by Brenda Ford
“Brad, before you start yelling, just listen to me.” I actually pay attention to his words. Somehow, through everything, my youngest brother has managed to get through to me. “Tami is at the party. She has turned up.”
The wind flows from me. I don’t have any air left at all. I grab on to my chest, trying to stop my heart for beating out of my chest. These words are far too much for me to take in.
“What?” I hiss desperately, staring at Nelson in disbelief.
“She has turned up and it’s Alex’s belief that she is there to get you back.”
The whole world stops around me, I can hardly drink any of it in. I must be asleep, I have to be dreaming, this can’t be happening in real life. I haven’t had any communication from her at all, not one bit, nor has she been active on social media at all. It’s like she’s vanished in to thin air… so she can’t be here.
“Wha… what?” I ask once more. “What are you talking about, Nelson?”
“Tami is at the barbeque, Brad. But I don’t think she will stay long if you aren’t around to talk to.”
“Fuck.” I dart my eyes left and right, unsure what way I need to turn. “Fuck, what do I do?”
“You need to calm yourself down,” Nelson advises. “That’s the first thing. You need to sort yourself out and gather yourself up before you go and see her. You can’t go while you’re in this mess.” I suck in a few deep breaths and nod a couple of times. “Right, then you need to work out what way you want to turn.”
“What do you mean?” I ask curiously, trying to roll those words around in my brain. “What way?”
“Do you want to be with her or not? And I don’t just mean short term, I mean forever.”
“Of course I do. Have I not made that totally obvious?”
“Well, you have, but I just want to be sure. I just want you to take a moment to really think about it, because you and Tami have been through enough. You can’t hurt her anymore. Or yourself.”
“I know.” I nod slowly. “I know all of that. But I haven’t done anything but think. That’s all I’ve done. This isn’t just some situation that I’m heading in to stupidly. I know that Tami is the one for me. She’s all that I want. She makes me happy and I can her too if other people don’t get involved. She’s the one for me.”
“Good.” Nelson looks satisfied with my answer. “I just want to be sure, that’s all. We should get going now. I don’t know how much longer she’s going to be at the barbeque. You need to get her.”
This all feels so rushed, so wild and crazy. So nuts. A bit like a freaking movie or something. But I guess since everything has been so dramatic it makes sense that we reunite in this way. I just hope that the drama is worth it, and we get our happy ever after. It’s been coming for such a long time and we definitely deserve it.
“Time to run.” I turn away from Nelson. “Come on, let’s go.”
Chapter 37 – Tami – Saturday
“Just have this drink.” Oliver practically shoves a cup into my hands so I can’t refuse. “Just stay for a little while. I feel like I haven’t had much time to talk to you recently.”
Him and Alex share a meaningful look over my head which just makes me want to sob. I want to curl in to a ball and die from embarrassment. This is the worst thing that I have ever been through. I take a sip from the cup but I’m already trying my hardest to make my exit. I dart my eyes backwards, glancing to the door, planning the route that I will take once I finally manage to shake the Smith brothers off. Alex and Angelo move away from me and Oliver and start whispering to one another, probably talking about how pathetic I am.
“What do you want to talk about?” I demand sadly to Oliver. I like him, he’s a nice guy and we do work together but we aren’t exactly close. He is just stalling for time, not trying to keep me here.”
“I want to know how you are, Tami. We haven’t seen you since the hospital…”
“No, well I have had a lot going on.” I fold my arms defensively across my chest. “I know I haven’t been to work but I will be back once I gather myself up. I just need to… you know, recover. It isn’t easy. Because people I worked with were a part of it. Tawny and the rest of them… I can’t face them again.”
“Brad fired them,” Oliver reassured me. “They are long gone. He wouldn’t make you do that.”
“Oh right.” I don’t know why this surprises me. “Well, that’s something I suppose.”
I can’t tell Oliver that I also haven’t been able to face Brad because it’s a little humiliating. Especially with this all going on around me. Instead, I dart my eyes downwards and I try to blink back the tears.
“I’m sorry you have been through such a difficult time. It sucks, Tami.”
“It’s fine.” I shrug despondently. “And look, you have all been so nice to me, but I think that it’s time for me to go now. I need to get out of here and… you know… well, get back to… life.”
Urgh, find a new job, that’s got to be my first point of call. A new job and maybe a new apartment so I’m not so close to the office. I would also prefer to be somewhere that no one knows where I live. I can’t fully relax in my home knowing that Maria got inside and threatened me there. I will be better somewhere else.
I need a fresh start. A new beginning, a brand new chapter from all of this. It might not be what I want, but it’s what life has given me and I need to find a way to make the best of it. Happiness must be there somewhere.
“I don’t want you to leave.” Oliver looks around desperately, but it doesn’t matter. There isn’t anything that anyone can say to me right now to make me stay. This is dreadful and I need to sort it out. “Please, stay.”
I back towards the door and slide through it before Oliver can meet my gaze. I don’t know if he’s looking at me, but it doesn’t matter now. I have turned and I’m about to start running. As soon as I get outside, I know that I’m going to take off at the speed of light and not stop running until I get home. No way.
