Babysitter or Boyfriend?

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Alex's POV:

"Avery, it's been over an hour since you last said we could go get something to eat," I grumbled, watching mournfully as Avery Watson hung yet another article of clothing in her new closet. She had two boxes full of clothes left to unpack, and I knew there was no way I'd survive until she was finished. "I'm pretty sure all this stuff will still be here in an hour. Can we just go?"

Laughing, Avery glanced at me briefly over her shoulder, and once again I was slightly taken aback by how beautiful she was. Having known the Watson siblings for most of my life, I remembered clearly the days when Avery was just a scrawny little kid with braces, glasses, and frankly, a pretty awful haircut. Yeah...not the prettiest picture you ever saw.

Now, at eighteen years old, things had definitely changed for the better. Her braces were gone, leaving two rows of perfect white teeth. Her glasses had been replaced with contact lenses, though she still wore her glasses on occasion, and looked a lot cuter in them now than she had a few years earlier. Her once too-short hair now hung to the middle of her back in an attractive style, and although she was still very slender, 'scrawny' definitely wasn't the word I'd use to describe her figure. It was no wonder Jake was so protective of his little sister-Avery had probably had half the guys in her graduating class after her.

"Okay, okay," Avery said, breaking into my thoughts. "You're right, I'm sorry. We can go. I just really hate unpacking, and figured the sooner I got it done, the better."

I stood up off the bare mattress that would be her bed and wrapped a brotherly arm around her petite shoulders. "Well, once I get some food in me and don't feel like my stomach is caving in on itself, I'll help you unpack and we'll get it done twice as fast. Deal?"

Avery rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "You're so dramatic when it comes to food, Alexander," she teased, poking me in the stomach. "But yes, you've got yourself a deal. Let's go."

"Hallelujah," I joked, leading her out of the cluttered bedroom. "Let's go back to my place, I'll drive. Plus I forgot my wallet in my haste to see you earlier." Avery laughed. Cliff House Apartments was a series of buildings spread over an enclosed area, so all we had to do to get to my apartment was walk across the parking lot.

I half-hoped my roommates wouldn't be home, but to my dismay, all three of them were standing around the adjoining kitchen/living room when we arrived. We'd all become pretty close friends after living together for two years, and they were good guys, but I knew they'd have a million questions for me about Avery later on. I'd told them she was my best friend's little sister, coming to UC and living in the same complex, and that we'd probably be spending a fair amount of time together, but no matter how many times I said the words "we're just friends," they didn't seem to believe me. Apparently there was no longer such a thing as friends without benefits.

The guys were laughing about something or another, but fell almost dead silent when Avery and I walked in. "Guys," I said, placing my hand briefly on her shoulder. "This is Avery Watson, the friend I was telling you about. Ave, these are my roommates Blake, Tyler, and Connor."

"Hi," Avery lifted one hand in a small wave, smiling shyly at the guys.

"Hi, yourself," Blake, the most outgoing of the three said, immediately stepped forward to shake her hand. Ty and Con followed suit, and in the meantime, Blake shot me a look of incredulity. It wasn't hard to read: he might as well have shouted, 'Dude, this is the girl you told us about? Your friend?' I met his gaze briefly, then pointedly ignored him.

"I'm just gonna run upstairs to grab my wallet," I told Avery, and she nodded. I literally sprinted up to my room, not trusting the guys to be alone with her for more than a moment. Like I said, they were decent enough guys, but Avery wasn't like the shallow, self-centered girls they were used to. She was shy and sweet and sort of just...innocent. I didn't want them making her uncomfortable with their obvious flirting.