My Brother's Best Friend Ch. 10c

My lovelies: I'm overwhelmed at the comments I've received in the half year or more I've been gone. I'm in the midst of replying to everyone. I'll admit it: I shed a couple tears. You guys are wonderful. So wonderful. Thank you so much. Sincerely. I'm really touched. I feel really blessed to have you guys here. All the praise, encouragement, constructive criticism, and well wishes about my health make me wish I could hug every one of you. And maybe pinch your cute butts. With consent, of course! Thank you. Adorable and sweet hum0ns. I am in your debt.

So yup. I did a chapter 10c. Had to. Not sorry about it. I hope you guys won't be either.

There are now only 2 more chapters left. Chapters 11 and 12, and book one of the story of Shawn and Feline is complete. Yes, I said "book one". Implying there will be more. ;) :) :D I have downloaded the "kit" to self publish on Amazon. They take a 30 percent cut, I keep 70. Seems alright to me. I dunno, maybe some of you want a hard copy of My Brother's Best Friend? I kinda do. Just in case the internet blows up one day or something. I'd like to physically hold my work. I'll let everyone know when that is going to happen.

Love you guys. You're sexy. Don't you let anyone tell you that you aren't. Hugs, kisses and butt grabs. ~ LV4206

My Brother's Best Friend

(Shawn and Feline)

Part 10c

~Feline~

I've been lying awake for some time, listening to Shawn's rhythmic breathing, enveloped in his arms. I have to use the bathroom so bad, but it's so warm and my lover is so cuddly. Eventually my bladder wins, and I do my best not to wake my boyfriend as I slink out of bed in a pair of black cotton pyjama pants and one of Shawn's t shirts.

Carefully, I unzip the door, and slip my feet into a pair of thongs I brought out of the tent with me, and turn on the flashlight to my phone.

It's still really dark out as I check the clock on my device: 3:31 a.m.

I make my way to the outhouses and answer the call of nature.

I'm incredibly thirsty, and my stomach is starting to complain. I head over to our kitchen and dig into the potato salad we made earlier.

I'm sitting by the embers of the fire left from that night, two water bottles in along with a bowl and a half of potato salad. I hear a tent zipper being pulled open, and then shut.

My brother rubs his eyes as he enters the fire pit area and smiles at me. I grin around a mouthful of potatoes and pat the seat beside me.

"Hey." Pat grins as he bumps shoulders with me. "You been up a while?"

"Ya." I swallow. "Can't sleep anymore."

We lean over and hug each other.

"You were pretty non-verbal the last 2 days, baby sis." Pat smirks at me and steals a bite of my potato salad.

I nod and hold my bowl and fork out to Pat. "Want the rest?" I offer.

"YUP!" Pat accepts the bowl and utensil and digs in, stealing the last of my water bottle along with it.

"I think I was just taking it all in, Patty." I smile, as the previous two days memories flood my mind.

"I kinda half expected that reaction." Pat nods, finishing my bowl. "You've always been quiet. Or introspective, which I think is a better word."

I offer to get him more, and on the way back, also grab two more water bottles and some cherries.

Handing the bowl, heaped with salad, back to my brother, I shiver to myself.

"Here, Cat." Pat removes his green camouflage RDS hoodie and hands it to me. Grateful, I pull it on and plop back down on my camping chair.

Together, Pat and I sit quietly and watch as the sun begins to show over the horizon. Several minutes pass before either of us says anything. I finally broke the silence first.

"I had the best time ever yesterday and the night before." I sigh. "Thanks for being here with me. I don't know if I would have been so brave if you weren't."

"Always, Baby Bear. You're my favorite sister, you know." Pat pulls me over and kisses the top of my head. I arch into his hug, lounging against him.

"I'm your only sister." I laugh. "Weirdo."

"Ya, and you're my favorite." Pat kisses the top of my head again and wraps an arm around my shoulders as the first rays of sun peek over the hills and blast the ocean in the darkest of maroons and purples.

We watch in fascination as the ocean glows under the brilliant California sunrise. Our little forested camp site comes alive with the sounds of birds and chipmunks.

"Think you'd ever want to do that again? Maybe just you and I even?" Pat asks as I take his hand and squeeze it.

"Hell yes!" I whisper.

"You've gotta promise to say more than 3 words." Pat chuckles, squeezing back.

"Promise." I grin.

"I think my best friend is in love with you." Pat's change in subject catches me off guard.

I die of embarrassment, turning deep red. Pat just laughs at me.

"Feline, come on, you can talk to me about this stuff." Pat chides, and pokes me.

"He's your best friend! You're my brother." I murmur. "It's awkward!"

