Wanted (B&S)

by Kimberly Knight

  “I love Stacey and I always hoped they would end up together. Who knows, maybe they will eventually.”

  Aimee and I soaked up some rays for a few more minutes before Stacey returned, making her way into the backyard.

  “Honey, pull over one of those chairs and join us,” Aimee called to Stacey while pointing to the other side of the pool.

  Stacey did just that, setting up her lounge chair on the other side of me, leaving me in the middle between her and Aimee. It was a gorgeous winter day. There was no way we would be poolside back in San Francisco this time of year. The weather wasn’t hot, but it wasn’t cold either. I would say it was in the low seventies and perfect.

  “How long have you and Brandon been together?” Stacey asked.

  “It’s been a little over four months.”

  “This is my first time meeting him––Blake and I always seem to be on the outs when Brandon comes to town.”

  Neither one of us mentioned seeing each other the night before. I’m not sure who was more embarrassed. We both obviously had a good time with a Montgomery boy last night, but it made me feel better that Blake wasn’t bringing home some random skank.

  “Would you girls like some lemonade?” Aimee offered.

  “I would love some,” I said.

  “Me too,” Stacey agreed.

  Aimee left us alone as she went back inside to the kitchen to get us some lemonade.

  “How long have you and Blake been together?”

  “I wouldn’t say we are together.”

  “Oh.”

  “No, I mean, we have this on and off thing and have been doing it for a few years. He called me last night to wish me a Merry Christmas and we ended up talking, and then he invited me over and well––that’s when I saw you in the pool. We haven’t really talked about getting back together.”

  “Oh…if you don’t mind me asking, why do you keep going back to him?”

  “That’s the million dollar question right there. As far as I know, he has never cheated on me or anything like that. We’ve just had fights and taken breaks from each other. We have both dated other people, but we just seem to always get back together. As crazy as it may seem to you, I still love him.”

  “I understand.”

  Stacey and I chatted until Aimee came back with our lemonades. Stacey worked as a waitress at a local Chili’s but her dream was to move to California and pursue her acting career. We talked about California and how my friend, Audrey, lived in Los Angeles and could possibly get her in contact with someone. After talking with Aimee, I hoped Stacey and Blake would work things out as I really liked her and thought she’d be good for him. Call it female intuition, but I didn’t get a good vibe from Angelica from the first moment I saw her at the airport.

  Shortly after, the men returned from the grocery store and began working in the kitchen. Aimee and I high-fived because our plan was working. Brandon came out after a few minutes with a platter of cheese, crackers, and fruit for us.

  “Where are the big palm leaves?” Aimee asked Brandon. “I’m hot.”

  “Ask your husband,” Brandon said, joking back with his mom, “but, can I get you ladies anything else?”

  No one needed anything more at the moment, so Brandon leaned down and kissed the top of my head before heading back inside. He was going to finish helping Robert and Blake in the kitchen and then they were going to join us by the pool for the rest of the day.

  *~*~*

  “This is really good chili,” I said to all three men as we all sat around the table in the breakfast nook again.

  “Thank you, Spencer, I made it from scratch,” Blake said, trying to stifle a laugh.

  “You didn’t make shit,” Brandon said, punching Blake in the arm playfully.

  “Ow––I was a taste tester. It wouldn’t be this good if it wasn’t for me.”

  “Spencer, thank you,” Robert said, “Brandon and I did most of the work, but yes, Blake was the taste tester.”

  “I think it might be the best chili I’ve ever had.”

  “Thanks, Babe.”

  “Why haven’t you ever made this for me before?”

  I knew Brandon could cook, but I didn’t want to stop eating this chili. They assured me that adding Fritos and cheese would make it better and holy moly, it was heaven!

  “Haven’t had the chance.”

  “You need to make me this monthly…if not weekly,” I said, chuckling.

  “You think it’s that good?”

  “Yes!”

  I pictured us sitting by the fire at home on a rainy winter night, eating a big bowl of chili while watching a movie. It really didn’t take much to please me but if Brandon made this for me often, I don’t think I would get tired of it.

