"I can't leave Evan," I said. "We're working on the project."
"Nah," Evan said. "We're almost done, and I have to call Cali."
"Thanks, little bro," Alex yelled, as he pulled me into the kitchen and up the back staircase. I suddenly felt awkward and nervous. I had never been to Alex's bedroom before. I’d seen Evan's room once or twice, but most of the time we hung out in the family room or in the basement.
Alex sensed my apprehension. "What's wrong?"
"Your parents?" I must have sounded really stupid because he was an adult, but Max would freak if I brought Alex to my bedroom.
"They're out to dinner and a movie with friends," he said. "Zack's parents, actually, so they won't be home until later. Evan and I are ordering pizza, and I was hoping you'd stay."
"Oh," I said. "Sure, Max knew I'd be here working with Evan anyway."
"Good." He smiled as he opened the door and led me into his room. It was just as big as Evan's and had a lot of the same stuff; a flat screen hung on the wall with an Xbox 360 sitting under it, and an intimidating book collection covered the remaining wall space.
"You have just as many books as your brother." I walked over to take a closer look. "I have to get all of mine from the library." Max and I lived a simple life. He didn't make that much money being the police chief of such a small town, so our budget was tight. Buying my own books was often a luxury we couldn't afford.
He walked over and stood behind me. I could feel his breath against my hair as he spoke. "My father's a passionate reader and instilled a love for books in all of us. As rewards for getting good grades or doing something special, he would take us to the store and let us pick out a book. The agreement was that we had to finish the book we started, even if we didn't like it. Over the years, we've donated the books we finished to various book drives, children's charities, the pediatric ward, and women's shelters.
These are my favorites, the ones I decided to keep."
"All of these?" I scanned the shelves.
"I try to read them again from time to time."
I ran my finger across the spines and noticed a few titles and authors that I wanted to read eventually.
"You can borrow whatever you want," he said, as he pulled my back closer to his chest, picking up where he left off downstairs. He kissed my neck as he moved his hands down my stomach and to my hips.
"I'm gonna take a quick shower." He let me go. "Make yourself comfortable. I won't be long."
He disappeared into the room adjoining his. Evan had the same door on the other side, so I assumed they shared a connecting bathroom.
I continued to look at the books, deciding which one I wanted to borrow. He had so many to choose from that I was getting overwhelmed, so I decided to look around the rest of the room instead. He had trophies and ribbons from all the sports he had played. I also noticed that Yale played a pretty prominent role in his décor too. A few posters and his undergraduate degree hung on the wall near the door.
His dresser held some pictures, mostly of him, Evan, and Brenna, some with guys I figured were Zack and James, and then in the corner, just under the mirror, was a small photo of a very pretty woman, holding two children in her lap, a boy and a girl.
The little boy looked no more than two, and the baby, dressed in pink, was an infant.
The woman resembled Alex, or at least he did her, and I thought the boy looked like a smaller version of him. Just as I was about to pick it up to get a closer look, Alex came out of the bathroom dressed in nothing but a pair of track pants that had the Yale logo on the thigh.
He stood leaning in the doorway, and I was so distracted by his bare chest I forgot about the photo. He was stunning. I knew he was built, but I had only felt his body through his clothes. Now, I could see every ripple and muscle.
"That was fast." I hoped I wasn't drooling.
"Wanted to get back to you." He walked toward me.
The closer he got, the more I could smell his soap; it was clean and crisp. His hair was still damp, and, when he got close to me, I could feel the heat from the hot shower coming off his skin. Images of Alex lathering up and rinsing off in a steamy shower flooded my head. I may have licked my lips. My body responded to him in ways I didn’t understand. Most of the time, I walked around with an uncomfortable wetness between my thighs, and when he was close my nipples hardened. All I could think about was him touching me in places he wasn’t supposed to.
"How was the shower?"
"Lonely." He ran his thumb along my bottom lip.
"Oh." I swallowed hard.
He tilted his head down and let his tongue take the same journey across my lip his thumb had just completed.
"You have no idea what you do to me, do you?" he whispered.
