My brother's best friend

Chapter twelve

I look in the mirror. The red sundress I decided on was one of mom's favourites. I smile at the memory of her helping me pick it out. I pull my hair up into a ponytail before leaving the room.

It's Friday and Taylor's party. I grab the silver packet on the dresser on the kitchen counter before I head across the street. Apart of me wants to see Daniel, but another wants to run and hide at the idea of seeing him.

I shake my head, today isn't about me, it's about Taylor. I ring the doorbell and wait for someone to answer. I am relieved when it's Levi who answers the door. I smile at my little brother and realize how much I've missed him. I wrap my arms around him, I really have missed him.

"It's not my birthday." He says after he pulls away. I laugh, "But I don't see you anymore." He shrugs, "Sorry, school's hectic." I nod, remembering how crazy my last year of school was. I look over the crowd of people who were already standing around in the house.

I suddenly feel very out of place. I have no idea who half of these people are. I hear the doorbell ring again in the distance, I'm off looking for Taylor. I start looking in the living room and make my way through all the rooms.

I find her outback, laughing with a few people. When she sees me and leaves the group and head over to me. She's only dressed in a skirt and a bikini top. Her hair is made in a fishtail and on top of her head is a little crown.

Taylor always wears a crown on her birthday. Granted, they got smaller as she got older, but she always wears one. It is her special day after all.

She hugs me for a second, "I'm so glad you made it." She gives me a big smile before her eyes land on the gift I bought her. She snatches it out of my hand and start to inspect the box. "What is it?" She looks up at me, her eyes bright and sparkling with excitement. "Don't tell me." She adds quickly. I smile, she always does this. After she guesses a few times she'll open the box and find her expertly chosen gift.

"Is it a gift card?" She raises a brow at me. I shake my head, "To who are you speaking?" I am the best gift picker. "A watch?" She raises her wrist to show me she already has one. I shake my head, "Why don't you just open it?" She shrugs and pulls off the top of the little box.

She gasps when she finds the small golden bracelet inside. There's a charm on one of the chains. It's a small tiger with small diamond-like studs for eyes. She looks up at me, "It's beautiful." I smile, "And it helps with buying gifts for the next couple of years." She laughs, half shoving me. "Thank you." She wraps her arms around me again and holds me tight.

When she lets go she quickly wipes at her eyes before taking the bracelet from the box and asks me to put it on for her.

"I was going to ask Daniel about last night, but he seemed very annoyed." She says casually. I sigh, "Nothing happened, I apologized and then it was fine." She raises her brow. I wish she wasn't such a good people reader. "Fine, things went south when he-" I pause for a moment, wondering if I was going to say it out loud. "He what?" She pushes.

"We kissed." She gasps and her hands fly to her mouth. "You kissed?" She asks, almost squealing. I nod and look away to see if someone was listening. Everyone seems busy with their own conversations. "Then why was he so pissed? I know for a fact he's been thinking of kissing you for a while now." She winks and I know there's more to what she's saying. "I sort of told him I couldn't do it. He stormed off." She rolls her eyes, "That's Daniel for you, always so dramatic."

Someone calls for Taylor and she excuses herself. I'm left standing alone. I watch the people for a while. Some of them came over to talk to me, but it never lasted longer than a few sentences. I finally decide to get myself something to drink and head to the kitchen.

I freeze in the doorway when I see Daniel handing a cup to a pretty, tall girl. They laugh at something he said and she reaches out to touch his arm. I roll my eyes and will myself to enter the kitchen. I see Daniel glancing my way and he sends the girl on her way.

"Nice to see you again, Daniel." I see him cringe at the way I said his name. "What do you want, Lindsey?" I tighten my jaw and wish he hadn't picked up on my hostility. I guess I deserved him returning the feeling. "I just came for a drink." I say grabbing a red cup from the counter and downing the content.

"I don't think you should be drinking." Daniel says, a look of concern now on his face. I roll my eyes, mood swings. "You can't tell me what to do." I grab another cup and let the alcohol burn my throat. "You can be so childish." He grumbles knocking back a drink of his own. I send him a glare, "Look who's talking." I fill one of the cups and drink it. 

"I am not childish." He defends. I raise a brow, "Says the guy who ran out when I didn't give him what he wanted." He glares at me but decides to drink another shot instead of defending himself. 

"I decided something today." I say, trying to make casual conversation. He looks at me, "What did you decide?" "I'm not going back to University. I'm done. I'm going to work for Catharina. I've always wanted to dance for a living, now I can." I declare and take another long sip from my cup. 

"You're parents won't be happy with that." Daniel says, thinking over what I just said. I shrug, "That's the other thing, I've come to the decision that they don't have a say in my life anymore. So, if I want to quit, then I can." He nods absently at my new outlook on life. 

"Let's drink to that." He declares raising his cup to me. I clink mine with his before taking a large gulp of the beer. We have a few more drinks and a little small talk when Daniel looks around as if to see if someone was looking. He leans over the kitchen island and whispers, "Want to take this party somewhere else?" I hesitate not sure what to say. He lifts two bottles of alcohol with a big smile on his lips, "I'll bring the booze." I let out a laugh and nod happily. 

I follow him up the stairs and into his room. I hear the lock and quickly turn to frown at him. "To keep out unwanted drunks." He explains quickly. I nod and look around. The room has changed since I last saw it. 

The walls are painted a light grey colour with blueish curtains keeping the sun out. The bed is dressed in a similar colour to the curtains. The desk and chair are covered in clothes and I smile at the slight untidiness in his otherwise clean room. 

"I see the naked girls are gone." I observe. His one wall used to be covered with pictures of scandalously clad women. My cheeks always burned whenever I entered his room because I had to call him for dinner or give him his lunch. Then he'd always make fun of me as he watched my face become more crimson. 

He opens the one door of his closet to reveal ten or so of the old posters on the inside of the wooden door. I smile, "Not all gone then?" He smirks at me, "I couldn't throw away the only thing that ever seemed to embarrass you." I feel the heat rise to my face as it always did when I saw the almost naked women. 

"Let's drink." I say, reaching for the bottle in Daniel's hand. He doesn't let go, but pulls it closer to him, pulling me with it slightly. I look up at him through my lashes. My heart speeds up and sounds very loud to me. I swear he can hear it beating at my ribs. 

"I always thought it was very sexy." He whispers. I don't respond, shocked by his declaration. He drops his head to one side as he inspects me. "It's still pretty sexy." His words make my cheeks hotter and I see a faint smile on his lips. 

He leans down and brushes his lips against mine. This time I let it happen. And I decide to blame it on the alcohol. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer. I hear the faint sound of the bottles dropping to the carpet before he takes a hold of my waist. 

I let my body do as it pleases without my mind getting in the way. I let it take the lead in decision making. I let my heart flutter as much as it wants to and I forget about worrying if he hears my heart hammering in my chest. I want him to hear it. I want to hear him. And for a second I wonder if this is how it felt to be free and without care. Letting your heart and body be in control with your mind shut off?