My Brother's Best Friend (15 page)

I followed him inside the house and almost gasped as we walked into the living room area, which also doubled as a dining room. A table sat in one corner of the room and the couches and television on the other side. It was spacious to say the least and didn’t look odd or out of place. But what really caught my attention were the candles he had lit, sitting all around in strategic areas.

“You really went to a lot of trouble.” I wondered how many girls he had brought home before me.

“Just come and sit. I have everything ready,” he told me and ushered me to the table. Everything was set. The food was all on the table, the meal I saw in a magazine that I showed him the other day.

“I can’t believe you remembered this.” I smiled.

“I remember a lot of things,” he said as he began to pour sparkling cider into my glass.

I laughed. “Sparkling cider?”

“You can’t handle your alcohol, besides, I want you fully aware tonight.”

I shook my head at his comment, but inwardly I was melting. “This is really sweet, but what’s the occasion?”

“It’s the birthday dinner I won’t be able to give you because Mitch is going to want to take you out.”

It was a statement of fact. Mitch always took Em and me out for our birthdays. “Thank you,” I said softly, looking up to meet his eyes.

“You’ll get your gift later, it hasn’t quite come yet,” Devin said, beginning to serve the food onto his plate.

“You don’t have to get me anything more, this is enough.” Though the truth was I did want something. I wanted his love. I wanted his heart.

It must have showed on my face because the next thing I knew, Devin was worried he’d done something wrong.

“Nothing’s wrong,” I tried to assure him. “It’s perfect.”
You’re perfect—it’s what I wanted to say.

“Is this about earlier, on the phone?” he asked.

I smiled, remembering the events that had taken place a few hours before. “No, that was absolutely amazing. Stop worrying. I’m fine, this dinner is fine. You have nothing to fear.” I stood up and walked over to Devin and leaned down, chastely kissing him on his lips. “Thank you, Dev, for everything.”
And when I say everything, I mean everything, for making me feel alive again, for making me feel whole, loved, and complete.
I kissed him again, only this time he pulled me onto his lap. “I thought we were supposed to be eating.”

“I am eating,” he said as he began to kiss my neck. “Why do you always smell so good?”

“It’s the body wash,” I breathed. “Devin—”

“I’ve missed these lips,” he said as he began to kiss them. My arms wrapped around him and my hands raked through his hair. I loved his hair. I loved his lips.
I loved him.

“What?” He pulled back and that’s when I realized I had said it aloud. “What did you say, Chris?”

I was shocked and in a moment of panic I made up whatever came to mind. “I—I said that I love these,” I said, kissing him with everything I felt, trying to give him an excuse to forget. And whatever he heard was forgotten, if he even heard what I had said. Dinner was forgotten as well, at least for a little while longer.

“We really should eat the food before it goes cold,” I struggled to say. I finally pulled back. “Did you hear me?”

Devin nodded his head. “You’re right. We have plenty of time for this later,” he smirked.

I shook my head as I stood up and went back to my original seat.

“I still can’t believe you made this, I showed you like last week, right?” I asked.

Devin hedged, “Yeah, something like that. I just have a good memory and I wanted to make you something special for your birthday.”

“Well, thank you again. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.” I smiled as I took a bite of the prime rib he had prepared.

“Is it good?” he asked, watching me the whole time.

I almost laughed. “Yes, it’s delicious. Maybe you want to try some?”

He nodded and together we began to eat. As we finished our plates, I wondered how things could get any better. “I have dessert, as well. I can’t take credit for making it though. I just bought your favorite and had the people show me how to plate it.” He smiled as he stood up, taking my plate. He walked into the kitchen and came back with two plates. “Godiva chocolate cheese cake.”

“That is my favorite.” I smiled. “They did teach you how to plate it. It looks very professional.”

“Thanks, I go above and beyond only for you, though.”

I only managed to eat half of it before I started to get full. “I’m saving this for later,” I said, pointing at the leftovers on my plate.

“I’ll make sure no one eats it,” he laughed.

“So what’s next on the agenda?” I asked, helping him take things back to the kitchen, which wasn’t small for an apartment.

“Do you really want to know?” he asked, pulling me away from the sink. He turned off the water I was using to rinse the plates.

“I really want to know, but if you just want to show me…” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“You are dangerous,” he whispered before claiming my lips. He set me on the granite countertop, and I wrapped my legs around him. My hands slid down his chest and began to unzip his jeans. “What are you doing, Chris?”

“I need you,” I moaned.

He was sucking on my neck, and I could barely finish what I had begun. His hands moved to my blouse and unbuttoned each button slowly.

“You’re teasing.”

I heard his confirmation and decided I’d do my own teasing, pulling him free from his boxers. His hands stopped momentarily. I stroked him and heard his sharp intake of breath and smiled to myself.

“Okay, you win. No more teasing,” he said as he finished unbuttoning my shirt. He pushed it down and tossed it on the floor. I used my legs to pull him forward and guided him inside of me. Immediately Devin grabbed my waist and pulled me closer so he could plunge deeper into me.

I gasped as we connected and moaned as he began to plunge in and out. “Dev,” I moaned with need. His hands unclasped my bra and pulled it off. “Dev, please, harder.”

It was all that needed to be said. He plunged deeper and I began to pant, gripping the counter’s edge. I finally felt myself begin to rise and moaned as I climaxed. Devin groaned and then slumped against me.

“I hadn’t planned that,” he said, looking up at me.

“Disappointed?” I asked.

“With you, I’m never disappointed.”

“Then carry me to the bedroom. I want to try out the bed.”

Devin groaned, “I don’t think I could ever tire of you, CJ.”

We spent the rest of the night loving each other. I was lost in my own world, where I could pretend Devin truly cared for me. It was enough to keep me going, if only to preserve memories I could have with me forever.