My face soaks with tears, my heart sinks so low I can hardly stand it, it’s difficult to breathe…
“Oh my God.” I start to run, pushing my body so hard that I don’t realize there is someone else around until I slam hard into a body. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to… to…”
The words fall away as I slide my eyes up the body and find myself looking at Nelson. To be honest, I didn’t even realize that he wasn’t at the party until now. But here he is in front of me, and he isn’t alone…
Brad. He looks stunned as he sees me. But also, like he might have been running to come to me. I quickly theorize that Alex and Angelo must have gone to call him to let him know that I have arrived. At least he came. That’s one good thing, isn’t it? He didn’t run in the opposite direction.
“I’m going inside,” Nelson says quickly with a smile. “Leave you two to it.”
I nod but I don’t look at Nelson because I’m too fixed on Brad. It hasn’t really been that long since I last saw him, but it feels a little like I’m looking at him for the very first time. I study everything about him; his dark eyes, his slightly messy hair, the small particles of stubble forming on his chin.
Love flows through my whole body. Everything that has been foggy, clears. Of course this is the right choice to make. How could I have ever considered walking away? But I’m glad that I took the time away. I needed that space to figure out that there isn’t anything else I would want in the world.
“I just…” I start but am silenced as Brad makes a sound as if he’s going to talk at the same time. “Sorry.”
“No, you carry on,” he says with a smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“I just… I just want to tell you that I’m sorry. Leaving you for a week with no answers mustn’t have been easy. I didn’t mean to, I just needed to clear my head. I shouldn’t have been silent though.”
He relaxes his face in to a smile. “It’s fine. I understand. I know you have had it hard.”
I c
an see that it’s had an effect on him though. His body language screams with pain. I have destroyed him by leaving him alone. He’s had it even worse than I have during this week.
“Well, I don’t want anyone to get in our way now,” I conclude. “I want to be with you. I love you. That’s enough for me to fight everything and anything with you. I just want us to be happy.”
He pauses for a second and reaches out to grab me. I take a step closer to him and allow him to take me. He scoops me up in to his arms and holds me against his chest. I lean my head on his heart and enjoy the pounding. Each beat is mine and I want to swallow it up whole. I want to listen to this noise.
“I love you too,” Brad whispers softly. “And I’m so glad that you have come back to me.”
I tilt my head upwards and laugh as I catch his eyes. But the laughter is mostly to cover up the emotional tears covering me. They were sad tears but now they are happy ones. I’m basically on a roller coaster.
“Do you want to go to the barbeque?” he asks me quietly. “Because we can if you want to. Or if not, we can head upstairs and hang out in my bedroom instead. Blow the party off.” He wiggles his brows.
“Will your brothers let you do that? It was a struggle to let me go! They really want you there…”
“They just want me to be happy, that’s all. You’re here now, they won’t mind.”
I nod and giggle. As long as Brad thinks that it’s okay then I’m all good. I will do whatever he wants. He takes my hand and pulls me inside, then we go towards the stairs. Laughter and chatter comes from the outside area of the house and the kitchen as well, but no one catches us as we go inside. I feel like a teenager who is in the middle of a torrid affair who is sneaking around. It’s funny. It almost makes me want to laugh out loud.
“Come on.” Brad picks up the pace, dragging me with him. “Let’s get out of here already.”
As we reach the top of the stairs, he swoops me up in to his arms once more and presses me against the wall to kiss me. As his lips crash against mine, heat floods me, passion flows through me, everything intensifies. I roll my hips against him, needing him, even if we’re in public as we could get caught at any moment.
“Oh fuck, Brad,” I hiss against his mouth. “I want you. I want you so badly.”
He lights up like a fucking Christmas tree and he kisses me harder. I’m trapped between him and the cold hard wall behind me and I love it. I don’t want to move at all. I don’t want him to ever let me go.
But as he lifts me to my feet and I wrap my legs around him, I find myself not minding moving at all. I can feel his bulge between my thighs, brushing up against my core, promising me what will come next. In all the hurt and worry over the last few days, I forgot about how good this could feel.
“Oh God,” I groan, tossing my head back as we enter his bedroom. “Oh, Brad.”
He kicks his bedroom door, slamming it shut behind him, and shows me the spark in his eyes. He’s on fire, full of flames, turning me on even more. I wish I didn’t have panties on because the material is in the way now, preventing him from immediately slipping inside of me and giving me everything that I want.
Brad steps towards his bedroom and he drops me on to the bed. My dress slides up my body and I watch Brad’s eyes hungrily run over my body. All the pain I have caused Brad trickles off him as desire takes its place instead. Thank God, any awkwardness has vanished as well. We’re back to where we’re at our best.
“I’m so glad you’re here, Tami,” Brad tells me seriously. “It killed me when I thought that we were never going to get back to one another. It scared the shit out of me.”
“Me too,” I admit while reaching out to grab on to his top. I need to pull him towards me, to hold him close to me, to really feel him. “But we made it in the end.”
As I pull him on top of me, the weight of his body feeling incredible against mine, a sense of gratitude floods me. I’m so freaking happy to have this man back in my arms. His lips are on my throat, his fingers grazing down my sides, my legs wrapping around him. We fit together perfectly, like we are meant to be.
