My Best Friends Brother

Chapter 17

MILO’S P.O.V.

Coach has been more brutal than usual on us after everything with Luke, he really needs to unite us as a team again but I don’t think having us unite in our hatred of him is the way to go.

“Damn it Thompson! Play like this all week and those scouts will be suing you for that damn wasted plane fare! Get yourself together!”

We lost our match yesterday and it’s hit us all fucking hard, this shit between me and that dick has clearly divided everyone but I just can’t stand to look at the fucker anymore. Josh even had to break us up in the hallway after the match before we took chunks out of each other this morning. Not that that pathetic fucking twat could touch me.

I’ve never been so vicious just looking at someone, I was ready to tear that guys fucking head off. Coach said we have until tonight to sort our shit out or we’re both benched but even the thought of dealing with him makes my skin crawl.

He’d fucked off into his Dad’s old room for the last few nights so I couldn’t smother the prick in his sleep but Coach said one of the other teams needs it for two injured players so he has to be back in with us tonight too.

I’m not sure what bothers me most anymore, him fucking with Zoe or what the cunt said about Josh. Both just made me want to carve his smug little face up. He deleted the photos he had of Zo but it was an empty gesture at best, he had done the damage he intended with them so they weren’t of any use to him anymore anyway. It was never about Zoe, it was about me.

His issues go so far beyond what I thought, the guy isn’t even being cocky anymore, he just looks like he’s ready to rip me in half all the time.

I’d be going mental in this place if it wasn’t for one thing...

Josh stands off to the side, the captain from Melton chatting to him and laughing as they collect up the cones from practice. He’s hardly said a word to me outside of practise for the last two days.

I freaked him out.

He’s trying to act cool but he never responded to my last message that night and now I regret even sending it. I don’t know why the fuck I did, I was just pumping on adrenaline from talking to him like that and it caused me to forget what the fuck I am to him.

I’m Jayce’s little brother. That’s it... Except we both know it’s not. I catch him staring at me too much for this shit to be in my head, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was starting to crave the attention.

It’s stupid. He’s a fucking guy but... I just like when he looks at me like that, I like it more than when any other person has looked at me with fucking longing.

Practise wraps up but I’m still too fucking wired to go back to the dorms yet. That loss has dropped us down to second on the board and just looking at that score is eating me up. You don’t get to beat Jayce Thompson by being in second place.

I shouldn’t think like that, I know, he’s my brother. But spend your entire life trying to run from someone’s shadow and you’ll soon start to view your existence as a competition as well.

“You coming man?” Eli throws a towel at me but completely misses when that girl I found in our dorm with him last night walks past in her rolled up cheerleader skirt, winking.

The guy is shameless but I wouldn’t have him any other way.

Rubbing the towel across the back of my neck, I can feel the sweat pouring off me but I know it’s not enough. I have to be better.

“I’m good man, I’m gonna practise for a bit then hit the gym. You go.” I glance behind to see the same girl now stopped in the doorway with what appears to be her slightly more attractive friend. “Think they’re waiting for you.”

He smirks, walking over to me and throwing his heavy arm around my shoulder. “Us man, they’re waiting for us. It’s been like four days since Zoe, it’s time to move on. In this case moving on is getting between that pair of ridiculously long legs. Just think if the positions you could get that girl in, that’s a yoga body if I’ve ever seen one.”

Only Elijah would see four days as an acceptable mourning period for a relationship.

I actually feel really shit about that, because honestly – I don’t feel as bad as I should. Zoe is still in pieces, every time I see her she’s surrounded by a group of girls armed with tissues but it hasn’t been like that for me and I know it should be.

The more I think about it, the more I realise that it was probably a good thing we split. It’s clear now that something wasn’t right with us, she’s so fucking perfect but she just isn’t perfect for me. I’m not heartbroken, I should be, but I’m not.

Of course if I told anyone that they’d think I was a monster so I keep it to myself.

“Sorry man, I’ve got to get this tension out another way, but I have faith that your abilities will keep both of them satisfied.”

Eli smirks at me, that glint I’ve seen so many times in his eye before he goes firing on all cylinders glistens. These girls don’t even know what’s about to hit them. Or maybe they do, considering neither of them seem to be particularly bothered that I’m not going with them as he approaches the door.

I stand on the line, set my shot and watch the ball fall effortlessly through the hoop. Of course it’s easy when you’re alone and there’s no pressure or dickhead teammates to contend with.

Grabbing the next ball off the trolley, I pull back further and let it fly. This one sails through just as easily. I keep going, moving back further each time until I find myself at the mark I missed from yesterday. Of course this time it doesn’t even hit the rim, nothing but net.

“Nice shot.”

I jump out of my fucking skin, turning to see Josh locking up the locker room behind me.

“Fucking hell! You scared the shit out of me!”

He laughs, tossing his keys into the air and catching them before dumping them in his pocket.

Walking over, he grasps one of the balls from the trolley, moving into the spot I was just standing in and letting it go. It’s not as perfect as mine, bounces around the ring a bit before finally falling through the hoop.

“Not bad for a guy that says he can’t shoot. Do some one on one with me? I need the fucking practise.”

He scoffs, taking the last ball off the trolley and passing it over. I’m glad he’s talking to me, even if it is just for this. Not really speaking to the guy for the last few days has been weirdly torturous.

“Miles, you’re probably the best player this school has ever had, you definitely don’t need the practise. But if you insist on having someone destroy that cocky attitude of yours, then I’m happy to oblige.”

