My Brother's Best Friend

by Becky Andrews

  Devin took the chair next to mine. “If you ever want to talk to someone, you know I’m here.”

  I took a bite. “This is really good, Dev.”

  “Thanks. It wasn’t too hard to throw together. I’m glad you like it.”

  “We’re watching the show tonight, right?” I slurped up some of the noodles and Devin laughed.

  “Yeah. I’m always over here watching it. The only thing missing is Mitch and Megan.”

  “Speaking of which, you do realize if he pops the question this week I’ll have won the bet?”

  “I didn’t think about it too much but it does seem like the perfect time to pop the question. I guess I’ll have to hand the victory over to you.”

  “We’ll see. Now we just have to wait. They would call if it happened, wouldn’t they?”

  “Maybe they want to surprise everyone when they get home or wait to tell everyone together.”

  “Right, Em. I forgot about her briefly. Is it bad that I like that I’m here without anyone bothering me?”

  “You mean is it bad that you’re glad Em isn’t here?” Devin shook his head. “No. You haven’t had a break since you and Mitch started doing this on your own. You deserve the break. I just hope I’m not barging in on your rest.”

  I smiled. “At first I thought this would be difficult but I find it rather fun. I’m glad you’re here to bother me.”

  “It’s good to hear it from your lips,” he said as I finished what was left on my plate just in time for the show to come on.

  I stood up and put my plate away and held out my hand. “Come on, the show is about to start.”

  Devin grabbed my hand and followed me to the living room. “You sitting in your chair again?” I asked.

  “Always do, why, you want to join me?” he asked, sitting down on the oversized chair. He patted the place next to him, and I shrugged my shoulders like I didn’t care either way. I did though, I wanted to sit with him again. To have his arms wrapped around me. I grabbed the blanket and sat next to Devin, situating myself comfortably then throwing the blanket over the two of us.

  “Do you have the remote?” I asked. Devin held up the remote and turned on the TV set and switched it to ABC. “It’s starting.” I tapped him excitedly on his arm.

  He laughed and tightened his arms around me. We continued to watch the show and when it came time for the song I had seen be recorded, I looked over to Devin and smiled.

  “Sounds good,” I said as it broke for a commercial.

  “You did help create the sound. Well, help edit the sound, I guess. Terry heard and now thinks you should come work for the studio helping me.”

  “I can’t do what you do.” I smiled.

  “You can help me pick out the best sound though from the multiple tracks recorded.”

  “True. But then it just means we’ll be around each other more. I’m not sure you could handle more me.”

  “I could handle a lot more you,” he said and before I knew what he was doing he leaned down and kissed my lips. I responded by leaning into him. He applied a little more pressure and gently began to brush my lips with his. My hands went to his hair automatically and his to mine. And before I could stop myself, a moan escaped me.

  Devin’s intensity grew, and I responded with the same vigor, hoping I was doing things right. Devin pulled back and looked down at me intently. “Whatever Eric told you about your skills, he was utterly mistaken. And if you’re still afraid you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t be. You’re a natural,” Devin said then leaned back down and began the onslaught again.

  I lost all sense of thought momentarily as he began an exploration of my mouth and I of his. My hands ran up his chest and couldn’t help but feel the muscle underneath. I sighed, and he responded by kissing me harder. His lips traveled to my neck and my breath came in short pants. “We’ll miss the show,” I managed to say.

  “Forget the show. I’m supposed to be teaching you,” he murmured.

  I moaned in response as he began to suck and kiss a sensitive spot I didn’t even know existed between my neck and shoulder.

  His hands traveled from my hair down my shoulder to my stomach. I stiffened at his touch, but as his lips found mine again I slowly relaxed. His warm hand traveled up my stomach to the fabric of my bra and his hand lifted one side and firmly grasped my breast.

  I gasped and pulled away briefly.

  “Don’t be afraid. Let me show you what it really should feel like.”

