My Best Friends Brother

Chapter 98

When Brie said this place was incredible, she was not fucking around.

It’s so late now that there’s no natural light to guide us to this place but the moon is full and round just over the tree line, reflecting in the still lake that surrounds this beautiful structure.

I can’t believe that ten minutes ago we were driving past a McDonald’s, this feels like a whole new world. I would have missed it altogether if I wasn’t following Han all the way up here, if Charlie had been driving we’d still be going past the welcome to Westbrooke sign about now.

Blinding floodlights illuminate the giant wooden deck out front, the rustic lodge style mansion expanding out further than I can see into the deep forest behind. Liam’s eyes only grow wider as we park next to the lake and he can see into the yard behind this place.

“They have a pool! And boats! Oh my God are those ducks?!” I don’t think I’ve ever seen Liam actually bounce around in his seat. He’s so happy that he didn’t even realise that Brie was next to the car until she tapped the window and he jumped out of his skin.

“Sorry little man! I was just really excited to see you, Heather is waiting for you out back so she can make smores.” Liam looks at me with a mixture of desire and absolute terror, I know by tomorrow he will have settled in but for tonight I can’t see him leaving my side much.

“Give us five minutes to actually get out of the car Brie.” She smiles at Liam and winks before stepping back into Steve’s arms behind her. I think sometimes she forgets that not all kids are screaming balls of pure energy like Heather or May.

Liam gives Brie and Steve the quickest hugs of their lives before immediately sprinting back to hold my hand. It’s not like I’m not happy to see them or anything but where is...

“He's collecting firewood for Al, can you seriously not at least pretend to act like you're here to spend time with the fucking rest of us? He’s basically spent the last hour sitting in the fucking window, his head shooting around like a fucking puppy every time a set of lights come anywhere fucking near this place too. I can’t decide if you two are really cute or really fucking pathetic.” Brie complains, whilst Charlie closes his mouth long enough that he can finally get his head out of his car.

“The only thing that's pathetic around here is you trying to pass off that bargain fucking weave as your actual hair.”

Oh no.

Not the hair Charlie. I know you’re in a bad mood but never go for her hair.

Steve has to wrap both arms around Brie’s waist as her arms and legs fling themselves towards Charlie. I fucking told him not to say shit that would provoke her until at least day two but of course he doesn't fucking listen.

“You want to comment on my fucking hair! The last time you made Josh let you tag along with us you had that perm that made you look like an entrant in fucking crufts! And not even one of the decent pure breeds, one of the mangey fucking mutts that everybody gives a participant trophy too even though he’s got a dodgy fucking eye!”

Han and Steve give each other sympathetic looks as Han has to wrap his hands around Charlie’s waist and hold him back when his claws extend for Brie’s throat.

“That perm cost more than your knock off Louis Vuitton fucking hooker heels bitch!”

Brie unhooks her hoop earrings and throws them onto the floor... that's never a good sign. I know that if she gets free from Steve right now she’s going to tear that man in half. Maybe I gave them too much credit in hoping that we’d at least make it inside before they started in on each other.

“These shoes are more real than that fucking box dye you've got going on! Ain’t nobody believing that’s your real colour Ginge!”

Liam doesn’t know where to look as Charlie attempts to bite Han in an effort to get himself free.

“That’s fucking racist! She’s a fucking racist against ginger people!”

Even Liam knows that one is a bit far fetched as he begins to chuckle, but still trying to hide himself behind my hip.

“Oh fuck off Tinkerbell!”

“A fairy! Oh she's a fucking homophobe now too!”

This isn’t going to end well....

“How the fuck can I be homophobic when I’ve fucked more people of my own sex than you have?!”

I cover Liam’s ears but I’m afraid the damage is already done, I’m going to kill this pair by the end of the weekend.

“Fucking bisexuals... Should have known you’re the kind of person that would want your cake and eat it too. How you got a guy that looks like that to agree to marry you I’ll never fucking know!”

“I was about to say the same thing to you!”

Charlie clutches his chest like he’s just been shot.

“How dare you call me bisexual!” He shrieks. “You take that fucking back right now!”

Brie smirks at him. “I was actually talking about your seriously fuckable husband but since it pissed you off so much... If the swinging-both-ways-shoe fits, you feel free to lace that fucker up!”

“Oh I’m going to snatch that wig right off your fucking head!”

“What the hell is going on here?!” We all look up to see Al, Jayce, Heather and Miles standing behind us looking at the scene in total disbelief. Al steps forward between the warring Queens, raising her hands so that they both start to breathe even though neither of their men feel it's safe yet to let them go. “Brianna! Charles! You do this every fucking time we go out! Now, we are all going to be here for a few nights and you both agreed to play fucking nice. I want you both to calm your shit or I swear to God I will hide all the conditioner in the house and leave you both frizzy bitches for the whole weekend!”

They both instantly still, looking horrified at the girl standing between them.

