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"You jerk! I hate you" I yell at James.
"Don't act like your perfect Vena!" he shouts back from the other side of the kitchen.
I glare at him, "I'm not!" I yell, "At least I can control myself".
He scoffs, "Hardly. You can't resist my body" he smirks.
I throw my hands up, "Seriously?! You're making egomaniacal remarks during a fight?!" I yell bewildered.
"You know it, Babe" he smirks.
I could feel the steam coming out of my ears. This whole fight started earlier today when my brother, Orlando decided to drop by for a visit.
Earlier this morning...
The sound of my hone was what woke me up.
"Mm. Hello?" I say sleepily into the phone.
"Good morning Vena" my brother greets me.
I sit up, making James's arms fall off me. "Good morning Orlando" I reply.
"Listen I have the day off and I want to come see you and your new apartment, so is 11:30 okay?" He asks.
My eyes widen. So many things could go wrong if he wanted to come over here. Mostly James, that's really the problem.
"Vena?" James's husky voice wakes me up.
I put my finger to my lips, telling him to be quiet. He gives me a confused look but then notices my phone.
"Vena? Are you there?" Orlando asks.
"Yeah, um could you come closer to noon?" I run a hand through my hair.
He chuckles, "Why Vena, you got a one night stand over?" he asks, amusement flowing through his voice.
Well that was the last thing I thought was going to come out of his mouth.
"No...I just have a few things to do this morning" I lie.
"Alright, noon it is. See you then. Bye" he says quickly.
I nod even though he can't see me. "Okay bye" and the line goes dead.
I smack James's shoulder, "Get up" I urge him.
He shakes his head and snuggles his face into my side, "No Darling. I am good right here".
"No James, you have to get up. My brother is coming over in" I glance at the clock, "An hour" I say.
He shoots up in his spot and looks at me wide eyed, "Which one?!" he asks, starting to get out my bed.
I look at him confused. "Orlando..." I trail off.
His jaw drops. "ORLANDO?!" he yells.
I nod. He runs a hand through his hair. "Oh lord" he mumbles.
I walk over to his hunched stance and place my hand on his back, "What's wrong?" I ask gently.
He stands up looks at me, "I'm living with you, Vena. That means that he will find out that you are living me, James Henderson" terror runs through his eyes.
Realization comes to me. He was right. Orlando was extremely protective towards me because of the fact that I am his baby sister.
"Alright it's fine, James. Calm down. He was going to find out sooner or later" I tell him.
Worry starts to leave his face, "You think so?" he asks.
I nod, "Yes, but could you get dressed and tidy up?" I start to head for the door but am stopped.
He grabs onto my arm, making me turn around to look at him. He pulls me close and presses his lips to my forehead.
I had a small suspicion that this was going to be a usual thing so I didn't think much of it.
James and I quickly tidied up the apartment with what time we had left.
"James, can you please pass me those blankets?" I ask him.
He tosses me the blankets and continues loading the dish washer.
I fold the blankets and lay them down on the couch.
Then suddenly the doorbell rang.
Game over.
James and I look at each other from across the room. I hurry to the door and open it and see my brother standing there in his usual brown suit.
He steps inside, straightening his suit. He smiles at me and pulls me into a hug and holds on to me tightly.
He pulls away and looks past my shoulder.
Were so dead.
"What is he doing here" he says with no expression.
I back away from him and lead him to the couch, "Please sit down, Orlando" I gesture to the chair.
He cautiously sits down and looks at me.
James walks out of the kitchen and sits down next to me on the couch.
This sure felt like déjà vu, except it was my laid back brother; not my uptight one.
"Orlando, James is my roommate" I glance at him.
He smirks at me. "And only my roommate" I assure him.
He looks at me bewildered. "You told you that you haven't been talking to him, Vena" he looks at me sternly.
"Whoa whoa, I thought you liked me, dude" James speaks up.
He shakes his head, "I do, James, but this is my sister we are talking about. She means a lot more to me than our friendship" I says.
I could see James glaring at him.
"Alright stop you two" I stop the glare fest.
They both move their attention to me. "Do you want some coffee?" I ask Orlando.
He nods, "I would" he says.
"I'll help" James says and follows me into the kitchen.
I start making the coffee when suddenly I feel a set of hands resting at my hips. "James stop" I tell him.
He chuckles, "Why?" his breath tickles the side of my neck.
"Because I said so, now get your hands off me" I demand.
His hand instantly come off my hips and he steps away and back into the living room. I glance back and see him sitting down in front of my brother.
"Do you want some cheese and crackers?" I shout to the living room.
"Yes" the both say in unison.
I start to prepare some cheese and crackers on a platter. I glance over my shoulder at them and see them in a deep conversation, it looked pretty heated too.
I hurry and finish putting it on the plate look at them see them now standing and trying to keeping their voices to a minimum.
