Brothers & Best Friends

by Rose, Ashley

  "Imagine what a child of ours would come out with," he said lightly.

  Her stomach did a flip that wasn't baby-induced. She forced a light chuckle. "Well, it would definitely be voted 'Best Hair' in the school yearbook."

  He gently ran a hand through her hair again and smiled. "Yeah. Well...I'm gonna go make the food."

  "Okay," she said, watching him walk away.

  ***

  It was wonderful being around Jess again. They ended up mostly playing the day away, teasing each other just like they had for all those years when Jess would hang out at the house with John. Sometimes it had almost felt like she had two older brothers. But Jess didn't feel like a brother anymore.

  Around 11:15 that night, a young man with dirty blond hair and hazel eyes came barging in the door. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Janine with a pair of Jess' boxers hanging over her arm, getting ready to change for bed. He looked her over and then smirked.

  "Nice. Where's Jess?"

  She started to reply but Jess was coming up behind her, his eyes down, looking at the shirt in his hand. "All I have is my T-shirts, so..." He looked up and saw Todd. "Oh, hey."

  He smirked at Jess. "Hey. What are you doing out of bed? Looks like you have better things to do."

  Jess shot him a look. "Hey, have a little respect."

  "Sorry," Todd said mockingly.

  "This is Janine, my best friend's little sister."

  "Ooh," Todd said with a grimace. "That's never a good idea, man."

  Janine blushed as she took the shirt. "I'm going to...go change."

  "Okay. I'll talk some manners into my roommate."

  She smiled and headed for the little bathroom. When she came back, wearing Jess's boxers and T-shirt, Todd was behaving himself. He gave her a small smile and a nod before heading back out the door.

  "Where's he going?" Janine asked Jess.

  "Out for a drink. He'll be back sometime before dawn." He raised an eyebrow, looking her over and smiling. "Nice. Ready for bed?"

  "Yeah," she said with a smile.

  He nodded, turned off the light, and followed her into the bedroom. It was a small bedroom with a pile of clothes in the empty corner, a black crate with a couple shirts in it, and a mattress and box springs without a frame shoved up against the wall. There was a lamp and an alarm clock sitting on the floor next to the bed. The room was a bit on the small side, so she had to turn sideways to walk around the mattress.

  "Wow," she said.

  "Yeah. Sorry about the cramped space."

  "It's okay. This is New York, it's all about small spaces," she said with a smile. She climbed in the bed and looked up at him. "Oh, um, do you have a preference?"

  "What?"

  "Which side? Do you prefer one side of the bed over the other, or...?"

  "Oh. Uh, no, not really. Pick a side."

  "Okay." She smiled again and rolled over to the side against the wall, looking up at him.

  He just stood there for a second. "I hope I didn't offend you earlier," he finally said.

  She raised her eyebrows. "Why would you offend me?"

  "Well, before I recognized you...I mean I said I thought I'd brought you back here and I asked you to refresh my memory. I was a jerk. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."

  "Of course you didn't." She frowned. "Why would asking me to refresh your memory even be offensive?" She paused and her eyes widened. "Ooh, you meant... something different, didn't you?"

  He rubbed his forehead and looked down. "Yeah. I was being a jackass."

  "Oh. Well, I didn't actually understand that at first anyway," she said, blushing. "So no, I wasn't offended, and even if I had been...you're still you. You don't offend me." She shook her head.

  "Well, as long as I'm me," he said jokingly.

  She patted the bed and he climbed on it, staying as far away from her as he possibly could.

  Chapter Three

  Jess woke up the next morning with Janine cuddled up beside him, one arm draped over his chest, her face buried in the crook of his neck.

  He resisted the urge to groan as she shifted in her sleep and her hand brushed across his nipple. He glanced down and sure enough, he had to wake up with an erection when his best friend's little sister was in his bed. Wonderful. Just wonderful. He tried to move her a little so her hapless hand would fall off him but instead, she gave a little moan and curled closer to him, her warm lips touching his neck. Why had he offered to sleep in the same bed with her? He had never shared his bed with a woman for a whole night in his life. Why the sudden need for chivalry?