Oh it’s fucking on.

Dribbling the ball for a second, I side step him completely, making my way down the court with him shouting something about not being ready as my ball falls through the hoop.

“Too slow old man.”

Okay, that was clearly the wrong thing to say.

His eyes flare with fire as he grabs the ball from the floor, throwing it at me harshly before gesturing for me to make my move. He might be out of the game, but fuck does he look like he still belongs on a court.

In fact, the moment my ball hits the ground and he launches for me, I get so caught up in how good he looks that I can’t even fucking stop him capturing it.

He races down the length of the court, aiming and almost making the basket before I snatch it out of mid-air. He curses under his breath but I can’t stop laughing as I hurry in the opposite direction.

“Think that’s funny? You’re a fucking cheat Thompson!” He’s hilariously chuckling through his words but I know full well he means them, his body is shaking with adrenaline as time after time I manage to defend his attacks.

He does have one advantage though; every fucking time I’m trying to stop him coming at me, I become overwhelmed with the feel of him. Even his scent is clouding my mind with each hit. His chest presses against my back during one of his sneak attacks, and for a solid three seconds I swear I can feel his dick against me. I get so fucking flustered that the ball just falls from my hand.

There’s no stopping him as he runs and dunks it through the hoop with a giant smirk.

“Your jump needs work.”

He laughs heartily. “No it fucking doesn’t.”

“Oh yeah short ass, think you can get this?”

He’s an inch shorter than me at most but he still looks ready to fucking kill the moment the words leave my lips.

I hold the ball in one hand high above my head as he glares at me. The guy is so fucking fast, I hardly had time to process him move before suddenly he was in front of me, smacking the ball clean out of my ownership in a single leap.

My feet stumble back slightly as he begins to laugh, dodging my attempts to capture him and making a run for the sphere. Like fuck is he getting it this time.

I don’t know what possessed me to do it, the second he looks like he’s going to make it, I loop my arm around his waist and yank him all the way back. Of course he’s a fuck ton heavier than any girl I’ve ever done this too. I immediately regret my actions the second I lift him and my whole body starts to fall backwards.

Oh fuck.

My back hits the court hard, all the air leaving my body on impact and forcing me to gasp for breath. This was not my cleverest plan.

Josh’s reflexes are better, he managed to flip before squishing me completely, landing with his palms either side of my shoulders and chest flat against mine.

He holds his own weight effortlessly on top of me, if every ounce of oxygen hadn’t already left my body then it would now from having him in this position. I can feel him, all of him. Every part of his being is pressed against me.

Nothing I feel against my body compares to what I feel inside me the moment his lips curl up into a smile just inches from my face.

That laugh. Fuck, what I wouldn’t give to make him laugh like that every fucking day.

“Are you okay? That’s what you get for being such a competitive little fucker.”

I can’t answer him, in fact I can’t do fuck all but stare at him. My hands shake at my sides as I try to force them from wrapping around his body and pulling him down onto me.

What the hell is wrong with me? All I want is to be fucking closer to him.

“Miles? Shit, are you hurt?”

I’ve been quiet too long. I know I have. I just don’t know how to form words with so much rushing around in my head. The way I’m feeling, I know I shouldn’t be... He’s just so...

Josh looks down, seemingly realising for the first time our body placement. Please don’t move. I lose the control I have on my limbs the moment his eyes reconnect with mine, a single strand of hair falling in front of his otherwise picture perfect face. Reaching up without hesitation, I stroke it away, grazing my fingers along his forehead as I do.

He tries to hold it back but he can’t, the tremble my touch caused through his body evident as the shake in his arms almost forces him to fall completely on top of me.

Fuck. It’s not just me. He feels this too.

My hand lingers on his skin, slowly trailing along the edge of his hairline until I’m resting against his cheekbone. I couldn’t stop touching him if I wanted to, and I really don’t want to. Stroking my thumb just shy of the corner of his mouth, for a single second his eyes almost fall closed.

Almost.

The moment I watched the realisation of what he was letting himself feel hit him, he jumped immediately to his feet.

Cold. I shouldn’t feel it, but it’s worse than the first night I spent back in my room and out of his bed. It’s fucking cold in a world where I’m not with him.

Josh never gets embarrassed, I’ve seen him listen to Brie talk in fucking detail about her fucking sex life in front of him without him so much as raising an eyebrow, but right now he’s the perfect shade of salmon as he fumbles around in his shorts pocket.

I wonder if he realises he’s pulling them down even further.

“I’m... I told that kid Leeroy I’d help him out in the gym so I’d better get over there.” I sit up just in time to catch the keys he throws at me. “Lock up when you’re done.”

He runs out of the place so fast it’s like he’s a fucking blur.

Falling back on the cold hard ground, I let the cooling sensation if the maple floor soothe me. Why am I feeling like this? I swear I felt more in that thirty seconds touching him than I did in six months with Zoe.

My mind races as the sunlight beyond the windows starts to fade to the mixture of reds and oranges that coat the setting sky. The stars will be out soon, maybe they’ll have some answers because I’m fucked if I know.

I always liked Josh, even when I was a kid. I remember back at Jayce’s wedding looking over at him and realising that in that moment I really couldn’t see anybody else.

So many thoughts came to me that night, thoughts I’d never had before or again since, until I came here.

Thoughts I shoved back into a box after that day and refused to think about even once more. Thoughts about him. Thoughts about... us.

I still like him.

Fuck. I still really like him.

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