I grab the platter in one hand and Orlando's coffee in the other and walk cautiously into the living room. I set it down and look between the two boys, the glares that were being passed were deadly.
Suddenly there was a pair of lips forced against mine. They felt soft against my own. It felt nice, it was captivating.
They pull away from me and look into my eyes. James's sapphire blue eyes stared back at me. Orlando was absolutely fuming. In one swift movement he swings his fist and punches James square in the jaw, making him fall to the ground, holding the side of his face.
"Shit dude! Seriously?!" James shouts.
"You had it coming" he yells.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" I yell.
They both look at me. Orlando shakes his head, "I'm leaving. Sorry Vena" and with that he just left.
I turn to James furious, he was already to his feet.
And that brought us back to the present.
I could feel as my blood start to boil. I couldn't stop my anger from coming out any longer. So it just flowed.
"You jerk! I hate you" I yell at James.
"Don't act like your perfect Vena!" he shouts back from the other side of the living room
I glare at him, "I'm not!" I yell, "At least I can control myself".
He scoffs, "Hardly. You can't resist my body" he smirks.
I throw my hands up, "Seriously?! You're making egomaniacal remarks during a fight?!" I yell bewildered.
"You know it, Babe" he smirks.
I sit down on the couch and run a hand through my hair. I try so hard to calm myself, but it was a very difficult thing to do during a time like this.
He sat down beside me and ran his hands through his hair.
After minutes of silence between us he broke it.
"I'm doing a shitty job of making you fall for me, aren't I?" he says quietly.
I look at him and slightly nod. He exhales, "I'm sorry, Vena. It's just that he was egging me on and you are right. I can't control myself".
I breathe in and out for a moment and turn and look at him. The bruise was getting worse and worse by the minute. I reach up touch the side of his face and he finches back.
"Stop James. I need to see" I tell him.
He stops moving and lets me see. I run my fingers over the purple spot. "Ow! Stop Vena" pulls my hand away.
I stand up and grab his hand and pull him into the bathroom and put down the toilet lid, "Sit" I tell him.
He sits and I grab the first aid kit from under the sink. I set it out on the counter and get a few things out for him. I notice a cut right on his jaw, probably from my brother's wedding ring.
I grab some cleaning wipes and turn to James, "Hold still, this is going to hurt like a bitch" I tell him coldly.
He laughs.
You won't be laughing for long.
I put the wipe on his cut, pressing a little harder then I needed to. "Ow" he says, flinching.
I smirk and continue pressing it. He pulls back and grabs my wrist. "There is no need to do that" he says sternly. I roll my eyes. I grab some pain cream and put some on my finger and rub over the side of his face.
He winces but then smiles, "Its cold".
I chuckle and then am pulled into his lap. I sit on his knee and slightly smile at him.
"I'm so sorry, Vena" he whispers.
"For what? Kissing me? Or pissing my brother off?" I raise my eyebrow, still incredibly pissed.
"For pissing your brother off, but I shouldn't have kissed you in the first place" he smiles, "Although I really did want to".
I lean my head against his shoulder. "I'm still mad at you" I whisper.
He chuckles, "I know, my darling. I know" he wraps his arms around waist.
We just sat there in each other's arms in the bathroom. There wasn't a reason, it was just because we could.
~
It had awhile since I wrote my book. I started it at the beginning of high school and then I just got so busy that I just didn't have the time.
I had a bit of extra time now so what the hell.
I opened my laptop and got right into the next chapter. I knew exactly what I was going to.
I really couldn't decide what was best for myself or others around me. I was mostly afraid that if I did something wrong, it would hurt others around me. I can't handle the pressure. I need out. Today.
"Johns pay attention or you're never going to get out of here" Becker, my trainer snaps.
"Vena" James groans and plops down beside me.
I close my laptop. So much for trying to work on this, at this rate I am never going to finish it.
I turn and look at him, "What?" I ask.
He smiles, "I want to cuddle".
I roll my eyes. I remember the last time those words came out of his mouth, except he forced me to lay down with him.
I roll my eyes and shake my head, "No" I tell him.
He pouts, "Please Vena" he whines.
You know, most 19 year old boys would want something more intimate, but no not James. He wants to 'cuddle' as he says it.
It's not that bad being in James arms, it's pretty comforting actually.
I shrug, "Fine, but only for a bit. I have to study tonight" I tell him.
He chuckles lightly, "You and your books" he lays down on his side.
I lay down next to him, my back to his chest. He pulls me closer and rests his hand on my abdomen.
His breathe brushes against the back of neck.
"Darling, do you mind if I sleep a bit?" he asks after a moment.
I settle into his hold, "Sure, but I'm probably going to get up in a bit" I tell him.
He nods and snuggles into my back.
I decided to watch some TV while he slept. He snored quietly. I fought the urge to laugh at him.
