Dating My Brother's Best Friend

by Kate Swain

  “Hi, everyone,” I stammered.

  “Maddy. Hi, again.” Carter shook my hand. “Sit down. Adam,” he nodded to Adam, who shook his hand and sat down in the chair opposite him. That left me with the seat opposite Mark. I swallowed hard.

  “Hi, Mark,” I said softly.

  “Hi.”

  We looked at each other. I could feel the hungry look in his eyes. It went straight through me. I shuddered.

  “So,” I said to Mark, looking down at the table, which was made with wooden planks and surprisingly clean and shiny for an otherwise dingy place, “how is the motorcycle business these days?”

  “Great,” he said. His voice sounded a note higher than it usually did, strained and different. I looked up at him and felt my blood pulse in my throat.

  “Um, have you…”

  “Maddy!” a yell interrupted the conversation as Becca, dressed in a green shirt, jeans and boots, jumped happily into our midst. I stole a glance at my brother. He had paled.

  “Becca,” I said, taking my friend’s hand firmly. “You must remember my brother, Adam. And these are his coworkers. Carter, um, Mark, and Matthew. And Amelia, Carter’s wife.”

  “Yes, I remember Adam,” Becca said, smiling up at my brother. “Hi, Adam.”

  “Hi.”

  I wanted to grin, but made myself keep a straight face. The relationship between the two of them was so sweet it made my heart warm. I looked away, and found myself looking into Mark’s eyes.

  “Um.” I swallowed again. I could barely think straight, sitting opposite of him. My tummy was twisting and I was tingling all over. I looked to my right, hoping Matthew could relieve the tension. Mark had always been a bit of a bad-boy, I reminded myself sternly. And just because he was staring at me shouldn’t convince me that he was interested in something more than a casual one-night stand.

  “So,” Matthew said, saving me by starting a conversation. “How was life at NYU? That’s where you studied, right?”

  I nodded. “It was great,” I said. “It’s an amazing place, especially for studying dance and business. The Dance School is huge—great faculty and I did internships on Broadway.” I couldn’t conceal how much I’d been impressed by the place, or what a huge difference being there had made to me.

  “So, you studied dance after all?” Mark interrupted. He was looking at me with those intense blue eyes and I blushed all the way to my hair roots. I looked away, feeling confused by the intensity of my uncontrollable response to him.

  “Yeah,” I nodded. “I love dancing.”

  “I know,” he said.

  It felt like the room was empty of everyone but the two of us. He looked into my eyes and the noisy sounds of the bar seemed to disappear. We could have been the only people in the room. In the world.

  “It’s been a long time,” I said softly.

  “Yeah.”

  I realized I was staring when Matthew cleared his throat beside me. “You majored in dancing?” he asked politely. He shot Mark an odd look.

  “I did a BFA,” I said, hurriedly drawing my gaze away from Mark, who was still looking at me. As I watched, Mark turned his gaze on his brother as if he thought he might strike him. “My major was dance,” I replied.

  “Wow,” Matthew looked impressed. “You’ve been doing great things.” I blushed. Beside him, Mark had looked away and an unreadable expression on his face.

  “Thanks,” I said softly. “I was happy to be able to study something I love so much.”

  “Sure,” Matthew nodded, then glanced up at somebody behind me in the door. “Oh, hi!” he greeted them, then turned back to me, apologetically. “Sorry, Maddy, that’s a client of ours, and I want to ask him about some details on a big custom job we are doing for him.”

  “Sure,” I nodded, feeling my tummy twist at the thought of being here alone with Mark. “See you soon.”

  He nodded, smiled at me, then slipped off to meet with the client. I swallowed hard.

  We looked at each other again.

  I could feel my heart start to thump. He was watching me intently, even with desire. I could smell his cologne and maleness. I was acutely aware of how close he was to me. I could see the pores on his soft skin.

  “How about the…” Mark began, then was interrupted as Becca turned to me with a smile. She’d slipped into place beside me on the chair conveniently close to Adam.