All of a sudden, a burst of passion over comes me and I twist Brad around. I push him on to his back and I sit astride him, smiling down on him. I curl my fingers around the hem line of my dress and tug it upwards to fling it over my head. As the material floods away, a loud excitable gasp erupts from Brad’s mouth.
“Oh wow, you are seriously beautiful,” he groans. “How did I get so lucky?”
“You lucky?” I chuckle. “I’m the one who gets to be with Brad Smith. Again.”
“Hey, I’m not ever letting you go again. I hope you realize that!”
As I lean down and kiss him with his hands snaking around my back to unhook my bra, that happiness over comes me. I could have lost this man. We could have been pushed apart. There are so many times this couldn’t have happened. The fact that we’re still fighting and together just says it all. We are meant to be.
Chapter 38 – Brad – Sunday
I cup her breasts in my hands and hold them gently, using my thumbs to brush over her nipples as I change things up again and I turn her on to her back. I need to hold her, to control her body like this, to have all the power, to create a fission of excitement bursting through her. The sensation of her silky skin in my hand creates an intense, almost explosive reaction in my body. It’s been too long since I got to touch her.
“Your body is everything,” I growl with excitement. “Fucking hell, you feel so good.”
I rein kisses all over her neck and collar bone, needing my mouth all over her skin. Every part of us not touched by my lips right now is wasted. As I kiss everywhere, her fingers run through my hair and she tugs with passion. Each pull creates a wildness inside of me, it unleashes the animal of desire I haven’t let out for a while.
No wonder I couldn’t let go of this, no wonder nearly losing Tami killed me. When it feels like this, then how the hell could I want anything else? Thank fuck we managed to get back together.
Eventually, my mouth slides all the way down to those stunning nipples of hers, and I take one of them between my lips. As I tug and tease with my tongue, lips, and teeth, she practically mews like a freaking pussy cat. I love the sounds coming out her mouth, they just fire me up more, as does the intense hair pulling. Everything that turns Tami on just makes this much more thrilling. I absolutely love unraveling her.
“Oh fuck,” she gasps while eagerly tugging at my trousers, desperately wanting them off. “Brad.”
Her fingers are keen to grab me, but she can’t seem to get my trousers down, so I help her along by tugging my zipper open and sliding them all the way down. But that isn’t enough for Tami, she needs my underwear gone as well so I help her shake them down. Once my erection springs free, she takes me between my fingers.
“Shit,” I gasp as her touch sends a shiver racing down my spine. “Fucking hell.”
The eruption of exploding sensations through my body is phenomenal. It leaves me utterly dizzy and thrilled. The harder and faster that she strokes my shaft, the closer to the edge she pushes me. Since her touch is so incredible, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to hold myself back. Especially when she’s looking up at me like that. Like she wants me buried deep inside of her already.
I can’t give her that, not yet. Not until I have felt her. So, instead I give her a little bit of what she wants by slipping my fingers tantalizingly up her thighs, and I graze her a few times just trying to push her towards the brink of desire. Her face contorts with bliss as I trace the outside of her panties. I know her hot wet desire waits for me and it’s nearly impossible to keep away. I want to explore all of her.
“Touch me,” she cries out, the passion making her loud as she arches her back off the bed. “I need you.”
As soon as I tug the cotton to one side and I push my fingers in, the speed in which she is stroking me picks up. I plunge in to her over and over again, watching her fall apart a
s I do. The sensations inside of me are matched in her expression and I freaking love it. I adore every inch of her.
“You’re so wet,” I moan as I massage her insides, ecstasy warming me up. “So wet, Tami.”
“That’s what you do to me,” she whispers to me. “You send me insane.”
Her fingers curl around the sheets as the pleasure grips tightly around her. This means she lets go of me, which leaves me frustrated, but at the same time I’m glad because I get to really look at her without the thick cloud of lust covering me, affecting me. She’s utterly beautiful. Again, I find myself blown away by her once more, like I used to a lot in the early days of me and her. This stunning woman is just everything to me.
“I want you.” Her eyes fall closed. Her head lolls to the side as if she can’t hold it up any longer. “I want you so badly that it hurts. Your fingers…” Her core tightens around me. “They feel good, but I want more.”
I slip my fingers away and pull her up in to a sitting position. Her hair is all over the place, sticking up everywhere, her make up is a mess, she looks wild and unhinged… stunning.
“Come here.” I pick her up and wait for her legs to wrap around me. As she does, my cock slides in to her. She pulls me in tight, taking all of me in, sending my head spinning in to heaven. She uses her strong legs to trust over and over, taking control of me despite the position. Her lips crash to mine and she kisses me hard as her walls really start to clamp around me. The pressure of pleasure is taking control of her and soon she will be too close to the edge to move. So, I press her up against the nearest wall I can find and take control of the thrusting. I bury deep inside of her, hitting all the right spots, causing her to spasm and buckle violently as the orgasm shatters through her. Her body clings to me in every way, coaxing the orgasm from me too. It’s impossible for me to hold it together when she is driving me utterly insane.