  “Alright, anything for you,” he said with a wink.

  “How about after dinner we play a Texas Hold’em tournament?” Robert asked.

  *~*~*

  After dinner, we all gathered around the formal dining room table, which allowed us more room to comfortably play cards. Brandon didn’t know, but I had been practicing on my lunch breaks on my phone while at work because I was tired of losing. He played every week and every time I had seen him play, he won.

  For the next hour, everyone held their own in the tournament. We did only a twenty dollar buy-in and everyone had about the same amount of chips overall. Aimee made a pitcher of margaritas for us ladies and the men drank beer. During the next hour, Robert took out Stacey, Brandon took out his mom, and I shocked everyone when I took out Blake.

  I could tell Brandon was suspicious because he kept giving me a look when I would win a pot. I was happy I didn’t tell him that I had been practicing. Each day at lunch when I practiced on my phone, I pretended that it was real money I was playing with. I practiced using my poker face mostly because I knew Brandon could read me and that is how he kept winning.

  Finally, after a few more hands, I took out his dad, leaving just me and Brandon to go head to head.

  As I raked in my winnings, Brandon smirked as he considered me thoughtfully. “Well, Babe, seems that you have gotten better since the last time we played.”

  The last time we had played together was when Robert and Aimee came to visit us before Halloween. Since the odds were in Brandon’s favor because he played every week, I figured I would make the game more interesting.

  “How about if I win, you give me a two-hour full body massage when I ask you to?”

  “And if I win?” Brandon said, cocking his eyebrow.

  “I don’t know, what do you want?”

  Brandon thought for a long moment as I waited for him to answer while everyone was either grabbing another drink or talking amongst themselves. Finally, he peeked up from where he was staring at the table as he thought about it. “Okay, if I win, you have to go commando on New Year's Eve,” he said, shooting me the smirk that melted my heart.

  “You want me to walk around Seattle with no underwear on?” I asked, questioning his sanity.

  “Don’t you remember how fun it was the last time I made you go commando?” Brandon whispered as he leaned close to me.

  Of course I remembered what he was talking about since it only happened last week. After Brandon and I returned from the “tour” of my office during my company holiday party, his hand never left my leg as we sat around the table with the girls. Every so often, he would inch his hand up slowly, making me squirm in my seat. I was surprised Bel didn’t mention anything the next day. He never actually slipped his hand between my legs, but of course, I didn’t know he wasn’t going to. He teased me for at least an hour before we went home.

  “Fine, but you’re not winning this time,” I said, sticking out my tongue at him.

  “We’ll see about that,” he said with a wink.

  “Alright kids, let’s see who the better poker player is in this relationship,” Blake said as he sat down and shuffled the cards.

  I looked over to Brandon’s stack of chips; it was almost double
what I had. I started to regret the friendly bet Brandon and I made as Blake dealt the first hand.

  We went back and forth for several rounds before I finally managed to come out ahead of Brandon. Blake dealt the next hand and I glanced down at my cards, seeing a queen of hearts and ten of spades. Brandon had a smirk on his face, but only called the big blind that I was already in for.

  Blake turned over The Flop, which was a queen of diamonds, ten of hearts and eight of spades. I peeked up at Brandon who was still looking at me with that smirk. I wasn’t sure what it meant. I had a decent hand with my two pair, but it was possible that he already had a straight or only needed one more card to make it happen.

  I would usually check at this point and let the other person bet, not wanting to let on that I had a good hand, but I figured Brandon knew my tells by now, so I ended up betting ten dollars.

  “Ten dollars when the big blind was only two dollars?” Brandon asked, tilting his head.

  “What? Too rich for your blood, Mr. Montgomery?”

  “No, but it’s just not like you to bet that much, Ms. Marshall. You must have something really good.”

  Shit, I thought by doing something different, it would throw him off, not tell him what I was holding in my hand. I shrugged, “Only one way to find out.”

