Laugh Little Sister (Little Sister #2)

Chapter 1

ONE

NOVA

ONE MONTH BEFORE HELLFIRE NIGHT.

“I’ll meet you in there. Just hold them off.” I lean forward in my gaming chair and tap the controls on the keyboard as I fight off enemies in the game.

Brandon growls over the headset. “I don’t think you understand. I’m surrounded by them.” An explosion fills my headphones. “Jesus Christ!”

“I’m getting there as fast as I can.” I bite my bottom lip as my avatar rushes into the next room to save him from being killed. More space aliens come out of nowhere and shoot at me. I jam my finger repeatedly on the arrow button as I fire my weapon at them.

“Ahh, fuck!” Brandon bellows.

The game blurs, and a window pops up on the screen.

Game Over. Play again?

Huffing, I lean back in my seat. “Sorry I didn’t get to you in time.”

Brandon sighs, then chuckles as he runs his fingers through his dark hair behind his headphones. The sound never fails to make my stomach do that weird thing where it flips and fills with butterflies at the same time.

“Don’t worry about it, princess,” he says, sending my heart into a race at his pet name for me. “We chose the hardest level, and it’s our first time.”

His chair squeaks over the headset as he twists it from side to side. Then silence stretches between us, and I mentally scramble to think of something witty to say. No, not witty. Flirty.

His soft laugh breaks the silence, like he can tell I’m nervous. “I think we should stick with normal settings for a while.”

“Aww. You don’t wanna try again?” I flash my webcam a mischievous smirk.

He chuckles. “No, I’m good.” He pauses, then sighs, his breath blowing into the mic and making a static sound. “It’s getting late, and I have work in the morning.”

My smile falls. Glancing at the corner of my screen to check the time, I frown. I can’t believe how much time has passed since we started playing earlier this evening.

I squint my eyes, thinking it’ll change the numbers and it’s really only eleven o’clock. Maybe I’m hallucinating from lack of sleep and my brain is dropping off the extra one. Blinking again, I huff when the time doesn’t change. “Is it really one in the morning?”

Brandon snickers. “Yeah, and I’ve gotta get up in four hours.”

“Then get some sleep. We can play later when we aren’t busy.”

His groan sends heat through my veins and raises my temperature by a few degrees. “I really don’t want to go to bed. I love spending time with you.”

I bite my bottom lip to hide a smile. “I love spending time with you too, but you need to get some rest before work.”

“Will do.” An odd look flashes over his handsome features before he says, “By the way, I don’t want to come off weird or anything by asking this—”

I sit straighter in my seat and hold my breath, hoping he’s about to ask me out on a date.

He lives in town, but we have yet to bump into each other this whole time.

I’ve been dying to hang out with him in person, and he seems to be as into me as I’m into him.

Yet something stops him from making the first move to turn this friendship into something more.

“—but I saw your Instagram post,” Brandon says, drawing my attention back to him. “Didn’t know you ride a motorcycle.”

I let out a breath and sag in my seat. “No, but I’d like to learn.”

“Oh yeah? It’s your boyfriend’s?”

I scrunch my nose. It’s my brother’s bike, but if Brandon knew, he’d backpedal on his statement.

He catches my disgruntled look, then chuckles. “So he’s just a friend, then? Got it. I’ll just warn you that if he’s letting you pose on his bike and post it on social media, he wants in your pants.”

“What?” My eyes widen, and I shake my head. “No way.”

There’s no way Aiden would ever try to get into my pants. We’re close, but not that close.

“Mmhmm.” Brandon smirks, mistaking my shock as denial. He focuses on his webcam like he’s right in front of me. Jealousy darkens his gaze, and he cups his chin with his thumb and two fingers resting on his cheek. “He got friend-zoned, but be careful, okay? He’s probably working that magic on you.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from blurting out that I want nothing to do with my brother. I want him, and the way he’s talking about other guys wanting me makes it seem like he’s not as interested in me as I thought he was.

Wait, did Brandon friend-zone me?

My mood takes a turn for the worse.

Did I not make it clear that I’m into him?

Did I not flirt enough?

“You okay?” Brandon’s deep voice drags me out of my spiraling thoughts.

I force a smile and wave off his concern. “Yeah, sorry. I kind of checked out, but how do you know so much about biker culture? Do you ride too?”

“Sometimes.” He checks the time on his cellphone, then groans. “But seriously, I need to go. I’ll catch you later.”

