My Best Friends Brother

Chapter 216

"Jesus Christ, he's a big fucking boy, he can hold his own dick and everything. Just let him go." Brie retorts in a tone that feels unnecessarily harsh for this situation.

Al mercifully draws Xade into a conversation about her children, that currently look like they have fucking rabies with the amount of whipped cream on their faces, distracting him long enough that I can slip through the crowd of the room and straight up the metal staircase to the balcony above before I can overthink it.

Why is my heart pounding like this? Now I'm standing on this level I swear that I don't even have to look to know where he is, I just have to follow my fucking instincts.

My feet pause on the plush navy carpet as I look to the bottom of the walkway, to see the double doors at the end wide open and a perfectly crafted figure leant against the railings of the balcony, basked in starlight.

In so many ways he's changed, in other ways he's clearly exactly the fucking same.

Always searching out stars.

With every step I take closer I can feel the ringing in my ears just getting louder. What the fuck am I even going to say to him?

I don't know why I'm here, I don't know why I'm doing this.

Maybe it will be a good thing Josh, this way you two get to talk without everybody staring at you like you're some kind of fucking soap opera TV show, you can just find some middle ground.

You need to find a way to be... friends?

He's moving back here, it's not like you're not going to see him around anymore. You two both have to find a way to be around each other, it's not fair on everybody else to have to keep revolving their lives around keeping you both apart.

I open my mouth to speak as I reach the doorway but nothing comes out, I can't even see his face but my hand still tightens on my beer bottle so hard it's one squeeze away from fucking shattering.

He looked beautiful across the room but up close... Fuck me.

His chocolate hair is so long now you could wrap your fucking fist in it, he's gained so much size over the last few years that I'm pretty sure that suit would fucking drown me.

Of course he looks good Josh, you honestly couldn't have expected that he'd look anything else. He's always been fucking gorgeous.

But it doesn't matter, it's not why you're here.

He keeps his head facing the land of the house outside, never letting his eyes flutter to the sky above. It's odd for him, with the stars this bright he'd usually be fucking lost in them.

Maybe things have changed...

You just need to take a step Josh, he's not going away and this isn't going away, so just take a step.

Say something... anything... just take the first step.

"Hey, should've known I'd find you out here." Maybe next time say it like you're not fucking crumbling inside, pull your shit together.

His body stiffens at the sound of my voice, his hand gripping the railing of the balcony like a cold shiver has just run up his spine.

Did you ever think that maybe he didn't want to fucking see you Josh? Doesn't want to talk to you?! That maybe he was happy with things the way they were, now you're just backing him into a fucking corner!

You're such a dickhead.

My legs attempt to take a step back, suddenly desperate to remove themselves from this situation, but then he turns... and everything changes.