My Brother's Best Friend

Chapter Five

Brooke's POV

I ditched gym class and instead started my lunch early. I was so deep in thought and worry that I failed to realize that someone had sat beside me.

"Brooke?" I jumped nearly a foot, dropping my apple on the ground. Dean sat beside me, concern etched onto his handsome face.

"Are you ok? You skipped gym class." I tried to sound as enthusiastic as possible.

"I'm completely fine. Just didn't feel active today." I lied, faking a smile.

"Are you sure, or are you avoiding me because of the kiss." Dean asked. I stared up at him in shock.

"No. No no no. Of course not. I thought the kiss was amazing. I legit just felt lazy." I responded, looking down at his lips.

"You had me really worried. I really enjoyed the kiss." he said, also staring down at my lips. He leaned in and kissed me lightly, his hand on my neck. As we broke off, he stared into my eyes.

"I really like you Brooke." before I could respond, he stood up and left the cafeteria, a big grin on his face. I touched my lips with my fingertips, feeling the warmth all around. Wow. I picked up my spoiled apple and left the gym with an extra bounce in my step.

"Brooke!" I turned at the sound of Kaeli's voice, and waited until she could catch up.

"So apparently there's a dinner that the drama class is hosting so that they can raise funds for their play in June. It's formal, so we can dress up, and you can totally get dates!" Kaeli was so excited she was pretty much bouncing up and down, waiting for a response.

"Umm, when is it?"

"In like a month. Posters were only put up today." she grinned.

"I don't know. I'll see I guess."

"Oooooh no you don't. You have to go. I'm sure there are hundreds of guys that would love to go with you." she said, totally exaggerating.

"Well maybe I don't want to go with them." I responded, shrugging.

"What if Dean asked you. Would you say no then?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she smirked. I blushed.

"I don't know. Look, let's not worry about this right now." I chuckled. Kaeli finally let the subject drop, and instead she went off into a ramble about how Ashley (Cameryn's right hand b***h) had totally lost it when she found out her boyfriend had gone to some other girl's house. I rolled my eyes.

"I mean, I'd be pissed too probably, but she made it a huge deal in the middle of geography." Kaeli said, shaking her head.

"What did she do? Just start screaming and crying in front of everyone?" I asked, scanning the hallway.

"Well, she went up and approached him, and when she found out it was true, she started yelling at him, and then she started crying, and when he went to comfort her, she slapped him and ran out of class." We both cringed.

"That's cold." I said, just thinking about how awkward it would've been. Kaeli nodded. Lunch was soon over and I was headed to my next class. By the end of the day, the whole school was talking about the drama class' dinner. I personally didn't want to think about it right now, but that was hard when every person would start a conversation with you about the dinner. I was glad when the end of the day approached. As Chris drove home, I remained silent. Too much had happened today and I was exhausted. James and Chris left me to my thoughts and instead talked to each other about the dinner.

"You going man?" Chris asked. James shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Depends on if you have to babysit Mia?" Chris pressed, and James nodded.

"That, and it just seems sort of silly. Everyone makes it a big deal. It's just a dinner, it's not prom." James ranted, shaking his head. I agreed with James in my head. We finally arrived home, and I sat in the living room, hearing my brother and James talking in the kitchen. I entered the kitchen to grab a cookie and a glass of milk, and froze as I heard Cameryn's name. I hated her- so much.

"So, what's up with you and Cameryn?" Chris asked. "We're not together, officially, but I know she definitely likes me." James smirked. I turned around to face the boys, listening to them chat.

"Ya, anyone can see that." Chris smirked.

"The only problem is, it feels like she's just teasing me. If I go in to kiss her, she just turns her head and gives me that evil smile. Bruh, girls are weird." James sighed.

"Have you ever heard of playing hard to get?" I chimed in. Both boys snapped their attention to me. I took that as a cue to continue.

"She's trying to figure out how much you like her. She wants to know if you can get sucked in by her and wrapped around her finger. Trust me, I know how she thinks." The boys were speechless, hanging on to my every word. My words were propelling me forward.

"She acts all seductive-" I broke off, coming closer to James. I reached a hand out to put it on his bicep, giving him a flirty smile. "-and makes you want her. She makes you ache to touch her- to kiss her." I broke off as I put a finger on his lips, slowly caressing them. "She manipulates you with her body. Makes you desperate for her. As soon as she knows you're fully hers, she yanks it away. Right from under your nose. She's gone before you fully have her. She officially played you. That's how Cameryn plays." I stopped talking, walking away from the boys. Before I left the kitchen, I took one look back. Chris was silent, staring at the counter. James was staring at me, something in his eyes that I couldn't quite distinguish. His eyes bore into me so hard, it was making me blush. I raced up to my room, the reality of what I just did finally hitting me. I had pretty much just flirted with James, in a weird way. How was I going to be able to face him now.

---

The school week flew by, and I was disappointed that Dean had given me no new moves. In fact, it seemed he was being more distant than normal. If he even showed up to gym class, he wouldn't talk to me much. He was friendly, but not flirty like he used to be. And James was acting slightly weird too. I knew I had done that to myself by role playing Cameryn with him, but it still sucked nonetheless. But the weekend was here, and Chris had invited me to come to the beach with some of his friends, and I could invite friends as well. I called Kaeli, Alexandra and Danielle up and they all agreed to tag along.

