Falling For My Best Friend's Brother

by J. S. Cooper

  “I know, I know,” I said and picked up my bottle of water. “You know best. You’re the king of Monopoly, the baron of fake-property buying, the master of the universe.”

  “The master of the universe, huh?” Aiden smiled and licked his lips. “I don’t know if I’m the master of the universe, but I can be a master of other things.”

  My breath caught, and I looked away as my face grew red. Was Aiden confirming what Xander had told me? There was no way that he knew that I knew he was a Dom, so I wondered if he thought he was being smart. I stared at his hands and shivered slightly as I imagined them doing dirty things to me. Very, very dirty things.

  “What other things?” I said softly and looked down at his belt. “Leather things?”

  “Leather things?” His eyes caught mine, and I couldn’t read his expression. “Okay, I’m buying Park Avenue.” He changed the subject without continuing and I looked over at Liv, who was looking very confused. I really needed to talk to her about what Xander had told me. I knew it would be awkward for her to hear that her brother was a Dom, but my sanity was more important than her feeling awkward at this point.

  “Get ready to pay me all of your money, bitches.” Aiden sounded gleeful, and Liv gasped.

  “Is that any way to speak to women?” she said tartly. “Bitches? Really, Aiden?”

  “No.” Aiden jumped up from the ground. “Sorry, girls, I got a bit carried away. My apologies to you two gentle damsels.”

  “I’m no damsel,” I said and sipped some more water. “You don’t need to be gentle with me.”

  “That’s good to know.” Aiden winked at me and studied my face for a few seconds. “Anyone want a beer or anything else from the kitchen?”

  “I think I’ll come with you and grab a beer.” Xander jumped up as well. “Girls?”

  “I’ll have a Blue Moon, please. And some chips.”

  “I’ll have a Blue Moon as well,” Liv said. “And bring some more salsa out.”

  “Anything else, ma’am?” Xander teased her, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Yes, some popcorn too,” she said as they exited the room. “Don’t forget the popcorn.”

  “How could I forget the popcorn?” Xander looked at her from the door and then exited.

  “What is going on?” Liv screeched as soon as they’d left the room.

  “What are you talking about?” I said with a frown. “What do you mean, ‘what is going on?’”

  “You and my brother are flirting.” She pointed a finger at me. “Master of the universe and damsel in distress?” She giggled as she studied my face. “What are you two going on about?”

  “We’re not flirting.” I groaned. “I wish we were flirting. I wish he were interested in me.”

  “Alice, trust me. Aiden is flirting.” She cocked her head to the side. “Why do I feel like there is something you haven’t told me?”

  “Liv,” I whispered as I stared at the door. “You will not believe what I have to tell you.”

  “Oh my God, what?” She leaned forward eagerly.

  “Xander told me …” My voice trailed off and I lowered my voice some more. “You cannot tell him I told you.”

  “Oh my God, what did he tell you?” she said, her voice growing louder.

  “Shhh, Liv!” I groaned. “Look, I don’t have time to tell you now, but I will tell you later.”

  “You’re killing me.” She made a face. “I want to know now.”

  “I seriously can’t tell you now,” I said, and Liv frowned.

  “Give me a clue, at least. You can’t just leave me hanging.”

  “I’m not leaving you hanging,” I said and then leaned forward. “Let me just say that Aiden likes to be in control.”

  “Huh?” Liv looked confused. “What does that mean?” Her eyes searched mine. “What do you mean he likes to be in control?”

  “I mean he likes to be in control.” I emphasized the last word and widened my eyes. I moved my hand back and forth in a quick slapping motion, but I could tell that Liv had no idea what I was acting out. The look on her face was one of deep confusion.

  “Okay, here are the beers.” Aiden walked into the living room then, and I blushed as I took the beer. Every time I looked at Aiden now, all I could think about was him spanking me or bossing me around in the bedroom. Unfortunately, I had no real clue what went on in a Dominant/submissive relationship, so I knew I was going to have to do some research if I was hoping to get him to believe that I was interested in being a part of that lifestyle.

