New Found Brother

The weather was steadily growing cold, and Christmas break was finally coming up. Marie was excited as her and her parents were heading off to Cancun for the week and a half break. Jeff and I decided to remain in the city over Christmas. I doubted we had anything other then sleeping in the whole break planned, but I thought I’d get him something for the holiday.

Marie and I were walking down the downtown streets. She was once again clinging to my side, acting as if she was freezing her ass off even though it was barely fifty-degrees (Fahrenheit). I hadn’t the slightest clue on what to get Jeff for the holiday, then again, I didn’t even know what I wanted either.

“What about that?” Marie asked pointing into a window.

We stopped and looked into the window. I cocked my head and smiled, “Marie, those are heels. Are you hinting what you want?”

“Just a little.” She gave a weary sigh, “I don’t know what to get him, he has everything. You could just get him a gift certificate. Then he can decide what he wants.”

“Or a watch.”

“He has a watch...”

I shrugged, “don’t you give people you care about watches?”

“I suppose that could work.” Marie giggled, “you could get him a case of beer.”

“He doesn’t drink beer.”

“Really?”

I nodded and we started walking again, still window shopping, but I made a mental image of what store it was that Marie had seen the shoes she liked in. I’d make a side track later on some day after school to get her a pair... after I cleverly learned what he shoe size was.

I sighed. This was one reason why I hated the holidays. I never knew what to get people. “Well, this was a pointless outing,” I stated blandly. “I’m going to head home.” I turned around, heading back the way we came. It was only a couple blocks to the apartment again.

“I’m coming with you.”

I stopped and turned to look at her, “why?”

“Because I love you and you want me to spend the night with you,” Marie clung to my arm and tried to give me her prettiest smile.

Why did this girl have an obsession with me?

------

“Go home Marie.”

I watched as Marie pouted at her older brother, even after his command. She had no intention of going home, not unless she was offered something she wanted. I wondered what it would take to finally get her to leave me alone for a night.

“I’m not going anywhere!” she stated firmly, sitting down on the stool.

Jeff left the kitchen and stomped off to his bedroom. I watched from my position, perched on the cough leaning over the back. A couple minutes later Jeff returned something in his hand. “Go home,” he said again, taking Marie’s hand and putting whatever it was there.

Her eyes got wide. “You can’t be serious!”

“I’ll let you drive it, if you finally give Pax and me some peace for the night.”

She looked between me and the key in her hand. I finally understood what Jeff had given her. The key to his BMW, the car she’d been begging him to drive since their father had given it to him. “What if I wreck it?” she asked him curiously.

“I’ll kill you. Now you better hurry up before I change my mind and take them back.”

She looked at me again, before jumping up from the stool and practically running to her coat, pushing buttons on her cell phone on the way. “Oh my god! You won’t believe it!”

I heard her say into her phone before the door shut.

“You’re never going to see that car again,” I told Jeff.

“Not mine anyway,” Jeff stated, moving around the couch and plopping down beside me. I turned around and sat right, giving him a curious look.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s her Christmas present, given to me for safe keeping.”

I slowly nodded, “it’s still a week and a half before Christmas. Isn’t your father going to be mad you gave it to her already?”

Jeff shrugged. “What do you want for Christmas?”

I opened my mouth then closed it again. I didn’t really know what I wanted for Christmas, hadn’t put much thought into it, I was more worried about what to get him. I frowned, before finally thinking of what to say, “What do you want for Christmas?”

Jeff frowned as he found the questioned turned back onto him. “I don’t know. A watch?”

“Ha! I told Marie you’d be fine with that.”

Jeff laughed. “I wonder about you two. You know, she has no blood relations with you... you two could always...”

“Are you trying to set me up with your sister?”

“No, just saying if you like her... you know, it’s fine with me.”

I shook my head, “I like her, just not as in a girlfriend kind of way. She’s annoying enough as a friend.”

Jeff laughed, “try having her for a sister.”

I smiled and stretched my arms over my head and backwards on the couch, my head leaning back to look into the kitchen, “what are we having for dinner?”

“Umm...” Jeff’s gaze went to the kitchen as well. “Frozen pizza? Haven’t been shopping yet this week.”

“Sounds good. Quick and easy, I have finales to study for.”

Jeff nodded and stood from the couch making his way out to the kitchen. I turned on the couch again and watched as he unwrapped the pizza and put it in the oven before setting the timer. He didn’t return to the living room like I had expected, instead he walked off towards his bedroom. My brow creased as I tried to wonder what he was doing.

A few minutes later he returned to the living room with his guitar. I had heard him practice a couple times before, and Marie had told me that he was in a band his freshman year of college, but it was just something to do in his spare time. Jeff enjoyed played, I knew that much.

He sat down on the other end of the couch and began to tune the guitar, looking up to notice I was watching him. “What? Don’t you have studying to do?”

“Teach me,” I wasn’t sure if it was a command or question.

He arched a brow, “you actually want to learn?”

“Yeah, why is there a problem with that?”

“No,” he stated with a small shake of his head. He finished tuning the guitar before scooting closer to me. He handed me the guitar and I set it in my lap.

He slipped his arm around my waist, waiting a moment to see how I’d react, when I acted as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, he took my hand and placed it on the strings.

“Okay, now take the pick in this hand,” he handed me the pick before taking that hand as well to show me how to strum it.

He told me to loosen up and not be so tense while holding the guitar, so I did, and then realized how close he was. I realized that his arms were wrapped me, his hands on mine, I should have been uncomfortable with the situation, but I wasn’t. I was strangely happy and warm. As Jeff moved my fingers, I could feel his warm breath on the side of my face as he told me what to do.

A chill ran down my spine and I closed my eyes licking my lips. I couldn’t believe the feeling that was coming over me. Jeff became silent, his hands still on mine. I heard him breathing and then swallow.

“Pax,” he said in nearly a whisper.

I turned my head to look at him, my eyes half open. I realized how close he was to me even more then. His lips mere inches from mine, our breaths mingling together. I swallowed hard, about to clothes the gap between us, not fully sure why I wanted to feel his lips against mine, all I knew was I did. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to close that distance.

He leaned in, I leaned in. Not even an inch left. We would have kissed had reality not called in the form of the oven beeping. My eyes opened all the way, and I saw the look he was giving me with his pale blue eyes. I backed away, swallowing again.

“We... we should get the pizza out so it doesn’t burn,” I managed to say, once again putting the space between us, and removing my hands from his.

Jeff nodded, looking slightly disappointed. He removed his arm from around me and moved away from me and off the couch. I swallowed once more, closing my eyes, trying to figure out what had just been going through my head.

I couldn’t believe the thoughts had gone through my head. I had actually wanted to kiss my brother. I wanted to feel him closer to me, his arms tighten around me. I wanted to lose myself to him. I cleared my thoughts and my throat.

“Do you want me to put your guitar up?” I asked without turning to look at Jeff.

“Yeah, would you?”

I stood, guitar in hand and went to my brothers room. I flipped on his light, and automatically walked to his guitar stand. I set the guitar on the stand and looked around. It wasn’t the first time in my brothers room, far from it. But I looked around as if it were the first time. He kept everything neat and organized, his bed was always made. I wondered why the heck he left everything so organized.

“Takes you long enough to put a guitar away.”

I jumped and turned around to find Jeff standing in the door way. I opened my mouth before shutting it for the second time that night.

“Come on, pizza’s ready.”

He turned and walked to the kitchen and I followed wordlessly.