My Brother's Playboy Best Friend

1

Hazel's point of view.

"What are we watching?" Vince asks, flopping down on the couch with popcorn in his hands, right between Parker and I.

My hot chocolate nearly spills. I save it by taking a huge, burning gulp. Vince shifts. He's warm against me and he smells like pine and mint. Parker nudges him to the side and he bumps into me. I try not to fawn over him as he leans into me. This isn't what I imagined when Parker told me some of his friends were coming over. I'm not complaining though. Vince is here, it's enough for me to be satisfied.

"Move, you huge fuck," Parker complains.

"You alright, Stiles?" Vince asks me, noticing the way I'm crushed between him and the end of the couch.

"Do I seem alright?" I groan. He laughs and I fall harder for him.

"You're alright," he repeats, squishing me further to tease.

"We're watching a dumb romcom. To Haz's demand," Aaron McAlister, player 17, answers a little late from the single couch across the room.

"It's not that bad, man," Neil Dire, player 42 and captain, says, sitting down on the floor.

"Neil's right," Parker says and Neil smiles delightfully. "For once," he adds, making Neil frown.

They throw some insults at each other, which isn't too unusual. The romcom plays, Aaron laughs every time the main character cries. I cry with her instead. Vince hits me softly with his elbow and offers popcorn. I take some, not forgetting to throw some in his mouth as a transaction fee. I miss and it falls into his shirt. He wiggles around, whining at me. We laugh together and the others tell us to quiet down. I offer Vince some hot chocolate and he downs it all. Once the movie ends, I flick the lights back on. Neil has fallen asleep on the floor and Aaron on his couch. Parker sniffles, eyes puffy. He rushes to his room, pretending to be tired. Vince and I come to a common agreement that he has cried and he's embarrassed about it. We make our way to the kitchen after I tell him I want more hot chocolate.

"How did you like the movie?" I ask Vince as he heats some milk on the stovetop.

I search inside the cupboards for some hot chocolate mix.

"Meh." I snap my head around in surprise.

"Meh?"

Vince shrugs nonchalantly. I find the hot chocolate mix and bring it on the counter. We're face to face now.

"I don't really believe in love like that," he says.

I quirk an eyebrow at him.

"Love like... what?"

He purses his lips thoughtfully, stirring the milk absently.

"Love that makes your whole world spin or something. It sounds like a fantasy and nothing more."

Our eyes meet. I decide to be risky. "Well, I believe in it and... I could show you."

Vince chuckles, smiling in amusement.

"You could show me?"

"Yeah."

"I've never even seen you date anybody, Stiles."

It's my turn to laugh.

"And you've never wondered why?"

Vince shrugs. "Not really, no."

"I'll tell you then." I step closer to him. "You," I simply say.

He frowns.

"Me?" he repeats.

I'm even closer now, so close I can feel his breath. It's a first and I'm about to make another first. I tiptoe so my mouth can reach his and place a chaste kiss on his lips. He tastes like salty popcorn and hot chocolate. My skin burns where I've touched him. I look up at him with hooded eyes, he stares back curiously, trying to read me.

"What was that, Stiles?" he asks, amused.

"A declaration. Of some sort."

"And am I expected to do with this declaration of some sort?" He leans on the counter.

His gaze does things to me. I can't believe he's even real.

"Accept it?" I offer.

He softly shakes his head to himself, about to answer when the milk start spluttering. Quickly, he takes it off the stove and pours it into a cup. I add the powder and stir with a spoon. We remain quiet for some time. Vince seems to be considering. Maybe he's trying not to break my heart. Maybe he's wondering if Parker might beat him up after this. I take a sip of my hot chocolate. There's noise in the living room. Soon, Aaron walks into the kitchen. He looks awfully rough. I have the decency of not telling him. Vince doesn't.

"You look like shit, man," he says way too honestly.

I hold in a laugh. Aaron glares at him but then he looks at me, his eyes different. The odd kind of different.

"That shirt looks nice on you," he tells me.

I look down in surprise. I'm wearing a white shirt with football shorts, nothing out of the ordinary.

Vince huffs slightly. "Her eyes are up here, you know," he scolds.

My face heats up in embarrassment when I understand what he's talking about. I speed out of the kitchen with my hot chocolate and hide in my room. For the rest of the night, I think about Vince and the answer he never got to give me. I was never bold with him until now, but, from now on, there's no hiding it. I like him and he knows. And if he isn't willing to give me an answer, that's fine, I'll just wait. I'm happy as long as I'm by his side. I melt into my bed when remembering the way he looked at me earlier.

In the following weeks, I stay with the football team as I usually do. It feels different. Vince doesn't seem to have told the other players and he doesn't act different around me. I'm not sure if he's ignoring me or just accepting I like him. We still eat together, share food, sit next to each other, tease each other. Only, he ends up getting in a relationship with a girl and I don't like her. So I make her leave in the only way I know how, threats. It doesn't take much for her to leave Vince alone. Until he finds another girlfriend and the cycles starts again, endless. As long as I haven't had my answer, I will pursue him. If he didn't want me, he would say it. For now, I tell myself that Vince will love me, eventually, I just need to be patient.