  “So who’s up now?” Aiden said as he sat down and handed me a bowl of chips.

  “Liv,” I said with a smile, and we both turned to Liv who was busy kissing Xander. “You’re up, Liv.”

  “Oh, sorry,” she said with a small smile as she played with Xander’s hair. I looked at the board and smiled to myself as we waited for her to play.

  “Reminds me of old times,” Aiden said softly, and I looked up at him with a small smile.

  “Oh?” I said just as softly.

  “Liv being preoccupied with a boy and us having to wait,” he said and reached over to grab some chips. “Do you remember that night we played by ourselves?”

  “I do,” I said quietly, surprised he had remembered. “I was thirteen and you were eighteen,” I said with a laugh. “And it was Valentine’s Day.”

  “Yup.” He nodded. “And you were so upset because Liv spent the whole night chatting to her friend on the phone.”

  “What friend?” Xander frowned, and Liv giggled as she punched him in the shoulder.

  “I was thirteen.” She shook her head. “His name was Lucas Johnson, and he was fourteen, and I thought we were going to get married and live happily ever after.”

  “Hmph,” Xander said, and I smiled at his slightly jealous expression.

  “They weren’t even really dating,” I said. “Liv just had a crush on him, and they spent most of their calls talking about wrestling.”

  “Ugh, and heavy metal.” Liv made a face. “I don’t know how he believed that I enjoyed listening to heavy metal.”

  “Heavy metal?” Xander looked confused.

  “Liv told him she loved heavy metal and wrestling because he loved them and she wanted to connect with him.” I giggled as I thought back to the silly lies we’d told as teenagers.

  “Hey, he liked to talk about music,” she said, defending herself. “I used to sing that one Guns and Roses song every time I saw him.”

  “Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven’s Door!” At the same time we both sang out loud the title of the only Guns and Roses song that we knew and then burst into laughter.

  “I guess you’ve both been a bit immature for a long time, then?” Xander asked in an amused tone as he gazed at Liv lovingly.

  “I wouldn’t say immature,” I said defensively, thinking about my current plan to try and seduce Aiden.

  “Yeah, we’re not immature,” Liv said and punched Xander in the arm again. “We’re just fun-loving.”

  “Uh huh,” Aiden said and shook his head, his eyes never leaving my face. I looked up at him, and I wondered what he was thinking. He had a half-smile on his face, and I wanted more than anything to be able to lean forward and just kiss him. I let out an involuntary sigh, and I watched as Aiden’s eyes dropped to my lips and then back up to my eyes. A sharp thrill ran through my stomach and the room went quiet. I felt tense and excited and I could barely breathe. The electricity between us was tangible and I waited with bated breath for Aiden to say something else.

  “Back to my story.” He grinned. “Remember how I saved you from eternal depression and disappointment?”

  “Hmmm, eternal depression and disappointment, eh?” I raised an eyebrow at him, but my heart was thudding. I could remember that night as if it were yesterday. It was one of the moments between us that reminded me why I’d fallen so hard for him.

