“Okay.” I began to outline my speech in my head and recite it at the same time. At work, I could do this on the fly, but this was entirely different. She wasn’t someone I was trying to pitch a campaign to, nor was I attempting to sell her on an idea that would benefit me. Although, I hoped more than anything that this conversation would end in my favor. “It all started this morning. I had a shit week and wasn’t very nice to my assistant. I decided to get her flowers to apologize for making her put up with my mood.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“Well, when I ordered the flowers, I must’ve inadvertently sent some to Lindsey as well. I used the same florist I’ve always used, so the only thing I can come up with is that all of Lindsey’s information was on some auto list. I had no intention of sending her flowers. I swear.”
The corners of her lips twitched, a smile forming past her fight against it. Though, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what she found so funny. I wanted to ask, but all I could do was stare and wait for her to clue me in on the joke I clearly wasn’t privy to.
Finally, she shook her head and dropped her arms, her disposition much lighter now. “Again, Corbin, what does that have to do with me? Do you think I’m upset about you ordering your girlfriend flowers?”
“Ex-girlfriend,” I corrected.
She waved me off and rolled her eyes in amusement. “Semantics. I don’t care who you buy what for, so I’m not sure why you felt the need to explain all that. Or why you’re acting like it’s a big deal.”
“Oh, uh…” I scratched my head, wondering if I’d somehow made a big deal out of nothing. But then I remembered how fast she’d fled after Lindsey called, and how angry she seemed when she stormed back in. There was no way I had imagined that. “If you weren’t upset about the flowers, then why did you leave?”
Heat seeped back into her cheeks, yet this time, it was the hue of shy embarrassment—my favorite kind. “Because I felt stupid.”
“Why? What happened to make you feel that way?”
Brooke turned her attention to the couch and held out her hand, rolling her wrist while gesturing to the spot she had occupied during the movie. And suddenly, I understood. Until now, I hadn’t considered it a possibility, mainly because she’d been asleep, and the chances of her recognizing what she’d said while unconscious were slim to none.
I’d had no intention of bringing it up, but now that she had, the subject was on the table and ready to be discussed. “Are you referring to drooling on my couch? If so, it’s fine, Bridge. That’s the beauty of leather—wipes right off.” I stepped closer and lowered my voice. “Or are you referring to what you said while you were asleep?”
Her eyes widened, and her gasp caught loudly in her throat.
“If so,” I continued in the same hushed tone, “you have nothing to worry about.”
She groaned and bowed her head, hiding her face behind her hands. “Oh God,” was the other thing that came from her, and she must’ve repeated it a dozen times. When she finally dropped her arms, she refused to look at me, so I placed a curled finger beneath her chin and lifted her gaze to meet my eyes.
“I’m serious, Bridge…you have nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one who unintentionally verbalized your wet dream.”
Hearing her call it a wet dream made my dick twitch. I was so turned on I had to take a moment to compose myself, knowing if I tried to speak too soon, I’d sound more like a phone-sex operator with his hand in his pants than a friend.
I wasn’t even sure if men could be a phone-sex operator, but that wasn’t the point.
“Bridge…” I cleared my throat and tried again. “It’s really not a big deal. You didn’t say much, so really, you have nothing to worry about.”
“Well, I must’ve said enough for you to know about it.”
It was obvious she was prodding for information, wondering what all she’d uttered while asleep. I hadn’t planned to give details, but if that’s what she wanted, then who was I to deny her? “Honestly, all you said was ‘don’t stop.’ You moaned a couple of times and shifted a little on the couch. That’s it.”
Her head fell back as a barking laugh escaped her lips. “In my opinion, that’s enough to crawl into a hole and die. I’d ask if we could just pretend it never happened, but considering this would be the second thing in less than a week that I’d rather forget, I’d saw my luck may be running out.”
