Two Strangers of Brothers

Chapter 2

The ride home is nice. Isaac owns a pickup truck so there's no back seat. We all sit in the front, me in the middle because I have the shortest legs.

I roll the small plastic bowl in my hands before bringing it to my lips again. The liquified ice cream falling down my throat in a burst of sweet flavor. I lick my lips, my head falling back against the seat as I glance at Isaac. The air is warm and enters through the car windows, running a breeze through all of our hair. Isaac seems relaxed. He hasn't talked much since he's picked me up, but he doesn't need to— Andrew does enough talking for all three of us. Even now he's on about something that I nod to occasionally to show I'm listening.

Isaac drives with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the opened window. His green eyes roam over the near deserted road in front of us. He's really handsome, and I think that if he went to my school he would have been popular. All the good looking kids are. I bring the ice-cream cup back up to my lips again, finishing the drink off. I continue to study Isaac's side profile, liking the way his hair blows away from his face so naturally. I want to take a picture of him.

"What are you staring at, little brother?"

Crap. I've been looking too long.

My face reddens slightly as I try to think of an excuse. It's natural for me to be staring at him. This is the first time I've seen him, and I'm just trying to see how much we look alike. He smiles at me. It only lifts one corner of his mouth and my heart skips a beat. He switches hands on the wheel and brings one up to ruffle my hair. His hand lingers as he winks at me before dropping his hand back to his lap.

Did we just have a brother moment?

My heart races slightly and Isaac is no longer looking at me. I turn away before I can creep him out. My eyes land on Drew, who's still talking. A hand is caught in his blonde locks as he turns to me.

"Hey, are you okay? Is it too hot in here for you?" He touches one of my cheeks. "You're so red."

His hand is cool despite the heat around us and I frown slightly as he retracts his slender fingers from my cheeks.

"Turn the air conditioning on, it's too hot for Jamie. He isn't used to the heat." Andrew reaches for the air conditioning controls, his arm leaning on my knee to get to it.

"Hey, stop, we don't need to. The windows are open." Isaac swats his hand away, resting his arm on my other knee. They're both touching me and their hands continue to touch, Isaac's lying over Drew's.

"You're so cheap," Andrew says, squinting over at the green eyed boy on my left.

"Get your own car," Isaac responds quickly. I wonder if when you have a sibling you're naturally good at thinking up good comebacks.

I snicker slightly at the two and they turn to me.

"What's so funny kid?" Andrew smiles at me goofily. Just like the picture version, his blue eyes hold amusement as they search mine.

"You two." I shake my head and run a hand through my hair in an attempt to get it out of my face. "Honestly, I'm fine. I don't need the air conditioning, but thanks."

"Told you. No air conditioning," Isaac says drawing his hand away from Drew's and off my knee. There's a triumphant smile on his face like he's just won the Olympics.

Andrew scowls at him, but doesn't seem to be upset with me. He also draws back and a comfortable silence rest over us.

I watch Drew from the corner of my eye. A small smile seems to rest on his face even when his eyes are closed. He's beautiful. I can tell just from his side-profile. He has pink lips that I bet are soft, and his nose is small, giving him a doll-like appearance. He's what people call a "pretty boy" I guess. I wonder where he got his looks from, because he looks almost nothing like mom. Maybe Dad, the man I can't remember, but I can't be sure, because Mom never showed me pictures.