  “I call,” Brandon said, looking directly into my eyes.

  Blake then turned over a nine of diamonds on The Turn. It was no help to me, but it more than likely helped Brandon seal the deal on the straight I was pegging him to have. I decided to bet another ten dollars, as I knew Brandon would know I didn’t have a straight if I just checked at this point.

  “I call your ten and raise you another ten,” Brandon said.

  I knew right then and there that Brandon had a straight which would beat my two pair. I started to think about the length of my New Year’s Eve dress; would I be able to bend down without mooning the world? Without much hesitation, I called Brandon’s raise. I needed to stick to my guns and not back down.

  Everyone was gathered around, watching us. I let Aimee see my cards and Brandon showed his dad. They gave each other a look and I knew it was killing them not to whisper to each other. Blake finally turned over The River card, which was a queen of clubs, giving me a Full House that would beat Brandon’s straight. I wanted to jump up and down, but I kept calm as I used my best poker face and went all in.

  Brandon immediately called, going all in as well. I just smiled sanguinely at him as I was already thinking of the perfect day to get my two-hour full body massage.

  “Alright, turn over your cards, Bro,” Blake said.

  Brandon turned over a king high straight. “Don’t worry, Babe, I’ll keep you warm,” he said, laughing with Robert.

  “You know, you shouldn’t be so cocky or assume too much––you know what they say about assuming, right?” I said, then high-fived Aimee. “Queen high Full House, Babe,” I said, flipping over my cards.

  Stacey jumped up and down clapping while Aimee patted me on the back. “Finally you took down the Black Bart of the family!”

  “Black Bart?” I questioned.

  “I’m not a thief, Mom. I always win fair and square,” Brandon said, protesting.

  “Bart Roberts who is also known as Black Bart, was a pirate in the seventeen hundreds and was always stealing people’s money,” Aimee said, explaining the Black Bart comment to me.

  “A black pirate?” I asked.

  “No honey, he wasn’t black. He just acquired that nickname,” Aimee said, laughing.

  “Well, Spencer, here is your money that you earned. This night will for sure go down in history around the Montgomery household,” Robert said, handing me the hundred and twenty dollars.

  “Wow, Babe, you finally beat me,” Brandon said as we cleaned up the poker chips.

  “You seem so surprised.”

  “It’s definitely a rare thing for anyone to beat me, just like my mom said. I can’t wait to give you your massage, though,” he said, walking over and hugging me.

  “I can’t wait either,” I said, hugging him back.

  Looked like my practicing paid off. Now I needed to keep practicing so he never beat me again and I could always win our bets.

  *~*~*

  On Christmas morning, we gathered around the tree with Robert, Aimee, and Blake and opened presents while sipping hot chocolate. Robert and Aimee gave us tickets to go see Teatro ZinZanni back in San Francisco. Teatro ZinZanni was a comedy show that featured acrobats, clowns, magic tricks––just about everything—while serving a five-course dinner in a large tent on Pier 29.

  Aimee opened the Kitchenaid mixer that we had Robert pick-out and wrap for us since we couldn’t bring it on the plane. Brandon gave his dad a round of golf at a local Country Club and we gave Blake a roundtrip ticket to come visit us in San Francisco whenever he wanted.

  We lounged around the rest of the day, just enjoying being with his family. Stacey came over in the late afternoon after we had eaten our Christmas dinner and we played Monopoly until Aimee won and then we all went off to bed.

  The following day, the men played golf while we ladies went shopping and enjoyed the after Christmas sales. Exhausted from the day’s activities, we called it an early night and got ready to head home the next morning.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Becca stopped by with coffee and donuts after dropping off Brandon and Jason at the airport the morning after we returned from Houston. Since our men weren’t home, we wanted to have a good old-fashioned sleepover. Ryan, of course, wanted to join in, so she was on her way over to spend a girls’ day with us at the spa to get beautified for NYE.

