Brothers Forever

2. Dude, What's Your Problem?

Chapter 2: Dude, What's Your Problem?

Sterling’s Point of View

It was about midnight, and I was lying in my bed watching House reruns on my flat screen TV. Or at least I was trying to. My mind kept wandering away to other things. Actually, only to one thing in particular. It boggled me that I could think this much about one girl. I didn’t even do that when I was dating a girl, and I was nowhere near dating this one. She wasn’t anything like them, though.

A gentle knock at my door interrupted my thoughts. “Sterling, you still up?”

“No. I just talk in my sleep,” I teased. Inside my mind was whirring, trying to figure out why she was here. In my room.

“You are so immature sometimes,” Brennan said as she opened my bedroom door, but I could see laughter twinkling in her bright blue eyes.

She quietly shut the door behind her and stood looking around the room for a minute, and I found myself checking her out while she did. Her long, blonde hair was in a loose pony tail. She wore a light green tank top that accentuated her slim waist and matching plaid pajama shorts that revealed her slender legs.

“Your room has changed a lot,” she observed, bringing me back to reality. She was still standing awkwardly by the doorway.

“Yeah, I guess it has. It’s been a while since you’ve been in here, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it really has,” she agreed quietly with a half-smile.

“Why don’t you sit down?” I suggested and patted the spot on the bed next to me.

She looked at me wearily for a second before ambling over and plopping down on the bed. She sat with her legs crossed, and I noticed she kept a distance between us.

“So, uh, what did you want, Bren?” I prodded. She came to see me after all.

“Oh, I just wanted to explain about earlier,” Brennan started, but I interrupted her.

“You don’t owe me any explanations. What you do with my brother is none of my business.”

“That’s the thing,” she replied, and I could tell she was getting frustrated, “we weren’t doing anything, Sterling. You just walked in at, like, the worst moment possible. He was making me watch the stupid football game even though I hate it, so I stole the remote from him. Grey was just trying to steal it back when you entered the room. It may have looked bad but—”

“Relax, Bren. I believe you; I just don’t understand why you care so much that I do,” I interrupted her again.

I studied her while she pondered my statement. Her eyes were starting to droop a bit from tiredness, and I noticed the chasm between us wasn’t as vast as it was before. If I dropped my hand to my side, I knew it’d brush against her thigh. The thought had made my mouth go dry.

“I guess I just didn’t want you to see me as one of those girls,” she sighed as her blue eyes met mine.

“Trust me, Brennan; I know that you aren’t like them. You’re different than any other girl I’ve ever met, and I’ve met more than my fair share. Stop worrying so much, you’ll get frown lines and ruin that pretty little face of yours.”

She looked up at me with wide eyes and blushed a little bit. I couldn’t resist it anymore and pulled her into a hug. To my surprise, she didn’t pull away and against my chest she mumbled, “Thanks Sterling.”

“No problem. I’m guessing Grey’s already asleep?” I responded as she pulled away and leaned back against the pillow.

“Yep.” Bren toyed with the end of my black and grey comforter.