  “Could you remind me how to reset my password?” she asked me urgently, holding her phone out. “Sorry… I always forget and I just have to change it because I think somebody knows it, and…”

  “Sure,” I nodded. “Here. Let me try.”

  I looked down at the screen as Becca obligingly passed me her phone, hoping that no suggestive texts came through to her while I fixed it. I went to Settings and started looking for the right page. When I looked up, Mark was still watching me.

  My cheeks flushed and my heart soared. I really hadn’t thought he remembered me, but it seemed like he did. I wished that Adam could be convinced of the fact that, just maybe, Mark wasn’t that bad after all.

  He’s a playboy, but I’ve been away for a good while and I don’t think that should scare me.

  I still didn’t quite know what to do about Mark. Nor did I know if I was scared, or not.

  4

  Mark

  I shifted in my seat. Beside me, Carter elbowed me in the ribs.

  “Stop staring at Adam’s sister,” he whispered. “He’s noticed and getting uncomfortable.”

  I glanced up, my mind clearing as if it was full of fog. I had almost forgotten anybody else was at the table with us. My world had narrowed to the woman who sat opposite me, and I could think of nothing else.

  I had never seen anybody so beautiful.

  With her red lips, that soft chin and those melting brown eyes, her face was beautiful. Combined with those stunning curves, her narrow waist and her perfect hips and bust, well, I couldn’t stop staring. My brother cleared his throat, elbowing me again.

  I glanced across to where Adam sat next to Becca. He was staring across at me, and Carter was right— he had noticed. I cleared my throat.

  “I’ll try,” I whispered back.

  “Good.”

  I kept my word, dragging my eyes away from Maddy, and made myself focus on the wall across the bar. I drank my beer. Carter had ordered a round for all of us, but I’d barely sipped mine. I was consumed by the need to talk with Maddy. Or at least just look at her.

  She’s stunning.

  My eyes drifted back to her. And, unobserved by my brother or Adam for a moment, I looked at her shamelessly. With a tight, red sweater and that blonde hair, she would have been striking anyway. But her face was so beautiful—truly beautiful. Soft-cheeked, big-eyed and gentle, her face had a tender quality to it that made my heart stop. Her eyes were a kind of golden brown, a shade darker than her hair. Her red lipstick made her even sexier.

  My loins flared, staring at her pouty red lips.

  “Here,” she said, passing the iPhone back to Becca. When she turned slightly, it showed how full and firm her breasts were. I was not sure if I could sit here much longer without making some sound of sign that showed how aroused I was. I also could not keep my eyes off of her.

  “Get a grip,” Matthew murmured.

  I nodded. I knew I was seconds away from triggering a fight with Adam. He had given me more than a few murderous glances already. Thankfully, he was too busy talking to Becca, and not paying full attention to me. I seized the opportunity to stare more at Maddy.

  She had turned away from me and was listening to the conversation between Becca and Adam. Her hair had fallen sideways, touching her cheek. Her skin was pale and I was sure it would be soft like satin. I guessed her skin was soft everywhere on her body. She smelled like sweet herbs…

  “Remember when we started the shop?” Matthew said brightly, speaking across me to Carter, who chuckled and shoved my shoulder, playfully.

  “Yeah. You two were eightee
n. I was twenty-nine, and back from service.” He paused and lifted his beer. I wondered what images he saw when he stared like that into the murky depths of his time in the military.

  Carter never really told us much about that time in his life.

  I glanced at Amelia, his new wife. She was our receptionist. That was how they’d met. She was a lovely person. Everyone loved her. I wondered how often Carter thought about that day when she’d walked into our office for a job and then changed everything for the shop and for Carter.

  I remember that day well. I supported her from the first day we met.

  I felt a little resentful of the way my brothers tried to distract me, shutting me out from talking to Maddy. I knew they did it because of Adam.

  I glanced over at Adam. He was paying as much attention to Becca as I was his sister. He was on the edge of his seat listening while his sister recounted a story about her and Becca in college. The noise in the bar was loud. Carter was talking next to me, recounting a funny story of our early days when Matthew and I were just learning about motorcycles. I couldn’t hear Maddy’s words.

