My Best Friend's Brother // Young Love Book 1 ✔️

My Best Friend's Brother Ch. 49

Charlie put two fingers under my chin, lifting my head up gently. If I was being completely honest, I felt like I was in a movie. I couldn't help but wonder if Charlie had seen this...trick from somewhere. Either way, it was probably from a movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. Cindy adored his books and their film counterparts.

"That's rich coming from the girl who peer pressured me into dating her twin," he joked, tilting his head sideways like a little boy.

"Ha-ha," I retorted, equally annoyed and embarassed. "It's not like I had to torture you to get you to agree with my ministrations. Like, say, the carefully orchestrated perfect date."

"Speaking of dates...you wanna know what I think is the perfect date?"

I rolled my eyes, pausing from my grass-damaging habit. "Not really, but I'm sure you're gonna tell me anyway. Am I right?"

He nodded, his dimples pressing in like cute little ditches on his face. "You know me well," he remarked with a smirk, pulling his hand back to his sides.

I shrugged half-heartedly, though my stomach flipped with anticipation. "Come on, let's hear it."

He nodded, looking thoughtful as he stared at me intently. "Well, let's say my perfect day was with you," he paused, looking at me with a little bit of uncertainty. "I--I would spend the day with you and only you. We'll do whatever you want; go to the beach, buy some ice cream, maybe watch the ocean for a little while because I know you love doing that. We'll ride bikes around town, and watch the sunset like a couple of die-hard cliché retards. I'll even let you make me sit through a few episodes of Teen Wolf, but only if you ask nicely." He exhaled deeply as my heart pounded against my chest.

When I didn't say anything, Charlie's gaze grew even more intense. It never strayed from my eyes, making it even harder to not feel guilty about my silence. I guess I just didn't know how to respond to that. His words were so...heartfelt, so full of sincerity--the kind you could feel from a mile away.

"I honestly don't think there's even a definition for it," he mumbled.

I blinked, my brain still trying to connect all the dots. Without realising, I heard myself ask him, "And why's that?"

"Because...if you wanted to spend the day in the library or go treasure hunting in a swamp, I'd say yes. I'd say yes because, well, as long as I'm with you it'll always be a perfect date, Eli."

Charlie carefully cups my cheek and surprisingly, I found myself leaning into his hand. I examined him in this new light; his dark hair a disheveled mess, his eyes far too vulnerable than I'm used to. There's that glint in his gold eyes again, its the same one that hooked me when I first saw him in kindergarten. I never understood it then, not even when I had a crush on him in third grade. Honestly, I still didn't, but I guess that's the beauty of it. I'll never be able to explain it because part of me will never really know what it is about Charlie that I liked so much.

Look who's cliché now, I thought in passing as a small smile made it's way to my lips. I wondered about how goofy I must've looked, but I quickly shook it off because I knew that Charlie looked just as ridiculous. Knowing that eased my nerves to a certain extent. As selfish as that sounded, it reassured me that it wasn't just me feeling these emotions.

"I'm in love with you, Elouise, more than you'll ever know," he murmured, just this side of a whisper. This newfound tenderness beneath the surface of the joy in his eyes was so shocking to me. Without waiting for a reply, he leaned in and he kissed me. At first I just sat in astonishment, but then something clicked in me.

My arms began to snake around his waist, and I moved just a tad closer to him. I could hear my heart beat as it rang in my ears and raced; I'm sure Charlie heard it too but he was nice enough not to say anything. Instead, he just held me by the neck and kissed me tenderly--and I couldn't get enough of it. It was as if I needed to get closer to him but I wasn't sure why. So I just savoured it, the feeling of his soft lips on mine. In the back of my mind, I knew that this kiss wouldn't last very long, but I wish it did.