by Marie Cole
Kent took a few more drinks from the cool glass in his hand. “We kissed a few times, but never sober. And I married someone else, and we see where that got me."
I rolled my eyes. "You didn't think I was hot, that's why."
Kent narrowed his eyes at me. "I was young, Elly. Besides, this isn't the time or place to talk about that." His face relaxed and he offered me a little smile.
I smiled back, though he knew I didn't mean it. "You're right. So let’s talk about you...and Bryan. Why didn't you tell me he worked for you?"
Kent shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't think it mattered. Besides I found out that he was your Bryan the night he asked you out."
Bryan shrugged his shoulders. "And he never gave his friend a name so I had no idea."
"No, I know, I'm not blaming you, babe.” I nodded to Bryan and then turned on Kent, “I was just shocked that you didn't mention it after you saw him at my party...when you walked me home." I hadn't exactly told Bryan that Kent had walked me home, and kissed me. And confessed to thinking he loved me. I had kind of withheld that information.
Kent shrugged his shoulders as he drank a little more of his Jack and Coke. "I knew Bryan was a good guy. It was your birthday party so I didn't feel that I needed to throw it out there that I was his boss."
MaryAnn was quiet beside Kent, taking in the dynamics.
I brought my hands up and put them both on the table and then leaned forward a bit. "Throw it out there? Don't you think you should've mentioned it, at least? 'Bryan seems like a great guy, I mean I know he is because I hired him. So feel free to bring us both free lunch someday.' Nope. Let’s just put other things out there and ignore that little fact. I mean..." I glanced between Bryan and Kent, "I can only imagine the things I've said about you to him that he probably shouldn't know about his boss…”
Bryan put one of his hands on mine. "Elly, it's alright. It shouldn't be a big deal, babe."
Kent finished off the rest of his drink and pushed the empty glass forward. His cheeks were already getting rather pink from the alcohol.
MaryAnn ordered Kent another one. I looked at Bryan and nodded. "No, you're right." I shrugged softly. "It’s cool that my best friend kept something from me. Lots of somethings, it seems lately."
Kent sighed as he gripped the side of his hair. Bryan took a swig of his beer. The air between me and Kent made things kind of awkward for the rest of the table.
"Sorry, I'm ruining the mood. I'll be right back." I scooted out of the booth and retreated to the bathroom. It was time for a reality check and I knew Stacy would give it to me.
Me: Am I crazy?
Stacy: Depends on the time of the month.
Me: Ha ha.
Stacy: Kent or Bryan?
Me: Kent. I’m giving him hell for withholding information. Basically lying. Am I wrong?
Stacy: Not necessarily. How long did he know?
Shit. My birthday had only been like two days ago. I was being an asshole and irrational. About that part, at least.
Me: Okay, I was wrong. It’s only been a couple of days. Ugh! Thanks for the reality check.
When I came back I noticed that MaryAnn and Kent were gone. I looked at Bryan with confusion. "Hey. Where did they go?"
“Back to Kent's place." He said with a click of his tongue as he took another sip of the beer in front of him. "Kent left money for dinner and told me to make sure you got something nice."
I was pissed that Kent had left the dinner. And that he couldn’t wait to get away from me and be alone with MaryAnn. The emotion ran over my face but as I stared at the money it changed back to cheerful. I put my hand on his and looked at him, "Maybe we could take the rest of the money, order Chinese in and have some...fun time at your place instead?”
Chapter 46
Bryan shrugged his shoulders. "I'll do whatever you want to do, Sunshine." He smiled and took the money in his hand, leaving enough on the table for what the bill was plus a tip and pointed at a table that just sat down. "Give them the apps. On us." Bryan said with a grin and took me by the hand. "C'mon, babe. Let’s get out of here."
We picked up Chinese on the way back to his place. I was my normal self again, singing loudly in the car, dancing in my seat, having forgotten completely about Kent ditching the double date. By the time we got around to cleaning up the dishes after dinner I was drunk, full, and a little lethargic and my mind was back on Kent. "Do you think Kent is fucking her right now? I mean...that was the plan....do you think it worked?"