“You wouldn’t...” Brie threatens.

“Fucking watch me. Hug and make up, now.” I love when Al uses her mum voice on other people, I swear they give you some kind of magical power when you become a mother where a certain tone just forces people into doing exactly what you tell them to.

Steve and Han release their captive’s slowly, both of them walking towards each other sheepishly and leaning into a half arm hug where as little of their bodies can touch as possible.

They try to whisper but both of them are so fucking loud that everybody hears it.

“I hope you develop alopecia on your wedding day.” Charlie says through the gritted teeth of his fake smile.

Brie responds with a similar face. “And I hope on the day that Channing Tatum turns up on your door naked is the day that you develop erectile dysfunction.”

Charlie steps back. “That's the cruellest thing anyone has ever said to me...  I kind of respect that.”

Brie smirks and shrugs before walking over to Steve, pulling him with her into the house. We may not be seeing them for a while, she has to get out that built up anger some way and it’s likely that he's about to feel it.

Charlie and Han make their way towards the house, Jayce showing them where they’re going to be staying as Aleah walks over and crouches in front of Liam.

“Want to come make smores with me and Heather while Josh puts your stuff in your room?” Liam looks back at me but I give him an encouraging nod just as Heather slips her hand into his. His little pink cheeks grow ever redder with every step that she takes still holding his hand.

He glances back at me and smiles just before they turn behind the building and out of my sight. I go to get our bags out of the trunk but immediately run into a solid wall of muscle, knocking me unsteadily off my feet.

Miles.

His hand quickly loops around my waist and pushes me back towards him by the base of my spine. How the fuck does he make my legs feel like jelly with a single look like that?

“Careful, you falling for me already?”

Kind of.

We both look over at the house, where we stand next to the cars now is coated in darkness and everybody appears busy. He leans forward as I loop my fingers into his hair, knocking his baseball hat to the floor somewhere, but it doesn’t stop him bringing his lips straight to mine.

Two days is way too long not to kiss him.

His hips press against mine, forcing me to take a step back until I slam into the passenger door of my car. When he realises he has me pinned, it only drives him to go harder. His tongue teases at my lips but when I refuse to part them he reaches down from his place on my back and grabs my ass before squeezing tightly, forcing a yelp from me that allows him access into my mouth.

Oh, it’s like that is it?

I didn’t even get time to fucking change before I left to get Liam, this suit always felt like it fitted well but it's feeling rather tight as he pulls out my shirt and slips his hand under the fabric to stroke over my hips.

Clothes are stupid. When I’m around him there should be no fucking use for them.

The cold breeze blasts through the trees, melding its way into his touch so that the chill combines with the heat of his skin, both feeling exhilarating in equal measures.

We both try to pull away at different points but neither of us can seem able to truly separate our bodies. I haven’t said one word to him since we got here but I think this kiss is telling him everything I have to say.

Finally when neither of us can see through the oxygen deprivation, we pull back, both smiling at each other as the empty hole that appears every time we are torn apart begins to stitch itself back together.

“Miles, we have to be more careful, someone could have seen us.”

“Someone already did.”

We both snap our heads to the right and follow the sound of that voice until we see him leant against the side of the bug with his tattoo drenched muscular arms folded over his broad chest. “What exactly was your plan if I turned out to be Jayce? At this point you might as well drag him into that house and just start going at it on the fucking couch.” Thank fuck it’s just Steve.

Miles smirks at me. “Sounds good to me.” Of course he'd fucking say that. I’m starting to believe half the reason he wants to tell everyone is just so he can watch Jayce freak the fuck out.

Steve chuckles, walking over and popping the trunk of my car before pulling out two of the bags.

“Go check on Liam for us jailbait, I’ll show my brother where you two are setting up camp for the next few nights... Thank fuck Brie put you at the opposite end from us.”

I don’t know why he’s saying that like it’s a relief for him, I’ve slept in the room next door to the two of them and all the noise cancelling headphones in the world couldn't block them out when they get going.

“Sure,” Miles comments before scanning the area, then placing a small kiss right on my bottom lip. “I left the draws next to the door side of the bed empty for you. Even if you do usually end up sleeping on top of me most of the time anyway.”

Most of the time?! He captures his cap off the floor and places it backwards onto his head whilst running down the side of the house and ignoring me shouting after him.

“That was one fucking night!” But all I can see as he fades into the darkness is the bright white of his smile looking back at me.

Steve gives me Liam’s stuff to carry before showing me where we'll be staying for the next few nights. This house is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. It’s a bit of a contradiction, the family room in the front is all fluffy blankets and open wood fires but the kitchen is sleek and modern, a theme that seems to become more prominent the further we go through the house.

Steve edges open the door at the furthest end of the house, the dark mahogany wood flooring spreading out into one of the biggest bedrooms I’ve ever seen. Two beds stood in the room, one giant queen covered in crisp white sheets in the centre of the room, and another single off in the corner that is definitely not going to be seeing a body this weekend.