  Janine moved a little, trying to get comfortable. She put one of her legs over his, unknowingly letting it rest right next to his...problem. Jess muttered a curse under his breath and closed his eyes, willing her to move her leg off him. No luck. He reached down to move her leg himself, but once he'd touched it, he couldn't quite make himself let go. His hand, with a mind of its own, moved up her leg, pausing at her kneecap before moving up to her thigh. His hand stopped and he looked down at her peaceful face. Then he accidentally looked a little lower, at the rise and fall of her chest. She wasn't wearing a bra. His hand still on her thigh, he looked back at her face, his eyes wandering to her lips.

  Janine's eyes fluttered open and she gave him a sleepy smile. He moved his hand away from her thigh but the damn thing just moved to her hip. Janine smiled again. He couldn't take it. He leaned down and captured her lips with his. Janine wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her, kissing him back with all her inexperienced little heart. He wasn't sure how his hand snaked up her shirt, but it did, and he had a perfect-size breast in his hand. Janine moaned and writhed a little beneath him as he kissed her.

  Jess was vaguely aware of a stab of conscience. John's little sister, it warned. However, his conscience didn't seem to be quite as strong as his physical needs, and he leaned into her, letting her feel his arousal. She gasped and looked at him with wide eyes, but there was still a glaze over them. Then she smiled and said, "Did I do that?"

  Jess just smiled and nodded. "Yep," he said, his voice husky. John's little sister, his conscience shouted. Inexperienced girl, it continued. She was raped, it finally whispered. She came to you for help.

  With a groan, Jess rolled off her, covering his face with his hands and muttering a few foul curses. Fine time for a conscience to kick in.

  Imagine Jess's surprise when his good deed was rewarded by Janine rolling over and kissing her way down his chest to the boxers he was wearing. She gave them a tug. He raised a questioning eyebrow. Surely, the virginal little Janie wouldn't think to do that. But she did. She pulled the shorts down with just a little help from him lifting his hips and then she looked at him, biting her lip. He thought grudgingly that he should probably pull her back up and tell her she didn't have to, but just as he was about to speak she lowered her head and took him in her mouth. All rational thought was gone as he threw his head back and let her mouth work its magic.

  ***

  Janine woke up and sighed, looking at the ceiling. Not her ceiling. She frowned. Then the sleep fog cleared and she remembered she was at Jess's apartment in New York, sleeping in Jess's bed. She blushed happily at the thought. Then an image of Jess aroused formed in her head. She remembered his groans and sharp intakes of breath. She shook her head and looked over at the other side of the bed, but it was empty. Her eyes widened. Could she have really dreamed that? She looked around the bed, but there were no clues as to whether she had actually done it or just dreamed it.

  Slowly, Janine pulled herself out of bed.

  She made her way out to the living area and found Jess in the kitchen at the stove. He looked up and smiled. "Good morning," he said. "I was going to make some eggs. Want some?"

  "Yeah, I'd love some," she said.

  "Okay," he said with a nod.

  "Did you sleep well?" he asked.

  She nodded. "Apparently," she murmured.

  "Hm?" he questioned, turning his
gaze to her.

  She gave him a smile. "Yes. Your bed is very comfortable."

  He smiled and nodded.

  "What do you want to do today?" Jess called to her.

  "What were you planning to do?" she asked, trying to inject some enthusiasm into her tone.

  "Nothing, really. It's my day off. I was probably just going to sit around, maybe go to the park if the mood struck me."

  "That's fine with me," she said. Then she looked around, realizing something was missing. "Hey, where's Todd?"

  "Don't know," he replied. "He must not have come back home."

  "Does he do that a lot?"

  Jess smirked. "When he finds a willing woman, absolutely."

  Janine blushed. "Oh."

