LoveForChristmas2

Later that afternoon, Brandi, Justin, and Josh were all squeezed in on the couch, watching movies. They didn�t say much; just randomly spoke what was on their minds. Brandi was curled into Justin, and she rested her feet on the coffee table that sat in front of the couch. Josh was on her other side, feeling a bit awkward. It seemed that every time he moved, he touched Brandi, and it made him nervous for some reason.

Brandi didn�t notice, and she continued to watch the movie, unaware that Josh was so uncomfortable. Justin, on the other hand, did notice Josh�s discomfort, and knew he�d have to ask about it later.

Later came soon, because Brandi fell asleep about halfway into the next movie. He head was rested on his chest, and she had a dreamy smile on her face. Justin looked over at Josh and said, �hey, we need to talk.�

�Ok,� Josh agreed, confused as to why they needed to talk.

�I�m going to bring her up to bed. I�ll be right back,� Justin told Josh as he moved to get up with Brandi in his arms. He moved slowly and carefully, not wanting to wake her. He shifted her in his arms before heading out of the room.

Josh sighed once Justin left. He wasn�t sure how much more he could take. All Brandi was doing was sitting there, leaning on her *boyfriend,* and he was turned on. He didn�t understand it. And he didn�t like being uncomfortable around her. He just hoped that Justin hadn�t noticed his nervousness.

Justin came back into the room a few minutes later. He sat down on the couch, facing Josh. �Ok, spill,� he said simply.

�Spill?� Josh asked.

�Yeah? What�s going on? You were fine before, but during the movie, you looked really nervous and uncomfortable. What�s up?� Justin questioned, looking really concerned.

�I - well, truthfully, I don�t know,� Josh admitted, his eyes showing the conflict he was feeling.

�You don�t have any idea?� Justin asked, placing his hand on Josh�s knee.

�I think maybe � maybe I�m just feeling a little lonely,� Josh confessed.

�Lonely? You�re here with us, man. You�re my best friend. And you have the other guys too,� Justin told Josh, confused.

�Yeah, I�m here with you and Brandi. That�s the thing. Whenever I look at you guys, I wish I had what you had. I wish I had someone like Brandi,� Josh admitted, looking down at his lap.

�Oh, Josh, I�m sorry. I didn�t know we were hurting you like that,� Justin replied sadly. �We can try to tone it down when you�re here.�

�No, the last thing I want to do is get in the way of your relationship. It�s ok, I�ll be fine. It�s probably just a phase,� Josh assured his best friend. �I hope,� he added to himself.

�Are you sure?� Justin asked.

�Yes, J, I am. Sorry to be such a bother,� Josh apologized.

�Josh, you aren�t a bother, you�re my best friend. I love you, man. I�m here for you,� Justin replied, pulling Josh into a comforting hug.

Josh melted into the embrace, tears coming to his eyes. �Shit,� he thought, �I can�t cry in front of him, he�ll think I�m a wimp.� But the tears refused to hold back, and soon the tears were sliding silently down his face.

�Josh?� Justin asked, surprised, when he felt wetness on his shirt.

�I � God, Justin, I�m sorry, I�m being such a wimp,� Josh apologized, wiping away the tears and pulling out of Justin�s arms.

�No, it�s ok. It�s fine Josh, really. Come back here,� Justin demanded softly, pulling Josh back into his arms and rubbing his back slowly. �I�m here for you, always remember that Josh.�

****

Brandi woke up the next morning, wondering how she�d gotten up to bed. The last thing she remembered was sitting on the couch with Justin and Josh and watching movies. She wondered where Justin was but then realized that he�d probably just fallen asleep on the couch. There was no way he would be up this early. She wandered down the stairs and into the living room.

She smiled at what she saw. Justin and Josh were curled up on the couch together, both sleeping soundly. She moved closer, her eyes wandering Justin�s form before moving over Josh�s. her eyes stopped on Josh�s face when she noticed the tears stains on his cheeks. She frowned, wondering what was wrong and if Josh was ok.

She figured that Justin would tell her about it later, so she decided to start on her baking early. She had a few deserts to make, and she figured that if she got the cooking done early, she could spend some time with Justin before the other guys came over.

She got out all the ingredients to make sugar cookies and the frosting and set to work. It wasn�t long before she felt a presence behind her. She turned around to see a sleepy Josh behind her.

�Good morning, Josh,� she said, smiling over at him.