  I closed my eyes at his firm touch and soon felt his lips back on mine. As his lips traveled to my neck again, I grasped his T-shirt. His hands continued their onslaught, and I couldn’t help but moan at the feeling.

  “Dev, what are you doing to me?” I gasped.

  He pulled away, and I opened my eyes to see him looking down at me. “Me? What are you doing to me?”

  I smiled briefly and shifted to straddle him on the chair. “I haven’t even done anything. You’re the one doing all the work,” I said, looking down at the hand still grasping my breast. “Now it’s my turn.”

  I leaned down and began to kiss him as my hands raked through his hair. His hands moved to my hips and gently he rubbed his thumbs on my skin.

  My lips moved to his neck as I began to follow what he had just done. As my hands traveled down his chest, I felt him tense. I smiled into my kisses. He had expert skills that could disarm and melt me.

  His hands traveled down to my backside and I pulled away. Devin’s eyes opened and he smiled at my shocked face. “I think your butt is very cute. I’ve wanted to do this for so long.”

  I figured he was just playing the role of my fake boyfriend so I played along, smiling. “Well, you are welcome to it anytime.”

  Devin chuckled then swatted my butt playfully. I jumped a little and shook my head. “Not allowed.”

  “You win.” Devin smiled and kissed my nose.

  I smiled down at him and decided what we were doing was dangerous. I could actually pretend like this was real. For the first time in a long while, the thought of being with Devin didn’t repulse me, rather the thought of being with him intrigued me, surprised me, even excited me.

  Devin saw the change in my face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, Dev. You’re just cute is all.” I smiled. “Now kiss me.”

  He obeyed and once more I was lost in a world where I wanted nothing more than his lips on mine. A world where I lost all conscious thought.

  His hands traveled up my blouse and unhooked my bra then went to the buttons on my blouse. All the while, he was finding sensitive spots on my neck and shoulder.

  He pushed the recliner back until it was nearly lying flat then shifted so I was underneath him. He pushed open my blouse and slowly kissed further down my neck to my chest. Before I realized what was happening, his lips found my breast and began sucking on my nipple. Oh god, it felt good.

  My hands ran through his hair as I moaned from pleasure as well as desire. I had never felt this way before. He was presenting me with all sorts of feelings I wasn’t sure even existed. My heart fluttered in strange ways and for once I was scared that the feelings I had once suppressed were rising back to the surface.

  Was I falling for Devin Malone once more?

  That’s when I freaked out.

  “Stop, Devin,” I said, trying to regain what little sense of consciousness I had. “Stop!” I yelled then pushed him back. I closed my shirt and looked up at his confused face. “I can’t do this.”

  “I’m sorry I pushed you. I didn’t mean to. I just got carried away. I’m sorry.” He shifted in the chair and stood up, raking his hand through his hair.

  “It’s nothing you did, Dev. I enjoyed it far more than you realize. That’s the problem. I mean if I let you continue, we both know where it would have led. I’m not ready tonight. I can’t help but remember that night and what happened. I’m just embarrassed I guess more than anything.” But in reality I was more scared that if I let it continue an
d we had done the dirty deed, I would be utterly incapable of keeping myself from falling in love with one of my closest friends. I needed to get my head straight and the thoughts in my brain clear. And that wasn’t going to happen with him kissing me in ways I hadn’t thought could lead to so much pleasure.

  Devin nodded his head. “You won’t have to be embarrassed. But you’re right, tonight is not that night. I better go upstairs. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  I watched as he climbed the stairs, wishing I hadn’t stopped him, wishing I had just let him ravish me.

  Later, when my mind cleared, I realized that what I really wanted was still Devin. My feelings for him were complicated, but one thing I did know: I needed to be with Devin, no matter how much time we had left—a day, another week—it didn’t matter. I just needed him.