“Nah. Plus, I’m sure there will come a time when I’ll need to even the score and ask you to forget something I did or said. So you’re all good.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out her phone. “Anyway, here’s this. I’m sorry I held it hostage, but I didn’t like the way you bolted earlier, and I was desperate to make things right.”
"Thanks,” she said with a smile before dropping her cell into her purse. “And I’m sorry for running out of here like that. Believe it or not, I really enjoyed myself tonight. I can’t tell you how nice it is to finally have someone who loves Marvel movies as much as I do.”
I wasn’t sure if I should push things and ask, but I decided to throw my balls against the wall and do it anyway. “Well, you did fall asleep during the second one. Do you want to finish it?”
“I really appreciate the offer, Corbin, but I think I should probably get home. I already fell asleep on your couch once, don’t want to risk that happening again. Not to mention, I don’t even remember what part I fell asleep. Let’s just save it for next time, and we’ll start it back from the beginning. Sound good?”
I nodded and offered her a hug. “What are your plans for the weekend?” I asked as I walked her to the door.
“Tomorrow is set aside to do nothing but grade papers—my teacher delegated that fun job to me. And on Sunday, I have a campus beautification day at school. I’m not particularly fond of gardening, so that will be tough. Hopefully, I’ll get assigned a paint brush.”
"That doesn’t sound like fun.”
A small smile curled her lips. “It’s not bad. I was going to see if the girls wanted to join me, but with how hectic my week was—seriously, not having a phone is like missing an arm…or two—I never got around to asking them. Which is fine; I’m sure there will be other adults there I can hang out with.”
“I’ll come with you.” I hadn’t even completely thought it through before offering. I didn’t particularly enjoy manual labor, but for some reason, painting or gardening sounded fun when Bridge mentioned it. Even though her statement had been peppered with complaints.
“You?” She eyed me up and down.
“Yeah…me. What time should I pick you up?”
“Um.” Confusion looked sexy on her. “Well, I guess you can pick me up at eight; the shindig starts at eight-thirty.” She turned to leave but stopped and poked my chest with her pointer finger. “It’ll more than likely get messy, so make sure you dress for the occasion. And be on time. Please.”
“I’m always on time,” I teased, enjoying the grin that rounded her cheeks.
“Sounds good. See you Sunday!” she called out as she stepped into the hall.
I grabbed my keys from the hook next to the door and followed behind her. After locking up, I turned to find her standing with her fists perched on her hips, eyeing me with curiosity. “What? Did you seriously expect me to let you walk back to your car alone? At this time of night?”
“Corbin…it’s less than two blocks away.”
Brooklyn was a fool if she thought she could convince me to let her walk by herself. “Exactly, so stop acting like I’m going way out of my way by going with you. Come on,” I said, taking her hand—and then holding it so it at least looked like I’d taken it on purpose, rather than by complete accident.
“Who’s going to walk you home?”
“Pfft.” I pressed the down button for the elevator while giving her the side-eye. “Nobody’s stupid enough to mess with me. This physique screams I’ll kick y
our ass.”
She quirked a brow, pointing to my shirt. “In those clothes? Puh-lease. If anything, you look like an easy target.” The elevator doors opened, and she released my hand to step inside. Giggling to herself, she added, “And let’s be real, Corbin…if anything will be screaming, it’ll be you—when you get your ass kicked.”
“Go ahead, make your jokes. But you forget I’ve studied the art of karate.”
“Yeah, you did. When you were, like, ten. And from what I remember, you made it to…what was it? The yellow belt?”
It was hard as hell to keep a straight face while listening to her soft waves of laughter roll past those curled, kissable lips. “Second degree yellow. It’s basically a black belt.”
“Don’t worry, Bruce Lee. I’ll drive you back. We wouldn’t want to take the risk of you going to jail for manslaughter after karate chopping someone for looking at you the wrong way.
This should be fun.
