My Brother's Best Friend

by Becky Andrews

  “I’ll come back around the same time then. I can just bring some work home,” he said.

  I nodded, suddenly thrilled he would leave work early for me and happy he would be there when I got home. It was a different feeling, coming home to someone you liked. Whoa, I mean someone I like as a fake boyfriend.

  Anyway, what I mean is that it’s nice to come home to someone who appreciates you and isn’t your family.

  “Bye, CJ,” Devin said as I opened my door to exit.

  I don’t know why, but I leaned over and kissed him. I was truly happy with him. It no longer felt like we were faking our relationship. I really think in that moment I started to see Devin as someone I was truly with. I mean, I kissed him and would have done more if a car hadn’t driven by and honked a few times.

  I loved to kiss him and I loved for him to kiss me. He was sweet and kind and the opposite of what I had always thought he was.

  I wasn’t sure what was happening to me. All I knew was that the more time I spent with Devin, the more dangerous the situation became. I was standing precariously close to the edge, one wrong move and I could fall head-over-heels in love with him. And the fact that it didn’t bother me scared me even more. A part of me wanted it to happen.

  * * *

  When I came home, Devin was in the kitchen, already working on dinner.

  “Can I help?” I asked, after putting my things away. He was still in his button-down shirt he wore to work.

  “Sure, you want to make a salad? I’m about to pop this in the oven. It should be done in twenty minutes.” He opened the preheated oven and slipped what looked like a casserole into it.

  I went to the fridge and grabbed a bag of plain lettuce and poured it into a bowl then chopped up some cucumber and carrots before tossing in some croutons. “This look good to you?”

  Devin smiled. “Looks great. Now what should we do while we wait?”

  “You wanted to play Life. I could go get it and we can start,” I told him.

  He nodded his head as he began to clear the counters. I walked out to the living room and opened the game cabinet and pulled out Life.

  Devin walked up to the table as I began to open the box. “I don’t think I’ve played this in years.”

  “So what made you want to play it now?” I asked, pulling out the board. My green car was still lying on the bottom of the box with my ‘husband’ and four kids. That game I drew three boys and one girl.

  Devin’s voice penetrated my thoughts. “I was playing it at work online and I forgot how fun it could be.”

  We pulled out the buildings and placed them in the correct spot then each chose a car, green for me and blue for him.

  “You know the last time I played this was right after you and Mitchell were making fun of my journal. Mitch kept saying my husband was you and teasing me throughout the game. I stopped playing after that.”

  “So we had four kids?” He smiled as he watched me pull the people out of my car.

  I looked up and laughed. “Three boys and one girl.”

  “No twins?”

  “Nope.”

  “Good.”

  I laughed and realized playing with Devin wouldn’t be so bad. It might actually be fun. “Let’s spin to see who goes first.”

  Devin landed on ten, of course, while I landed on seven. “I think I’ll go to college first,” he said and spun the wheel. When it was my turn, I placed my car on the college path and realized how biased the board was. I mean, I hadn’t gone to college first nor did I go straight to work. No, I started both at the same time.

  “Something wrong?”

  “I just think this board is biased. I mean what if you don’t want to get married or buy a house? What if you have to work while you go to college? This board is like the ideal life path. There should be bad things on this board, like you lose your parents and fight to keep the house, or a spot for divorce or even premature death.”

  Devin looked at me like I was crazy and at that moment I did feel a little out of it. I mean this board presented the ideal life that anyone would want to have.

  “Sorry, I’ll spin the wheel.” I spun and passed all the tiles and landed at choosing a career. “Also when you spin the wheel, if you land on a high number you pass up all the good things. What if I wanted,” I looked down at the board, “to get a life tile for making new friends or make money by selling back my books.”

  “You spin too fast and you miss out on what Life has to offer. You spin too slow and Life passes you by,” he said as he himself spun a five. I was already way ahead of him as an accountant making $60,000.

