Girlfriend's Little Brother Pt. 01

I started dating my girlfriend Cara this past winter, right after turning 23. We'd known each other in high school, our respective circle of friends overlapping frequently, but we lost touch after graduation.

We began texting after running into each other at a mutual friend's New Year's Eve party, and quickly started dating.

Our work schedules were different enough that we weren't spending every spare minute around one another, something that I felt had extended the honeymoon phase of our relationship just a tad. And even though I realized early on that Cara wasn't someone I'd end up falling madly in love with, we still had a lot of fun during the time we made for one another.

Both of us were gym rats, so we would frequently work out together, and since we still shared a lot of the same friends that we had since high school, our nights out bar hopping and clubbing as a group became a ritual almost every weekend.

To top it off, Cara was a bombshell. Tall and leggy, her pale skin and soft, voluptuous body contrasted my tanned, muscular one. The hours she had spent in the gym had gifted her with a nice, shapely ass, which was the sexiest part of her body in my opinion. I loved watching it bounce while she rode me reverse cowgirl style, a favorite position of mine that wasn't used nearly as often as I'd like.

Cara was quite tame in the bedroom, another way in which we contrasted each other, and while I definitely enjoyed the sex, there were times when I wished she'd be more adventurous.

That was easier said than done, however. She still lived at home, and while I shared an apartment with a buddy I went to college with, we spent the night at her place about half the time, meaning we needed to keep the bedroom noises minimal. Not exactly the best conditions to explore her freakier side, that's for sure.

Given that we spent a decent amount of time at her place, and ever the pleasing and dutiful boyfriend I was attempting to be, I made the effort to get to know her family early on. Her folks were in their mid-fifties and pleasant enough people who had the good graces to stay out of our hair when they were home.

Then there was her younger brother, Evan. I didn't quite know what to make of Evan at first. Even though he was two years younger than us, I only vaguely remembered him from high school as a short and quiet kid.

In the years since, however, he'd grown a lot taller, and was only a few inches shorter than my height of 6'1. Although he appeared thin, his body was often obscured by the dark, oversized clothing he usually wore, which matched the black polish on his nails and, along with the soft, blonde curls that framed his face, gave him an androgynous, almost feminine, look.

Despite the changes in appearance that comes with passing through your teenage years and entering early adulthood, Evan still remained quiet and shy, appearing standoffish in response to my attempts to get to know him.

But Cara and I were still in that early stage of our relationship where I felt like I had to show how committed I was by proving how much she mattered to me, so I tried a bit harder to make some kind of connection with her brother, mostly just to show I cared enough about her to try.

An art student at the local college, he was almost always sketching when I was over at their house, and I asked him about it one afternoon while the three of us were in the living room together.

Cara and I were watching TV on the love seat while Evan sat on the couch adjacent to us. He had a look of intense concentration on his face, his long sleeves pushed back to reveal the pale white of his skin underneath as he gracefully dragged the pencil tip across the paper of his sketchbook with long, nimble fingers. He'd pause occasionally to sweep his soft, blonde curls out of his eyes and off to the side, something that always made me grateful for deciding to keep my brown hair in a short crew cut.

"Hey Evan, what're you always drawing?"

His blue eyes peered at me over the top of his sketchbook for several seconds before he offered a casual shrug.

"Usually people. Sometimes, I'll draw an animal or a character from something, but I usually stick with people."

"Any particular reason why?"

He shrugged again, "I dunno, people are more challenging to draw I guess."

"How so?"

"Well," he began, "for starters, you have to make sure to include the finer details. Beauty marks, scars, those sorts of things. But the real trick is capturing emotions and body language. Everyone expresses emotions and body language in their own unique way, which can be tricky to put to paper."

The more he talked, the more animated he became. I could tell he really had a passion for art from the way he spoke of it, low key excitement filling his voice and a tiny spark flashing behind his eyes.

I smiled at him encouragingly. Looks like I finally found a way to get him to open up.

"That's awesome, man. Can I see some of your stuff?"

His eyebrows slowly rose, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, come show me," I patted the seat next to me and he shuffled over.

"I just started sketching in this book so I don't have much of it filled out yet," he explained, flipping to the first page.

I leaned in closer to him, getting a whiff of his lavender shampoo in the process, and gazed at a pencil drawn image of his and Cara's mom laughing.

