by Stacey Grice
“Hello? Still standing right here!” I called out, reminding them that they were having this extremely unnecessary conversation in front of me, not to mention that we were in the middle of the street with a crowd of people surrounding us, certainly within earshot of this entire conversation.
“Oh, right. Hey, girl,” Sue greeted, snapping out of bitch mode and hugging me. “So what are you guys up to today?”
“I’m just showing Drew around the festival. We didn’t get to see much yesterday since it rained.” I looked over at Drew when I said it and we shared a smile, remembering our afternoon.
Sue caught on to it and cleared her throat. “Okay then. So Bree, I was just walking over to the candy shop to use the bathroom. Wanna come with?”
“No, thanks. I’m good,” I replied quickly.
“Um, please? I don’t want to walk by myself.”
“It’s three stores down. You walked over here by yourself.”
“It’s okay, Bree,” Drew interjected. “I think she wants to talk to you. And not in front of me.” We all laughed. “Do you really need to go to the bathroom or should I go grab us all a drink?” he offered.
“A drink would be great,” Sue answered. “I’ll take a soda.”
“And you, Bree?”
“Anything is fine,” I said with apologetic eyes. Friends were great, until they got in the way.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes then.”
“Take your time!” Sue shouted as he turned and walked away.
I admired his sexy stroll as he walked away from us, instantly missing holding hands with him, before I turned my eyes to Sue. “What the hell? That was rude!” I chastised her.
“Oh, he’ll be fine,” she scoffed, waving a hand in his direction. “So what’s going on? Did I just catch you guys holding hands?”
“Yes,” I confessed with a giggle. “We’re on a date. Our first date.”
“What? When did this happen?” She looked offended, like she was entitled to know every little detail of my recent relationship developments despite me not being a priority for her until it was convenient.
“Well, yesterday when you rudely ditched me to hang out with Brock Woods instead of spending the day with me as planned, Drew found me and we started talking. We hung out, ate seafood, flirted, and then it started pouring down rain and we shared the best first kiss in the history of ever.”
“Okay, first of all, I did not ditch you for Brock,” she protested, hands on her hips. “I invited you to come along and you declined. Second of all, WHAT? You kissed? And it was good?” She sported the giddy grin of a boy crazy pre-teen.
“It was ridiculous! Seriously hot. I mean, I have no basis for comparison, but it was pretty much perfect. And every kiss we shared after that was even better than the one before it. And when we showered together at the gym—”
“Wait, WHAT? Back up! Showered together?” Her jaw dropped and her eyebrows were raised in disbelief. This was fun. “Brianne Murphy, are you telling me that you showered—naked—with a man?!”
“Well, not together, together. Next to each other. It’s a long story. I can’t get into it right now, on the street with all of these people, and when he’s going to come back any minute.”
Judgmental Sue reared her ugly head, scowling with disapproval. “Don’t you think that’s a little fast?”
“What? No! It wasn’t like that. We didn’t do anything like that. And you’re one to talk.” She was starting to piss me off. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I don’t even want to think about the things she probably did with Brock Woods yesterday.
“Just be careful, Bree. You don’t even know this guy.”
“Oh, would you relax? Have a little more faith in me than that. I’m not sleeping with him… yet,” I said, inviting a response of shock. “I’m kidding. Chill out.”
“Okay, but I want all of the graphic details later. And be safe, whatever you do.”
“Got it.”
We were both laughing when Drew walked back up, holding our drinks.
“What did I miss?” he asked, passing us our cups.
“Nothing. Sue was just leaving. Aren’t you meeting up with people?” I asked, giving her a look that said, “Scram!”
“Oh, yeah. Right. I gotta go,” she said, playing along and turning to leave. “So nice to meet you, Drew. Thanks for the drink. You kids have fun on your date.”
“We will! See you later,” I said firmly, emphasizing every syllable of my statement. Once she was gone, I turned back to face Drew. “Sorry about that. She can be a little intense.”
“It’s okay. You’re lucky to have such a caring friend. Did you guys talk about everything that you needed to?” he joked. “Gave her all the juicy details?”
“Yes. She’s appeased, for now. You handled her quite well, by the way.” I was proud of his suave confidence with her. Sue came off as pushy and intimidating to a lot of people. Hell, she was pushy and intimidating, but I don’t think she cared.
“I’m glad you thought so. She was scary,” he admitted with an exaggerated shiver.
We laughed and continued to talk back and forth. I told him all about Sue and how close we are. We watched the parade and eventually made our way over to the Miss Shrimp Fest beauty pageant, which Drew found especially hilarious. Our interaction was so natural and easygoing, it was like we’d known each other for years. I couldn’t remember having that much fun in a long time and it was refreshing. I didn’t have to question what Drew was feeling or thinking, either, which was a nice change of pace from other guys. He constantly let me know that he was having a great time. He was sweet, chivalrous, and affectionate. We even passed by Mick and two of his friends walking down the street, and I caught Mick winking in approval at Drew. It made me smile and suspect that they’d previously had some sort of conversation about me. I didn’t want the day to end.
When my feet were throbbing in protest, I asked Drew if we could sit down somewhere.
“Do you want to just get out of here?” he asked.
“Um, yeah, kind of. I mean, we can stay if you want. It’s just…I’m getting tired. And there isn’t much more to see. The later it gets the more it kind of just turns into a drunk fest outdoor bar. The live music is cool, but I think I’m too worn out to dance tonight. Is that okay?”