  I watched her anyway, staring at those soft red lips, the way her throat pulsed gently, moving her pale skin ever so slightly. I felt my loins tighten. I wanted her!

  “So, bro,” Matthew said, turning to me with a grin. “You ready for babysitting duty next week?”

  “Of Caden?” I looked over at Amelia, who was smiling at me. I swallowed. She was an attractive woman too, though she was Carter’s type, not mine. Besides, I only had eyes for one woman right now. That was Maddy. She looked up briefly and my eyes locked in with hers.

  “Yeah,” Matthew reminded me gently, bringing my attention back to our conversation.

  “It’s your turn first,” I said. Caden, the son of Carter and Amelia, was my second nephew. Matthew’s son Connor was my first. It seemed weird to me that gentle Matthew and responsible Carter should both be fathers before me.

  Not that my intent was ever to become one.

  I grinned to myself. I had taken full advantage of my high school football years, and my brief stint in a local football club thereafter. Girls had come easily, and I had done nothing to resist them. Probably too little to resist them, which was why Adam regarded me as dangerous around Maddy.

  I looked away, feeling bad.

  Maybe I should have toned it down a little, I thought. But, then, I was Mark, the local “playboy.” I had never, as far as I knew, anyway, actively hurt anybody’s feelings. And, whatever Adam thought of me, I would never hurt Maddy. She was different.

  I glanced across at her, loins tight with longing. I stared again at those soft lips, that shiny hair. I would rather cut my own hand off than hurt her, I thought recklessly. If she didn’t want me, if she chose to listen to her brother’s opinion, then fine. But I wanted a chance to find out properly, without my brothers and Adam preventing us from an opportunity.

  “Mark?” my brother said, hand on my arm. “Shall I order the next round?”

  “Sure,” I shrugged. I emptied my glass in one go, feeling a little light-headed as the beer reached my brain. I thought I shouldn’t have finished it so fast, but I’d forgotten about it. And another round was on the way.

  I watched Maddy say something to Matt, her lips moving, her voice too soft for me to hear her words. He nodded and then stuck his hand in the air imperiously to alert a waiter.

  I looked away, feeling a bit resentful. Or was it jealousy? The thought that my brother thought I wasn’t good enough for Maddy came flashing into my head. What is wrong with me?

  I glanced back across at her. I felt like I’d been shocked with electricity. She was watching me, smiling.

  I felt my heart contract. I smiled, and a sense of wellbeing settled on me that stayed with me the whole evening.

  We drank, and laughed, and everyone, even Adam, was having a great time laughing and joking. Becca told a hilarious story about when she and Maddy were on a field trip at school and ended up pushing a broken-down bus up a hill with fifty other students. Maddy, Becca said, had led the effort. I found myself laughing with the rest of them. I looked up and found Maddy’s gaze on me.

  “That’s an impressive story,” I commented.

  She grinned, cheeks blushing. “Thanks,” she said. “Becca tells the story like I did more than I really did.”

  “I doubt it,” I said. I lifted my glass to her.

  She looked away, going red. I could see a smile at her lips and I wanted to kiss her.

  “I should tell a similar story,” Amelia began, recounting a story from when Carter and she went north and encountered a family in a broken-down RV on the side of the road. I listened, nodding and laughing as she told the story. I knew the story well, and knew the moment when Carter, predictably, would start to blush.

  We sat there for what seemed like a long time, though in truth it was only a few hours. At nine-thirty, Adam stretched his arms widely.

  “Guys… we should go. We got work tomorrow and I would like to be able to see straight in the morning.”

  I chuckled. My ill will towards him had died with the laughter and fun, and I smiled with gratitude for our friendship. “Sure thing,” I agreed. “Me too. I need to paint stripes on that Harley.”

  “Yeah!” Matthew jostled my shoulder playfully. He was the one who’d just confirmed from our client that he wanted stripes on the paint job. I hated painting stripes. If I was going to do it, I would need a good night’s sleep, so I could see properly and keep a steady hand.