  Chapter Nine

  The next morning, Devin was already downstairs again when I came into the kitchen. He handed me a filled coffee mug, and I couldn’t help but lean down and kiss his cheek. “Thanks, Dev,” I said, which is unusual because in the mornings I never say anything unless I’ve had my coffee.

  Devin looked up at me and smiled. “You’re welcome,” he told me, saying nothing about my brief peck on his cheek.

  I sat down next to him with a bowl of Cheerios and quietly ate and sipped my coffee, every so often peeking at Devin, who was looking at the newspaper.

  “If you want a better view, I can put the paper down,” Devin said, lowering the paper and catching me staring at him.

  “That would be nice, but you and I both have to go.” I smiled and took my bowl to the sink. I turned around and found Devin standing right behind me.

  “Before you head out the door, I think you forgot one thing,” he said then pulled me closer and kissed me. I was immediately caught, I wasn’t about to escape. “We both need to go,” Devin whispered as he moved down to kiss my neck.

  All I could do was make a noncommittal noise and enjoy the attention he was now paying to my left shoulder.

  “We have to stop,” he finally said, pulling away. “You make it so hard to leave, though.” He once more bent to claim my lips.

  I pushed away and laughed. “You’re going to make us late and as much as I would love to stay here, I am making an executive decision, let’s go.”

  Devin smiled and went to grab his plate and place it in the sink. “I’ll take care of this,” he said, pointing to the sink, “when I get back tonight.”

  I nodded and picked up my bag waiting by the entryway. “I’ll see you later.” I smiled and waved.

  “Bye, Chris.”

  I arrived to work in a more pleasant mood than I ever had in the past, all because of one Devin Malone.

  I thought about what that really meant. What I mean is, Dr. Stone had said some pretty striking stuff that got me thinking. What if everything I was feeling was because of Devin? What if I was happy because Devin caused it? My heart was starting to betray me, it swelled at even the smallest of touches and it wouldn’t be long before I was fully captivated by him. The only problem was that we weren’t actually in a real relationship. It was fake from the beginning, so why was I so invested in him?

  Before I could overanalyze anymore, I had several calls I had to transfer. This went on most of the morning until close to my lunch break, surprising for a Thursday morning. I had just called Shelly to relieve me for lunch when the doors to the front entrance opened and in walked Devin with a bouquet of flowers. This was the fourth day in a row, but he would always bring them at different times.

  “Hey,” he said with a smile.

  “Hi.” I couldn’t help my big grin.

  “I found these outside with your name on them. I figured I better bring them to you.”

  “Thank you, that’s very kind, only you weren’t supposed to see those.”

  “From your boyfriend?”

  I nodded.

  “He’s one lucky guy. Do you think he’d mind if I took you to lunch?”

  “He’s the jealous type, but I can keep a secret.”

  Devin smiled and set the flowers on my desk then pulled me toward him “Then you shouldn’t mention this either,” he said as he leaned in to kiss me. It was simple at first, but my arms wrapped around his neck and at the same time we had the desire for more. His lips began to massage my lips and explore my mouth as I did the same.

  “Wow, you two need to get a room,” Shelly said, clearing her throat.

  Devin and I sprung apart and looked sheepishly at Shelly.

  “Let me get my stuff and we can leave,” I said then bent down to grab my purse.

  “Take as much time as you need,” Shelly said with a grin on her face. I knew what she meant but I decided to ignore the comment and took Devin’s hand and led the way out of the building.

  “Sorry we got caught,” Devin said after we pulled out of the parking lot.

  “I don’t care. I’m glad she could see how happy I am.” I would have said ‘with you’ but I didn’t want Devin to truly know how I felt about him. We were supposed to be in a fake relationship, not a real one. When Devin didn’t respond, I asked, “So where are we going?”

  “To the Thai restaurant you like so much.”

  “I love that place,” I said

  “You love any restaurant,” he said with a smile.

  “This is true, but the Thai place is especially good. And I am craving some good pineapple fried rice.”

