Then I told him about the guy I dated the summer after high school. He was in college and was working on one of the vineyards for the summer. There wasn’t anything too dark and twisted about him, except that he promised we would stay together after the summer was over. When he left to return to college in September, I never saw or heard from him again.
My third relationship was with a married man. In my defense I didn’t know he was married when I met him. It wasn’t until we had been together for several months that I found out he was married. Of course, he swore he loved me and was planning to leave his wife. It wasn’t until I found out his wife was pregnant that I summoned enough inner strength to break it off with him. That was the one I was most ashamed of.
Finally risking a glance at Adam, I shrugged and said, “And that just leaves the last guy.”
“The scary guy with the muscle car?”
I snorted, remembering that Adam had met Chet when I was screaming at him in my driveway. “Yeah, that’s him. We’ve been together on and off for about a year. Of all of them, he’s probably the best.”
Adam raised a doubtful eyebrow.
“We’ve never been exclusive. He’s never promised anything or claimed he loves me. At least with him, I knew what to expect.”
Uh oh. The stern principal face was back.
“Brooke. You deserve to know you’re the only one. To have promises kept. To believe that the guy you’re with loves you. That’s what you should expect.”
Deep down I knew these things were true. My grandma and my friends had said these same things to me more than once. But it was very different to hear the words coming from a man. I don’t know if it was his sincere honesty or the wine or the flowers, but for the first time since I was sixteen, I actually felt hopeful that I could find love. The kind of love that my friends had all found.
Chapter Twelve
Adam
The waiter appeared with our entrees, completely breaking the intense mood. I released Brooke’s hand, and we both leaned back so our plates could be set in front of us.
I had never been in a physical fight, preferring to take a more civilized approach to solving problems. It’s what I taught my students and how I had lived my life. Until now. As I had listened to Brooke describe how she had been used and taken advantage of by every man in her life, I felt violent tendencies creeping up inside me.
Sure, a case could be made that it was Brooke’s fault for getting herself into these situations and putting up with the shit these guys doled out. But knowing Brooke’s upbringing - being abandoned by her parents and raised by her grandmother - I could see how she would be hungry for love and acceptance. I was somewhat surprised that I didn’t see her as weak. But that’s not how I saw Brooke at all. Instead I saw someone who kept looking for what she needed even when she was pushed down again and again.
Knowing what I knew then, I gave her a lot of credit for showing me the dating rules. She was committed enough to making a change that she risked scaring me away. There were plenty of guys that would have taken one look at that paper and said “See you later.”
Realizing that Brooke was silently picking at her food, I smiled and said, “Thank you for telling me all that. I know it can’t have been easy. I promise no more tough questions tonight.”
She visibly relaxed and smiled the sweetest smile. It was so easy to make her happy, and again I felt raw anger at the guys who had come before me. I’m sure all they saw was the long red hair, full lips, and the body a swimsuit model would be envious of. Of course, I saw all those things. But I also saw the sweet and sensitive girl behind those wide green eyes.
“So what about you? Tell me about your life before you moved here,” Brooke said.
“My life is pretty boring.”
She waved her fork in the air with a flourish. “Boring is good sometimes, Adam.”
I wasn’t sure if I should take that as a compliment. “Well, my childhood was pretty normal. I grew up in New Jersey with my mom, dad and sister. My parents were both teachers, which is probably why I do what I do now. My sister was three years older and used to dress me up like a girl when I was little. She always wanted a sister.”
Brooke laughed. “I’ll bet you were a cute little girl.”
“Hey now.”
“What about girlfriends? I told you my sordid past. It’s your turn.”
I shrugged. “I dated a couple of girls in high school, but nothing serious. I did have one serious girlfriend in college. We dated for almost five years, but eventually broke up a couple of years after graduation. Since then I haven’t been with anyone for longer than a few months.”
Brooke took a sip of wine and licked a stray drop from her bottom lip. My eyes were frozen to her mouth.
“What happened with the girlfriend? The serious one?”
“She was pushing me to get engaged. We’d been together for a long time, and it seemed like the logical thing to do. But when it came right down to it, I just couldn’t do it. I told her I wasn’t ready, and she said she wasn’t going to wait around any longer.”
“Finally! Something wrong with you. You’re a commitment phobe,” Brooke teased while pointing her fork at me, though I could see disappointment in her eyes.
At the time, I thought that might be it. I mean, Angela and I had gotten along well. We had the same values and goals in life. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t fully commit to her.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t think that’s it. She just wasn’t the one.”
Brooke tilted her head, causing her long hair to fall over her bare shoulder. “Do you believe in that? The idea that there is only one person out there for you. Your soul mate.”
I popped the last bit of my steak in my mouth and chewed. When I swallowed, I said, “Honestly, I don’t know. But I do know that we’ve covered way too many heavy topics for a first date. Do you want dessert?”
Brooke pushed her nearly empty plate away from her and shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m full. That was wonderful. Thank you, Adam.”
I motioned for the waiter to bring the check over. “Don’t thank me yet. The night’s not over.”