* * *
Bridge had texted me her address, and when I pulled up to the curb, I let out a low whistle—it wasn’t much to look at. Located in one of the seediest parts of town, the neighborhood’s homes were almost all in disrepair. As I sat idled in front of her house—afraid to put my car in park—I couldn’t help but notice that one of the shutters only hung on by the bottom corner, and the weeds were so overgrown they reached the bottom of the first-floor windowsill.
Before I double check to make sure Google Maps hadn’t sent me to the wrong place like it had a tendency of doing, I saw Bridge bouncing down the front path toward me. She was either running from a murderer, or she was part of the rare breed of people who woke up cheerful.
“Morning!” She fell into the passenger seat, and her chirpy tone did not go unnoticed. She handed me a travel mug of coffee and a blueberry muffin wrapped in a napkin. “Sustenance.”
“Wow, I didn’t expect to get breakfast out of the deal.” The muffin looked moist, like it had just come from the oven, but considering the time, I doubted that was true. “Did you warm them up?”
“No, please…don’t insult me. I got up early and baked them this morning. I live with an elderly woman who has a hard time looking after herself. You can probably tell by the outside that she struggles to get around.” Brooke pointed to the house we continued to sit in front of.
“Yeah. I have to admit it looks a little beat; I’m not going to lie.”
“That’s what happens when you age and can’t keep up with things.”
I shifted the car into drive and slowly pulled away from the curb. “How’d you end up living here? Do you know her or something?”
“Well, I know her now, but no, she found me online while looking for a roommate. She offered me free room and board if I cleaned and cooked her meals. And I couldn’t exactly turn that down; it’s the perfect way to afford my latest venture—student teaching. I don’t get paid while completing this portion of the program, which makes it hard because it’s impossible to hold down another full-time job while simultaneously doing all the coursework. So, instead of taking out an additional loan to cover living expenses, I opted to live here and do odd jobs around the community, like run errands, babysitting, and housecleaning to cover what I need.”
I never thought of myself as spoiled, but stories like hers made me feel overindulged. It’s not that I overspent. I owned a nice car, a beautiful condo, but nothing over the top. Granted, my family home was a bit extravagant, but that didn’t have anything to do with me or how I lived. I worked hard for what I had and didn’t depend or use family money whatsoever. Seeing where Brooklyn lived definitely gave me a lot to be appreciative of.
“Are you okay?” Bridge asked before taking a small sip of her coffee.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”
“You just got really quiet. Did I upset you?” Her brow furrowed in worry.
“Oh, not at all. You just gave me a healthy dose of reality, is all.” I let out a long sigh before continuing. “Sometimes I forget that situations like these exist—that people struggle, and some don’t have the means to fix what’s broken. It’s not that I take things for granted. I’m not explaining this accurately.”
“You are. Don’t worry. I get it. It’s one of the things Nellie and I have struggled to see eye-to-eye on. I’d say she’s more spoiled than you are, but that’s not how I’d describe her at all. Your parents did a good job. They exposed you to the real world, and you have many experiences to draw from. But we’re both from different worlds, Corbin. And no matter what you were shown, you didn’t live it. Living it makes all the difference.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I guess I’ll never be able to change it.”
“You can’t change the past, but you can change who you are now. Take today, for instance. You don’t volunteer for things. It’s obvious you’re a bit outside of your comfort zone.” She dramatically eyed my outfit. “And the fact that you’re squirming in your seat during this discussion speaks volumes.” Bridge laughed out loud, and I hated to admit it, but she was right.
“Okay. You got me. But do I at least get points for showing up today? And might I add, at the butt crack of dawn on a Sunday, no less?”
“Oh, you get points, buddy. More than you know.” She offered me the biggest smile, and my heart swelled. I wished there was a pause button on life for moments like this, when I wanted nothing more than to live it in forever.
When we arrived at her school, Bridge jumped out of the car, not at all waiting for me. For a moment, I wondered if it embarrassed her to been seen with someone like me. There were no instructions or words of preparation. She simply hopped out of the car and ran.