"Holy shit," I exclaimed. "It's like she's looking right at me."

"You think so?" His eyes shifted to the side, watching me as I took in the sketch.

"Fuck yeah, dude. I can almost hear her laughter in my head. You drew her perfectly; the laugh lines around her mouth, the way her eyes crinkle. This is incredible."

I shook my head, genuinely impressed. I didn't know much about art, but I knew when it was good and Evan's was great.

"Thank you," he demurred, shyly glancing away with a small smile while a blush crept into his cheeks.

"Show me some more."

He flipped to the next page.

"This is my friend Drea," he tapped the left page with his thumb, on which was a drawing of a black girl with dreads staring down at her phone, an inquisitive look on her face.

"And this is her dog, Otto."

Glancing to the right, I stared at a border collie who seemed to be looking up at me, happy and desperate to please.

"Beautiful dog."

"I have another drawing of him in here somewhere," Evan mumbled.

He began flipping through the book until I held up a hand to stop him, recognizing a character from one of my favorite anime.

"Whoa, great job with Gendo," I said.

"You watch Evangelion?"

I nodded my head and met his eyes, the surprise evident in them.

"It's one of my favorites," he said.

"Mine too."

"You watch a lot of anime?"

"A decent amount."

"I'm watching this one right now that's pretty good--"

"Nerds," Cara coughed beside me, holding a fist up to her mouth in exaggeration.

Evan rolled his eyes and I smiled at him.

"So what were you drawing just now?" I nodded down to the sketchbook in his lap.

"Oh, well... um, I guess I can show you," he reluctantly flipped a few more pages before tentatively tipping the drawing towards us. "It's not...um finished yet."

I could feel Cara peeping over my shoulder, joining me in looking at a half finished sketch of the two of us sitting on the couch, Cara's head resting on my shoulder and our hands intertwined as we watched TV.

I glanced up at Evan and could see the hopeful apprehension in his eyes.

"Wow, that's--"

"Um, I do not look like that," Cara interrupted.

I turned toward her as she scowled at the drawing.

"Oh," Evan startled, "it's not really finished ye--"

"Even if it was," she cut him off, "it still wouldn't look like me. I'm definitely not that wide around the shoulders and my neck isn't that thick."

"Babe, you're crazy. It looks just like you."

"So you think I actually look that heavy then?" She raised her eyebrows at me, an accusatory tone in her voice.

There was a beat of silence as I chose my next words carefully.

"No, of course not. I just meant that you're seeing something that isn't there."

She frowned, unsatisfied with my answer.

"Cara, I can change it--" Evan began.

"Well, you wouldn't have to if you'd done it right the first time, like a real artist would have."

Evan's face fell as Cara got up and stormed out of the room.

"Cara," I called after her. "Cara!"

I heard her bedroom door slam upstairs and sighed, rolling my eyes.

"I'm sorry about her," I turned toward Evan who'd managed to hide the hurt look on his face. "She can be..."

"A raging bitch?" He finished with a wry smile that made me chuckle.

"Something like that."

"It's fine, nothing I'm not used to after growing up with that drama queen."

"Yeah well, I better go and check up on that drama queen lest she bite my head off even more."

I stood up and took a few steps before turning around.

"I thought your drawing of us was great, by the way."

Evan offered me a small smile, "Thanks, Seth."

------

Now that the ice had broken between Evan and I, the two of us got along fairly well after that. Whenever I was over, I'd ask about his art and he'd show me the sketches he was working on or we'd talk about what anime we were both watching at the time.

One night, I came over to pick up Cara for our date. Her mom answered the door and let me in.

"I think she's still getting ready," she told me gently, and I heard the shower running upstairs.

I hung my head in mock anguish, drawing a laugh from her.

"Evan's downstairs if you want to say hello and maybe kill some time," she smiled at me and I could tell she was pleased I'd made the effort to befriend him.

"Thanks, that sounds a lot better than watching Cara put on makeup for an hour."

She chuckled and patted me on the back as I opened the door to the basement and went down the stairs. The basement had been turned into a rec room some years ago, with hardwood floors and a neutral beige paint on the walls. Evan was splayed out lazily across the couch with an Xbox controller in his hand, focusing on the TV mounted to the wall opposite him. He perked up as soon as he saw me reach the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, Seth," he smiled, quickly sitting up.

