Best Friend's Brother - Chapter Six

         The phone rang right as I reached my desk.  I took a deep breath and picked up after the second ring.  “Hey Whit, what’s up?”
         “Claire, I have some amazing news!”
         I hoped that her good news was good enough to cancel out the news that I had to tell her.  “And what’s this news you have to share?”
         “I’m pregnant!  Tyler and I are having another baby!”
         I could hear the excitement in her voice and I knew this was exactly what she had wanted.  “Congrats.  I’m so happy for you!”
         She laughed.  “Thanks.  I know you mean it because you always do but you sound upset about something.  Was Matt a jerk last night or something?  Because I might have been wrong about him not liking you anymore.  He really didn't mind when I told him that he’d be spending the evening with you instead.  In fact, I expected him to complain at least a little bit but he didn't complain at all!”
         I settled into my chair and laughed.  “Whit, he was great.  He didn't act like a jerk at all and I really didn't mind spending the evening with him even though I didn't want to originally.  I just have to tell you something about last night.”
         “You are going to have to tell me all about it!” she gushed.  “Obviously not right now since you’re at work and I’m about be at work but soon!  I’m having lunch with Matt today so I’m going to get some of the dirt but I’m sure he won’t tell me everything.  I’ll call you tonight after he’s gone off to his hotel and then we can discuss how big of a jerk he was to you.  Or how un-jerkish he was.”
         “Whit, I need to tell you something right now.  It’s about last night and I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”
         “Shoot.  You know you can talk to me about anything.”
         “Maybe not this,” I muttered too low for her to hear.  “Are you sure?  I don’t want to ruin your good mood.”
         She laughed.  “Nothing you say can ruin my mood right now.”
         I took a deep breath.  “I kind of, maybe, sort of slept with your brother last night.”
         Another laugh.  “So you’re telling me that you got really drunk and slept in the same bed as Matt?  How would that upset me?”
         I shook my head.  “No Whit, it was more than that.  I kind of, you know, slept with Matt.”
         She was silent for a second.  “Are you telling me you lost your virginity to my brother?  The same brother that you swore you didn't have any feelings for?”
         “Yes,” I said barely audibly.
         She burst out laughing.  “Oh my God!  I never thought this would happen!  I mean, I know I should have thought it was possible since my family has always wanted you together but I never thought it would actually happen!”
         I was shocked by her reaction.  “So you’re not mad?”
         “Mad?  I’m happy for you.  You can get together with my brother and we’ll literally be sisters.”
         This time it was my turn to pause.  “Nothing’s going to happen.  It was a onetime thing and he knows that.  We were both really drunk and that’s the only reason why anything happened between us.”
         She sighed.  “Claire, things never work out the way you expect them to.  Now that Matt knows you like him at least a tiny bit he won’t be willing to leave you alone.”
         I laughed.  “I talked to him about it already and he sounded fine about it.”
         “That’s because he’s planning his next move.  Just you wait, he’ll be seducing you from now on and you’ll give in eventually.”
         I looked at the clock.  “Shouldn't you be at the school by now?”
         “You’d think,” she said casually.  “I snuck into the teachers’ lounge so I could keep talking to you without getting harassed by the kids who show up early.”
         “So you should probably go now.”
         “In a minute.  I just have one question.”
         Please don’t ask me if I enjoyed myself, I thought.  “Yes?”
         “Where did it happen?  Did you do it in his hotel room or something?”
         I swallowed.  “He ah, kind of spent the night over at my house.  And he’s staying the rest of the weekend so he doesn't have to waste money on a hotel room.”
         She laughed.  “He totally roped you into that one.  Let me guess, he asked if he could stay the weekend this morning after you two had sex.”
         “Whitney!”
         “Well?  Am I wrong?”
         I sighed.  “No.”
         “So then he’s already planning something.  Since you've already slept together he’s totally going to try something tonight.”
         “No he won’t.”
         I heard a bell in the background which meant that she had to go.  “He will so pull something tonight.  If he doesn't then he’s not the brother I thought he was.”
         I laughed.  “Don’t you have to go?”
         “Yup.  I’ll harass him at lunch, don’t you worry.  He’ll be mad at you for telling me by the end of the night.”
         “Have fun with that.”
         “Oh, I will.  Bye, Claire.”
         “Bye Whit.”
