out," I stammered, but tried to contain myself, "because I don't know have I feel about Chase and that would be so unfair to you."

He nodded slowly as if a little kid had just told him something twisted like shock and disbelief all in one.Then his nod turned into a more confirming one and he ended it with one hard, or at least not as soft as before, nod.

"So, um, I guess figure your feelings out about Chase and then we can move on from there," he suggested.

That was not the reaction I was expecting at all. I didn't want him to be upset, but I also didn't want him to think waiting it out was a good idea because I doubted the two of us would be in a relationship very soon. I needed, wanted in fact, for him to move on.

"Jake," I said sternly yet somehow sympatheticly, "you need to move on. I don't see us in a relationship soon."

"I know," he smirked, "I was talking about later."

If I hadn’t been on such a strong mission to get him to move on I probably would've laughed, but I didn't.

"I'm serious Jake!"

"It's fine," he assured me, "Give me one goodbye kiss and I'll move on."

"You will?" I asked skepically.

"I'll be out of your hair... romantically at least," he cracked smiled.

I nodded, "Okay, just one goodbye kiss."

I braced myself as he leaned in and cupped my face on both sides. His lips hit mine and made mine moved in sync with his. He then slowly moved his tongue into my mouth and I did the same.

I didn't think a goodbye kiss was like this. In all the movies the goodbye kiss usually consisted of a peck. Most of the time it seemed to be on the cheek. But in my goodbye kiss there was tongue, and lots of it. It was wrong to give Jake this kind of hope, but it was the purist of things.

He pulled back and my unconcious smile turned to a frown.

He clearied his throat, "Goodbye Skye."

"Bye Jake," I did a little, pathetic wave as I watched him walk out of Aaron's door.

After starring at the door for a minute or so I plopped down on Aaron's bed. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh.

"That good, huh?" Aaron asked.

"What?" I opened my eyes and turned my head toward him.

He motioned for me to move over and climbed onto the bed with me after I scrooched over.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I told Jake he needed to move on because I had to figure out my feelings for Chase. Then he gave me a goodbye kiss and left," I stated robotically.

"Any kiss could be amazing if you put enough work into it," he told me.

"Really?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, come here," he cupped my face.

I slapped his hand away. "What are you doing?" I exclaimed.

"What do you think I'm doing?" he asked, "We don't have romantic feelings for each other and I'm going to kiss you to prove any kiss can be a good kiss."

I hesistated before answering, "Okay."

He nodded and cupped my face again. Pulling me in towards him and our lips touched. Quicker then the speed of light we pulled away. It was horrifying to kiss your best friend.

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed.

"I can believe we just did that!" Aaron stood up off the bed and rubbed his tongue.

"Oh my god!" I repeated and leaped up also while wiping my mouth.

"Why did you let me do that?!"

I scoffed, "You're the one who decided to do it!"

"You're the girl! You're supposed to say no!" he accused.

"What are you talking about? You said it wouldn't matter because we're not romatically linked! "

"Well I was wrong!" he yelled and continued to wipe his mouth.

"No, I was wrong!" I repeated his tongue rubbing.

Then we got into some weird tongue rubbing competition. We stared each other down and kept wiping faster and faster. What was wrong with us? It must've been the shock from the kiss, I reasoned.

There was a light knock on the door and Ms. Patton, Aaron's mom, walked in. She looked between the two of us rubbing our tongues.

She shook her head, "What are you two doing?"

We dropped our hands and said at the same time, "Nothing!"