Head Over Boots

14. Roller Coaster

Getting both stumbling boys out of the house and in the back of the truck was surprisingly easy. What was not easy was the endless chatter and questions on the short truck ride home. They ranged from why the sky is blue (apparently paint), how the tree we passed looked like it might kill them, and which girl has the best rack (some girl called Jessica Stanton but apparently she's a bitch and not worth it), generally all stuff I didn't need to hear or know.

"Hey Aves," I pinched between my eyebrows, making Nate laugh at my pain, prepared for another question from my brother, "Can Bent stay with us? His parent's will, like kill him, then he can't play and then we won't win and my NFL dreams will be over," my brother cries dramatically.

I take a deep breath before replying, "Sure, you're just lucky as shit that Luke isn't home tonight or you'd be the dead one, then your NFL dreams really would be over." If having Bently stay meant I could get out of this truck quicker then I was all for it, honestly at this point he was being quiet so I'd happily swap him for Charlie.

Getting them out of the car and onto the couches in the basement was as painless as it was getting them out of the party, even when Charlie started to complain about feeling sick halfway down. Nate, who was supporting most of his weight, threatened to drop him from the top to the bottom if he dared throw up on him. They both were out like a light as soon as Nate had helped them down the stairs and onto the couches.

"Hey, do you want me to stay and crash on the couch? They should probably be checked on, I'm almost certain neither of them has much experience with alcohol," Nate offers as we walk back up into the living room.

"Are you sure? I can keep an eye on them," the only drunk person I've ever had to take care of was Tessa, so it would make me happier having someone else here, especially as I was in no way strong enough to lift them up if either of the giants ended up on the floor.

"Of course, I can't really be bothered to go home anyway," he shrugs, taking a seat on the couch, there was a strange tingle in my stomach and a sense of warmth that flowed over me at seeing how comfortable he was in my house.

"Okay, I'll just grab you a blanket and pillow from the linen closet, help yourself to drinks and food, you know where it is." I head into the hallway to grab what he would need for the night.

"Want to watch another movie? I kinda fell asleep in the last one and I'm not tired now," Nate asks as I walk back in, Netflix already up on the screen.

"Sure, but my pick this time," I place the pillow at one end of the couch, taking a seat next to him, putting the blanket over us and selecting the movie.

"Legally Blonde? Seriously?" He looks over at me with raised eyebrows.

"Hey, it's my favourite movie, Elle Woods is a boss ass bitch and I bet you've never even seen it so don't judge," I point my finger at him and he raises his hands in surrender, letting his arm fall over my shoulder as it had earlier. I hesitate slightly before cuddling into him.

"Bentley's a good kid," he says suddenly from the quiet, eyes focused on the screen.

"I didn't say he wasn't," I look up at his face.

"I know, I just didn't want you to think he's a bad influence on Charlie."

"I really don't think anyone could influence Charlie, or pressure him into something he doesn't want to do. He's Luke's brother, of course he was going to drink tonight," I laugh, resting my head on his chest.

"I know, Bent's just had it rough, he spent most of his sophomore year at mine, his parents are basically non-existent, when they are there they aren't exactly the nicest. I worried about him when I left for college," he sighs, leaning his head on top of mine, pulling his arms around me.

"He's always welcome here," I tell him as I relax into his embrace.

"Thanks," he says softly, his arms squeezing me gently, like he was trying to bring me even closer to him.

"You must have been a really good captain you know?" I look back up at him to find him already looking back down at me.

"Why do you say that?" he whispers quietly, eyes never wandering from mine.

"I can see by the way you still care; for Bentley and even for Charlie, who wasn't even on your team," I whisper, feeling like all the breath has been sucked out of my lungs.

"What if I had an ulterior motive for helping Charlie? Like maybe the possibility I might get to spend some time with his gorgeous, intelligent, kind sister," It's at this point I notice his gaze switch from my eyes to my lips as he slowly leans towards me, so close I can feel his breath on my lips as my hand slides up to cup the side of his neck.

"Brooks. Hot Chick. Help." We hear called from the basement. We both groan, pulling away from each other, him leaning down to rest his forehead on mine as my heart beat slowed and I caught the breath I'd been holding. Now I'm certain, I want to kiss him.

"I'm fed up with these interruptions," he sighs, pressing a quick kiss to my forehead, swiping his thumb over my cheek, making my face burn red.

"I better go see what that is," I mutter as I reluctantly untangle myself from him and stand up, face bent down to hide my burning cheeks.

"I'll come," he stands up, putting his hand on my back, shockwaves radiating out from wherever he touches.

We get down to the basement to find Bentley still on a couch, on his back with one arm over his face, he swings his other arm out in the direction of where my brother now lays on the floor. "Can't get him up," he mumbles.

Nate moves over to Charlie and drags him up onto the couch before turning to Bently, "lie on your side idiot, if you vomit like that you'll choke," he grabs his shoulder rolling him over. I smile softly, watching him act so paternal to the younger boys, like watching him with Jenny, it does funny things to my body, like make my ovaries explode.

The boys quickly fall back to sleep once I have covered them with blankets and Nate and I head back upstairs to the couch.  Not a word is spoken between us as we settle back on the couch; his arms fall back around me as I cuddle into his chest, pulling the blanket over us as I pretend to focus on the movie when all I really want to do is kiss the ever loving shit out of the guy that is wrapped around me.