  “Well, see I just got a part-time job. It has school and work at the same time,” Devin said as he picked up $5000 dollars for his job.

  “Except I make more than that.” I spun the wheel again.

  “Getting married already?” Devin asked. “I haven’t even gotten a job yet.”

  “Well, you better catch up.” I placed the blue man in the spot next to me in the car.

  “Is that me in your car?”

  I laughed. “Sure, why not? Dev, we just got married and look, we’re going on our honeymoon getaway.”

  “Where did we go?”

  “Hawaii, of course. You won the raffle at work, remember?”

  We continued playing until we both reached the end.

  “I won,” Devin announced after we counted our totals.

  “Well, technically I won too. I mean we’re married. What’s yours is mine. What’s mine is yours. Including that boat you ended up buying and the luxury cruise. Though if you ever paid $35,000 for a cruise I don’t think we’d be married anymore.”

  “Good to know,” Devin laughed. He stood up and took the casserole out of the oven. “You ready to eat?”

  I nodded and stood to help. We sat back down and Devin looked over at me. “What did you want to do now? I said you could choose.”

  “I kind of want to play again. I had fun and I want to see what Life has to offer me this time. Maybe a husband who’s more than just an athlete.”

  “I still won with that career.”

  “Only because my house flooded and I kept having to buy useless things like a lakeside cabin and pay for summer school for each of our four kids.”

  “Hey, our kids really needed that summer school. They would have been held back.”

  “Well, they didn’t get their smarts from me.” I smiled.

  Devin laughed. We spent the rest of the time eating and spinning the wheel, making fun of our pretend life and naming our children as we loaded them in our plastic cars.

  “I have too many kids to fit in my car,” I laughed as I landed on ‘adopt twins.’

  “There is no way we would adopt twins on top of the four we already have,” Devin said seriously.

  “But Christopher and Jenny just touched our hearts. How can we say no to two cute babies from a deprived background?”

  Devin sighed, “Fine, you win. We’ll take them.”

  I laughed at his lack of enthusiasm. “I’m glad you approve. Now I just need to write a best seller or find buried treasure to make some fast cash.”

  “Where are you going to find buried treasure?”

  “The backyard of my lakeside cabin I just had to buy.” I had landed on it twice in two games.

  “Maybe shoot for writing that best seller.” He smiled as he spun. “Or you could just live off my Nobel Prize money.”

  “How is it that you win all these things?” I asked, having to pay $5,000 to go to a Hollywood premiere.

  “Luck, I guess. It’s all a matter of the spin of the wheel,” he said as he moved his car ten spaces landing on Baby Boy! “I don’t think we can handle any more kids.”

  “Well, it’s completely your fault for being so charming and sexy. I can’t help but jump your bones.” I raised my eyebrows at him suggestively.

  “My fault? You’re the one who makes me crazy. Maybe it’s a mutual thing. Either way, we need to stop. Why aren’t yo
u on birth control?”

  I laughed. “I am. Maybe this last one was an accident. He was that .01 percent. We won’t tell him that though.”

  “Of course not. Well, it’s a miracle then. Any baby who is that .01 percent is meant to be. Maybe he’ll grow up to be the president who finds a solution to this economy or world hunger.”

  “Way to think big, Dev.” I moved my car. “Damn it, I’m on the lost spot and miss my next turn.”

  “Where did you get lost?” Devin asked.

  “I got lost in life, something bad happened, maybe we got in a fight, and now I’m lost. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Well, whatever I did, I’m sorry. I’ll come find you, I’ll bring you back.”

  “What if I’m really mad at you? I won’t want you to find me.”

  Devin leaned over, and I closed my eyes as he kissed my lips. My mind went blank and all I could think about was how much I wanted Devin. I wanted him to love my body like he had last night. I wanted him to kiss every inch of me and teach me what it really felt to be connected with someone, what it really felt to be loved.

  “I found you,” Devin whispered.

  “Because your kisses can always disarm me,” I told him.

  “Good to know. It’s your turn.”