�Mornin� Brandi,� Josh replied, stretching a little, �What are you making?�

�Sugar cookies. They�re almost ready to go in the oven,� she informed him.

�Can I help?� he asked.

�There�s not really anything else to do,� she told him. �Why don�t you sit down and I�ll make you some breakfast.�

�You don�t have to,� he said.

�I want to,� she protested. �Now what do you want?�

�Scrambled eggs?� he suggested.

�Ok, that�s easy enough. I�ll make some for Justin too,� she replied, turning back to her cookies and putting them in the oven before going over to the fridge to get the eggs.

Josh watched her as she moved gracefully back and forth through the kitchen. He wondered why he couldn�t seem to keep his eyes off of her. The last time he�d seen her and Justin, he�d been normal. He couldn�t figure out why it was any different this time.

Justin stumbled into the kitchen a few minutes later, and Josh had to force himself to stop watching Brandi. He said good morning to Justin, only to get a mumbled reply. He smiled at Justin�s sleepy form before turning back to see what Brandi was doing.

�Here�s your eggs, guys,� she said, setting down their plates in front of them.

�Thanks babe,� Justin replied, kissing her on the cheek.

�You�re welcome, J, but you do realize that you�re going to cook for me for the next week, right?� Brandi responded, winking over at Josh.

Josh couldn�t believe he actually blushed when Brandi winked at him. �Man, I�m acting like a fourth grader with a crush,� he thought to himself, almost laughing at how stupid he was being. �Brandi is with Justin. They love each other,� he reminded himself.

�Is it good, Josh?� Brandi asked, sitting down beside him.

�Yeah, thanks girl,� he replied, smiling at her.

�You�re very welcome,� she said, munching on the strawberry poptart that she�d grabbed before sitting down.

Once they�d finished breakfast, Josh told them he needed to go home because he would just be coming later anyway. Justin and Brandi both said goodbye and Justin let him out. He sighed, leaning against the front door. Josh had broken down the night before, but he knew there was still something Josh wasn�t telling him. He knew he needed to find out. And he needed to find a way to make his friend feel less lonely.

Justin walked back into the kitchen where Brandi was cleaning up the dishes from their breakfast. Then the timer went off, and he watched her take the cookies out of the oven. �Those smell good,� Justin said, trying to grab one.

�No,� Brandi scolded, �you can�t have one yet. We still have to frost them.�

�Oh, fine,� Justin replied, pouting.

�Here,� Brandi said, handing Justin a bowl and the ingredients he�d need, �you make the frosting.�

�All right, I can do that,� Justin responded, taking the things she handed him and placing a kiss on her cheek.

�Thanks,� she said, moving to the fridge. �Now I�ve got to�� she rambled on, listing all the things they needed to do.

�Brandi,� Justin whined, �I thought we�d have some �us� time today.�

�We have all day tomorrow, Justin, remember?� Brandi reminded him. They were actually staying at their house for Christmas. The day after, both of their families planned to come out and visit them. They were both excited to be spending their first Christmas together in their home.

�Yeah, ok. What do you want me to do now? Frost the cookies?� he asked.

�No, not yet, they need to cool. I guess we should start cleaning,� Brandi suggested.

�Ok, I�ll vacuum, you dust,� Justin replied, rushing out of the room to get the vacuum. Brandi rolled her eyes at how quickly he changed his mind about helping her. He probably just wanted to get some later. She laughed at that thought and then grabbed the Pledge and dusting rags and got to work.

It was over three hours later before they were both satisfied with how the house looked. The floors had been mopped, the carpets vacuumed, the whole house dusted, and the bathrooms cleaned. Brandi collapsed on the couch, admiring their work.

�Too bad the house can�t look this clean all the time,� Brandi joked, leaning into Justin when he sat beside her.

�If you wanted a clean house, you should be with Lance or Josh, not me,� Justin teased, running his fingers through Brandi�s hair.

�Nah, that�s ok. I like you best,� Brandi replied, smiling up at Justin.

�Well I�d hope so,� Justin responded, leaning in until their lips touched in a sweet kiss.

�I love you, baby,� Brandi whispered.

�Love you too,� Justin replied, smiling happily down at her.

They stayed there on the couch for a little while longer, just resting in each other�s arms and not saying much. There were a few random kisses here and there and some whispered words of love. Finally, Brandi decided that they needed to get up and cook some more.