         I hung up the phone and stared at it.  That is not how I thought it would have gone.  I was relieved that she wasn't mad but surprised that she was so okay with it.
         I picked my cell up to call Matt to tell him he could stay when my office door opened. 
         “You can’t go in there!” Hilary called from the other side.
         When the door opened all the way I saw Matt standing there with a cheesy grin on his face.  “Hey.”
         I jumped up and he stepped into the room.  “It’s okay, Hilary.  I've got this.”
         She sighed.  “Miss Rayne, you told me not to bother you.  I thought you were on the phone with Whitney.”
         Matt started to close the door behind him.  “She’s obviously off the phone now.  Besides, she’s got this.”
         Once the door was closed he leaned on it.  “So, hey.”
         I laughed.  “I think you've already said that.”
         “Maybe.  Come here.”
         I raised an eyebrow but did as he said.  “And why am I coming over to you?”
         He smiled wolfishly and put his arms around me as soon as I was close enough.  “Because you were too far away for me to do this.”
         I laughed.  “Well then maybe I should have stayed at my desk.”
         “Nope,” he said right before kissing me.
         I kissed him back before I realized it and then pulled back.  “I told you this can’t happen.”
         He laughed.  “From that reaction I take it that Whitney was okay with everything.”
         “And what reaction would that be?”
         “The fact that you kissed me back and you haven’t pulled out of my arms yet.”
         I looked down.  “Damn.”
         I pulled away from him and then crossed my arms.  “I told you that nothing’s going to happen between us.  It can’t.”
         He sighed.  “I don’t know why you’re so adamant about that.  You’re the only one that has a problem with this.”
         I shook my head and then walked back to my desk.  “Just trust me, Matt.  Nothing good can happen from us being together.  It’s not going to happen.”
         “Why not?”
         I looked him in the eye.  “The truth?  Because I don’t want things to get screwed up.  And don’t tell me that nothing will happen because I don’t want to take the chance that something might go horribly wrong.”
         “Give me tonight to try and change your mind.  If you still don’t want anything to happen then I’ll leave you alone for good.”
         I shook my head.  “I can’t do that.  You’re spending some quality time with your sister like you can here to do and I’m going to be working late to make sure that nothing happens.  I don’t want to sound like a jerk but I don’t want you to have the chance to change my mind.  I've made a decision and I’m going to stick with it.”
         “Fine.  But don’t get mad at me for what I’m about to do.”
         “And that would be?”
         He crossed the room to where I was sitting and pulled me out of my chair.  He wound my arms around his neck and then kissed me.  I could feel every muscle in his body tighten and I couldn't find it in me to pull away.  When he deepened the kiss I felt myself collapse into his arms and my will to resist him went out the window.
         After about five minutes of making out with my best friend’s little brother I remembered I was supposed to pull away.  When his hands slid up under the edge of my skirt I tried really hard to pull away.  When my hands went to his belt I knew that it was a lost cause.
         By the time he had my shirt bunched around my waste I found my brain again.  I pulled away slightly and removed my hands from his zipper and gently pushed his chest away.
         He looked at me and smiled.  “It took you a while to pull away.”
         I fixed my skirt and slid back into my chair.  “Goodbye, Matt.”
         He shook his head and stood there in front of me.  “Why are you denying it?”
         “Matthew, it’s not going to happen.  I’m not going to kill you for kissing me since I obviously kissed you back.  But that’s it.  Don’t try it again, please.”
         He sighed.  “Claire, one night.  That’s all I ask for.”
         I looked away from him.  “Please don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”
         “I’m not giving up.”
         “Goodbye, Matt.  Tell Whit I say hi and don’t lose my house key.”
         I didn't look back at him until I heard my office door open and shut again.  I screwed up more than I thought possible last night.  I had successfully convinced Matt nothing would ever happen until last night.  Now there was nothing I’d be able to say to get him to leave me alone.
         Hilary knocked and then stuck her head into the room.  “Is everything alright?”
         I nodded and attempted to smile.  “Of course.  Matt had to leave so I could get to work.”
         She looked at me a long time before stepping into the room.  “Miss Rayne, you can get mad at me for saying this but you’re missing out.  The boy was practically throwing himself at you and yet you still turned him down.”
         I sighed.  “What was I supposed to do?  He’s Whitney’s brother.”
         “Everything will work out over time.  I’m positive.”