"You boys are going to be so exhausted tonight," Erica laughed from her spot on her living room floor where Dodger and Jacky were jumped all around playing with her.
Dodger jumped in her lap and tried to grab the rope she had and she rubbed his fur while saying, "Your daddy is going to be so happy to see you when he gets home tomorrow! He's been happy that I've been sending him pictures of you though. Secretly I'm glad that Chris was gone for almost a week because then I got to have you, Dodger."
The happy dog just barked before jumping out of her lap and bounced around Jacky. She just giggled and kept playing with the dogs until they got hungry and then went into the kitchen to get them their dinner. She put the food in their dishes and the hyper dogs bounced around her feet, causing her to stumble a bit and bump into the half empty bag of flour she had sitting on the counter, causing it to spill all over her.
Erica couldn't help but laugh before shooing the dogs away from licking it up so she could wipe the floor and then once that was all settled, she went up, stripped her clothes off and got in the shower to get clean.
Meanwhile, Chris pulled his car into his garage and then unlocked the door and walked inside. He trudged up the stairs, letting out a yawn before dropping his suitcase in the middle of his floor. He had been in L.A. for almost a week, having meetings and signing contracts for some upcoming projects. Chris originally was supposed to get home tomorrow afternoon but when his last meeting got cancelled he happily took an earlier flight to get home.
He took his shoes off and put on his favorite comfortable sweatshirt, then was ready to head next door. Chris was eager to see Dodger and was even more eager to see Erica. He missed her more than he even realized he would but when he saw the light of her bedroom window on, he went to open his own window and call out to her.
Before he could open it, Chris stopped short when he saw her in her bedroom. Erica usually had her bedroom curtains open but since Chris' window could look right into hers, she had always closed it when she was getting ready in the morning. To her knowledge though, Chris still was gone so once she got out of the shower, she hadn't bothered to close her curtains on the second floor.
Chris' blue eyes got wide when he saw her dancing around in her bedroom wearing nothing but a pair of small panties and her bra. Both pieces of undergarments were black, providing a stark contrast between the fabric and her porcelain skin. Erica usually always wore jeans and some band tee shirt that hide her figure, but right now, he could see every inch of her.
His eyes took her in, starting down at her feet and traveling up her long bare legs. She had turned around so that her back was to the window and gave Chris a good view of her round behind that was only half covered by her small panties. It didn't help that she was swaying her hips back and forth to the music either. His blue eyes followed the curve of her thin waist and then went up her neck. She had turned to the side and was singing along, letting him see her profile.
His breathing became rapid as Chris watched the way her dark curly waves bounced as she bobbed her head, the way her lips were parted for a wide smile as she sang along and how he could tell her eyes were sparkling all the way from next door. He knew he shouldn't be watching her. It was a total invasion of privacy but it's like he couldn't look away... well until he realized he wasn't in his room alone.
"What are you doing?" Carly asked, making him spin around at lightning pace with a face as red as a tomato.
"Nothing," He barely let her finish her sentence.
Carly gave him a look, knowing he was acting weird and tried to figure out what was going on. It didn't take her long though. When she approached her brother, she looked around him and saw into Erica's window. When Carly saw her dancing around in her underwear, she gasped and said, "Oh my god! Erica is such a hottie! I had no idea that's what was under all those tee shirts!"
"Carly!" Chris whined as he looked at his older sister before quickly shutting his curtains.
"What?" She shrugged, "You were looking, why couldn't I?"
"I wasn't looking," He tried to defend.
Carly gave him a look while sitting down on his bed and saying, "Okay, staring, gawking, whatever word you'd like to use."
He ignored her and just grabbed his suitcase and easily lifted it up to put it on the bed next to where Carly was sitting. Chris unzipped it and began pulling out his clothes and forget the image in his head while asking his sister, "What are you doing here anyway?"
"I brought the kids over to Erica's house the other day for a play date but they had to get Dodger's collar so she came over here with Stella. Anyway, Stella left her stuffed rabbit here and I came to get it," Carly explained. "I didn't realize you were home but it figures why you wouldn't say anything so that you could drool over Erica in her undies."
Chris grabbed his pillow and playfully smacked Carly with it, making them both laugh before he kept softly smacking her, "I was not drooling!"
She snatched the pillow from his hands and hit him back before saying, "Yes you were!"
"It just surprised me, that's all," He pulled out some of the items from his suitcase and put them away.
"You know you guys are practically dating right?" Carly leaned against his headboard and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"What?" Chris wrinkled his eyebrows. "No we're not."
She just laughed, "Um yeah you are. You guys go out to dinner together all the time, have movie nights together, take your dogs on walks together, text each other all the time, you just sit and talk with her for hours while she works on the furniture she restores, I mean, you even brought her with you to the wedding! Whether you realize it or not, you guys pretty much are dating."
"Those all are things that friends do too," He argued with her.
Carly smirked, "But friends don't watch their friends in their underwear and get all hot and bothered."
"You can shut up now," Chris said through a smile, picking up his suitcase and moving the now empty item over to the corner of his room.
"Chris," Her voice softened before patting the bed, telling him to come over and sit down which he did, before she went on, "I just don't understand why you don't just date her. I see the way you look at her and trust me Chris, she looks at you the same way."
He let out a soft sigh, his broad shoulders slumping as he ran a hand through his short brown hair. Carly could tell that he was mulling things over in his mind. He hadn't even fully reflected on everything he was feeling but this forced him too.
"I do have feelings for her," Chris knew his own heart. "And I'm not completely an idiot, I do know that she has feelings for me too."
"Then what's the problem?" She was curious.
Chris rubbed his palms on his jeans before telling, "Because I don't think it will work out. Everything is fine now but what about when I go back to filming and I'm gone for 3 or 4 months at a time and have to go to red carpet events and things like that. Erica wants a normal life and a family and I don't know if I can really give that to her."
Carly's face dropped, feeling sorry for her brother. She reached out and rubbed her hand on his back to comfort him while he chuckled although it was void of humor before saying, "I always was afraid that somebody would only want me for the fame and now I'm afraid that's what will drive her away. Kind of ironic, huh?"
She wrapped her arm around her brother and softly said, "Don't you think you should let her decide if it's too much for her to handle or not?"
"Carly," He breathed, standing up and walking across his room, running both hands through his hair before eventually leaning his back up against his dresser and told her, "I've never met anyone like her. When I think about my future, I think about her in it. I just don't know that I can handle hearing her turning me down."
"Would you rather live with the knowledge that she may have said yes?" She questioned him.
He smirked, knowing that his sister always had a way of cutting through everything and getting right to the point, just like their mother. Chris took a few deep breaths before lifting his head and looking over at his sister, "Thank you Carly."
She got up and walked over, hugging him tight before kissing his cheek and telling him, "Think about it Chris."
Chris promised he would before Carly gave him another hug before leaving. He sat on his bed for a long time thinking before eventually slipping on his sneakers and walking next door. After he knocked, he heard barking from the two dogs before the door opened.
Standing there was Erica. Her dark curls were still damp and she had on a faded Green Day shirt along with some black sweatpants. It made his chest heave with breaths as the image of what was underneath it flash through his mind.
"Dodger," She called. "You're about to be very happy!"
The dog came running and immediately went crazy upon seeing Chris. He dropped to his knees and let the dog jump all over him and lick his face. He laughed and rubbed the dog telling him how happy he was to see him.
"How was Los Angeles?" Erica asked him while Dodger still was intent on licking his master's face.
"It was fine," Chris told her while standing up. "I'm happy to be back though."
She bit her bottom lip softly before telling him, "I'm happy you're back too."