My Brothers Best Friend

Chapter 3: Reconnecting

NOAHS POV

I started down the steps of the house before crossing the street. As much as I didn’t want to walk home in the dark I wasn’t in much of a hurry. I started down the sidewalk, my mind flooded with so many thoughts.

I hated only being known as Hayes little sister. When Brie said something about this year being an opportunity to recreate myself I almost thought it would be easy but now I’m thinking it might be harder to move out of the shadow of my big brother.

Most of the time I didn’t mind. Hayes had always been a hard worker and he was loved by everyone. But I didn’t want to be the same girl I was in high school. I wanted to use this time to really find myself and who I was outside of the quiet and sweet little sister of Hayes.

Then there was Brent. The crush I had on him as a young girl had blossomed into a massive crush. I’d only dated a few guys in high school but I knew they were fleeting relationships. I wasn’t exactly the love expert.

I suddenly heard the light sound of footsteps nearby. I quickened my pace not wanting to slow down or look behind me. The steps quickened as well and suddenly two hands were on my shoulders. I screamed and fought back striking the person in their throat. They double over and choked as they tried to catch their breath. Horror filled my body as I realized it was Brent.

I brought my hands up to cover my mouth, “oh my god, Brent! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” I ask putting my hand on his shoulder trying to check on him.

He gives me a thumbs up, “Holy s**t, Noah!” He said still catching his breath. I apologized over and over again.

He stood up, his eyes watering still. “f**k, and here I thought you needed someone to walk you home” he says jokingly.

I cringe and cover my face “I’m seriously so sorry”. He laughs and pulls my hands away from my face “don’t be, I’m actually impressed at how well you can take care of yourself”.

I chuckle as I cross my arms over my chest, “I know, nobody would expect such a thing from Hayes little sister..” I say sarcastically, but flashing him a cheeky smile.

“That’s not what I meant” Brent says, now walking beside me. My arm brushes his as we continue to walk. I crane my neck up to look at him.

“So how was your summer in Florida?” I ask. “It was great, lots of sunshine, swimming, fishing, and family” He smiles, his eyes gleam a little brighter when he mentions his family.

“Do you ever wish you lived down there?” He shakes his head, “Nah, it’s a nice place to visit and I love my parents but North Carolina will always be my home”.

I smile, thankful that he plans to stick around. What should’ve been a ten minute walk was turning into almost a half hour as we rounded the last corner. It felt so easy to talk with Brent. He wasn’t like other guys. He actually listened. Part of me wondered if Erica would be mad at him for being gone so long. I definitely didn’t want to deal with any drama.

“Are you gonna stop by the rugby field tomorrow morning? We’ve got a pickup game” I rake my teeth against my bottom lip thinking, “uh, yeah. Sure. Hayes didn’t say anything about it but I’ll see if Brie wants to stop by”

Brent smiles at me as we reach the front door of my apartment.

“Hey, I really appreciate you walking me home. You didn’t have to. I know everyone feels like they have to keep an extra eye on me since I’m Hayes littles sister” I tell him using a dramatic tone at the end.

Brent furrows his brow “what? No, I didn’t walk you home because of that. I did it because I wanted to”

I look down smiling. Being this close to Brent makes me heart beat fast. We are standing so close that I can feel the heat off of his body. He smells so good that it makes my head spin. I glance up and his eyes are staring at me.

After lingering for far too long I finally clear my throat, “well, I should probably head in”.

Brent nods “sweet dreams, Noah”. “Sweet dreams, Brent” I say closing the door. My heart races as I try to catch my breath.

BRENTS POV

As I walked back to the house I couldn’t stop my brain from reeling. When I saw Noah walk out the door of the house and saw that Brie hadn’t left I knew I had to make sure she got home safe.

I started laughing to myself. Noah would never hurt anyone. She really caught me off guard when punched me in the throat. Even when I was doubled over trying to catch my breath I couldn’t stop thinking about how beautiful she is.

Standing close to her is a dangerous act on my part. I feel this magnetic pull when I’m near her, like I just want to pull her into my arms and hold her close. Standing at her door I couldn’t help but stare at her beautiful plump lips. It took every ounce of strength not to close the distance and kiss her.

As I walked down the street to the house I noticed a handful of cars had left. I walked in and saw Erica in the corner with her arms crossed. She looked pissed but I didn’t care. Erica and I went on a few dates last year but I told her I wasn’t interested in dating. The more accurate reality would’ve been that I wasn’t interested in dating her. Maybe I’m a coward for not being more straight forward but I hated the idea of hurting her feelings. She can be sweet but she talks s**t about everyone. She’s too much drama and the conversation never goes past the surface.

There are plenty of attractive girls at UNCC and I’ve dated my fair share of them but suddenly none of them catch my attention anymore. My mind was only fixed on one girl now.

I snuck up the stairs passed everyone. I really didn’t feel like partying anymore. I went into my room and locked the door. Definitely didn’t want to run the risk of any unexpected visitors which has happened before.

I slipped off my clothes until I was in nothing but my boxers and crawled into bed. My c**k twitched at the thought of what Noah might be wear to bed.

I tried to wipe those thoughts out of my brain. They weren’t good for me. Noah is my best friends sister and I had to refrain for the sake of our friendship.