"Nahhhh. No way." Pat shakes his head. Those thick, auburn curls were sliding over to one side, almost covering his left eye as they usually did.

"It's not?" I turn in my brother's arms and look up at him.

"Nope. I had a long time to come to terms with it." Pat begins. "Baby Bear, he's loved you for years."

"That's what he says to me." I whisper.

Pat's warm smile instantly brings the pressure down several notches.

"You and I have always told each other everything, well, I think I probably shared more than you ever did." My brother winks at me.

"I loved being your confidant." I shrug.

"I always appreciated it. You know how to keep a secret, Cat. Like no one I've ever met." Pat gives me a squeeze, and we are silent for another long moment.

"I used to hate it, yunno." my brother tells me. "But over the years, even I saw, you guys belong together."

"You hated it?" I frown, not wanting to make my brother feel any kind of negative towards me.

"Ya. I fuckin' hated it. He's supposed to be my best friend, and he's spending time in your room helping you with homework, or taking you to the computer store, or swimming in the pool with you, or hanging out in the kitchen with you when the guys and I would play games in the living room. I was jealous at first, then I was mad because none of my friends should be thinking about my kid sister like that! But I thought about it a lot. And Shawn never overstepped. Bet he never even kissed you until he came back this summer. Am I right?"

I glance down at the ground, thinking about that evening in the kitchen. The evening of my 18th birthday. When Shawn kissed me for the first time. I shake my head.

"Ha. Knew it." Pat grins.

I smile at him, my handsome big brother, and nervously giggle a bit. This was such a strange conversation to be having.

"Is that why you convinced Mom to leave me home with Dad when you guys went to PyeongChang for the Winter Olympics?" I ask, almost afraid to know the answer.

"Ya." Pat shakes his head. "Possibly one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. I'll never not feel sorry for that. I'm damn sorry."

"Pat," I say, softly touching my brother's arm. "You've already apologized, too many times. But it's nice to know the real reason now."

"I just viewed you as a liability, Cat. Shawn was always losing concentration when he caught you looking at him. I wanted our team to win! And I was jealous. Jealous, he'd want to spend more time with you." Pat groans, feeling ashamed.

I sit up, and take my brother's chin in my hand staring at him intently.

"I love you." I told him, earnestly. "And you're right. I would have been a total liability." And then I am laughing, Pat instantly joins me.

"You're too forgiving, little sister." he chuckles, giving me a hug.

"Let's just say that the Firebird makes us even." I smirked and jerked my head over to my car, changing the subject.

"Damn that car." Pat smiles. "She's a..."

"He." I correct him.

"Of course, HE'S a beauty." Pat rolls his eyes and pulls me back into our close hug as we continue to watch the sun rise together.

"So, don't go breaking his heart, ok?" Pat finally says, after a long moment. "I don't know if he'd ever recover."

"No. Fucking. Way." I whisper. "I've always loved Shawn. Always."

"Which is another reason why I learned to be ok with it. At first, I thought it was just a silly schoolgirl crush you had on my best friend, and that soon you'd move on, but as the years went by, it became glaringly obvious how much you cared for him." Pat shrugs, downing the rest of his bottle. "Like I said, you two belong together." he adds, matter-of-factly.

I can't help but grin like an idiot at my big brother as he leans in and kisses my cheek.

"I dunno what you guys are gonna do when summer ends. All I know is, I'm going to have to deal with the fallout." he whispers in my ear.

"I wish it never had to end." I pout. Not wanting to think about my best friend and my lover both leaving me to go back to the city, 5 hours away.

"Maybe it doesn't," my brother states, folding his hands behind his head.

I turn to ask him what he means by that when Benny and Kelly both emerge from their tent, cheeks rosy, hair tousled, both looking like they had just made love all morning. They look adorable.

"Hi guys!" Pat and I say simultaneously, as the photographer and the model both have a seat beside us. Kelly plunks onto her boyfriend's lap as he whispers something lewd in her ear, making her laugh.

"Morning Feline. Pat." Kelly smiles, leaning in to kiss me, then Pat, on the cheek.

"Hey dude." Ben smashes knuckles with my brother. "Dudette." He turns to me and gives me a soft fist bump.

"Sup guys?" Pat grins, knowing exactly what had transpired between them.

"Just need a little bathroom break between orgasms, yunno?" Ben smirks, squeezing Kelly's hip as he says this. Making her giggle.

"Fuck dude!" Pat laughs, then slaps Benny's back.

Kelly shrugs, and gets up, and heads to one of the outhouses.

"So, when did you want to take those pictures, Cat?" Ben asks me, lighting up a joint he retrieved from his pocket.