"Your brother and his friends are hot, of course I'm up for hanging out." Alexandra had said, making me laugh. So the girls made it to my house, and we all squished in the back while Chris and James rode upfront. Once we arrived at the beach, the girls and I found a nice sandy spot and lay our towels down.

"It's so nice out. I'm totally tanning." Kaeli said, as she took off her shorts and shirt, revealing a cute bright orange bikini.

"Damn girl." Danielle said, making Kaeli laugh. We all lay on our towels in our bikinis, soaking up the sun.

"So how's Ashton?" I asked Danielle. Danielle smiled at the mention of her boyfriend.

"He's great. Loving college." Ashton was two years older than us, and was now in college.

"What's he studying?" I asked.

"He's going for a landscaper. He really enjoys the construction part of it. You know, making pools, stonework, that kind of thing." She responded. I was about to ask her more questions when Chris ran up to us.

"You girls in for some beach volleyball?"

"Hell yes." Kaeli responded, and we all followed after her.

"Kaeli, Chris, James, Danielle, and Kyle on that side. This side is me, Brooke, Alexandra, Garrett and Will." Chris' friend Damian said. I went over to my side, taking up a position in the front. Chris was up first to serve. He hammered the ball over the net and it was received by Alexandra, who winced after she hit it. Will volleyed the ball up and Damian spiked it over the net. Score. We all cheered, high-fiving at our first point. Garrett took the ball, served it, and the other team did a play and it was back to us. The game went on, all of us being super competitive. Before anyone knew it, the other team was at 22, and we were at 21. They needed one more point to beat us. I was the middle row for this play, and I nervously stood there, poised and ready to move at any second. Danielle served the ball and it soared over the net. Will received it, I volleyed it, and Alexandra hit it over the net. But it was stopped by Kyle, who tipped it up, and at the last second, I saw James jump up, muscles rippling powerfully, and he spiked the ball hard. I saw it heading right at me but before I could do anything, it hit me straight in the face, knocking me to the ground. I lay there, stunned, my face in a lot of pain. Everyone gasped, and I heard James curse before he ran to me.

"s**t, I'm so sorry Brooke." he mumbled, kneeling down next to me.

"It's ok." I cringed, opening my eyes. He was kneeling over me, face so close to mine that I could see his dark brown eyes clearly, and the piece of hair that was pasted to his face from sweat.

"Are you sure?" he asked, worry etched into his handsome face. I nodded, and he leaned back, offering me his hand. I took it, and he hoisted me up gently, putting his arm around my shoulders and leading me off the court.

"Are you ok Brooke?" Chris shouted out, and I sent him a thumbs up. He looked relieved.

"You guys finish the game. I'll bring Brooke over to our stuff." James said. They continued the game while I allowed James to lead me to the towels spread out on the ground. He sat down beside me, and rummaged through the cooler. He handed me an ice cold coke can, and I held it to my face.

"I'm so sorry" he apologized again for the hundredth time.

"Stop apologizing, it's fine." I said, sending him a smile. He stared at my face, looking guilty.

"You're going to have like a black eye." he said softly, frowning.

"It could've happened to anyone." I murmured, reaching out to touch his arm.

"I'm fine. Stop worrying." I joked, making him relax slightly. I realized I was still touching his arm, and quickly pulled back. What was wrong with me. I was touching him too much these days. I wanted to ask him about Cameryn, but that would just make us both remember what I had done a couple days ago. My stupid mouth asked anyway.

"Have you figured out things with Cameryn yet?" I asked, regretting it as soon as it left my mouth. He stared into my eyes, lips slightly parted.

"Um. I took into consideration what you told me." he said, his eyes flickering down to my lips. I blushed really hard. His eyes were burning me wherever they looked. I realized how close we actually were.

"I've been extra cautious around her." he murmured, still staring into my eyes. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't figure out why I was upset all of a sudden. Maybe because I had hoped that he would stay away from her after he learned her intentions. But why did I want him to stay away from her? Obviously because I hated her, not because I thought he was attractive and wanted him myself.

"What's wrong?" he asked me suddenly, and I realized I was probably looking extremely upset. I had to say something quick. He couldn't know I had attractions for him.

"Oh, um. It's just Dean. He told me he really liked me and now he's avoiding me it seems." I said quickly. I cringed as the words left my mouth. I should've lied and said something else. This was too personal to share. He c****d his head to the side, studying me.

"Maybe he's also doing a Cameryn thing." he whispered, leaning in close.

"Just to get under your skin." I could feel his breath on my face, making goosebumps appear.

"But that's not really how a guy tends to let things play." I held my breath, waiting for him to continue.

"He's feeling vulnerable because he admitted something that scared him. Or maybe, he's just waiting for you to make the next move, and I'm doing this as revenge for you doing this to me-" he breathed, inches away from my face. His eyes flickered down to my lips once again.

"Can't say I blame the guy. I always thought you were pretty." he said with a little smirk before he got up suddenly, giving me a wink before running off to hang with the guys. I was left here with a racing heart, and very confused thoughts.