My Brother's Best Friend

My stomach churned uneasily as I stepped off the plane, the ground seeming to spin in circles as I gingerly placed one foot in front of the other, letting out a sigh of relief as my feet connected with the solid, sturdy ground. If there was one thing I was deathly afraid of, it was flying. I wanted to hurl when I looked at the sea of people in front, behind, heck- everywhere around me. This was my first time flying by myself, and here I am, lost in the airport. There was no way I'd be able to find my family in this mess. I was about to sit down in defeat when I remembered my luggage. Great. I wandered aimlessly through the crowd of people, trying to find some sort of sign that would lead me to my luggage. I got shoved aside as the crowd seemed to get bigger, and my patience was beginning to run low. "Excuse me," I tapped a lady on the shoulder. "Do you know where the luggage is?" "Just go to the right and it should be in the far corner." she responded in a rush as she hurried off, not even giving me time to thank her. I followed her directions, and soon enough I came to the luggage belt. I grabbed my luggage and tried to find my way out of this hectic place. "Brooke! Over here!" I heard a voice calling, and I looked over, smiling widely as I met the eyes of my dear mother. I dropped all my luggage where I was, racing over to her and enveloping her in a massive hug. She held me tight, her hands ruffling up my hair. "Oh honey I missed you so much." she said, hugging me tighter. "I missed you too mom," I said in a muffled whisper into her shoulder. We finally let go of each other, and my dad pulled me into his arms instead. "Hope your time in Florida was great. We really missed you kiddo." "I missed you too dad." I said. He finally let go of me, and I grinned at Chris, my brother. "Well well well, look who has a pretty nice tan." he teased. I looked down at my arms and legs, the golden brown tan popping out against my white shorts. I sent him a cheeky smile, jumping on him as I attacked him with a hug. His strong arms wrapped around me. "Hope your summer wasn't too good without me." I said, and he let go of me. "It was fantastic. Best summer yet." he teased, and I pouted, punching him in the arm. "You're such a jerk." I whined, crossing my arms. My brother rolled his eyes, trailing his hand through his brown hair, which was styled into his signature faux. My dad came back, carrying the luggage I had left in the middle of the crowd, and I smiled up at him sheepishly. "Have you grown taller?" my mom suddenly asked, peering at me intently. I shrugged, unsure of what to say. "Wow Brooke, you've really filled out over the summer." my mom commented, gazing at me in adoration. I gazed down at myself, still unsure of what to say. Like ya, I mean, I'm sure I've changed, but not that much surely. I know I did get a pretty nice tan, but that's what Florida does to you, and with genes from my dad, who's Portuguese, I'm bound to get pretty dark. I twirled a piece of my platinum blonde hair around my finger. I guess my hair has gotten longer too, and more blonde from the sun bleaching it. The blonde hair was all thanks to my beautiful mother, the dutchie. My thoughts were interrupted as my dad began to lead us out of the airport, out to the parking lot where they had parked. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving." my dad said. "Homecoming dinner celebration at Montana's?" he suggested, and I nodded eagerly, my stomach growling. It seemed like we had been driving for ages by the time we pulled into the Montana's parking lot. We were seated at a nice little booth in the corner of the restaurant, my brother and I sitting across from our parents. "So, how are your grandparents?" my mom asked, and I smiled. "They send you their love." I merely said, anxiously waiting for food to arrive. My eyes were as wide as saucers as the waitress came around the corner, plates piled with food balanced in her arms. I dug in greedily, refusing to talk until the hunger in my stomach had subsided. I finally pushed my plate back, licking my lips. "I had so much in Florida. Gran and gramps spoiled me like crazy, I made a few friends who showed me all the cool attractions and I can't wait to go back." I said, a wide grin etched on my face. "You certainly look like you had fun." my mom said, adoration evident in her eyes. "Meet any guys that I need to beat up?" Chris asked, earning a props from my dad. I rolled my eyes, trying to fight my smile. "None that you need to beat up." I said, avoiding eye contact as I lied through my teeth. To my relief, they had totally believed me. He was a part of my life that I just wanted to forget... ---- I opened my bedroom door, shutting it behind me and slowly turning around, letting its scent envelop me and the happiness take over. I was so glad to be home. I dove onto my bed, my face pushed up into the pillows, and I breathed in happily, old perfume scent