"What's up, Evan?" I glanced at the TV and saw that he was playing Call of Duty. "Merking some noobs on COD?"

Just then his character died on screen. "More like getting merked," he said dryly.

I laughed, "My bad, didn't mean to screw up your game."

"It's fine," he dismissed with a casual wave of his hand. "It was bound to happen eventually. So what're you up to?"

"Not much, came to snag Cara for our date but she's still getting ready."

"Ah," he replied knowingly. "So you're stuck waiting on her for the next hour."

"Yeah, pretty much," I smiled at him again.

"Well, you can help me merk these noobs if you want."

"I'm down. Looks like you could use the help," I teased, taking the seat next to him.

"Well I'd still be alive if someone hadn't interrupted me," he teased back, handing over a controller.

"Sure, sure. You know it's ok to be the noob getting merked. We all were at some point."

"So it's like that, is it? Alright, how about a little one on one then? See who the real noob is."

"Oooo you don't know what you're getting yourself into my man."

"Oh I definitely do, your ego just can't handle it."

"Alright," I chuckled, nodding my head. "It's on then."

We got a round going and began, continuing to talk shit while laughing and jostling each other the entire time. I'll admit, Evan was a lot better than I initially thought, but he still wasn't quite at my level.

"Let's gooo," I bellowed as I made the winning kill.

"Damn it! I was so close too!"

"Close ain't gonna cut it when you're going head to head with me," I gave him my best shit eating grin.

"Best two out of three," he countered.

"Once wasn't enough? You want to get shit on twice?"

"I was just getting a feel for how you play," he reasoned. "Now that I know what I'm up against, I'm prepared to own you."

I smiled, shaking my head. "So much confidence for someone who just got their ass kicked."

"Oh, I'll show you an ass kicking," he smiled back, a challenge in his eyes.

"Give it your best shot."

True to his word, he did in fact kick my ass.

"Hot shit," I said, impressed.

I looked over to see him returning a shit eating grin of his own.

"All right, let's not get too egotistical now," I smiled. "We're only tied after all."

"I know, I'm just anticipating how righteous I'll feel when I break it," he mockingly scoffed.

"You little shit," I laughed. "Prepare to get owned."

"Bring. It. On."

Just then the door at the top of the stairs opened and I turned my head as Cara called down, "Seth, I'm ready, let's get going!"

"Looks like we're gonna have to settle this at a later time," I turned back toward Evan and saw a flash of disappointment cross his face, mirroring how I surprisingly felt as well.

"It's cool, I can finish kicking your ass whenever you're ready," he shrugged casually..

"That cockiness will be your downfall one day."

"Or yours."

"SETH! LET'S GO!" Cara called again. "Amber and Brad are already on their way to the restaurant!"

"Don't you just love how she takes forever, then yells like you're the one making her late."

"I heard that, asshole!"

I laughed and gave him a friendly thump on the back before leaning in closer.

"She'd be late to her own burial just to get her makeup right, never mind that she'd be spending eternity in a box," I whispered so she didn't hear.

That drew a laugh from him as I rose from the couch, a grin on my face. I headed toward the staircase, stopping at the bottom as he spoke.

"See you later, Seth. Make sure to get some practice in before next time, you need it."

I turned, flipped him the bird and winked as he smiled back at me from the couch, then headed upstairs towards my girlfriend waiting at the top with her arms crossed and a frown on her face while she impatiently tapped one foot.

------

After that, I'd join Evan in playing video games down in the basement whenever I was at Cara's house and had some free time, usually if I was waiting for her to get ready or I was spending the night and couldn't fall asleep after she already had. I'd even play online with him while I was home at my apartment on occasion, something Cara noticed one day.

"You ready?" She walked in from the bathroom, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

I was on the bed, my fingers moving rapidly over my Xbox controller, eyes trained on the TV across from me.

"Yeah, almost finished," I mumbled to her.

The game ended a few seconds later and I spoke into my headset.

"Alright, dude, I gotta go, your sisters waiting on me."

"Ok, I'll see later, man," Evan spoke into my ear.

"See ya."

I tossed the controller aside and took my headset off.

"Was that Evan?" Cara asked.

"Uh-huh."