Bryan shrugged his shoulders as he dried a few dishes and put them away. "I don’t know, babe. He seemed kind of out of it and then all of a sudden asked her to leave. Maybe he's getting his freak on, I don't know." Bryan drank another beer at dinner, but he was far from drunk.
"He probably is. I hope he's enjoying it. Do you think I should get a boob job?" I stood next to him and puffed out my chest, trying to make it look bigger.
"I think your boobs are sexy." Bryan tossed the towel over his shoulder and held his hands up like a camera. "I think they would look good on camera." Bryan grinned and whistled at me.
"I could probably get us more gigs if I had bigger boobs..."
"Elly," he said as he put his hands on my boobs to draw my attention to him. "Your boobs are nice. They fit well in my hands and I'm sure they'd look good out in the open."
I moaned softly as I pushed his hands down to the safety of my hips. “You’re trying to distract me from my tirade.”
His arms moved smoothly to my lower back and pulled me against his warm, hard chest. “Perhaps I am, Sunshine. Is it working?”
“Maybe…” I giggled and pressed my chest into his. My eyes raked over him and settled on the drying towel on his shoulder. I pushed it off and watched as it fell onto the tiled floor beneath his feet.
“Tsk tsk.” I glanced up in time to see him give a little shake of his head, “Getting all distracted and knocking the towel off my shoulder. That doesn’t mean I’m throwing in the towel, you know.”
“No, but I think it means that I am.” I tilted my head back so I could look into his beautiful hazel eyes. “Are you going to take me?”
He smiled slowly, causing my insides to melt, “Right here?”
“I dunno. Can you wait until we get to your bed? Or do you have to take me right now?” I took a step backwards.
“I’ve waited already. What’s another minute or two?” He followed me, trying to close the distance between us but I took another step, retreating towards his bedroom.
“Well in that case...what’s another few days? Or weeks?” I grinned and turned on my heel. I felt his hands try to grab my waist but I escaped and headed into his room, leaving the door open for him to follow.
“Maybe we could wait another year. We’ll just have to see.”
I fell back onto his bed with a sigh. “Another year? I might die.” I put a hand on my head for dramatic effect.
I heard him snicker and felt the bed depressing under his weight as he sat on the edge of the bed, looking over his shoulder at me.
“Me too, Els.”
With his eyes on me I felt like I had to move. I kicked my heels off and stretched my arms over head.
“Mmmm, your bed is so comfy…”
“It is. You seemed to like it last time you were here too. I couldn’t wake you up.” He moved beside me and laid down, stretching out himself after kicking off his dress shoes.
I curled on my side facing him and tucked my hands under my cheek. “I did, I liked it a lot.”
He chuckled softly, “Yeah. You were all relaxed...kind of like now.”
“Mmmm…” I moaned, closing my eyes. I was drifting off and got an image of his tighty whities. “Tighty whities…” I grinned, only half awake.
“All day long.” The bed moved as he turned towards me.
I reached out and stroked his cheek, I was lucky my hand landed on his cheek. “Not in the shower…” I bit my lower lip as I opened my eyes and watched my thumb glide slowly over his.<
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“Maybe I do. Want to see or do you want to wait here while I shower?”
I frowned softly. “I was licked by three people. Don’t you think I need a shower more than you do?”
His lips turned up into a soft grin. “I guess you’re right. Are you gonna walk or am I going to have to carry you?”
“I’m gonna stay here…” I ran my fingers through his hair slowly, “And you are too.”
“Whatever you want, babe.”
He was being so nice. Too nice. He was trying to protect me from something...or something. I crawled over him none too gently and made my way into his bathroom.
“I’ll be right back.” I closed the door behind me and after I did my business I started his shower. I looked at the toiletries or should I say toiletry. Just like a man. An all-in-one body and hair wash. That was it. I stripped off my clothes slowly. Should I tempt him? Yeah…
I opened the door and threw my clothes at him. He looked up in time to catch them. “Your phone is chirping a lot in there… think everything is okay?”