  I spun the wheel and moved my car. “Yes! Birthday party.”

  “Well, that is conveniently coincidental, seeing as how you actually are having a birthday in a few days.”

  “No party, though. I’m surprised you even remembered it was my birthday. I don’t make a habit of announcing it.”

  “Yes, but you forget that I know a fair bit of knowledge about you.”

  I narrowed my eyes but didn’t comment. I only looked down at his move. “You’re really refurbishing the baby’s room for five thousand dollars?”

  Devin chuckled, “I guess I am. I figure our miracle baby deserves a new room with his own things.”

  “I suppose you are right, but still we would never spend five thousand dollars to refurbish our kid’s room.”

  “What if we had added an extension to the house? We do have like sixteen kids now. Five thousand dollars might just cover the additional room we’re building.”

  I sighed, “Fine, we don’t want to overcrowd the kids.”

  Devin chuckled and I laughed at our absurd conversation and imaginary world we had just created.

  We continued playing until we finally ended the game and counted up our money. Devin had won again. “ Life just treats you well,” I said sarcastically.

  “You’re my wife, so technically we are rich together.”

  I smiled and stood up to take our dishes to the sink while Devin began to clean up our game. “Did you bring your work home?” I asked as I put the dishes in the dishwasher.

  “Yeah. I think I’ll just go to my room to get it done. Do you have anything you have to get done?”

  I thought about my schoolwork assigned over break, I really only had to read one book. “I just have to read for my English class. It would be good to start it.”

  I closed the dishwasher and watched as Devin covered the casserole and put it in the fridge. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him as he moved about the kitchen. I wanted him to take me in his arms and kiss me until the sun came up. I wanted to feel his body on mine again and his mouth on my body. I was losing it fast and it was only a matter of time before I truly jumped his bones.

  “I’m going to head upstairs,” I told him as it became physically hard to be around him without wanting to touch him or kiss him.

  “Wait, I’ll come with you. Let me just turn the lights off,” he said.

  I walked to the stairs and waited for him. Slowly the lights went off, first the kitchen lights and then the light in the living room. It was dark except for the lights in the stairway and hallway upstairs.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Devin said. We ascended the stairs together, and I couldn’t help but sneak a peek at Devin. I tripped on the top step and immediately Devin reached out and steadied me.

  “Thanks. I was a little distracted,” I said, my mind muddled as he continued to hold onto me.

  “I should probably say goodnight,” he whispered.

  “Because you’ll be working in your room?” I breathed. His hands were still grasping me tightly, my face inches from his.

  “You distract me, CJ. It’s the only way I’ll get something done.” His eyes traveled to my lips and I couldn’t help but lick them.

  “You’re pretty distracting yourself,” I said as I looked down at his lips.

  “Goodnight then,” he said, making no move to let go.

  “A goodnight kiss?” I asked.

  He briefly nodded before his lips were crushing mine in a kiss full of need and passion.

  My mouth opened to his roaming tongue. My hands went to his chest and I grabbed the pale green button-down shirt he had on while his hands went to my back, one holding me close to him and the other moving downward toward my butt. His lips left my hungry mouth and roamed down to my neck. I let out a sound I hadn’t even known I could make. His hunger intensified and his hands now rested on my hips, slowly moving under my shirt.

  I wasn’t afraid this time. I was ready. I wanted more. No, I needed more. His hand moved to my bra and unlatched it from the back. His other hand went to my breast and began to knead it. I grabbed his shoulders to keep from falling to the floor my knees were so weak

  Devin sensed my weakness and brought his hands under my butt and picked me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and kissed his neck. His husky groan made the hair tingle on my neck and I couldn’t help but run my hands through it. Before I knew what was happening, my back was against the wall and Devin was lifting my shirt above me. I let him take it off me and throw it to the ground. My bra came off next and immediately his mouth went to my breast while his hands were under my butt, letting me rise and fall on his hips as he devoted his attention to my breasts. Loud moans left my throat and before I knew it, Devin’s mouth was back on mine, hungrily kissing me.

