One Night Stand With My Bestie's Brother

Chapter 2

/Harry/

I moved to the opposite side of the room and leaned against the wall as I waited for Shauna. I promised myself that I would make sure she was safe, but damn it if she hadn't matured into such a stunning woman in the meantime.

I hadn't seen her in about a year, but I couldn't believe what a stunning woman she had become in that time. Her complexion was very pale, and her hair was really fiery, and her eyes were very gray, but they were quite large. When she first looked at me, I could have sworn I saw desperation written all over those eyes. If I hadn't known better, I'd say I saw it.

That wouldn't make it the first time, by any means. I temporarily shut my eyes and allowed myself to become immersed in the various recollections as I pondered about the years gone by. After hearing the door open, I turned around and saw Shauna coming in the direction I was facing. "You were patient."

As she smiled, I explained to her that I had taken precautions to ensure that no one had entered the room while she was using the restroom.

She thanked me as I opened the door to the hallway and led her back there to continue our conversation.

"Is my sister in this building?" When I asked Shauna about it, she laughed.

"I believe we are dancing." She rolled her eyes and then made her way into the living room, which was packed with people dancing to the throbbing music. When I peered out over the crowd, I saw Emri swinging her blonde hair around, which caused a couple of the individuals there to give her a critical look.

"f*****g hell. Everyone in the room is staring at her, but she doesn't seem to mind. I chuckled to myself as Shauna guffawed. I ran over while calling Emrina's name and stomped my feet. As soon as my maternal instincts kicked in, I went a little bit crazy, and the fact that both girls were beautiful made it such that I had even more to be concerned about. Shauna's beauty had never stopped me in my tracks, but right now she had me completely captivated.

"Oh wonderful. She stated this as she glanced at me while the arms of the person she was dancing with were around her waist. "Big brother is here," she said.

"What in the name of all that is holy are you doing to my sister?" As someone reached for my arm, I questioned the skinny blonde guy who was standing nearby. I started to swing it back, but stopped when I turned around and saw that Shauna was behind me.

"Take a deep breath, Harry. "Don't worry about a thing," she reassured me as our gazes converged. I wasn't sure why, but being with Shauna made me feel more at ease, and I took a moment to simply breathe in her presence. When I turned around, Emrina was by herself, and she had a furious expression on her face.

As I narrowed my eyes at her, she shot back, "You just don't want me to wind up with a guy like you," as I continued to stare at her. It has been like this with her the whole time. Emrina was adamant about establishing her autonomy, but I was determined to protect her from harm and shield her from the world. The thought of these two going off to college by themselves was enough to send me completely insane.

I retorted as Emrina turned her attention to Shauna, "You've got it."

"Let's get together for a little bit of dancing. I solemnly swear that I will not extend a helping hand to anyone else. Take him to a different place. Before she turned around, she relayed the information to her friend. I was aware that Emrina had been drinking, but I had already instructed the guys who lived there to restrict access to the bedrooms to anyone who wasn't a resident. They warned each other not to touch Emrina or Shauna, but the person who was closest to my sister didn't appear to be the reckless kind of person. She was never like that.

I muttered under my breath as I made my way towards the kitchen, "Let's go get some fresh air when I grab a beer." Before I went out onto the spacious balcony, I stopped at the kitchen to get Shauna another diet coke and a bottle of beer. Although there were a few people outside, I went to the corner and sat down on the bench there. Shortly thereafter, Shauna joined me there. "She drives me absolutely batshit crazy."

She has done so consistently, Harry. Emri is able to manipulate you because you give her permission to do so. Shauna told me as I nodded. As I felt my nerves beginning to fray, I took a deep gulp of beer. After getting into it with my former boss and ex-girlfriend, I decided to go here from Avalon on a whim. I drove here from Avalon. I had already planned to return to San Francisco, but the trip went much more quickly than I had anticipated.

I responded, "I know," and glanced at her as she drank from her Coke while she did so. Evidently, Emrina was the one who clothed her tonight.

"Don't you get home until late?" As I felt resentment rising up inside of me, Shauna asked. At this very moment, I detested everything and everyone in Avalon.

“I just had the chance to bail. I have a job interview lined up on Monday for a company. I think that would be nice and I can always do freelance work.” I shrugged and kept looking forward. It often made me feel as though Shauna could see right through me, which was an unsettling experience for me. Shauna had a unique ability to do this. I couldn't place the cause, but being in her presence made me shudder.

Shauna gave me a reassuring smile and said, "I think you'll get it." I couldn't help but look at her, and my attention was immediately drawn to her eyes.

“Hopefully. What do you have planned for tonight? I inquired of her as she gave a shrug in response.

"For the next little time, we are going to take it easy and just enjoy life. After that, our next step will be to look for work. I haven't made up my mind yet whether or not I'm going to continue living here. In response, Shauna said something while I scowled at her.

"In which direction would you go? We are a part of your family. I prompted her memory while she was beaming down at the ground.

She moved in with us permanently after her mother passed away in a car accident just before she started college. After that, she never left our home again. Since she was essentially my younger sister, I ought not to have thought that she was as hot as I did.

"I can't say for sure. After a long day at school, all I want to do is relax and hang out with my friends. You Are Aware? I responded by nodding my head. There was a part of me that wished I could do the same thing, but I wasn't twenty-three years old and fresh out of college at the time. I needed to demonstrate a higher level of responsibility than that.

After an hour had passed, I walked inside and informed Emrina that we were about to leave. It was almost one in the afternoon, and she had had her fill of dancing. While my sister was slipping into the passenger seat of her automobile, Shauna reminded her that they had arrangements with Mom the next day to console her. I rolled my eyes as I climbed into my Range Rover and started the engine as Emrina was being a diva over something. I was escorting them back to their house.

As I drove, my thoughts kept going back to Shauna. There was something about her that brought a smile to my face and a warm feeling in my chest. Despite the fact that she believed I had forgotten about our time together, I was confident that she understood me and could bring solace to the most vulnerable aspects of my being.

She was a close friend of the family and she was like a sister to me. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't find solace in it.

/Shauna/

During the ride home, Emrina complained about Harry, but this was nothing out of the ordinary. I cast a suspicious look in her direction when she yawned while we were waiting at the light. "You need to get some rest."

"And so what?" I wished I had more time to spend here." As I chuckled, she continued to protest.

"Emri, we have the entirety of this month to take advantage of life. There will be an increased number of get-togethers, barbecues, and evenings out. I really need to get some sleep tonight so that tomorrow we can go shopping with your mother. I looked in the rearview mirror and attempted to cheer her up while I spoke to her.

It appeared that Harry was following us. Seeing him tonight was a rude awakening for my body and mind. It was meant to be a couple of weeks before he arrived, but the sight of that exquisite figure and those blue eyes reignited the same attraction that I'd felt for him for years. He was supposed to arrive in a couple of weeks.

I had a feeling that he had forgotten all that had taken place between us. Never in a million years would I bring it up again. When his best friend Thompson was murdered in a vehicle accident, I was very close to graduating from college. Harry took it really hard and his behavior during the funeral was a complete chaos.

I was able to get him out of there somehow, and we went to a restaurant where he could drink while I kept a watch on him and tried to reason with him about this situation. They'd known one other for as long as Emri and I had, so I can imagine how I'd feel if I were to suddenly lose her.