I placed my empty coffee cup in the middle console before stepping out, taking my time as if to say her sudden absence didn’t bother me—it did.
“Miss Brooklyn!” Several students ran across the lawn toward Bridge. Meanwhile, I stood about five yards behind her and halfway wondered if I should duck and cover because they weren’t slowing down as they got closer.
When they threw their arms around Bridge, she automatically lowered herself to their level in order to return the hugs. If I didn’t know her, I would’ve assumed she had kids of her own.
“Hi, Garrison,” she practically cooed and pinched his side. “How’s your tooth?” As soon as she finished the question, he opened his mouth and proudly showed her an empty spot. “Did the tooth fairy come last night?”
He shook his head animatedly.
“Oh, she’ll come tonight. I’m sure of it. Is your mom here?”
“She’s over by the purple paint.” Garrison turned and pointed behind him.
“We get to paint our grade level purple!” the little girl who’d latched herself to Bridge’s right hand exclaimed.
“That’s exciting, Polly. I know that’s your favorite color. Do you want to help me get checked in?”
She nodded eagerly, and I followed the two skipping girls in front of me to what I smartly guessed was the greeting or assignment station. That, and the big “check in here” sign helped.
“Hey, Brooke.” The lady behind the table greeted her and then threw me a smile. “Do you have a preference of where you want to be today?”
“Please pick our group. I’m begging you!” Polly jumped up and down while tugging on Bridge’s arm.
I had a hard time containing my smile. The little girl’s excitement was contagious. I remembered being young and finding the little things in life thrilling.
Brooke turned to me and asked, “Do you care what we do?”
Remembering what she had said the other night about not being fond of gardening, I took this as my cue to say, “Anything other than planting flowers in the sun.”
Her smile let me know she’d recognized my motive.
While Bridge finished checking in with the women, I took inventory of our surroundings. My parents had sent Nellie and me through public education, but we’d lived in a very affluent neighborhood. The schools were equipped with the latest furni
shings and technology. Our secondary campuses were so expansive they were often compared to elite colleges. I had never been associated with the likes of this one. These buildings seemed like they were held together with duct tape and super glue. Peeling paint adorned the outside walls, the grass was overgrown, and the planter boxes currently housed weeds.
In my opinion, this place should’ve been condemned a long time ago.
Hordes of people gathered around to obtain their job assignments. Excited chatter occupied the courtyard, and everyone seemed to know the direction they were headed and what task they’d been given. Things appeared to be very organized, and I knew firsthand from my job at AdCorp that this held importance when coordinating a project of this magnitude.
“Okay. It seems that we’ve been unanimously recruited to the purple area.” Brooklyn handed me a brush and roller, keeping a set for herself. “I just need to speak to Garrison’s mom for a sec, and then we’ll get started.”
I nodded and followed her to our designated station. Signs adorned each wall, indicating which paint was supposed to be used where. This hallway belonged to the second grade; it seemed that a different color was selected for each grade level. They went in rainbow order. I couldn’t imagine that palette combination working, but I guess we’d have to wait and see. Bridge approached a woman, whom I assumed was Garrison’s mom, and spoke with her for a minute. I hadn’t meant to pry, but when I saw Bridge take some money out of her front jeans pocket and hand it to her, I couldn’t look away. The woman hugged her and then wiped her eyes. I couldn’t be sure from where I was standing, but it appeared the woman was crying.
Everything about today was new territory for me.
“What was that all about?” I asked Bridge once she returned.
“Garrison said the tooth fairy hadn’t visited him yet, which means his mom probably didn’t have the money. She’s a sweet lady, but she recently lost her job and has been struggling to get by. I gave her a couple bucks to help. It wasn’t much, but hopefully, it’ll keep Garrison’s faith in fairy tales. He’s been drawing pictures of quarters under his pillow for days. I wish I could do more, but I don’t want her to feel like a charity case. I remember that feeling, and it’s not a good one.”
The unEXpected Plan Page 10