“Dunno!” I slammed the door. “Maybe you should look?!” I pulled the shower curtain back and got in.
After I was squeaky clean, I toweled off my hair with the hand towel and then went back into the bedroom to check on Bryan. He was sitting on the bed and I closed the distance between us. He had my phone in his hand and I smiled at him as I straddled his lap. “Who was it?” I pressed my lips to his neck, which tasted salty.
“Kent.”
I tried to keep Kent’s face from my mind, I didn’t want him to kill my sexual buzz with Bryan.
“Oh?” I licked my way up to his ear and suckled on it softly.
“He said he’s sorry for kissing you the other night.”
I froze and pulled back to look at his face. His calm voice was deceiving how he truly felt. I could see in his eyes that was in pain.
“It was a mistake and he’s sorry. Said he wants lunch or dinner this week because he needs some Elly-time.”
“Oh…” I stared at my phone for a moment, shaking my head. “Bryan I...I was going to tell you.”
“Mmmhmm…” he said softly as he twirled the phone in his hand. “Maybe you should text him back and give him your answer.” He held the phone out to me.
“No. He can wait. I’m here with you. I want to be here with you.” I looked up to make sure he could see the sincerity in my eyes. “He kissed me and I pulled away.”
He set the phone on the bed next to his thigh. The flesh of his cheek pulsed as he clenched his teeth. “I believe you.”
I ran my fingers over his tense jaw, his neck and back into his hair. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you…”
“I’m glad it came out now. I’m not sure how I would’ve reacted if it had come out later.”
I pressed my lips to his hard, trying to distract him from my error in judgement. He didn’t pull away which was a good sign. I laced my fingers into his hair and then pulled tight while kissing him. I moaned, my body already excited at the thought of a mild dose of makeup sex.
I felt his hands at my hips and I wiggled on top of him in response. I felt the cool air on my breasts as the towel came loose and fell around my hips. He pressed into the kiss as one of his hands came up and seized my breast. I arched my back, pressing it further into his hand and rolled my hips against his jeans. His other hand grabbed the towel and threw it onto the floor. If I’d been without my lips against his I would’ve said something about throwing in the towel. As it was his hand was on my bare ass, squeezing it with every lift of my hips, the feel of his rough, warm hand made me wet.
I was getting impatient so I pulled away and grabbed his shirt, pulling it up and over his head. “I want to feel your skin against mine. All of it,” he murmured as his hands reached between us as he unbuttoned his jeans. I left his lap and moved behind him.
I pressed myself against his rounded back and ran my hands over his bare chest. “You’re so warm...so sexy…” I whispered, softly.
He pushed his clothes off onto the floor and then sat back up. I nibbled on his ear as my arms snaked around his chest. I released him and laid back onto the bed and he followed me. He placed himself between my legs on his knees and grabbed my ankle. From there he kissed up to my knee and then his tongue left a wet little trail the rest of the way up to my hot, wet center.
I gasped, “Bryan…” I grabbed his hair when he got close enough and tugged, it didn’t stop his tongue from licking my slit. I groaned as he lapped at my clit and lifted my hips in response. He started further up my body, his lips left soft kisses along the skin of my stomach until his nose nuzzled against one of my breasts. “Oh god… feels so good… you’re making me so wet…”
As he took one of my nipples in his mouth he pressed his erection against my inner thigh. “I hope you’re off work tomorrow…” he whispered softly. The cool air rushed over the wet nipple that slipped from his mouth and I moaned, my fingers still tight in his hair.
“I want…” my voice was drowned out by the chirping on my phone. My breath hitched as he moved to my other nipple, taking it into his hot mouth. “Bryan...wait…” I pulled him back as I sat up, my breath coming in short pants because I was so turned on.
He looked me over, his eyes smoking with lust. “Why? What’s wrong?” I bit my lower lip and shook my head.
“I’m not ready.” I knew that if I gave into him, if I let him have me the mystery would be gone. He’d bolt, or cheat or start to distance himself. It happened every time. Sex complicated things.