  After we stuffed our faces with the mouthwatering donuts from Krispy Kreme, we headed to Club 24 to indulge in being pampered by getting manicures, pedicures, facials, and haircuts. You would think that we were getting ready for prom or even a wedding; it was nice just to have girl time.

  We arrived at Club 24 for our appointments shortly after eleven that morning. When we entered the front doors, my paced slowed when I saw Mrs. Robinson at the front desk talking with Courtney, one of the club’s staffers. The closer we walked, the more I could hear, and sure enough, she was asking for Brandon.

  “What do you mean Brandon isn’t here, Courtney? We meet every week at this time,” Mrs. Robinson said.

  “I’m sorry, but he’s in Seattle with Mr. Taylor.”

  “Well, he didn’t mention it last week when we were in his office.”

  I turned to Becca, looking for answers. She knew Brandon better than anyone besides Jason. What was Brandon doing every Thursday with Mrs. Robinson? I thought he had turned down her pleas for him to personally train her.

  “Come on, Spencer, let’s go. I’ll ask Jason when we see him,” Becca said, pulling on my arm as she headed to the spa.

  Mrs. Robinson turned around just then and gave me an evil smile before she walked off in the opposite direction towards the locker rooms. Why was she always all over Brandon? He had told me several times that nothing was going on and I believed him one hundred percent. Why couldn’t she just leave him alone?

  The girls and I walked into the spa and Ari was at the desk waiting for us with glasses of champagne. I downed mine in one gulp and Ari quickly refilled my glass.

  “Everything okay, Ms. Marshall?” she asked.

  “Yes, thank you. Just needed to calm my nerves.”

  “I think Jason has some vodka up in his office,” Becca offered.

  “I’m fine. Let’s get pampered!” I said, laughing.

  Ari brought us back to the pedicure chairs. I slipped off my flip-flops, rolled up the pant legs of my jeans and slid into the massage chair, placing my feet in the warm lavender scented water.

  “Oh, we need to finalize the plans for your Bachelorette party,” I said to Ryan.

  “Are you going to hire a stripper and make me wear a penis headband and necklace?”

  “Yes, you only get married once, silly!”

  �
�My girlfriends made me wear them for my Bachelorette,” Becca said.

  “Oh, what did you guys do?” Ryan asked, leaning forward so she could see Becca who was sitting on the opposite side of me.

  “We went bar hopping in downtown Austin. I got so drunk that I don’t remember everything that happened, but my maid of honor, Sam, had to put me on a bell cart and wheel my ass up to our hotel room that we rented for the night.”

  “How embarrassing,” I said, laughing.

  “Yeah, I didn’t feel so hot the next morning either.”

  “Oh God, you better not get me that drunk, Spencer,” Ryan warned.

  “But…I’ll hold your hair,” I teased. “It’s your fling before the bling, Ry. You need to go all out!”

  Ryan shot me a murderous look. “If I’m on my death bed, I’ll make sure you’re with me!”

  “Alright fine, how about we just go to dinner and have a huge sleepover in a hotel suite with all your friends, play drinking games and eat penis cake?” I asked, holding up my hands in defeat.

  “Oh, can we hire a stripper for real though?” Ryan squealed, clapping her hands excitedly with a wicked grin.

  “It’s your night, we can do whatever you want,” Becca said.

  *~*~*

  After each of us got a haircut and it was time to finally leave, we made our way to the parking lot, ready to head back to my house for the sleepover for the night. It was then that I saw a familiar red Honda Civic parked a few spots away from my brand new black Bimmer.

  I tried really hard to remember where I had seen the car before. Red Honda Civics were very common, but there was something about this particular car that rang a bell.

  “Hey, Ry, do we know who drives that red Honda?”

  “No––I don’t think so.”

  “It looks really familiar.”

  I started to open the driver’s side door when I glanced to my right towards the gym and noticed Trevor staring at me. I locked eyes with him for a second, then hurried and got into my car and immediately locked the doors.

  “Holy shit, it’s Trevor!” I said as I buckled my seatbelt.

  “What do you mean, it’s Trevor?” Becca asked.