“Liam’s one is through here.” I drop my bags on the bed and walk through the bathroom with Steve that leads to another bedroom. I’m glad this one doesn’t have the same amount of space, Liam likes things to be small and cosy so he feels safer.

Steve leans Liam’s bag on the bed and opens it up. I’ll do most of the unpacking in the morning but I need to make sure I’ve got his pyjamas and inhaler for tonight.

“I didn’t realise you two were at the knowing what side of the bed you sleep on stage.” Steve smirks, dropping most of Liam’s pyjamas into the draw next to him. “ Do you really think you can both keep this under wraps for a few more days?”

“If I didn’t honestly think that Jayce would throw him in a car and have Tara lock him up until college, just to keep me from sharing a room with him for the next four days, I think we’d both be happy just to tell them all right now. This is the first time we’ve all been together in a really long while though, we both just want to enjoy that before the world starts to burn for us.”

Pushing what’s left in Liam’s case under his bed, Steve follows me back through the bathroom so I can get out of this suit. I’m quite a tidy person but I have a feeling that it doesn’t come as naturally to Miles, but it’s cute that he tries.

Everything that sits on top of his bedside cabinet is perfectly placed but I know if I opened any of those drawers they would just be shoved full of his stuff without any sense of order. I appreciate him at least pretending to make an effort.

Steve wanders out onto the balcony that comes through the doors next to the bed, resting on his elbows and looking out at everyone around the fire pit below us. I didn’t mean to get here so late, an hour from now Liam will be passed out but at least we are all together. Pulling on the first things to come out of my case, I zip up my hoodie before walking out onto the balcony and leaning my elbows on the ledge next to Steve’s.

Aleah and Brie sit on one of the benches, probably putting the world to rights as Chase lays quietly on his mothers shoulder. I can hear Charlie’s laugh but I can’t see him, he’s probably got Jayce cornered in the kitchen by now trying to get a look at what's going on under his shirt.

Liam and Heather have the brightest smiles on their faces, May happily sitting with her favourite niece on her lap whilst Liam just looks up at Miles with absolute joy as he helps him scoop his marshmallow into the biscuit. Sometimes people are nice to your kids just so that you'll think good of them, but he doesn’t even know I can see him right now and the way he’s looking at Liam hasn’t changed.

The marshmallow on the end of Liam’s stick catches alight, and I see the moment he starts to panic, but Miles just quickly takes it from his hand and blows it out, not making a fuss about it being burnt before putting it into the next cracker with some chocolate and taking a bite like it’s the most delicious thing he’s ever eaten, even though I’m sure it actually tastes like charcoal. How did I find someone as fucking sweet as him, someone who would eat the burnt marshmallow just to save the feelings of a nervous little boy?

“He really makes you happy doesn't he?” I hadn’t realised I’d been smiling so much until I turned back to Steve and could finally feel the strain in my cheeks.

“He makes me so happy it fucking terrifies me.” Steve pulls back, looking at me like he wants me to explain but I’m not sure that I can truly put it into words. “I’ve never had something in my life that made me feel as complete as being with him does, I know that this is going to piss a lot of people off and we're going to get so much shit but it terrifies me that I don’t even care. It terrifies me how I’ve gone from feeling like I’d never find anyone, to throwing everything I have into one person. It’s terrifies me how we aren't even in a relationship yet and I’m already looking at places I could transfer to just to be closer to him when he goes to college. It terrifies me that it's too fucking soon to be thinking about him the way that I am, that everything could change just as quickly as it has since I found him, but every time I close my eyes and picture my future, he's standing right next to me.”

The cold outdoor air attacks at my skin but brings no chill to my heart when everything I’m feeling just seems to fill it with warmth.

“We've got you, me and Brie, we've got you both. If people want to give you guys shit then they can go the fuck through me because I’ve waited too fucking long to see you this happy man. There’s no such thing as too fast with the one Josh, I wanted to marry Brie the first day she told me she loved me. Whatever you both decide to do, we've got your back.”

I don’t think he'll never know how much that means to me. I thought that they'd take longer to understand but I really should have known with these two that all they ever want for the people they love is to be happy.

Brie calls out to the kids to tell them that it's too cold to stay out, Heather jumping off May’s lap and reaching her arms up to Miles, his addictive laugh sailing through the air to us all the way up here as he leans down and places her onto his hip. Liam looks up to him then away again, I can see he wants to do the same thing but he’s just too nervous to ask.

Steve turns too walk back down there but when I go to join him I see Miles lean over and scoop Liam up without hesitation, balancing the kids easily in each arm and chatting with May as they all make their way back inside.

He really is going to make it hard not just to fucking kiss him all the time this fucking weekend isn't he?

Please remember to vote and comment beauts 🥰 ❤ 📖