I give the camera a half-assed wave. “Talk to you later.”

His display name flips dark when he logs off. I exit Discord, take off my pink cat-eared headphones, and then lay them on my desk beside the keyboard. My eyes slide shut, and I take a deep breath through my nose as I work through my hurt feelings.

I’ve never had a boyfriend. Being in a relationship never interested me.

I’ve been too busy with gaming and cosplay since Aiden got me into them.

It was a great escape from the bullshit at school and life with our foster parents.

I didn’t have the time or spoons for entertaining guys, while Aiden was the opposite and slept around.

And now that I live with my brother, I gravitate toward Brandon like a moth to a flame. We share the same interests outside of our late-night gaming sessions, and he listens to me when I talk his ear off about little things that would be unimportant to most people.

How do I get the attention of a gamer boy who sees me as just a friend? How do I woo him and make him see me as girlfriend material? The best I can do is pretend to be something I’m not.

Covering my face with my hands, I let out a dry sob and pinch my lips together to silence my pitiful woe-is-me session. I shove out of my gaming chair with a shake of my head and walk to the bed.

I don’t know if I can be what he wants. Why can’t I be myself? Why can’t he like me for me?

I drop onto my mattress and pull up the internet browser on my phone. I type how to get a guy to like you into the search bar, then cringe at the results.

I click the Reddit link with the title, help! I like a guy, and I don’t know if he likes me back. I scroll through hundreds of comments until the words blur together and an invisible mass sits in the middle of my chest.

I read the comments; some are helpful, while others are more entertaining and annoying because of the men wanting to argue.

By the time I get to the end of the thread, I sigh and lock my phone screen.

I don’t know what I’ll do about my situation with Brandon, but I can’t keep sitting aside, waiting with bated breath for him to make a move on me. Something’s got to give.

The blender’s loud grating fills the kitchen as it mixes my green-tea chai smoothie. It’s the perfect pick-me-up after a night of tossing and turning, then having nightmares after I finally fell asleep.

While waiting for the blender to stop, I check my phone for a new message from Brandon. He’s usually the first one to say good morning and ask about my day.

I sigh and set my phone on the counter. No new messages from him.

He must’ve gotten sidetracked with work and hasn’t had the time to send me a text. Which is fine. It’s not like we’re dating and he has to text me. We’re friends, and there aren’t requirements in this friendship.

My phone chimes, and I snatch it with an excited smile, not caring how pathetic I look to the audience of zero in my kitchen as I lose my mind over a guy. The excitement bursts like a bubble when I see Olivia’s and Madison’s names in the notification bar.

Olivia

are we going to the fair this weekend?

it’s the last one, and I don’t want to miss it.

Madison

I don’t think I can make it. *sad face emoji

Olivia

booooo!

Nova? Are we going? Pls tell me ur going.

I don’t think I have anything going on this weekend, so yeah. We can go together.

Olivia

Yes! Maybe we can save Maddy from whatever affair she’s being dragged into so she can have fun with us.

Madison

You’ll have to talk to my father, and you know how stubborn he is. *eye roll emoji

I purse my lips and tap my finger against my phone’s protective case.

Researching how to get a guy to like me didn’t work, so maybe the next best thing is to talk to my closest friends and get their thoughts while we’re at the fair. Of course, that’s if Olivia and I can kidnap Madison. If not, I’ll talk to Olivia.

I’ll leave out the information about meeting Brandon online. And not knowing his last name. Or where he works. I can already see the disgruntled expressions they’d wear if they knew those little details.

What they don’t know won’t hurt them. I just need some help learning how to be less awkward and more—

The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand seconds before arms wind around me from behind.

Large, tattooed hands settle on my stomach and squeeze a roll.

Familiar sweet and clean scents envelop me, and like every time he holds me, the tension in my body bleeds out of me until I’m sagging against Aiden’s chest.

“Morning, pretty girl,” he whispers in my ear, then kisses my cheek. “How’d you sleep?”

“Meh.” I throw a smile at him over my shoulder before returning my attention to my phone. My fingers clench tighter on the case.

Maybe I should say something about needing help in our group chat. It’ll be easier to consider my explanation than to be put on the spot in person.

Aiden squeezes my stomach and drags my focus back to him. “Nightmares again?”

I shiver and put more of my weight against him as he holds me. “Yeah, but it’s nothing new. What are you doing up this early?”

I type a different response in the group chat instead of growing a pair and asking for help.