“You’ve already surpassed my highest expectations,” she replied.
I chuckled. “Brooke, we really need to work on your expectations.”
After the bill was paid, we left the restaurant and headed for part two of our date. It was nearly dark by the time we drove back into town and parked on the street outside the movie theater. The mood was considerably lighter than it had been during dinner. Brooke seemed almost relieved to have told me about her previous relationships. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. I didn’t want her to spend one more minute thinking that’s how she deserved to be treated.
We walked down the sidewalk, and I laced my fingers with hers. She looked up and smiled.
“Hand holding on the first date is acceptable, right?” I asked.
A small smile played on her lips. “Definitely.”
I bought two tickets to a romantic comedy even though Brooke said we could see the action movie that was playing. I did enjoy a good action movie, but I was looking forward to Brooke having a reason to snuggle up to me.
We stopped at the concession stand for two sodas and a large box of candy to share. The theater was practically deserted, and we took two seats in the back row.
I raised the arm rest between our seats. “Oh, look. This goes up.”
“How handy,” Brooke replied as she scooted closer to me.
I draped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her even closer, so she was resting her head on my shoulder. My fingers traced patterns on the bare skin of her shoulder and upper arm. After two hours like that, I couldn’t tell you one thing that happened in that movie. I was completely consumed by Brooke - the scent of her perfume mixed with the chocolate she was eating, her soft hair tickling my neck, the little sniffles she made when the movie must have gotten to the sappy romantic parts. T
hank God for those damn rules. If I hadn’t promised to abide by them, I would have trouble not begging for a repeat of last Friday night. This time sober, so I could remember every single second.
When the movie ended and the lights in the theater came back on, I heard Brooke sniffle again. There were tears in her eyes, but a smile on her face.
“That was such a good movie,” she sighed, as she attempted to wipe her eyes with her fingers in the way girls do when they try not to mess up their makeup.
“Here,” I offered, rolling down my shirt sleeve so she could use it to dry her eyes.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling sheepishly and leaned down to daintily dab the corners of her eyes with my sleeve.
She walked ahead of me as we exited the theater, but I took her hand as soon as we were outside. I had been touching her for the last two hours, and that hadn’t been nearly enough. I couldn’t bear to stop now.
We drove home in silence, and I walked her to her front door after parking the car in my usual spot.
The porch light was on and there were lights on upstairs, which I assumed meant her grandmother was home. Not that it mattered, since our date was destined to end here on the porch.
Brooke turned to face me. “Thank you for everything, Adam. This was truly the best first date ever.”
“You’re welcome,” I said, stuffing my hands in my pockets to keep myself from grabbing her face and breaking the first rule.
We continued to look at each other for a few more seconds. Brooke bit her bottom lip and looked around like she was checking to see if anyone was watching.
“We could kiss goodnight. Nobody would know,” she whispered with a devilish gleam in her eyes.
Oh, Lord. Don’t tempt me.
“No. We agreed to abide by the holy rules of dating from Leah and Lindsay. I won’t have them coming after me if they find out I corrupted you…but…we could hug goodnight.”
Brooke nodded her head vigorously. “Yes! The rules don’t say anything about hugging.”
A hug. A nice friendly hug. That was easy.
Except I should have known that no physical contact with Brooke would be nice and friendly. She stepped forward and threw her arms around my shoulders, turning her face towards me so I could feel her warm breath on my neck. I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my hands on the small of her back.
The only problem was that with her arms raised, her tank top raised as well. My fingers somehow made their way to the bare skin above the top of her jeans. The smooth soft skin that reminded me of waking up with all of her bare skin sprawled across me.
Brooke made a sexy little inhaling noise and blew out a breath right across my neck. I groaned involuntarily and tightened my grip on her waist, pulling her flush up against me. She wound her arms tightly around my neck and I could feel every inch of her lush body pressed up to the front of mine.
I bent my head to bury my face in her hair. I was already hard from just a hug. Brooke knew it too, because she rocked her hips against me and let out another sexy sound at the intimate contact. Jesus Christ, I couldn’t remember ever wanting a girl this much and we were only hugging.
She raised her head slightly and pressed her lips against my jaw. Oh, God. I could turn my head a few inches and capture her mouth. My hand slipped up her sides, over her ribs until my thumbs were barely brushing the bottom of her silky bra. Brooke arched her back, and I knew she wanted me to keep going.
I tightened my fingers on her waist and whispered against her ear. “Brooke?”
“Hmmm?” The sound vibrated across my neck.
“I’m going to walk away now. I actually might run. Please don’t be offended, but if I stay here one more second I’m going to be begging you to break all the rules tonight.”
She giggled. “Okay,” she said.
Without another word or a glance backward, I released her and turned around. I didn’t stop speed walking until I was safely inside my apartment. Leaning back against the door, I realized why I hadn’t been able to commit to Angela all those years ago.
Because she had never affected me the way Brooke did.
I risked a peek out the window and saw Brooke’s bedroom light flip on. She walked to the window and looked right at me. I don’t know if she could see me in the dark. Then her mouth curved up and she winked. Oh, yeah. She knew I was watching.