“What time should we get up? We need to get back to the house before everyone comes home,” Devin said as we polished off the last of the cheesecake in the kitchen as a late night snack.

“Mitch and Megan will probably be here early afternoon. I’m assuming Emily will wait until the last possible moment to come home.”

“Then let’s shoot for getting there by ten,” he proposed.

“Sounds ideal.” I smiled, placing my plate in the dishwasher.

Devin took my hand and led me back to the bedroom. We climbed in and he pulled me close to him. “Chris, so the others are coming back soon.”

I sighed. “I know. What does this mean for us?”

“I don’t know.”

“I don’t want this to end,” I told him honestly.

He kissed my forehead. “I feel the same way.”

“Then let’s just forge ahead into unknown waters. Though it’s probably best to still keep it a secret for now.”

“Okay, for now,” he said, pulling me closer to him. He turned off the lights. “Let’s get some rest now, we can talk more about it in the morning.”

We didn’t end up talking about it in the morning. Instead we got up and showered and while he was getting dressed I went on a hunt around the apartment for my clothes.

“Ready?” Devin asked, coming out of the bedroom. I had just finished buttoning my shirt.

“Yes.” I smiled. “I should have remembered a change of clothes.”

“We’ll have to remember that for next time,” he said, grabbing his wallet and keys.

I made a grab for my purse. “Next time?”

“After last night, there will definitely be a next time. Anyway, we wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret for long if we were at your house, the walls are too thin.”

“We’re really that loud?”

“I don’t want to be limited in the noise we make. Besides, I love the way you call out my name.”

I smiled and shook my head as we made our way downstairs and out the door of his apartment complex.

“Meet you over at the house?” I asked as he walked me to my car.

“Yes, I’ll pick something up for us on the way.” He leaned down to kiss me. “I’ll never get tired of that.”

I smiled as I watched him walk away. I climbed in my car and drove back to the house, thinking about Devin. He was perfect, the only problem was we weren’t really a couple. We were a couple in disguise. A couple that wasn’t really a couple. The more I thought about it, the more I realized we were more like friends with benefits. I gave him what he wanted, and he gave me only part of what I wanted. I wanted all of him, not just his body, I wanted his heart. I wanted his love.

I loved him, that wasn’t going to change. I only hoped the longer we stayed together, the more Devin would begin to really see me. See me as someone other than his best friend’s sister, more than his friend or a bit on the side. I hoped he would see me as someone he loved.

S
o after Devin arrived, I got a text from Mitch saying they were on their way. Devin went up to the guest room and began to pack his things and strip the bed. He took both his sheets and mine to the laundry while I was downstairs cleaning up the kitchen and living room. I straightened the blanket on the couch we had used when we watched TV Wednesday night.

It was about one o’clock when I heard their car pull up.

“Devin, they’re here!” I yelled upstairs. He had just finished putting clean sheets and blankets back on the bed. “You think they will know?” I asked as he came down the stairs.

“Only if you keep holding my hand like that.” He smiled.

I immediately pulled my hand away, not even realizing I had made a grab for it.

Devin chuckled and kissed my cheek quickly. “Don’t worry. I’m sure they will be too absorbed in their trip and themselves to even notice.”

I nodded my head, agreeing with him and went to open the door as Mitchell and Megan walked up. “Hey!” I said, smiling at their return. Although it had been nice to be on my own, I was glad to see them.

“Christy!” Megan smiled and set her bags down and hugged me. “We have some pretty surprising news.”

“Is Emily here yet?” Mitch asked.

I shook my head. “No, I figure she’ll probably come back later tonight. What’s the news?” I looked over to Devin and he shrugged his shoulders.

“Should we just tell her?” Megan asked. “She’s bound to figure it out.”

“Just tell me. I’m really curious now.”

Megan looked at Mitch, and he shrugged his shoulders like Devin had just done. Together they looked at me and Megan held up her left hand. The giant rock Mitch had bought for her rested on her finger. My mouth opened, and I said nothing.

“Are you okay with this?” Megan asked nervously.

I looked up at the two of them. “Of course. I’ve been waiting for this to happen for months now. When did you get engaged?”

“April first,” Megan said. “I asked him if he was joking because it was April Fool’s Day, but he wasn’t.”

I looked over to Devin and mouthed, “I won.”

He just smiled and nodded his head.

“But there’s more,” Mitchell said.

“More?” I asked.

Mitchell cleared his throat. “We’re…we’re actually married.”

My mouth dropped. “Shut up! You’re not married.”

“Yeah, we kind of are,” Mitch said. “I’m sorry to spring this on you, but we were just walking through the hotel and saw a sign for a wedding and thought it was the perfect time. We had waited so long.”

I looked to Megan, who was biting her lip. I smiled and stepped forward to hug her. “I wish I could have been there, but I’m happy for you. For you both,” I said, hugging Mitchell as well.

“Thanks, Chris, it means a lot to hear you say that,” Megan said, sounding relieved.

“I’ve always been supportive of you,” I said. I looked at Devin. “Have I ever given the impression that I didn’t want to see them together?”

“I’m staying out of this,” Devin said, holding up his hands.

“I was just afraid you would be mad that we went ahead and did it without letting you know. I know you’ve always been happy for us, that’s what made me worried. I didn’t want you to feel left out or anything,” Mitchell explained.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I truly am happy for you. If I eloped, I would hope you would be happy for me too,” I said. “So when are you moving in?” I asked Megan.

“We were hoping to get my stuff from the apartment right now. Could you help us?”

“Sorry, no can do. I have a doctor's appointment in a few minutes. But I’m sure Devin’s free,” I said, turning to look at him.