Page 4 of Fall of Us
People packed the tiny apartment as the party went into full swing. Chase and Nathan didn’t fully think it through when inviting us, but we, their friends, were used to this kind of thing. After grabbing a drink, Brandon instantly gravitated toward me andplanted himself on my lap. That was why the men in his life got so annoyed with him, but I could stop it as much as I could stop a derailing train. He was pure comfort and home sitting on me. This was where he belonged.
My arms wrapped around his waist, and I pressed my nose close to him, savoring his scent. His mom was into all-natural stuff, and it had carried over to him, so it wasn’t unusual for him to smell like essential oils. This evening, he had the noticeable aroma of sage and lemon. What he smelled like spoke volumes about his moods. It was evident that my best friend was stressed. Yeah, it was weird that two best friends behaved this way, but it was as close to Brandon as I could get without ruining our friendship.
Everyone sat around talking and drinking until the pizza we’d all chipped in for arrived. It was like being back in college all over again and brought back memories of long nights of studying. It was good to unwind and spend the night connecting with friends and our extended family, because that’s what we’d become over the past several years. Life hadn’t been easy since graduation, consumed by finding jobs and adapting to adulthood. It was a bunch of bullshit if I had anything to say about it. Being an adult was the absolute worst.
As the evening wore on, everyone shifted around the room. The couch was now occupied by Aiden and Joe, who sat really close, while Nathan watched his brother like a hawk. I secretly hopedthat if something happened between the two of them, Nathan wouldn’t try to stop it.
Daniel and Shawn were in the kitchen, arguing about the proper way to make some sort of cocktail. It was a gathering at a friend’s apartment, not the bar. No one needed anything fancy, so it wasn’t like they needed to fight over it. The two of them were either going to kill each other one day or fuck it out. My money was on them banging each other.
Brandon and I had found a spot on the floor by the back of the couch. My arm was slung over his shoulders and we’d been people watching for most of the night.
“I’m kind of tired.” Brandon snuggled into my side.
I kissed the top of his head, and he looked up at me with a sleepy smile. “You can rest on me if you want,” I said.
“I know, but it’s kind of loud in here.”
It was, and the arguing in the kitchen was getting worse. Chase had to get up from his place on Nathan’s lap to separate Daniel and Shawn before fists got involved.
“Do you want to head home?” I asked as things calmed down.
Brandon shrugged, nestling into my side a little more. There was a rightness to him on me, like he’d always belonged there. That familiar pang settled into my chest, wishing that this was more, that he’d give us a chance. “I have to open the store with my parents tomorrow, so it’s probably a good idea not to stay toolate.”
Brandon’s mom and dad owned a bookstore, and it was what helped him stay afloat a little better than the rest of us after graduation. He’d gone to school for business so that he could take over when his parents retired. He loved to get lost in a good book, so it wasn’t a hardship for him to take over.
“I can take you home.”
The sleepy smile that Brandon turned my way again made my heart flutter. “You don’t need to. Stay. Enjoy the party.”
“It’s not as fun without you.” It was sappy but true.
“Would you two fuck and get it over with already?” Joe was leaning over the back of the couch, staring at us.
I flipped him off, which made Brandon laugh. “You know it’s not like that.”
Joe’s dark eyebrows rose into his hairline as his tongue played with his lip ring. “Do I? You two are looking pretty cozy down there.”
Brandon sat up and shook his head. We were used to the teasing from our friends at this point. Joe had always been a little more aggressive about it than the others. What would he think if he knew we’d kissed once before?
Joe’s piercing blue eyes followed us as we stood from the floor. It was like he was hoping to catch something more that wasn’t there... even if it was. We both said goodnight and thank you to Nathan and Chase before we walked outside into the chilly Seattleair. With only a light jacket, Brandon tightened it around himself while we headed to the bus stop.
“You really don’t need to help me get home.”
I looked at my phone. It was eleven thirty at night. This was a nicer part of Seattle, but it still didn’t feel right to let him go by himself. “I want to.”
Brandon shook his head. “And how will you get home?”
I shrugged before wrapping him in a hug to keep him warm. “Eh, I could always just crash at your place.”
Maybe it was the lack of light, but I swore my best friend just blushed.
Chapter 4
Brandon
“Shit.” I rolled and slapped my hand on my phone to turn off the alarm. It fell off the nightstand and hit the floor instead, continuing to play music to tell me it was time to get ready for work.
When the bed dipped, I froze, but then the memories of last night flooded into my sleepy brain. It wasn’t unusual to let Andrew stay the night, or for him to end up in my bed, but it felt different after Joe’s jokes. Not to mention still feeling raw from yet another break-up. Anymore, it was getting harder and harder to fight my attraction to him.