filling my senses. I rolled over onto my back, staring up at the ceiling where I still had glow in the dark stars from my childhood days. A picture frame beside my bed containing me and my best friend made me snap from my daze and I hurriedly picked up my phone, dialing Kaeli's number. "Hello?" "KAELI!" I screamed excitedly into the phone. "BROOKE! AHHHHH! When did you get back!?" she shrieked back. "I landed like 5 hours ago. Just home now." I said, sinking back onto my bed. "So, like, how was Florida? Give me all the deets." "Well, the weather was hot, the guys were hot, everything about it was just hot." I snickered. "Did you have some fun with any guys?" she asked in a teasing voice. "A bit. Honestly we just need to have a sleepover to talk about this. A whole summer of fun can't be put into one phone call." I said. "Well we should definitely do that soon! I'll let you get to your unpacking." Kaeli said as I groaned. She giggled and with a quick bye hung up. I took one look at my suitcases and flopped down on my bed. Tomorrow... I tugged on some pjs and fell asleep within minutes. ---- I awoke the next morning starving with my stomach making whale calls. I forced myself out of bed, sleepily walking over to my door. I glanced at my alarm clock and groaned. 11:00AM. I trudged down the stairs, and stifling a nod, walked into the kitchen. I stopped in my tracks as I realized I wasn't alone. James Winters, my brother's best friend, sat at my kitchen table, playing on his phone. He glanced up as I walked in and let out a smile. "Oh hey Brooke." I couldn't open my mouth so I just slightly smiled. I was beating myself up over and over again in my head as I pictured what I must look like right now. Short pajama shorts, messy ponytail, no makeup, no bra. I cringed outwardly and turned to the fridge. I settled on a yogurt and stood at the island bar, eating it. I couldn't help but glance over at him again. He had grown taller, not much, but he definitely had. His powerful muscles bulged from under his form fitting shirt, the light blue shirt really popping out his tan. His dark brown hair was swept powerfully to the side, and his dark brown eyes snapped up to me. I blushed, looking down quickly. He. is. hot. James' POV I could feel her eyes on me and I glanced up, seeing her crystal blue eyes snap down to her lap, a red flush making its way around her neck and ears and cheeks. I watched her as she turned to put her spoon in the sink, my gaze raking down her body as I checked her out. Damn. She had gotten really pretty. Not that she wasn't pretty before, but she was just more - little kiddish- then. Now, she had gotten taller, and she had curves. My eyes rested on her butt. Damn. Her long legs were tan and completely free of imperfections. I couldn't help but glance at her chest either. She had certainly filled out. Her face was free of acne, whereas before, she had had a few spots scattered across her forehead. I'm pretty sure she even lost weight. Her long blonde hair was messily pulled back into a ponytail, and she looked so cute. I shook my head at these thoughts. She was like a little sister to me. I couldn't have these thoughts. I looked back down at my phone. Brooke's POV "Oh hey Brooke, you're finally up." Chris said as he walked in. "Yup." I said quietly, inwardly slapping myself at how stupid I sounded. Chris went to sit beside James, who was still on his phone. "Duuude you're still talking to that chick?" my brother asked James as he leaned over to glance at his phone. "Cmon dude, she's hot." James replied, smirking. His brown eyes sparkled as he glanced up at Chris, flicked his eyes over to me (who immediately blushed) and then down at his phone. Chris rolled his eyes, choosing not to respond since James was probably right. "Who's this chick we're talking about." I asked, popping a piece of bread into the toaster. "Cameryn Elliots." Chris said. I felt my heart drop at the mention of her. She is a snake. I had to force my mouth shut. Oh how I really really disliked her. She was drop dead gorgeous. Long blonde waves that fell to her butt, bright green eyes, a perfect nose, a killer body, and of course, 2 dimples whenever she smiled. She was so pretty, but man was she ever a b***h. We became enemies in ninth grade (she was in tenth grade). I had a crush on Jake Marcus, and when we started dating, I was the happiest person ever. I was also a cheerleader. She so happened to be on the team too. She was so mad that I was dating her ex, and told me that if I didn't leave the team and break up with him, I would regret it. I pushed it away, not thinking anything of it. A week later, I was kicked off the team for "missing practice" when I really hadn't, and I found Jake and Cameryn making out in the janitor's closet. That was the day that I had officially decided that I hated her. I left the kitchen without another word, and went up to my room. How could James Winters like her. I was utterly baffled