  He kept moving me up and down and I felt a bulge in his pants beginning to rub against me and realized what it was. Heat rose within me. My hands went to the buttons on his shirt as Devin began to slow my hips and kiss my neck again. I tried the buttons but as the heat intensified within me my hands couldn’t take it anymore and they ripped his shirt open, exposing his chest to my touch. He groaned as my hands explored his chest. His lips traveled back to my breast, and I tightened my legs around him. Before I knew it, he was walking away toward the bedroom. He set me on the bed and resumed his exploration on my breasts and stomach.

  His hands went to my jeans, and he unzipped them. He looked up at me but before he could ask I moved my hands to pull them off. He understood and helped me with them. Next came my lacey black underwear.

  He groaned as he slid them down and off my body. “God, you look amazing.”

  Before I could respond, his mouth went back down, only not to my stomach like I thought. No, this time he went further down, he went to my hot spot. I was wet from our foreplay, and his tongue was lapping it up. His tongue ran over me and a cry of desire and passion rang from my mouth. My hands reached down to his head to hold him there. God, I needed more. I moaned and ran my fingers through his hair as his tongue and mouth continued their assault. My hips began to buck, and his hands held me down. I could feel my body begin to rise. I called out his name and screamed as I came under his massaging tongue.

  As my body relaxed, Devin looked up and smiled. “You are so sexy right now.”

  “Really? I don’t even know what I’m doing. I just know that felt amazing.”

  Devin climbed up on the bed after shedding his jeans and boxers and came to lie beside me. “Wait until you experience this next part.” His mouth captured mine and again my body was on fire. My hands reached up and wrapped around his neck as he positioned himself above me. I knew what was about to happen, but I wasn’t anxious. I wanted nothing more than to feel
him inside me.

  Devin continued kissing me and as I waited, I realized he didn’t want to do something I wasn’t ready for. As he began to kiss my neck, I ran my hands down his back. “Devin, please, I’m ready. I want this. I want you.”

  It was enough to drive him over the edge, and he plunged into me. I gasped at the feeling and as he began to move in a rhythmic way, my body responded on its own accord, matching his movements, driving us both to the edge and over.

  When we were both finally spent, he pulled me closer to him and held me in a gentle and caring way.

  Maybe I really did want him to care for me. Could I possibly love Devin?

  I didn’t know what to say when he finally lifted himself on his elbow and brushed a strand of hair out of my face. “How do you feel?”

  I decided to be honest with that much at least. So I smiled genuinely and looked up at his face. His brow was slightly furrowed, and it made me smile wider. He was nervous, anxious even, to know what I was thinking. “It felt amazing,” I told him. “You were wonderful. I didn’t know that it could be so explosive.”

  Devin smiled and kissed my forehead chastely, then said the thing I wanted to hear least. “I’m glad I could give you such an experience.”

  I suddenly realized this had just been about teaching me something and for some reason my heart sank. He was vastly more experienced than me and for him this was probably just 'standard issue' with all the girls. It hurt so badly. I wanted him to really care about what just happened.

  My smile faded, and I suddenly became conscious of the fact I was still naked. I turned slightly and reached down to pull the sheet over me.

  “Is something wrong, Christy?” He could sense something was different.

  I just smiled, one that didn’t quite reach my eyes. “No, nothing is wrong. You gave me something that I won't forget, something that has helped me. You gave me the perfect lesson.” I felt him stiffen but thought it was because he was cold out of the covers. “What do people normally do after they’ve, well, you know?”

  Devin didn’t say anything as he shifted to sit at the edge of the bed. He pulled his jeans off the floor and pulled then on. “Well, usually after both reach their climax, a couple would enjoy each other’s company, lying together under the covers and maybe they would even fall asleep in each other’s arms. But since I’m just your teacher…” His harsh tone made me flinch. “I’ll let you wash up and get dressed.”