I switched the TV and console off then stood to grab my shoes.

"Since when do you guys play online?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, we started a little while back. It's only every once in a while."

"Yeah, on top of when you guys play together at the house."

I shrugged again, slipping into my sneakers.

Cara crossed her arms, "Look, I appreciate that you made the effort to get to know him and all, I really do. But you don't have to keep hanging out with him for my sake. We aren't really that close."

"What makes you think I'm hanging out with him for your sake?"

She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Seth, come on. You sweet talked my parents when you first met them, and tried to do the same with Evan but he kept shutting you down until that day you asked to see his sketches. Are you honestly saying you didn't do all that to try and impress me?"

"....Ok, you're right, that is why I was nice to him at first," I admitted. "But once I got to know him and we hung out a little, I realized he's actually a pretty cool guy."

"He's a little shit is what he is," she said dryly.

"Aw, come on Cara, don't you think you're being just a little hard on the guy?"

She waved her hand dismissively, turning to grab her purse. "Oh I'm sure he's said much worse about me, I can guarantee you that."

I didn't say anything, the memory of him calling her a raging bitch flashing through my mind.

"Look," she continued, "it's fine that you like hanging out with him or whatever. I just don't want you to feel like you have to 'cause of me."

"I'm not, trust me. I just have fun playing video games with him, that's all."

"If you say so," she shrugged, but I couldn't help the nagging feeling that she wasn't super keen with the whole thing. I opted to drop it, not wanting to open that can of worms.

"Let's go," I said, "we're gonna be late."

------

My feet were heavy on the stairs as I angrily stomped down them. I heard the loud slam of Cara's door upstairs, echoing throughout the silent, empty house. I made sure to return the gesture by slamming the front door behind me as I stepped out into the cool March night.

I stood on the doorstep, breathing heavily. "Fucking bitch," I muttered.

"Well hello to you too."

I turned my head and saw Evan walking up the path from the driveway, his lips quirked up in a small, teasing smile that I couldn't help but return.

He stopped in front of me and brushed the curls out of his eyes. "What's up, man?"

"Not much, just...," I sighed.

"Fighting with my sister?"

"How'd you know?"

"Clenched fists, set jaw," he counted on each finger, "the look of inexplicable frustration as if you were trying to move a boulder with a fork."

I snorted, "You know the signs well."

He shrugged, "Hearing you grumble 'fucking bitch' under your breath was a pretty dead giveaway too."

I laughed this time, suddenly grateful for his presence.

"Yeah, I guess I let my anger get the better of me, huh?"

"Oh please, Cara could make a monk swear," he dismissed.

"I'm starting to see that," I rubbed my temples.

"I get it, Seth. I really do."

He gave me a look of sympathy, which I greatly appreciated, and offered a small smile.

"Enough of my shit. What've you been up to?"

He shrugged. "Nothing really. Just finished seeing a movie with some friends."

He suddenly perked up, struck by an idea.

"Actually, I was about to smoke a bit, if you maybe wanted to join?"

"Yeah?" I raised my eyebrows inquiringly. After the last few hours, getting stoned and chilling out sounded great.

"Mhm," he nodded his head. "I gotta grab shit from my room, but we can smoke out in my car."

"Honestly, dude, that'd be perfect."

"Awesome, I'll be back in a few minutes." He smiled again before heading inside.

Fuck, he's really coming in clutch right now. I stood outside the front door for a few minutes before Evan came back out.

He held up a bowl and a plastic baggy of weed, "Alright, let's rock and roll."

We walked over to his car and got inside. He started it and cranked up the heat before packing a bowl. I looked out the window as he took the first hit.

"You usually smoke out here like this?"

"Yeah," he exhaled. "When it's warmer, I usually smoke on the deck out back, but I've never been bothered out here before."

He passed me his bowl and the lighter. I took a big drag, holding the smoke tight in my lungs before slowly exhaling it.

"Fuck yeah," I murmured, the weed's relaxing haze settling over my brain.

"Feel better?"

I hand the bowl and lighter back over to him. "You have no idea."

He giggled before taking a hit. We passed the bowl back and forth over the next few minutes, getting high together.

"Shit, your sister would be a helluva lot easier to deal with if I got stoned with you beforehand."

He grinned at me, eyes bloodshot and glazed over.