The Brothers Desire

Breathing is hard if the mind is flustered and the heart is racing. Sitting across a crowded dinner table Jennette would catch Tristan looking into her eyes with the faintest little smile on his face. Her heart wanted to drop to her knees, but she struggled to keep her breathing even so noone would know.

Jennette cared too much about Tracy to ever hurt her so she reassured herself, Tristan was off limits. Besides, her plans included school and friends, not boys. So she sat at the dinner table across from Tistan trying very hard to breath normally; ignoring the aching pull she felt in her heart.

In addition to Jennette and Monica there were two other guests besides the immediate family at the dinner table. Tracys brother, Thomas, had arrived and brought two of his friends, Marcus and Tyson, to eat with the family. Jennette learned that they worked with Thomas, but beyond brief introductions, Jennette knew very little about the men. It was obvious that they had known the family for years and they were also great friends with Tristan.

The company at the table was entertaining. Taceys parents, Teddy and Lois, were very interesting. They were excited about their anniversary weekend. They announced that in addition to giving each other a gift at the party on Sunday, they would also be giving their children a gift to share but it was a huge surprise. This brought up conversations about old birthday and Christmas celebrations over the years. Many times Monica, Marcus and Tyson also shared in the talk about memory lane. Jennette was used to being quite so she felt completely comfortable watching and listening to the joyful conversation.

It had been a long time since she had been around such a happy family.

As dinner concluded, Jennette found herself helping Lois and Tracy put away leftovers, wipe down cabinets, and load the dishwasher.

Monica, in true guest form, sat in the living room with the men as Teddy was showing a preview of the anniversary video that would be shown at the party on Sunday. She sat right next to Tristan and was attempting to distract him with talk of school and her clubs, but he kept steeling glances across the open floor plan at Jennette.

It also didn escape Jennettes attention that Tracy had eyes for Marcus. This was surprising because Tracy wasn the type of girl to chase after boys. She had lots of guy friends but she didn look at any of them the way she looked at Marcus. Jennette could tell there was story there, but she didn really want to know, because she didn understand the attraction.

Marcus was every bit as tall as Tristan but not quite as tall as Thomas. He was skinny and wore faded baggy jeans, like he might have a hard time finding the right length with a small enough waste. His hair was brown and somewhat in need of a haircut. His goatee was also scruffy and in need of a trim.

Jennette thought Tracy was beautiful but she never quite accepted Jennettes perspective. Tracy was built like her mom and dad with broad shoulders. She was naturally strong and she didn have the hourglass figure that Jennette had. Her face though was every bit as lovely as Tristans. All of the siblings shared the same colored perfectly pink lips with straight teeth and a wide hearty smile. Tracys almond shaped eyes were light crystal blue and when she wore make up became the most enchanting feature on her face. Her thick, straight, long blond hair seemed to have a golden glow that matched Tracys beautiful personality.

”I wish I wouldn have let Monica come. ” Tracy wispered softly. Jennette has suspected as much but she was surprised when Tracy actually said it.

Tracy and Monica had been friends for nearly all of their lives, and they shared a lot of secrets and experiences. Jennette deeply desired a friend so loyal and she wasn sure anything could come between them, but Monicas flirting with Tristan was obviously bothersome to Tracy. Jennette understood but she didn want to add any fuel to the fire.

Tracy and Jennette had only recently become friends, but they bonded so quickly because they thought so much alike. It even seemed as if they could read each others mind. They laughed at the same jokes and were both very accustomed to sarcasm. Sometimes other people thought they teased too hard and were rude, but they understood each other.

”Monica always acts this way. She can have any guy she wants, but she never really wants them. ” Jennette tried to soften the hurt she knew Tracy was feeling by minimalising Monicas actions. Monica normally wasn interested in a commitment and her flirting was usually just a tease, but all the guys at school did love her attention. Monica, inspite of everything was a stunningly beautiful and voluptuous woman even though she was just nineteen.

”Its different when it is with Tristan. She has wanted him for years and he doesn like her. ”

Jennette instantly felt jealous and guilty. She was feeling an attraction to Tristan too, and she hated it. She didn want to betray her new friend because she knew the feeling all too well.

Jennettes brother Jack had recently gotten engaged to the one girl she thought was her friend throughout high school. Since they began dating she has felt more and more distant from her brother, and her friendship was ruined. Jennette didn want that for Tracy or Monica, but the divide had already begun to grow.

Tracys brother Thomas interrupted the moment by walking over and rubbing his hands all over Tracys head to mess up her hair. ”You loo,k too serious. ” Tracy gave him a smile and ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it back out.

He glanced down at Jennette and flashed a quick smile she didn understand as he walked by.

Thomas walked up to his mother and gave her a side hug saying, ”come on. You too. We need your thoughts on the video because Dad has already told us the same thing fifty different times. ”

Apparently sarcasm runs in the family, Jennette thought. Thomas did seem to be the most jovial of the siblings. He looked a lot like Tristan but his hair was brown and cut shorter. He had a full, but short and neatly trimmed beard that did nothing to hide his big smile. His eyes we hazel like nothing Jennette had ever seen before as they were greenish brown with a hint of golden looking flicks. He was definitely brotherly and playful, obviously enjoying being around everyone.

Thomas, led the three women into the living room. Lois sat down in the chair next to her husbands. There were also two sofas in the room – one occupied by Tyson and Tristan with Monica in the middle grinning like she had won the lottery, and the other with Marcus at one end and Thomas returning to the other end.

Tracy passed Jennette a quiet, sideways smile, then turned and said to Marcus, ”Scoot over. We are squeezing in. ”

Jennette knew what Tracy was thinking but she didn want to follow that lead. She knew Tracy wanted to be close to Marcus but that meant Jennette was going to have to squeeze in with Thomas, who she had just barely met. ”Im good on the floor. ” she quickly offered.

”No. Sit here. Im done for the night, ” Tristan stood up and walked past Jennette. She felt her breath catch in her throat as he walked past her with his eyes locked on hers. Just like the rest of the evening she kept her feelings secret behind her calm and indifferent response, ”Thanks. ”

The rest of the group tried to convince Tristan to stay as apparently they had decided to watch a movie too. Tristan held to his excuse that he had reading to catch up on before class on Monday.

With Tristan leaving, Monica decided she no longer enjoyed her seating arrangement. ”Thomas, trade me places. I need to talk to Tracy. ”

”Goodnight Tristan, ” Thomas said to his brother disappearing down the hallway. Tristan turned slightly to see Thomas stand up as Monica demanded.

Quickly and ever so slightly, Thomas gave Tristan a smile that again Jennette could not read. Were they sharing a knowing smile about Monicas behavior? It seemed to Jennette that it had more to do with her. Surely not, she thought to herself.