One and Only

The Dream

"Ross, Can you help me with this? My hair is tangled around the clasp and I can't unfasten it myself" I say sheepishly as I turn my back on him and put my hair aside for him to have a better look at my necklace. I smile to myself imagining the astonished face he must have right now. We have hardly shared two words together in the years we have known each other and here I am, asking him for help. He must be going nuts.

"are you okay?" I ask above my shoulder, seeing he hasn't moved in the last few seconds.

"sure! Yeah- I-I'll help you..." he finally says as he brings his hands to the clasp. "done" I turn around, stretching my lips into a smile and whisper a soft "thank you" as I plant a kiss on his left cheek. There it is! The stunned face again. I do not get tired of this. I give a mental high five to myself and walk back to the deckchair feeling his eyes fixed on me. From that moment I act as if he had already left so my following movement is to grab the bottom of my summer dress and slowly pull it above my head, revealing my body only covered by a white bikini. I can feel his stare on my skin, and even though I don't want to admit it to myself...I somewhat like it. I try not to look back, since I'm pretending he is not there, and then I reach the border of the swimming pool and dive headfirst.

"hey Brother, what are you doing standing there like a statue?" I heard Monica asks him when I emerge from underwater. She is standing next to him holding two towels, but he doesn't seems to have noticed her presence; normal, after the exhibition I made before his eyes the guy's blood must have frozen eternally. It takes him about 30 seconds to realise he has been caught staring at me. His eyes widen right away and his face takes the colour of a tomato.

"I-I have to go, to...do some stuff" he blurts out as he turns around and rushes to the house as if his pants where on fire. I bit my bottom lip feeling a bit sorry but at the same time disappointed that my game has finished so soon.

"What the hell happened to him? Did a bee bite him or what?" Monica says taken aback by her brother's weird behaviour.

"Honestly, I have no idea." I lie as I swim towards the border and rest my arms there for support.

"he has been acting so oddly the last few weeks...haven't you noticed?" oh yes I have noticed, and if you knew I am the cause of that...you would kill me.

"mmm nu-uh" I shook my head spontaneously "he seems the same geek to me"

"Rachel" Monica pronounces my name with a threatening tone and pointing her finger at me to emphasise the warning.

"what? You call him that too!" I say in my defence.

"but he is my brother, it's in my rights to call him that"

"Alright, Can I use nerd then?" I say in a chuckle, attempting to be funny but Monica doesn't take it well judging by the evil stare she has just shot me.

"stop that now! Ross is a nice guy, if you looked beyond his geeky looks you'd realise what a wonderful man he is" I press my lips against each other to prevent a loud laugh that Monica's unexpected reply caused in me.

"I cannot believe you are using those words and your brother's name in the same sentence" I cannot help but chuckle; in the time I have known them, the kindest word that had come out of their mouths to refer to each other has been "idiot". "C'mon Mon, you know I was kidding" I excuse myself seeing she is everything but amused.

"I-I know...I just think he doesn't deserve all the mocking he receives..." I frown confused, wondering what Monica meant by those words. Does she suspect something? Or maybe Ross told her about my teasing...nah, that's not possible; he is a closed book even with his sister. "Rachel!"