Suddenly the door opened and Charley walked through it. He stopped right in his steps when he see's James and I he chuckles lightly.
"You two" he mumbles.
I roll my eyes and continue watching the TV.
It was an hour ago that I tried to get up, but I forgot how tight his grasp was, so I am stuck here until he gets up.
Suddenly I feel James move his lips against the back of my neck. I gasp and he chuckles.
He loosens his grasp. I sit up and stretch my arms. He sits up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist.
"Thank you. I need that" he whispers huskily in my ear.
"James Henderson, Keep your hands to yourself" Charley says sternly from the kitchen.
He rolls his eyes and stands up. The heat from his body was slowly disappearing.
He glances over at my brother. He was going through paperwork at the island. James quickly leans down and pecks my cheek and walks off to the direction of his room.
It was only 2:00 and I had nothing to do except study or write and at the moment I didn't feel like doing either of those.
"Vena come here" Charley call for me.
I hop on over to the kitchen and sit down at the island next to him.
He stops going through the papers and looks at me. "So Orlando called today" he starts. And with that I knew this conversation was going downhill.
"He said that he came over here and he and James were having a conversation about you and then James kissed you. Is this true?" he asks.
I look down at the brown tile flooring, "Yes, he did" I say quietly.
He nods, thinking about the new information I just fed him I'm guessing.
"Is it true that Orlando punched him?" he asks.
I nod.
He scoffs, "Serves him right for kissing my sister".
I look at bewildered, "Have you seen his face" I say defensively.
He raise an eyebrow at me, "Why so defensive, Vena? Especially towards James"
My jaw drops, "I am not!" I shout.
"There you go again" he smiles.
I roll my eyes and get up to leave.
"Wait Vena" he grabs onto my arm.
I stop and look at him, "What?" I tiredly say.
"Do you have feelings for James?" he asks.
I think about those words for a moment.
There were times that I thought I had feelings for him and then there were times that I knew I didn't.
There times that I couldn't help but fall for his charm, it was hard to not.
Ever since yesterday, I have been wondering what would ever happen if James and I ever did get together. Truthfully, I knew I didn't like him the way he liked me right now, maybe I would in the future, but not now.
I liked the way he made me feel when touched me and I liked how he was cocky and then caring when he wanted to be.
I liked his looks. I really liked his looks.
I liked being in his arms; the way he held me made me feel right.
I liked all these things about him, but I wasn't sure if I had feelings for him.
"No, Charley. I don't have feelings for James" I tell him.
He nods and let's go of my wrist. I walk over to the living room.
I don't want anyone to ever ask me that specific question ever again. It was the death of me. There wasn't a right wrong answer, therefore nobody is happy, unless of course I find myself having feelings for James. But I doubt that will happen anytime soon.
So much has happened over the last two days and I am having a really hard time processing it all.
James had laid a lot of information on and honestly I don't know what to do with it. Did he ever consider my feelings when he confessed his, or did he ever consider how I would feel if when he kissed me for the sake of proving a point? Probably not.
"Is there something wrong with the wall, Vena?" James's voice brings me out my thoughts.
Technically this whole ordeal is his fault to begin with. If he didn't express his feelings to me, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have that huge bruise on cheek bone.
Who knew my brother could be so vicious....
"Vena" James brings me out of my thoughts again.
I brush off those thoughts and turn and look at him, "What?" I snap.
He stares at me for a minute and then grabs my hand and leads me towards his room.
"Hey! I don't want any funny business in there James!" Charley yells from the kitchen.
When is he going to get it through is head that he is not my dad...
"Yes Charley" James mumbles loud enough for him to hear.
James opens his door and leads me inside, shutting the door behind us.
He pulls me to his bed and sits down. I carefully sit down in front of him. He still held my hand for whatever reason that was.
"Vena I know you're mad, but I need to talk to you about something" he speaks after a long silence between us.
I slightly nod. What on earth could he have to say now?
"Now I know that you are probably mad because I gave you all that news yesterday and how kissed you today" he glances down at my lips. "I uh- I'm sorry because I kissed you because your brother was getting on my nerves and he told me that I couldn't kiss you, because we are just roommates. So I showed him" he tells me.
So that's what they were talking about.
"Did you ever consider my feelings?" I ask him.
He stares at me for a second and the shakes his head. "No, I was being selfish. I just needed to tell you how I was feeling" he smiles a bit, "Because I trust you, Vena".
He takes a deep breath, "There is just one last thing I need to ask you. Do you have feelings for me?" he looks at me with hopeful eyes.
Great. The six words that I absolutely dreaded.
_______________
Hey guys. Can you please comment what you thought and vote? Thanks.
A lot has happened in the last two chapters and I am not sure if they are good or not. So please tell me if you think I am doing this right.
-BWS
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What do you think?