My bestfriend's brother

6

I lay in my bed not being able to sleep. I hear loud thuds whenever the wind hit the windows. I roam my hand over my nightstand to find my phone to see what the time is. I find and grab it. I look at it the time, 2:37 am.

I don't like storms, they're loud. I noticed that since I was little I get nightmares every time it storms. I hate it, it's like a curse. But I'm used to it by now, and since it doesn't storm a lot it isn't a problem for me anymore, it was worse when I was a kid.

I get out of bed and go downstairs in my pink pyjama shorts with a white long-sleeve. I walk over to the kitchen and put a small light on, so that I can make hot chocolate milk. I grab a pot and pour chocolate milk in it. While I wait for it to get hot, I walk close to the window and look outside into the garden. I see a figure standing in the dim lights from inside. I look a bit closer and see who it is, Valentino. He's standing under the roof trying to shelter from the snow. I open the door, a smoke cloud of tobacco hits my nostrils, I scrunch my nose. I didn't know he still smoked. "Can't sleep?" I ask him while I step outside with just my socks on. He turns his head to me and nods. "You want one?" He points at his pack of cigarettes. I shake my head. "No, I stopped." I say with a sigh at the end.

I started when I was 16. Me and him smoked together sometimes before I went away and didn't see him anymore. "Since when?" He asks. "Since Katy got pregnant, so 3 years ago." "Congrats." He says, he takes a long drag from his cigarette to finish it up, and inhales. He holds the smoke in for a second before he exhales. "I'm proud of you." I smile and my cheeks reach my eyes. "Come on, let's go inside. It's cold." He says.

We both walk to the kitchen. I stand in front of the stove. He follows me and looks in the pot. "Want some?" I ask. He nods and smiles. I grab two mugs from the kitchen cupboard. I turn the stove off and grab the pot, I pour the chocolate milk in the two mugs. I put marshmallows in them and whipped cream on top. I walk over to him laying on the couch, his legs are on the long part of the couch. I place the mugs on the coffee table and sit next to him with a bit of space.

He grabs the remote control and puts a Christmas movie on. I grab a blanket and put it over myself.

1 hour later we are half way trough the movie.  My body shivers from the cold and my eye lids feel heavy. My head feels heavy too. I lay my head on something hard next to me.

☁️

I feel Stella's head on my shoulder. I look next to me and see she's sleeping, completely passed out. I move a little and a cloud of her perfume and shampoo gets into my nose. She smells like vanilla, coconut and something else but I don't know how to describe it, something like freshly baked cake? I do say that she looks like she smells like that. She smells good.

I hold her head so she doesn't move when I grab the remote control. I turn the movie off. I grab Stella of the couch in bridal-style, my arm under her tighs and the other supporting her back.

I carry Stella to her room. I gently place her down on her bed. I put her under the covers and tuck her in. I'm about to walk away when I feel a hand grab my wrist. I stop in my tracks and look behind me. "S-stay.." I hear her say in a soft voice. I didn't know if she meant it since she sounded so drunk with sleep, but I did it anyways.

I took of my sweater and shirt and just wore grey sweatpants from Daimon. I crawled in bed beside her and cover myself with the blanket. I look at her again and I see small tears coming from her closed eyes, she's moving around a lot and her face is scrunched up. I think she's having a nightmare, but I never heard that she gets them. I feel her snuggle into my chest. I froze for a second not knowing what to do but I want to comfort her. I
wrap my arms around her to keep her close to my chest. Her warmth and smell makes me feel sleepy. I close my eyes and drift away.

☁️

I feel something hard and warm laying under my head. I snuggle closer wanting to be closer to the warmth. I take a deep breath and smell the odor of tobacco, cinnamon and a woody smell, it reminds me of winter. The smell is familiar to me. I open my eyes to see what it is.

My jaw drops. I'm laying on Valentino?! I feel heat rising to my cheeks. I'm not complaining, I did dream about this. But I wonder how we ended up like this. I only remember that we were watching a movie on the couch together. I look at his face, I have never been so close to his face before.

I see a mole under his left eye, and one on his right cheek. His sculpted jaw and cheekbones. His thick black eyebrows. His long lashes, I think he even has longer lashes than me.

I see his eyes open and he's directly looking at me. "Why are you staring at me?" He asks. My eyes widen and I know that my cheeks are red like lava. I feel like a volcano that just exploded. I put my head down and stare at the blanket from embarrassment. "I-I wasn't staring.." I say softly. I hear him a laugh. "Sure, believe whatever you want. I could feel you staring at me the entire time." When did this man get so sassy? "Were you awake the whole time?" He nods. "I felt you move away from my chest."

I look up at him again. I try to change to subject. "I do have one question, how did you end up in my bed?" I ask. He rubs his hand over his chin. "You fell asleep, so I brought you to your room. I was leaving when you grabbed my wrist and told me to stay." I raise an eyebrow at him. "You were having a nightmare, I think..." the realization hit me. "Oh, right. I just have that whenever it storms it's weird." "Does it bother you?" He asks. I shake my head. "Not at all, I'm used to it."

He stretches his arm over his head. I can see every muscle move in his arms and chest. The blanket moves down from the movement and I get a peak of his six-pack. I hope I'm not drooling.

He looks at me with confusion on his face. "Something wrong?" He asks. "No, let's go downstairs and get some breakfast." He gets out of bed and puts a shirt on. I get out of bed after him. I follow him to the door and he opens it. We both walk out the door at the same time. I see my brother standing in front of me.

☁️