�I have a whole list of things we need to make,� Brandi told Justin as they returned to the kitchen.

�Ok,� Justin replied. �Just tell me where you want me and what I�m supposed to do.�

�I like when you�re all agreeable like this,� Brandi commented, giggling. �Why don�t you make the salads, and I�ll get the ham in the oven and start making mashed potatoes.�

�Sounds good,� Justin agreed, going to the fridge and grabbing everything he needed for the salads he was supposed to make.

After they�d finished all they could do until later, when it was almost time for dinner, they decided to make sandwiches for lunch and then just relax. Justin made the sandwiches as Brandi went upstairs and collapsed on their bed, exhausted.

�Hey babe, I got your lunch,� Justin yelled up the stairs.

�I can�t move, can we eat up here?� Brandi asked.

�Ok!� Justin responded, and soon he was in their room, sandwiches in hand. �Lazy much?�

�Oh, shut up,� Brandi replied, smiling to show that she was joking.

�You�re welcome,� Justin teased, placing her plate in her lap and climbing on the bed next to her.

�Thanks babe, you know I appreciate it,� Brandi said, sitting up so she could eat.

�No problem,� Justin replied, placing his free hand on Brandi�s thigh as he ate.

�But seriously, thanks for your help today, I never would�ve been able to do it alone,� Brandi thanked him, taking his hand in hers.

�You don�t have to thank me. I was just joking about not wanting to do it. I want to help you any way I can,� Justin told her.

�I�ll have to remember that,� Brandi replied, wiggling her eyebrows.

Justin just grinned, pulling her closer to his side. �So, do you have any energy left?�

�Why do you ask?� she questioned, pretending she didn�t know why.

�Well, I was thinking� the guys aren�t coming over for at least another two hours. So maybe we could�� he trailed off, hoping she�d get his hint.

�Play board games?� Brandi guessed, �Sure!�

�Babe, that�s not what-� Justin started.

Brandi grinned. �I�m just joking, J, I knew what you meant. And yes, I think I have some energy left.�

�Well, that�s good,� Justin said, placing their now empty plates on the table next to the bed and pulling Brandi onto his lap. �I want you,� he whispered in her ear.

�I can tell,� she whispered back, reaching down to rub her hand over the bulge in his pants. Justin moaned, reaching to pull off her shirt. He unclasped her bra easily and cupped her breasts in his hands. She moaned, burying her hands in his hair. She straddled his waist, facing him, and kissed him gently.

Justin could tell from the kiss that she wanted it long and slow. He loved it any way, so he did what he knew she liked, kissing and teasing sensitive skin with his tongue. The foreplay was drawn out, so when he finally thrust into her, they were both close to orgasm. Justin kissed up and down Brandi�s neck, stopping in random places and sucking gently. Brandi moaned Justin�s name as she came, and Justin soon followed, pulling out of her and lying down next to her.

�I love you,� he said, wrapping his arms around her.

�I love you too, Justin,� Brandi replied, running her fingers up and down his arm. They stayed silent for a while after, like usual, just listening to each other breathing. Brandi�s voice broke the silence. �Baby?� she asked, sounding kind of nervous.

�What�s up, babe?� Justin questioned, sensing her nervousness right away, and not liking it.

�I was just wondering,� Brandi started, pausing for a second before continuing. �If maybe you ever got sick of doing the same thing every time?�

�The same thing? What do you mean, Brandi?� Justin asked, confused. Surely she wasn�t tired of making love with him.

�It seems like we always just make love, we never do anything� different,� Brandi said, trying to explain.

�You don�t like making love?� Justin asked, hurt.

�No, babe, that�s not it at all. I love doing that, and I love you � so much. But I was just wondering if maybe we could do something different next time,� Brandi explained.

�Oh, well, yeah, I guess we could do that,� Justin responded, still a little hurt by what she�d said.

�Justin, baby, please don�t be mad at me. I take it back, just forget it. I love the way things are. Damn it, why did I have to open my mouth?� Brandi said, annoyed with herself for hurting Justin.

�No, it�s ok. I understand, I think. I want to make you happy, so if you want to do something different, we�ll do something different,� Justin told her.

�Are you sure you�re not mad?� Brandi asked, �I really didn�t mean to hurt you. I love you and nothing will ever change that, ok?�

�Yeah, I�m not mad. And I love you too, Brandi, forever,� Justin replied, hugging her naked body to his and falling asleep again.