𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 // 𝘑𝘰𝘦𝘭 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳

Chapter 22

After a tiring patrol Joel and Eugene entered Jacksonville. The two of them strolled to the barn where the horses were kept and well cared for and waited for their turn to hand the horses in. While doing so they talked about Ellie's upcoming birthday.

"She grew so much." Eugene remarked and Joel looked over to him. "I remember when she was this small." The tall bearded man spoke up, holding his hand beneath his shoulder. The older brother nodded at him and gazed to the side, noticing that you were walking towards them.

He immediately straightened his posture and leaned against the horse beside him. Eugene watched him fix his hair and rub his hands through his beard, intentionally fixing himself up for you.

"Hey." You spoke up and Joel cleared his throat, nodding at you. You smiled sheepishly and brushed a strand of hair behind your ear. "I just wanted to tell you two that we'll be eating dinner at Tommy's tonight."

"Unless you're too tired." You add and nodded your head. "No. Not at all." Joel answered and stood up straight. "We'll be there in 30." He told you and you nodded your head. "Alright." You smiled as usual at them and walked away.

Joel let out a quiet breath and glanced over at Eugene who had a huge smile plastered on his face. "Oh you like her, don't you?"

-

You'd been waiting for a few hours now and finally heard a knock on your door. Tommy had promised you to fix your heater today and a few of his guys should later on come by and help.

You opened your door and expected to see Tommy walk in with a heavy box. He told you that he had stored the materials for fixing your heater in there. However it wasn't exactly the little brother you encountered.

"Joel." You remark in surprise, opening your door wider so he could come through with the box. He smiled at you and you watched him walk inside of your house. He was wearing his flannel shirt as usual but something seemed different.

His sleeves were pulled back to his elbows, giving you a delightful view of his veins. His arm muscles were almost ripping the shirt at the top and you couldn't help but stare.

After you had kissed none of you two talked about it again. You mostly acted like nothing happened but the two of you noticed the tension. It wasn't a bad tension either it was rather...a good one.

He put the box onto your dining table and let a grunt escape his mouth. "I didn't knew you were coming." You tell him while opening the box to see the materials. "Tommy told me to bring them to ya." He answered and you suddenly felt his presence right behind you.

You turned around and took a step back, supporting yourself with your hands on your table. You gazed up at him and titled your head. "You sure?" You tease and immediately noticed the familiar little wrinkle appear between his eyebrows. "Eugene wanted to hand them off."

The tall male cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "You're a bad liar." You whisper to him with a giggle and hooked your two fingers into his waistband. "I could've done it better." You spoke up and pulled him closer.

He gazed down at you with amusement playing in his eyes as he leaned down to your height. "Yeah?" He asked while a slight smirk started to occur on the corner of his lips. You smiled at him and let your nose brush against his. "Definitely."

He let out an entertained chuckle and trapped you between his arms. He placed them on either side of your table while never breaking eye-contact.

"That's y/n house. Come on. Let's go inside." A voice spoke up from outside and you felt your eyes widen. That were probably Tommy's guys. You panicked and pushed Joel back right before a familiar male walked into your dining room.