  Jess looked up from the pan of eggs and stole a peek at Janine, sitting with one leg curled under her at the table. She wasn't saying anything. She didn't act differently. She hadn't tried to kiss him or hug on him or any of those other silly little things women tried to do when they granted you sexual favors. Why wasn't she acting different?

  ***

  Later that evening, Jess and Janine were sitting on the couch watching James Dean in East of Eden.

  Janine giggled at one of her favorite parts. "It's so bad you can't stop watching it."

  He smiled over at her and put a piece of popcorn in her mouth. "It's kind of like watching the old Bond movies. They're so stupid they're almost good."

  She shook her head. "No way. The old Bond movies are so bad they make me want to fall in the floor laughing at almost every one of the love scenes. East of Eden is only bad for those of us who have read the book and know there's supposed to be more to it."

  Jess grinned and pulled her up against his side, wrapping an arm around her so that her head was resting on his shoulder.

  "Oh, oh, now she's going to be dramatic and throw herself dramatically away from him. I do love him, I do!" Janine gave a fake sob. "I love this movie. It should be a comedy. Oh, watch this—like everyone just climbs down a Ferris wheel."

  He just smiled at her. He was having more fun watching her than the movie.

  She grinned. "Next we have to watch The Notebook," she told him, looking over at him.

  "No," he whined, "I thought you liked me."

  "I do, but I want to see the Ferris wheel scene."

  "If I could get my hands on the DVD, would you promise only to make me watch the Ferris wheel scene and then we turn it off?"

  "Sure. I don't really love the movie, anyway."

  "Thank God. Almost every female alive seems to love The Notebook. It's nauseating."

  She nodded. "It's true. Most of my friends love it. I don't know," she said with a slight shrug. "I just really couldn't get into it. It was so...unhappy. Life sucks enough in reality. I don't need it to suck in movies."

  He raised his eyebrows. "Hey, when did you get as cynical as me?"

  She raised her eyebrows and looked pointedly at her stomach. "Since life starting sucking worse than usual."

  He looked down at her stomach, the mood turning solemn. "You don't have to keep it, you know. There are other options. Adoption, for one thing."

  She shook her head, sighing. "I thought about it. But don't you remember when I had to give my puppy away? I was miserable for a week, and I had only had him for a little over a day. Anyway, let's watch James Dean," she said.

  Jess had the strangest urge to hold her in his arms, give her a gentle kiss, and tell her everything would be okay. He had never in his life had such an urge, so he found it very odd. Still, he could not look at Janine and tell her that everything would be okay. Without thinking, he did pull her into his arms, placing a small kiss on top of her head and holding her. He didn't notice her wide eyes. He gave a little sigh and rested his chin on top of her head as he turned his attention back to the movie, though it wasn't very amusing anymore.

  ***

  That night when Janine crawled in bed, she smiled and patted the bed next to her again for Jess to get in. He gave her a little smile, pulled off his shirt, and climbed in.

  She blushed. "Should I be tipping you?"

  He chuckled, reaching over and tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. "No, it's on the house tonight."

  She smiled. "Is Todd staying in tonight?"

  "As far as I know," Jess said. "If he hasn't left yet he'll probably stay."

  She nodded. "Will he be here in the morning?"

  "Don't know."

  "You guys don't communicate very much, do you?"

  He smirked. "Janie, we're guys. The extent of our communication usually involves beer or women, not our plans for the day."

  "So you have a very solid relationship, then?" she replied sarcastically.

  "Oh, absolutely," he agreed.

  She smiled. Then Jess surprised her. He reached over and gently trailed his finger along her jawline, then leaned in and kissed her. It was a small kiss, just a gentle brushing of the lips, but it was magical all the same.

  "Night, Janie," he said softly.

  "Good night," she whispered breathlessly.

  He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes. She bit her lip, her eyes the size of silver dollars.

  The next morning Jess woke up first again. Janine was lying in his bed, wearing his T-shirt, her hair falling across his pillow. She looked so innocent, her eyes closed in a peaceful sleep. At the same time, she looked sexy. He looked at that pretty mouth of hers and remembered what it felt like closed around him, her tongue lightly flicking the tip.