  “Sure,” I said again, draining my glass. We took care of the tab and began saying our goodnights.

  “Goodnight, everyone.”

  “Goodnight,” Amelia said fondly. She and Carter had already gotten their things together, getting ready to leave.

  “Goodnight, brother,” Carter said fondly, shaking my hand.

  He said goodnight to everyone, then left, followed by the rest of us. I shuffled past the bar sleepily, heading to the fresh air.

  “Mark,” somebody called softly from the doorway.

  I jumped, then turned around. Maddy was there.

  “Yes?” I felt my heart start to race. Adam and Matt were still inside, Carter and Amelia in the car. Becca had gone to the restroom. I was alone. With Maddy.

  She was only a foot or so away. She closed the gap, coming to stand an inch from me. I could see a freckle on her brow, smell her scent. She reached up, putting her hands on my shoulders.

  “Goodnight, Mark,” she said. Her lips, feather light, brushed my cheek. “It was good to see you.”

  Oh, wow.

  My brain almost stopped, swamped in a haze of herbs and warmth and sweetness. My loins protested and my heart paused.

  “Maddy,” I murmured. “Thanks…”

  But she had already gone, walking softly down the stairs into the evening.

  I breathed in. It felt like molasses trying to get some air in. My lungs ached and my heart pulsed slowly. I thought everyone in the bar would be staring. I must be lit up like a star. But when I stared in through the door, nobody was paying attention to me.

  “Come on, you.” I scolded myself.

  I went downstairs to the parking lot, then over to my bike. My hands were unsteady as I turned the key, then they steadied as I started the engine and heard the roar of the motor.

  At least, I thought, there was something predictable in my world.

  I shot off into the dark, my heart racing.

  When I got home, I changed swiftly out of my biking gear, kicking off the heavy boots. I sat down on the bed.

  “Whew.”

  When I opened my eyes, my mind was swimming in images of Maddy, I found myself looking in the mirror. My eyes were wild. My hair was still creased with helmet lines. I had red lipstick, in a kiss-shape, on my cheek.

  Seeing her mark on me, the touch of those scarlet lips, excited me in a way I could barely believe possible. I was aroused.

  I groaned, shutting my eyes against a barra
ge of other memories from the evening that came at me, filling me with their discouragement. Adam, glaring at me murderously. Carter, his eyes calm but warning. Matt, actively reminding me that Maddy was not a girl I should consider.

  “Go take a shower.”

  I hauled myself to my feet, still punishing myself as I walked across the room to the small built-in bathroom. I pulled my shirt off and left it on the chair by the door, unbuttoning my jeans and leaving them in an untidy heap in the corner. They needed a wash.

  I noticed my arousal as I slipped into the hot shower. My cock was stiff. I shook my head. Images of Maddy returned, tauntingly. As I showered, I moved my soapy hands over my chest, my abdomen, my legs.

  My hand strayed to my cock and I began massaging myself. I shut my eyes, images of Maddy flooding my mind. I imagined her small hands tugging at my cock as she watched me with her brown eyes.

  I groaned. I imagined kissing her red lips, full and irresistible and so soft, then parting them and letting my tongue slide into her warm, wet mouth.

  I was moving faster now, caught up in my fantasy, as my hand moved furiously over my cock. The pressure on the head was almost too much and I was close to coming. I grunted and moved uncontrollably, glancing down to see how red and swollen it was. I wished that Maddy were here, so that I could part her legs and thrust it deep inside her.

  I moaned aloud, my throbbing cock bursting and my body suddenly losing all its energy as I came, louder and more potently than I had in ages. I leaned on the shower door, gasping.

  “Damn.”

  I rinsed myself off under the shower, grinning with pleasure.

  I dried off and sat down heavily on my bed. I was tired. I was also worried. I felt, at that moment, like my world had just imploded.

  I was more attracted to Maddy than I had ever been to any girl I could think of.

  And she was the one girl I could not have.

  “Come on, Mark,” I chided myself sternly. “Go to sleep.”

  I had an early day tomorrow and needed sleep.

  5

  Maddy