Suddenly, I remember asking Ben the night we were on mushrooms if he would take some pictures of me on my car. Like how Shawn asked weeks ago. The night we made love on the roof of the Fire Chicken.

"You still remember, right?" Ben asked, giving me the side-eye.

"YUP!" I nodded. "I remember."

"Ok. Whew, for a second there, I got worried." Ben exhaled. "Thought I hallucinated that whole conversation."

Pat, Ben, and I share a laugh.

"Pictures?" Pat asked, lifting a brow in my direction.

I clear my throat and will myself not to turn red.

"For Shawn. Me and Kylling." I reply. Hoping I'm not a burning red tomato. "He...he asked me."

"Lucky guy." Ben wiggles his eyebrows at me. I lose the fight with my blush, turning crimson as Ben and Pat snort.

"You guys are mean." Kelly admonishes, taking her seat back on her boyfriend's lap.

"What?" Ben holds his hands up, trying to look innocent, as Kelly takes the joint from Ben's lips and brings it to her own, inhaling deeply.

"You know she gets embarrassed easily! Poor girl." Kelly turns to me, exhaling out of the side of her mouth, and passes me the joint. I shake my head, and Pat accepts it for me.

"You want me to help, Feline? I may have had my picture taken once or twice." Kelly smiles.

Ben lets out a chortle. "Ya, I'm only on the cover of almost every fashion magazine out there. No big deal or anything." he affects, feminizing his voice, and imitating his girlfriend badly.

Kelly laughs and playfully slaps her boyfriend's shoulder as Ben just chuckles and takes the joint from my brother.

"I'd love that, actually, Kel." I nod. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"It's settled then. After breakfast?" Kelly asks, taking a big drag off the joint.

I nod again. "Yes please! Thanks, Kelly."

"No problem, little Cat." Kelly replies, leaning in to kiss my cheek again before she stands back up and tries to pull Ben with her.

"Damn, more already?" Ben laughs as Kelly pulls the belt loops on his jeans.

Pat shakes his head at his friend, and I wave to Ben and Kelly as she drags him away.

Ben shrugs in our direction and looks like the cat that caught the canary while Pat yawns and stretches.

"I'm gonna get a couple more hours in. I think most of us are headed back this evening. Angie's gotta work in the morning." My brother comments, discarding the last of the joint Ben handed his friend before he was dragged off.

"Shawn and I are gonna stay one more night." I reply, with a soft smile on my lips.

"O ya?" Pat swings around to look at me. "That's pretty romantic."

I begin to lose a war with another blush before Pat adds, "Shawn's a charmer." poking me in the ribs.

"He actually is." I chuckle.

"Good. He better be." Pat mashes his fist into his hand. "Or I'll have to ask Chad to help me bury a body."

I practically die of embarrassment as my brother chuckles, stretches gracefully, and stands in one motion. Leaning down to me, he gently lifts my chin with a crooked index finger.

"All I want for the two people I love most in this world is for them to be happy." He smiles into my eyes and then kisses both of my cheeks. "The fact you found happiness with each other is actually pretty rad, little sister. I'm a whole new kind of jealous." And with that, he gently releases my chin and walks off, back to his own tent. I'm left speechless.

I watch the sunrise until all the beautiful color has left the sky. Not a single cloud can be seen.

It's 6:00 a.m. I figured, why not make breakfast for the whole camp? A nice surprise to wake up to. The chef's first order of business is a coffee. I get right to work.

By the time I have everything almost ready, the smell of ham, pancakes, eggs, and hash browns has woken almost everyone up. I've got a lineup of French vanilla and caramel macchiatos on the table. One for each of us.

Jess is the first to bounce over to me and kiss me on the cheek.

"Feline. You did all this yourself? You should have woken me up!" Jess's worried expression is adorable.

"I'm used to cooking for a lot of customers." I shrug. "No big deal."

"You're so cute in Shawn's big t shirt." Angie giggles as she comes over and hugs me.

"She really is." Shawn's deep voice from behind me almost startles me.

"BABY!" I reach up towards him, and he lifts me in those strong, solid arms, giving me the biggest kiss.

"Damn. Hi." he smiles, with that beautiful smile.

"HI!" I beam up at my handsome lover as he releases me to scrub sleep from his eyes.

"How long have you been up?" He takes my spatula and flips the last of the pancakes for me.

"God, like 3:30, I think." I reply.

"Shit."He looks down at me. "You ok?" His concern is always so sweet.

"Maybe you're rubbing off on me." I joke.

"HA! Right." Shawn chuckles.

He knows me too well.

Together, we take the platters of food to the table, and our friends dig in, thanking me profusely.

