My Brother’s Best Friend

My Brother’s Best Friend

It was Saturday night, and I had just moved to Los Angeles. My brother—Oliver, or Ollie for short—was a saint and had invited me along to his friend’s birthday party so that I wouldn’t be alone on my first weekend in town.

I was a little anxious at the thought of all the people he told me about in his funny traveling stories. I’d never met any of them.

First impressions were always the most nerve-racking experiences. One wrong word, and I might never get an invite again.

Although my brother would always have my back, he couldn’t control what his friends thought of me, so I’d have to be on my best behavior, which meant watching how much alcohol I consumed.

I was known to get a little wild whenever I drank too much.

Ollie said his friends partied hard, but I had a feeling I partied harder. I’d know soon enough either way.

Ollie and I were driving to his friends’ house—Allison and Freddy. From all the information my brother had given me, it sounded like most of the people in attendance were couples.

I checked my makeup in the passenger-side mirror to make sure my lipstick hadn’t smudged. Everything was in place, just like it was two minutes ago when I had last checked.

“Do you have something in your teeth or eye? You keep looking in the mirror,” Ollie said as he looked over his shoulder and switched lanes on I10.

“I’m just checking my lipstick,” I said, turning to look out the window to hide the blush creeping up my cheeks.

“You look fine. This group is chill. You don’t need to impress anyone,” he said for the umpteenth time today.

“I know.” I groaned.

He couldn’t understand how I felt. I was recently single and new to LA. Not only was I curvier than the vast majority of Los Angelesians, but I wasn’t the stereotypical perfect-skinned, fashionista female that seemed to be walking down every street in LA either.

It was just me.

That was okay, but I had this bad feeling that people wouldn’t like me because I wasn’t from California and didn’t fit in.

“Tessa, just have a good time. Everyone’s pumped to meet you!” Ollie said as he took an exit.

The GPS said we were five minutes away, and my heart began racing. I reminded myself to take deep breaths over the next agonizingly slow five minutes.

We arrived at the house, and I was blown away.

As soon as we walked in, the first thing I noticed was a huge floor-to-ceiling window that spanned the length of the living room, offering an impressive view of the ocean and valley of houses spread across the hills.

A pang of jealousy at the thriving couple hit me square in the chest, but I had given up the possibility of all that to move here, and I would accept it.

I wanted to be closer to my family, and I was here to grow close to them again.

Going to this party was important to my brother, not only because I was going to meet his friends but also because we were going to make up for lost time together.

The reminder of why I was here, not only for myself but also for my family, helped allay my anxiety at meeting Ollie’s friends.

One by one, they introduced themselves and hugged me. They, men and women, all gave long, tight hugs. This was not something I was used to when meeting new people, but apparently, LA was a hugging town. Subconsciously, it did make me feel more welcome.

Allie was the birthday girl. She had strange angular features and a tall lean frame that reminded me of a model. Her personality was as odd and quirky as her looks, but somehow, the two paired nicely into a welcoming package. I immediately liked her.

Her partner, Freddy, was just as warm and welcoming. They resembled one another in a way, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have considered them to be siblings.

Another couple, Jace and Monica, were the epitome of California beauty. They gave me life-of-the-party vibes, immediately making jokes and handing out drinks when we arrived.

The last people at the house were Greyson and Chance. Greyson was the only Cali-born girl. She had dark skin and hair and was arguably the most drop-dead gorgeous woman I’d ever laid eyes on. Not to mention, she had a perfect body. Chance was a surprise.

I knew Chance, but it’d been years since I last saw him. I had been a kid, barely a teenager, and he had been my older brother’s hot best friend. Chance had his arm around Greyson like they were dating, but they didn’t introduce themselves as a couple.

Seeing him again felt odd, and he knew so many things about me; he asked about my move, my parents, and my job.

My brother had likely told him, and judging by how he was currently nodding by my side, he had probably asked Chance to talk to me; regardless, it was impressive to see that he remembered all of it.

“Tess, Chance, you guys want a beer?” Ollie asked, walking toward the kitchen and leaving me alone with Chance.

“Yeah, sure,” I said, nervously glancing at the man he was leaving me with.

“Thanks, man,” Chance said to Ollie before turning back to me. “What do you think of LA so far? I know it’s barely been a week, but you must have a first impression?”

His face was so earnest and kind. Yet, at first glance, his sharp nose and cheekbones would have suggested otherwise. It probably didn’t help that I had to look up to see him, making the sharp angles of his face stand out.

“Um… I haven’t been able to get out much. This is one of the first things I’ve done actually. I didn’t want to take a ton of time off work, so that and unpacking have been filling most of my time,” I explained.

“Gotcha. That makes sense. When I moved out here, I planned to switch jobs, so I had like a month to explore. It was pretty sweet. I got a good introduction to the city. If you ever need someone to show you around, don’t hesitate to call me.”

He gave me a wink just before my brother returned and handed us both our beers.

“What are you guys talking about?” Ollie asked, suspiciously glancing between the two of us.

“Ugh. Just talking about how my move is going,” I said quickly.

I’m not sure why I didn’t tell my brother that Chance was offering to “show me around,” but judging by the way he was standing between us, I didn’t think he’d be cool with that.

The rest of the night went on without a hitch. I got to know the women in the group better and was surprised by their receptiveness to being friends with me.

Ollie had a great group of friends out here, and they seemed to like me. He also wasn’t kidding when he said they partied hard. They might be at my level or even beyond.