He was staring at me, searching my face for a better reason than that. He exhaled deeply and nodded as he climbed off the bed and went into the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and I heard the shower turn on.
“Shit…” I muttered to myself. I grabbed my phone and turned it over. Kent again...
Chapter 47
Before I could even get a word out after answering my phone, I heard Kent's voice. "Don't hang up, I'm sorry I'm interrupting you…just...just listen. Okay?" Again he didn't seem to wait on me to acknowledge it. "MaryAnn and I kissed. We touched each other and we fooled around, but I couldn't have sex with her. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you. It didn't feel right…I closed my eyes and imagined you and it felt wrong to pretend she was you… so I didn't. I don't want a rebound because it's not going to change the way things are."
I sighed and spoke softly, "Kent. You don't know that. You can't know that."
"Of course I know that. I don't want to have sex with someone else. I don't want someone else. I'm sorry. I appreciate you trying to be a true friend, but,” he sighed on the other end of the phone.
"But nothing. What are you saying? You're going to be celibate for the rest of your life because you can't fuck me?" My voice raised slightly as my anger increased. He was being ridiculous.
"Elly, it's not about the sex. I screwed up. I know this is probably going to fuck up our friendship, but, I love you. I always have, I always will, and when you finally see it, I hope that one day we can be together."
"Oh God, Kent. You're just,” it was my turn to sigh again. "We can't be together that way,” I spoke gently trying to break it to him easily.
"I wanted to tell you how I felt. I wanted to let you know that I didn't fuck Mary Ann, which I'm sure she'll tell you all about, and I wanted to say to you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made the wrong choice so many years ago when it was always staring me in the face and drinking Mountain Dew with me."
I soaked in his words and yet a part of me was still not convinced he meant it. “That was a long time ago. You didn't want me then, why now? Why...Now?"
The phone on his side was silent for a moment. "Jen wanted me, and I had no idea how to handle it. I'm sorry I pulled you along on all those dates as a third wheel. I'm sorry I didn't just tell Jen to fuck off. I'm sorry that you weren't my only choice for Prom. I was a teenager who didn't want to hurt anyone, but I hurt my best friend because I was stupid."
"I..." I st
uttered and then sighed. "And I was pining and drooling over you. I ...I let that go. You'll have to learn how to do the same. What can I do to help? Block your calls? Be a total bitch to you?"
"You do whatever you feel is right, Elly. I couldn't live with myself anymore without you knowing how I felt.”
The shower turned off and I got up wrapping a blanket around myself, tucking it in at my chest as I made my way to the living room. “Isn’t that convenient for you to lay this all on me. I held it all in for all those years. But this isn't about me. It's about you.”
"No, Elly. It's about us.”
"Kent there is no ‘us’ outside of our friendship." I started pacing the living room.
"Meet me and look me in the eye and tell me that. Then maybe I'll believe you and leave you alone."
I scoffed. "That's such bullshit.” When he didn’t say anything for a few long seconds I sighed and caved in. I’d do almost anything to get him to shut up about the fantasy he’d created for us. “Fine. When?"
"One hour, the park."
"What?! Kent, it's after midnight. How about tomorrow morning at the park? Like nine-ish.”
"How about one hour and this'll all be over, one way or another." He sounded like he wasn't going to back down. The door to the bathroom opened and Bryan came out with a towel wrapped around his waist as his hands shook through his damp hair.
"I'm a little…busy.”
"So am I. I'm busy leaving to go to the park." Kent hung up the phone on his side.
"Goddammit." I stared at the Call Ended on my phone and then went back into the bedroom to collect my clothes, get dressed, and confront Bryan. I looked him over and admired his bare chest. "Hey...So I have some bad news..."
Bryan was running a brush through his hair when I came back into the bedroom. He watched me for a few moments as I dressed and smiled when I approached him. "Bad news? What's goin’ on?"
"Kent needs to talk."
Bryan chewed on the inside of his lip. "I'm guessing right now, huh?"