Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card

STORM JESS

The TV cast a dim glow over the apartment as | sat beside Laura, clutching the remote so tightly my fingers were

numb. The news channel's monotonous voice was barely audible over the drumming of Laura's nails on the

coffee table. Each tap echoed louder than the last counting down to the next breaking update.

We'd been watching the sfootage for the last hour:

Blurry shots of rain-lashed skies

Wind-bending palm trees

Waterlogged streets swallowing entire neighborhoods

Luke's plane was somewhere out there-right in the heart of the storm. | swallowed the tightness in my throat and

forced a reassuring smile.

"They're fine, Laura," | whispered, reaching over to still her hand. "They're probably rerouted, or they'll land

somewhere safe until the weather clears up. It's just... just a delay."

Laura's eyes were wide, unblinking, locked on the screen. "A delay? Jess, look at that!" She pointed at the

looping footage, her voice quivering. "They're saying this storm is... it's one of the worst in years. And-and they

were heading right into it." My gut twisted at her words, and | took a shaky breath. | had to

14.027

STORM

keep her calm. "It's just a tropical storm," | said, as much for myself as for her. "Planes deal with these things all

the time. They wouldn't take any chances with the team's safety."

Laura shook her head, her voice wavering. "You don't understand. | tried calling the airport, Jess. They... they

wouldn't tellanything. Just kept saying they didn't have the information | was looking for."

| nodded, trying to keep my tone level. "They'll call as soon as they know something, | promise. Airports are

always cautious about giving updates until they have all the details."

Laura bit her lip, casting a quick glance at her phone as if it might magically light up with the news. "You're

right," she mumbled, barely a whisper, but | could see the sheen of tears in her eyes. "It's

just... this trip... Josh and | were fighting just before. Yesterday, | almost threw a paintbrush at him. What if...

What if..." Laura couldn't finish her sentence.

Her-voice broke, and she wrapped her arms around herself. For a second, | didn't know what to say. My own fear

was curling insidelike smoke, dark and toxic, threatening to choke me. But | couldn't fall apart. Not now.

| reached for Laura's hand, gripping it tightly. "They'll be fine, okay? They'll walk through that door with a million

stories about how they braved the storm, probably laughing at us for worrying so much."

Laura laughed-a small, broken sound, but at least it was something. "Josh would do that," she whispered, wiping

her eyes. "He'd make it into sgrand, ridiculous story."

| smiled, clutching onto that image like a lifeline. Josh, grinning,

STORM

288 Mouchero

brushing off the storm like it was no big deal. And Luke... Luke, with that calm, unshakable look he always got

when things went south. But the image slipped, replaced by the thought of him. somewhere out there, fighting

for control in a jet being tossed by the storm. | took a shaky breath, feeling the tears I'd been holding back start

to press against my eyes. Not now, Jess. You need to keep it together.

The TV cut to a breaking news segment, and Laura's head snapped up. A local reporter stood in front of a soaked

airfield, her raincoat plastered to her body by the relentless downpour. Behind her, airport personnel scurried

about, their faces tense. "We're getting reports now that flights scheduled to land in Jakarta are being diverted

due to the storm. Passengers on these flights are being redirected to safer locations along the coast. The airport

has not issued a full statement, but we'll update you as we get more information."

My fingers dug into the couch cushion. "See?" | forced out, keeping my tone steady. "They're being redirected.

That's... that's a good thing." Laura's face crumpled as she buried it in her hands. "What if they're not one of

those flights, Jess? What if they tried to push through it?"

| wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her tightly. "No," | said, with a conviction | barely felt. "They

wouldn't take that risk."

Laura sniffed, lifting her face just enough to givea questioning look. "How can you be so sure?"

STORM

| paused, my heart stuttering. How did | know? I fucking didn't.

: [

Laura didn't respond, but | could feel

her breathing start to slow. Her

trembling lessened she deanéd

: a 1X :

intoing'e ort in my words.

0 0 5

| wasn't sure if she believed me-or if |

believed myself-but right now,

keeping her calm was all | could

manage. The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

The silence grew thick around us,

broken only by the muted voices

from the TV. | reached for my phone,

scrolling through message after

messa wityne sift ke:

Nothing from the team. Just the last

' 5

text he'd sent, hours before takeoff:

f 1

Miss you already. Don't burn th | let

out a shaky breath, the words

blurring on the screen. Miss you

already. The ache in my chest

sharpened, and | clutched the phone

tighter as if holding it would

somehow bring him closer. The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!

Laura was still watching me, her gaze searching. "Jess... what if they don't cback?"

Her words landed like a punch, knocking the air out of my lungs.

I" ' : [1

They're going to cback, Laura," |

whispered, my voiogbaelya Breath

They havé0\" The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

14:02

OFFICER