  We arrived at the restaurant, a very low key place—sit where ever you want, fraternize with the waiters—very friendly. We sat in one of the corner booths, not like they were especially busy at that time, but still, it’s always nice to have some privacy. Not that I thought we would be doing anything where privacy would be needed, nor did I even want to do something that would require privacy. Okay, maybe I did a little.

  “Can I get you anything to start?” the waiter asked.

  “Just water for me. Him as well,” I told him, knowing Devin only ordered water at any restaurant.

  The waiter nodded and walked away.

  “Do you know what you want?”

  Devin looked down at me—did I forget to mention we sat next to each other—and smiled. “What I want isn’t on this menu.”

  I blushed, knowing exactly what he was implying. Before I could respond, the waiter came back with the water. “Are you ready to order?”

  “Curry chicken for me and for this one pineapple fried rice,” Devin said, pointing to me.

  The waiter nodded and smiled. “You must really know one another if you are ordering for each other. That’s good—a couple with the obvious attraction and mutual care I see—according to my culture's folklore it means your love can stand the test of time.”

  I grinned, trying to hold back the laughter until the waiter left.

  Devin turned to me. “Did you hear? We’ll be the ones that stands the test of time.” He chuckled and that’s when I lost it. I covered my mouth to try and contain the laughter but it wasn’t working.

  “I love your laugh.” Devin smiled.

  I sobered. “You’ve always made fun of my laugh.”

  “Yes, but that was because I liked to tease you. You were so easy to rile up.”

  I shook my head. “What else have you teased me about and secretly liked?”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever teased you for it, but I think your button nose is cute.” He tapped it gently with his index finger.

  I smiled. “What else?”

  “I always have liked your smile. And now I like these lips,” he said, touching them. He lowered his head and kissed me and I responded.

  Before we went any further, Devin pulled away right as the waiter walked up.

  The waiter smiled broadly as he set our food down. “Do you need anything else?”

  “Not now. We’ll let you know if we do need something.” Devin smiled tightly and we watched as the waiter walked away. “Sometimes they are just a little too friendly.”

  “Seriously.
We’ll just have to get used to it. I’m not giving up one of my favorite restaurants because the waiters get too personal.”

  “Well, they do have good food. I can’t argue with that,” he said as I took my fork and stole some of his chicken. “You aren’t even going to ask anymore?”

  “We’re dating. It’s a given that I’m allowed to share your food.”

  Devin raised his eyebrows then proceeded to do the same with my fried rice.

  “If you’re going to pilfer some of the rice, you at least have to get the right proportion of veggies and rice and pineapple.” I loaded up my fork with the perfect bite and then lifted it toward Devin. “Here.”

  And pretty soon we found ourselves feeding one another our own food and the other’s food.

  “Here is the bill.” The waiter had picked up on our desire for privacy and only came when our drinks were empty and after our plates were finished.

  Devin pulled out his wallet and handed him his credit card. “You ready to go back to work?”

  “No,” I said honestly. “I’m having fun. I don’t want to go back to transferring phone calls or doing other menial tasks.” I just wanted to linger with Devin. A notion that scared me as well as excited me.

  “We can have fun after we get home from work,” Devin suggested.

  My heart started to pound as images of tangled bodies rolling around in bed caught my attention.

  “How about we play a game of Life ?”

  My heart plummeted, and I know it showed on my face.

  “You wanted to do something a little more fun?” he asked teasingly.

  “Well, more fun than Life.”

  “You used to love to play Life. It was your favorite.”

  “I still like it, but okay, we play one game and then I get to pick something.”

  “Deal,” Devin smirked. “You ready?”

  “Yeah,” I sighed. The waiter handed Devin his card back and we got up to leave.

  “Maybe we should have asked him what days he works,” Devin chuckled.

  Devin drove back to my office. “Finishing at five like usual?”

  “Yeah. No special projects requiring me to stay late. What about you?”