She turned around so I was looking at her back and grasped the bottom of her tank top in both hands. Excruciatingly slowly she raised it, inch by inch, over her head. She still didn’t turn around, but she looked over her shoulder and reached behind her back to the clasp on her black bra. I shouldn’t be watching this, but I couldn’t make myself turn away.
The clasp on her bra sprung open, and she lowered her arms to let the straps fall away. When she did turn to face me, her hair was spilling over her shoulders and she had one arm across her chest. Technically she was covered, but I could see the swell of her breasts underneath her arm. Brooke walked back to the window and with another smile and wink she pulled the blinds shut. I groaned in both frustration and relief.
Knowing Brooke was only fifty feet away in her bedroom undressing was literally killing me. This wasn’t the first time I had left a date in this borderline painful state, but it was the worst. If I didn’t take care of the situation at hand, no pun intended, I was in danger of crawling up the trellis to Brooke’s bedroom window. And I wasn’t in the habit of risking my life to get laid.
Starting up the shower, I undressed as I waited for the water to heat up. I could still feel Brooke’s lips on my jaw and her skin under my hands. Stepping into the shower, I let the hot water run over me. As images of her bare back filled my mind, I wrapped my hand around myself. Imagining it was Brooke’s hand stroking my rock hard length, I increased the speed of my strokes. This wasn’t a time to savor the moment, and I was coming hard before I knew it. Rocked by the intensity of my self induced orgasm, I leaned my forehead against the wet tile. It was quite possible this girl would be my downfall. And I was totally okay with that.
Chapter Thirteen
Brooke
Rolling over in bed, I stretched out my legs to find the cool spots in the sheets with my toes. I had heard Gram leave for church a few minutes ago, so it was probably almost time to get up and get ready for work. But my bed was so comfortable, and I was having such a nice dream. It had involved Adam, and we weren’t just hugging this time.
After twenty minutes of trying to go back to sleep so I could pick up my dream where I left off, I gave up and threw off the sheet. It was a sunny day, and I saw Adam’s car wasn’t in the driveway when I opened the blinds. I couldn’t help the little pang of disappointment I felt knowing he wasn’t right across the driveway.
Maybe he would be home when I got off work. I didn’t want to seem too eager, but if I didn’t get to see him at all today I would be seriously sad. Last night was hands down the best night of my life. I replayed everything from our date in my mind while I brushed my teeth. From the flowers to the hug at the end, everything was perfect. And the fact that I told him about my sorry attempts at relationships in the past, and he didn’t immediately run for the hills…that was the moment I knew I could lose my heart to Adam.
Just as I rinsed out my toothbrush and put it away, I heard a faint knock at the back door. I couldn’t imagine who would be coming by so early on a Sunday morning. Maybe it was Poppy, trying to get me to go to one of her yoga classes again. I knew my high metabolism and good genes would only get me so far. One of these days I was going to have to start exercising. But not today. If it was Poppy, it was a wasted trip for her.
I walked through the kitchen and opened the back door. On the other side of the screen door stood Adam, with a grin on his face and coffee and donuts in his hands. He raised them up and said, “Breakfast?”
I unlocked the screen door and held it open so he could come inside. His hair was slightly damp, so I could tell he was freshly showered. Unlike me. My hair was a tangl
ed mess, and I wasn’t wearing any makeup. At least I had just brushed my teeth, and my pajamas were cute - a gray and pink polka dot tank and shorts combo.
“Do you have to work today?” Adam asked as he set the coffee cups down on the table and opened the donut box.
“Yes,” I replied. But that’s all I had a chance to say before he crossed the room and pulled me into his arms.
I braced my hands on his upper arms and looked up at him. He didn’t strike me as the caveman type, but almost everything about Adam had surprised me so far.
“How much time do you have before you have to get ready for work?”
“Um…half an hour,” I said.
He grinned at me. “Perfect. Just enough time for our second date.” With a quick kiss on the top of my head he released me and held out one of the chairs for me to sit in. When I sat he leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I love the pajamas.”
The feel of his breath on my ear sent a shiver down my spine and goosebumps racing down my bare arms.
Adam took the seat across from me and took a sip of his coffee. “I had a really great time last night, Brooke.”
“Me, too.”
He laughed. “That’s good. Because it was kind of presumptuous of me to spring a second date on you without asking first.”
I chose a powdered donut. “That’s okay. I’m really glad you’re here,” I said honestly.
He raised one eyebrow. “I also enjoyed the peep show,” he said, referring to my semi striptease through the window.
I couldn’t tell if he had been watching or not, which gave me the extra courage I needed to go through with it. Now that it was morning and we were discussing it face to face, I could feel my cheeks heating with embarrassment.
Adam watched me with amusement. “So, you can tempt me but you can’t talk to me about it?”
I shrugged and shoved the donut in my mouth so I wouldn’t have to respond. But Adam just sipped his coffee and patiently waited for me to chew and swallow.
Bad Girlfriend Page 9