Everyone helps with the cleanup. Shawn seats me at the fire pit and brings me an iced mocha.

"No more chores for the chef." He smiles, as I begin to protest.

Kelly, Jess, Lisa, and Larissa, Jon's girlfriend, all come over and sit with me during breakfast clean up.

"Photos for Shawn, eh?" Lisa giggles.

I glance over at Kelly, and she just shrugs, a mischievous smile planted on her full lips.

I laugh and shake my head. There are no secrets with the Harris sisters around.

"Can I do your hair, Cat?" Larissa asks, producing a wide tooth comb from her pocket.

"Uhm. Ok." I nod. Larissa and I were perfect strangers until this weekend. And I barely know her. But she's been nice to me, and she's a hairdresser by profession. So I'm curious to see what she'll do.

"SWEET! BRB!" she bounds off towards her tent. In minutes, she returns with a small box of hair supplies.

"You brought all that just to go camping?" Jess laughs.

Larissa nods. "Never know when a surfer will need a haircut."

The girls giggle as, at that precise moment, Shawn glides by, dumping a pile of napkins and paper plates into a garbage bag hanging over one of the picnic tables, long, silken hair blowing in the soft breeze.

"NO WAY!" I almost shouted.

"Don't worry, Feline." Larissa smiles. "I like it too," she jerks her head over to Shawn. "He's got shampoo commercial hair."

Jess and her sisters laugh, while I let out a long exhale.

"Ya, he fucking does." My words are practically a sigh before my friends giggle at me. I straighten in my seat, taking a sip of my iced coffee. "I love it so much. I hope he never cuts it." I add.

"Would be a tragedy." Kelly comments. Lisa, Jess, Larissa, and I all nodded.

"The worst thing ever." I whisper, and my friends giggle all over again.

Larissa uses her comb, bobby pins, and small clear elastics as she makes the most elaborate braided design with my hair. She leaves most of the bottom half loose, using her comb and fingers to individually form my spirals into dozens and dozens of smooth, long springs. The top and sides have all these gorgeous braids, weaved intricately. She wraps braids around themselves, pulling on the top part of a plait to form an unmistakable rose on the left side of my hair. It looks really beautiful when she hands me a mirror to look at.

"Wow Larissa!" I exclaimed, admiring her handiwork. "That's amazing! How did you do that? With the rose?"

"The rose is a trade secret. I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill ya," she jokes. We all share a laugh. "You look beautiful."

"You really do." Jessie sighs. "Shawn's gonna cum in his pants."

"JESS!" I groan.

"You like to do that to her on purpose." Kelly elbows her younger sister in the ribs, shaking her head.

"Maaayyybbbe." Jess giggles.

After that, it's Kelly's turn. She brought her makeup bag and gave me a really soft look. Just some eyeliner, mascara, a little bit of blush, and a generous amount of lipgloss.

"Perfect." She steps back, admiring her work. She and Larissa give each other an adorable fist bump.

Jess chases Chad down and gets him to take Pat and Shawn down to the beach. "So we can help Feline make a present for Shawn."

The guys opt for surfing, pulling on board shorts and carrying wetsuits just in case.

"Not Ben?" Chris asks.

"Nope. I'm helping Cat. I'll be down in a bit." Ben is adjusting his camera with a huge lens on a tripod.

Angie takes off with Pat and the guys, carrying the board my brother lent her for the weekend. And I change into my Deadlife crop top and cut off black jean shorts. I wear my bikini under it. The one with all the straps, as I am feeling a little brave and would love at least one image of myself in this sexy ensemble.

After that it's just 8 of us. 7 girls, Ben, and his cameras.

Kelly, once you get her out of her shell, is a really sweet girl. She patiently gives me tons of pointers as Ben snaps picture after picture with me perched on my car. She gives Larissa and Lisa instructions on how to use Ben's portable reflectors on me as he unzips and hands them out.

"Cat, where's your car keys?" Kelly asks me.

"What? Why?" I ask.

"Music. You need to relax and get into your element. Hell, I never do a shoot without tunes." Kelly nods.

"Really? That helps?" I ask, suddenly curious.

"Ya, totally. Let's put on something that makes you feel like an absolute badass. A sex kitten. On the prowl."

I laugh. Me, a sex kitten? I laugh again, but I tell Kelly where my keys are, and she sends her sister Jess to go fetch them.

I mentally rifle through music in my mind that I need to put me in the mindset Kelly explained to me.

"It's all in the face." she tells me. "You have to BELIEVE you're a badass. That there is no one more fucking beautiful than you are. You're all tense above the neck. Your pretty face needs to sell it."