Everyone was getting drunk quickly and doing several drugs. They offered me some, but I declined. I wanted to make sure my first experience with them went well, so I was sticking to one drink per hour.

Soon, we were all headed out to a bar and skating rink to continue the party. I ended up in the backseat of an Uber between Ollie and Chance.

The sedan was small, and with two tall, broad-shouldered men on either side of me, our thighs and shoulders were flush against one another.

The more I tried to pull my shoulders in and squeeze my thighs together, the more room I allowed Chance to spread his legs. He either didn’t notice or care that his entire thigh was pressed solidly against mine. The connection was nerve-racking.

I’d had a crush on Chance when I was younger, and seeing him now rekindled that young schoolgirl feeling.

“Feeling okay, Tess?” Chance asked, placing his hand on my thigh and giving it a squeeze.

My body tensed at the feeling of his hand on my thigh. It was massive compared to the width of my leg, and I imagined how a hand that big would feel on other parts of my body.

I uncomfortably shifted in my seat, shoving the thoughts to the side and making a move to remove his hand.

“I’m good. I just get a little car sick in the back sometimes,” I lied.

Greyson turned in the front seat and said, “I totally would have sat back there. I’m sorry Tessa. Should we pull over and switch?”

I shook my head and replied, “It’s fine. We’re almost there.”

Great! Now I would be the girl with problems. The last thing I wanted was to appear to be high maintenance.

The sedan pulled up to the skating rink, and I slid out behind Ollie. Chance was holding his door open for me, but I did not want to brush by him any longer.

My thigh was already burning hot from where it had been in contact with his the entire car ride.

Ollie and I followed Greyson and Chance in. She looped her arm through his, and they looked like a couple of angels striding across the pavement to the entrance.

“You want some molly?” Ollie asked in a hushed voice. “It might help you relax.”

I shot him an irritated look. It was annoying that he could read me so well. The two beers I’d had at the house felt great until we got in the car.

“A little,” I said.

Ecstasy was something I had plenty of experience with, and it wouldn’t make me stupid or out of control. I didn’t realize that was what everyone was doing earlier and suddenly understood why Chance had touched me.

It was just the molly; it did that to everyone.

Ollie subtly handed me a bag, and I tucked it into my jean skirt pocket. After walking in, our group gathered by the skate station, and I told the attendant my size.

While everyone booted up, I snuck into the bathroom and rubbed some of the drugs into my gums.

As I exited the bathroom, I nearly ran into Chance’s chest. He grabbed my hand, pulled me into the one-stall bathroom, and locked the door.

“What are you doing?” I exclaimed, looking around as if the answer were written on the walls.

“Ollie said you had the E,” he replied, leaning back against the bathroom door.

“Oh, yeah. Here,” I said, pulling the bag out of my pocket and handing it to him.

His face lit up like a kid in the candy shop as he took it. He opened the bag and stopped, looking up at me.

“You want to do it together?” he asked, his eyes briefly running down my body.

I crossed my arms over my ample chest, feeling the need to hide my cleavage from his wandering eyes. He should not be looking at me like he was.

“I just did some,” I said.

“Do some more. With me.” He stalked toward me.

I put my hands up to stop him, and they landed flat on his chest. The firm mounds of his pectorals spread wide across my fingertips, and I nearly raked my nails down his chest before I stopped myself and pulled away.

Holy shit! The molly was already hitting. Touching him felt so good. It’d been so long since I touched a man.

“Here. Like this,” Chance said, sticking the tip of his finger into his mouth and wetting it before sticking it into the bag.

He pulled out a drug-covered finger, and I fully expected him to rub it into his gums as I did earlier, but he brought the finger up to my mouth.

At his silent demand, my lips parted, and he stuck his finger into my mouth, rubbing the drug under my tongue. As he went to remove his finger, I swirled my tongue around the tip and sucked off the remaining particles.

Chance’s eyes hooded, and his mouth parted as he watched me suck his finger. He stood unmoving while I then sucked my own finger and dipped it into the bag.

I wasn’t sure what had come over me or why I was doing what I was, but I continued.

With a drug-coated fingertip, I mimicked his action, sticking my finger in his mouth. His tongue quickly swirled around my tip, and I nearly went molten.

The wet feel of his tongue and the erotic sight of this man sucking my finger had my toes curling. As I pulled my finger from his mouth, he caught my wrist and tugged me hard against his chest.

That massive hand that had squeezed my thigh earlier snaked around my back and now squeezed my waist.

Our faces were so close that our breaths mixed, and I could feel my heart thumping against his chest. It felt like an eternity as I stared into this strange, yet familiar man’s eyes.

We’d only been in each other’s presence a couple of hours, and there was this intoxicating pull between us that I knew would be my undoing.

“Tessa? Chance? You guys in there?” Ollie’s voice rang out as he knocked on the door.

My brother’s voice pulled me from my lust-induced brain fog, and I quickly shoved Chance away. His face was a mix of frustration and regret, which I didn’t understand. I turned toward the mirror to check my expression while Chance unlocked the door.

Ollie shuffled in, and Chance locked the door. “Who’s got it?” he asked, holding out his hand.

“Here ya go, man. We just finished taking some. All yours.” Chance handed him the bag.

“You’re looking a little pink there, Tessa, you take too much?” my brother asked, suspiciously eyeing me.

“I’m fine. It’s hot in here.” I said, shoving past him and unlocking the door. I exited the “hot” bathroom and let the door slam shut between me and the two men who were bound to have issues tonight.