  I’d been thirteen and a bit awkward. In fact, both Liv and I had been awkward. We’d b
een average students, both with braces and slight acne. We weren’t cool kids and we weren’t really smart, either. We’d been just normal teenage girls: a bit goofy, really into boys, really into talking about boys and really into wishing boys would notice us. Liv had invited me over for a slumber party on Valentine’s Day, but had gotten a call about ten minutes after I’d arrived, and I’d sat in the Taylors’ living room watching TV with her parents and feeling sorry for myself. Scott and Chett were out, and Aiden was busy studying for some test. At thirteen I’d already felt like a bit of a loser, and I’d been so excited when Aiden had seen me sitting with his parents watching Jeopardy and asked if I wanted to be his Valentine’s date. Now, he hadn’t meant in a romantic sense—I’d been thirteen and he’d been eighteen—but he’d wanted to cheer me up. Of course, I’d eagerly said yes. I mean, Aiden was a like a Greek god to me, so hot and so untouchable. I’d jumped off of the couch so fast and we’d gone into the kitchen and to the games’ cupboard. He’d pulled out Monopoly (his favorite game) and asked me if I wanted to share a pizza. Of course, I’d said yes, even though his parents had already fed me lasagna. Aiden had taken a frozen pizza out of the freezer, and poured us each a glass of orange Sunkist. We’d sat at the kitchen table and played Monopoly all night. I’d felt like a million bucks; especially after he’d made strawberries dipped in chocolate for me. That was perhaps the first time I’d ever thought of Aiden in a truly romantic way. My heart had soared at how caring he was being. I could still remember the words he’d said to me as I’d complained to him that I was afraid I’d be alone forever. Liv had a valentine and had left me to just watch TV with his parents, and I’d had no one. He hadn’t laughed and told me I was too young to have such worries. He hadn’t called me a loser. He hadn’t made comments about me being thirteen and too young for love. No, he’d smiled at me and picked up my hand and leaned forward and looked deeply into my eyes. His voice had been deep as he spoke and told me that “one day I would meet a guy that would make me feel like the only girl on the world. One day I wouldn’t care about Valentine’s Day because every day of my life would feel special. That the man that I ended up with would be worth the wait and that I should never settle for anything less than true love.” He’d then stroked the top of my head and told me that one day I’d meet the right guy, the guy made especially for me and that nothing would be more important to me than that guy. In that moment, I’d known deep in my heart that he was that guy. I hadn’t said anything of course, since I knew he just saw me as his sister’s best friend. I knew that I was someone he cared for, but I was still a little kid; deep inside, though, I’d known: he was that guy for me. The moment hadn’t lasted long because he’d let go of my hand within seconds and gone back to playing Monopoly and telling me off for not upgrading my houses to hotels, but I hadn’t minded. The fact that Aiden had spent his Valentine’s Day trying to make me feel better and special had meant more to me than anything in the world. It meant that I could put up with his superior attitude when we played Monopoly because I knew deep inside that while Aiden was bossy and arrogant, he had a heart of gold and he cared about me and my feelings. I knew that he was a guy who I could always count on; even if for him, I was just his sister’s best friend.

  “Alice, it’s your turn again.” Aiden’s voice distracted me from my thoughts, and I blinked slowly as I gazed at him, momentarily forgetting I was twenty-two and not still thirteen.

  “Sorry,” I said softly and picked up the dice and rolled them gently. I wondered if he remembered our conversation from that night. I wondered if he remembered how he told me to wait for Mr. Right. I wondered if he knew that I thought he was the one. I wondered what he would think if he knew of the plans I had for the two of us. I sighed inwardly as I thought of those plans. A part of me told me to just be patient and let fate play its hand, but the other part of me was too impatient to wait any longer.

  Chapter Five

  Not All Athletes Are in Shape

  Have you ever experienced that emotion that feels like it could become tears or laughter in the same moment? It’s like your head can’t quite decide how you want to express your feelings. Seeing Aiden at flag football practice, the week after game night, in his black shorts and skintight white T-shirt was one of those moments for me. I was so overwhelmed by emotions that for a few seconds I felt as if the air had been punched out of me.

  “Alice, what are you doing?” Liv pushed me forward as I’d just stopped moving in the middle of the field.

  “Aiden,” I said weakly as my knees started to crumble. My heart was racing and my face was burning. I have to admit I felt like I was ten again and seeing my childhood crush, Tommy Walker, sitting in my English class flipping his long blond surfer-like hair.

  “You’re doing Aiden?” Liv laughed at me. “Say what?” she said as she stared at me and giggled. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” I took a large gulp of fresh air and started to walk again.

  “Hey, Liv. Hey, Alice.” Aiden smiled and gave us both a quick wave before continuing to stretch.

  “Hi,” I said breathlessly.

  “Hey, nerd brain,” Liv shouted at him and then started laughing as he shook his head. I could tell from his expression that he was surprised to see us there.

  “Grow up, Liv.” Aiden shook his head and he looked as if he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t. Instead he looked at me and gave me a small smile before speaking. “Hey, Alice.”