  He shifted, getting uncomfortable. He must stop thinking about that.

  Janine's eyes opened with a slight intake of breath. She smiled sleepily and reached over, lightly caressing his face. That innocent touch made his arousal grow. He tried to move away from her a little so she wouldn't feel it. But she stopped him, pulling him closer and kissing him. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him on top of her. She broke the kiss, gave a little giggle, and lightly trailed her hand down his body, stopping at the top of his shorts and then reaching in the waistband and grasping him. His muscles tightened a little and he opened the eyes that had instinctively closed, looking at her. She smiled and said teasingly, "Does someone want to come out and play?"

  Her voice was still slightly husky from sleep, and her teasing smile sent fire shooting through his veins. She ran her hand down the length of him and he let out a growl.

  She grinned and placed both hands on his chest, turning him over so he was on his back. She kissed her way from his lips down his chest, flicking his nipples with her tongue, and then kissing down the rest of his abdomen, stopping only to pull his boxers off.

  "What are you doing?" he murmured, his voice sounding hoarse even to his own ears.

  She looked up at him, smiling innocently. "What do you want me to do?"

  He didn't even respond except for the eyebrow he raised.

  She grinned, leaning back down. "Would you like me to do this?" she asked quietly, pausing above him and blowing lightly on the head, then placing a kiss on it. She looked up and saw Jess's closed eyes, then smiled and said, "Maybe this?" She bent to take him in her mouth, using her tongue to caress him before she took a little more of him.

  "Janie," he said, tangling his hands in her hair.

  She smiled, licking the length of him from base to tip. She let her hand take over, wrapping her fingers around him. "Maybe you would prefer if I do this?" She played with him for a moment, exploring his length and then his balls. "Or maybe," she said finally, "you would rather I do this." She closed her fingers around him. "Or this," she said, massaging, "or this," she said again, leaning down to take the tip of him in her mouth.

  His fingers tightened in her hair and his breath came faster. "Janine," he groaned.

  "Do you like that?" she asked.

  He nodded jerkily and she smiled, lowering her head again.

  "Janine, I—you have to stop or I'm going to—" he cut himself off with a groan, throwing his hea
d back. "Janine."

  He knew he should protest, but before he could get the words out she was taking off her shorts and panties and gently lowering herself onto him.

  He gripped her hips as she sheathed him in her wet warmth. He only had to thrust once and then he spilled his seed inside her. He collapsed back on the bed, limp, and pulled her against his chest. She planted a soft kiss on his chest and then rested her head right over his heart.

  It took Jess a few minutes to float back to earth and gather his thoughts. When he did, he found himself appalled. He had taken his pleasure and given her nothing in return. He was a jackass. He ran a hand through his hair and then looked down, preparing to apologize.

  "Janie?"

  No answer.

  He moved a little so he could get a better look and saw that she was fast asleep, a pleasant look once again on her face.

  Jess gently rolled her over and placed a tender kiss on her lips. He got her panties and her shorts and carefully put them back on her, trying not to wake her. When he was done, he looked at her again, still in awe at the tenderness he was feeling toward her. He kissed her, then pulled her back into his arms and closed his eyes.

  ***

  Janine awoke and instantly remembered her latest dream. She could still feel Jess's lips on hers, still feel the smooth skin of the proof of his desire for her beneath her fingers. She could still see him with his eyes closed in pleasure, still feel the length of him sliding inside her. The mere thought of it made her heat up a little.

  Jess walked in, holding her phone. "It's your mom," he whispered.

  Well, that was a mood killer. Janine hoped he couldn't tell she was blushing as she thanked him and answered the phone. "Hi, Mom," she greeted.

  "Are you hungry?" Jess whispered.

  She nodded, rubbing her stomach.

  He smiled and patted her on the head before walking out.

  She smiled back, then reminded herself to listen to the phone as her mom's testy voice said, "What are you doing?"

  Having erotic dreams about Jess, she thought. "Nothing," she said instead.