  “Hey,” I responded back with a small smile, my heart racing. I wanted to say more than “Hey.” I wanted to say something witty and funny. I wanted to make him laugh and think to himself, “Wow, that Alice is funny, beautiful and smart. I need to get with her now!” Of course, me being me, all I said was “hey.”

  “So you two are interested in football now?” He raised an eyebrow at us as he continued stretching. “Or are you interested in the guys?”

  “Very funny, Aiden,” Liv said in a high tone. “My boyfriend had better not hear you say that.”

  “Hear him say what?” Xander suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and I watched as he looked Liv over appreciatively, as if he wanted to eat her up. I wished that Aiden would look at me the same way.

  “Aiden was saying we’re here to meet guys,” Liv said in a decidedly snarky voice and I wanted to groan. Because what Aiden had said was partly true, only it was just me to meet men. And the man I was interested in getting to know better was him.

  “Are you?” Xander grinned at her. “Because that would be awkward if you wanted to meet a guy here. What with me being here and all.”

  “Oh, really?” Liv said with her hands on her hips. “That’s it? It would be awkward? That’s all you have to say?”

  “You don’t think it would be awkward?”

  “So you would be cool with me trying to hook up with another guy?” She sounded pissed, and I wanted to shake her. “You’d be fine, but slightly awkward?”

  “Obviously not.” Xander sighed. “Would it make you feel better if I said I would punch the guy in the face?”

  “I don’t believe in violence,” Liv said with a straight face and then she giggled. “But yes, that makes me feel better.”

  “Hey, Liv!” Henry shouted as he ran onto the field. Henry was Xander’s younger brother and he was divine looking. He had the same short dark hair and green eyes as Xander, and he was built like a soccer player, with long lean legs, muscular thighs and calves and a torso that looked like it had been carved by Michelangelo. “Hey, Alice.” He grinned at me and whistled. “You two are looking mighty fine for a game of flag football.”

  “Thank you.” I grinned at him as Liv laughed. I could see Xander and Aiden frowning as Henry walked up to us both and gave us a quick hug.

  “I didn’t know you girls were into football,” he said as he stepped back.

  “Well, you know.” I shrugged, wanting to make sure Liv didn’t say something stupid. “We wanted to get our exercising on.”

  “
Yeah, we want washboard stomachs,” Liv continued. “And perky asses.”

  “I wouldn’t be complaining if either of you were my woman.” Henry winked at us, and we both giggled.

  “You know, Alice is single,” Liv said and my face went beet red as Henry looked at me with an interested eye. “You guys should go out some time.”

  “I would like that.” He nodded as he looked me up and down. “I would like that a lot.”

  “Shall we get started with the game?” Aiden’s voice interrupted the moment and his eyes were shooting daggers at me as I looked over at him. “This is a field for flag football, not the local meet-up site for Match.com.”

  “Don’t be a jerk.” Liv shook her head at her brother and then looked at me and winked. “If Henry and Alice want to make plans to go on a hot date, then let them.”

  “Liv, seriously, grow up.” Aiden’s voice was stiff and he turned around and blew a whistle. “Hey, guys, we’re about to get started.” He shouted out to all the other people in the field. “Please gather around so we can pick teams.”

  “Bossy-boots as usual,” Liv whispered to me as we walked to stand in the crowd of people in front of Aiden. “I swear I don’t know why you want to date him. He’s just way too annoying and obnoxious.”

  “Maybe that bossiness will be good in the bedroom,” I whispered back to her. “Maybe it won’t be as annoying.”

  “You’ll have to let me know.” She giggled. “Well, not any specific details, just if the sex makes up for it all.”

  “If we even get to have sex.” I sighed. “At the rate this is going, it’ll be a while.”

  “What will be a while?” Xander asked me as he stood next to us.

  “Her and Aiden hooking up in the bedroom,” Liv answered.

  “I thought you guys have already hooked up?” He looked confused.

  “Yeah, we had sex once,” I said. “But I’m wondering if we will have sex again.” For some reason, my voice grew louder and as I spoke, I realized that the field was silent and there were a few people looking at me.