“Of course it is. I’ve had the best day with you. The best day I’ve had in a long time. I don’t want to end it on a bad note.”
“Okay, good,” I said, beaming at his candidness.
We walked back to the gym parking lot, where our cars were parked next to each other.
“I don’t want to stop hanging out with you,” I said to Drew as he faced me, bringing his arms around my waist.
“I don’t either, but we’re both tired. We’ve had a long day. A very long, very perfect day. And I’m supposed to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Mick’s taking me deep sea fishing.”
“Oh, that’ll be fun. Unless…do you get seasick?”
“I don’t know,” he said, surprised at the suggestion. “I’ve never been on a boat before.”
“Oh, Lord. This could be a disaster. Hold on a second.”
I unlocked my car and reached in to grab a piece of paper and a pen. Jotting down the name of some motion sickness medicine that I knew worked well for Liam when he used to go fishing, I handed it to Drew.
“Go to the drugstore on your way home and pick up some of this medicine. Make sure you drink a huge glass of water before you leave the house in the morning and take that medicine at least an hour before you leave the dock. It should help in case you get sick.”
He took the piece of paper from me, looking at me in disbelief. “Thank you, Bree. Thank you for caring about me.”
He brought his hand up to my jaw, holding it softly, and kissed me. Sweet at first, and caring, he took his time exploring my mouth. When he nipped at my bottom lip, I nipped back and pulled him closer to me. The embrace quickly turned passionate. We
let our tongues dance together, tasting each other. I moaned into his mouth and he immediately guided my body until my back hit the side of my car, trapping me between it and his hard body. I felt caged in by him and I didn’t want to break out anytime soon. His dominance overpowered me, yet I felt completely safe the entire time.
When he pulled his face away from me, it took me a few seconds longer than it should’ve to open my eyes. He was grinning, obviously knowing exactly what he was doing to me, knowing how much I enjoyed the kiss.
“Goodnight, Brianne. Drive safely. I’ll call you when I get home tomorrow, okay? Maybe I’ll have caught you a fish to eat for dinner.”
“Good luck. Grouper is my favorite. You catch it, I’ll cook it.”
“That’s a deal!”
I got into my car and drove away with a permagrin on my face thinking of how happy Drew was making me. And it was only our first date. It couldn’t possibly be normal for first dates to go this well. It couldn’t possibly be commonplace for girls to feel this close to someone so fast, unless… My cell phone interrupted my thoughts when it chimed with a text message. I hoped that it was him already.
GCM: I miss you already.
Once I reached a stoplight, I responded to him.
Me: <3
GCM: What does that mean?
Laughing at how obviously inexperienced he was with flirty text messages, I replied.
Me: Turn your phone on its side. It’s a heart. :)
He texted back quickly.
GCM: <3 <3 <3
Chapter Twenty-Eight
DREW
We had a second date, and then a third, and then a tenth and so on. Only six weeks since the shrimp festival, and I was undeniably in love with Brianne Murphy. I felt certain that she felt the same way about me, although we hadn’t said it to each other.
Tonight, Bree cooked a wonderful dinner and invited me over to eat with her family. The plan was to tell her father and brother about us as a united front. The stress of trying to keep the nature of our relationship a secret was getting to both of us. Stealing kisses when no one was looking, lying about going elsewhere when we were really meeting each other in secret, acting indifferent towards one another at the gym, it was all just too much. We weren’t teenagers. We were consenting adults that cared for each other. And I wanted everyone to know she was mine, damn it! I wanted to rip the guys at the gym to shreds when I saw them staring at her, but I couldn’t. I’d finally had enough of sneaking around. There was no reason that we shouldn’t be able to pursue a relationship. Well, there were definitely reasons, but we were beyond caring about that at this point. We were both too far gone. In too deep. If Pat or Liam had a problem with it, I was prepared to tell them both exactly where they could take their opinions. She was worth the fight. She was worth everything.
Sitting at what had become my usual spot at their table, I stared across at her face. Her expression and demeanor were different than I expected them to be. She didn’t look nervous. She didn’t even look cautious. She was confident, proud, and happy. I felt like I could blow chunks at any moment.
“Smells delicious, Bree. Once again, you’ve outdone yourself. Liam and I are lucky men that you take such good care of us,” Pat said as he spooned dinner onto his plate.
“Yes, you are lucky. You guys would positively starve if it weren’t for me,” Bree answered, a light tease in her tone.
“Glad you could make it for dinner, Drew. I actually have something I need to talk to you about,” Pat revealed.
Talk to me? I had no idea what he needed to discuss and the uncertainty propelled my mind into all sorts of possibilities. I was already nervous enough. I needed to focus on my news. Our news.
“Yes, sir,” I replied politely. “I appreciate the invitation. I, well, we, have something we need to talk to you about too.”
“We?”
“Yes, we. Bree and I.” I looked at her face for approval and she returned a reassuring smile and slightly nodded the go-ahead. “Bree and I have come to know each other better over the past few weeks. And well, we, uh…” I fumbled in my hesitation.
“Dad, we’re together. Dating. Boyfriend and girlfriend,” Bree interjected bravely as I started to stumble on my wording.
Liam and Pat both continued to take bites of their dinner as if we hadn’t even said anything. There was no reaction. No eye contact. No shouting. Not even a deep breath or sigh. I was intrigued as well as confused. And nauseous. Definitely nauseous. More so than before Bree spilled the beans. I had no idea what to think or how to feel. I braced myself for the wrath of a pissed off father, just in case.
“Sir, we didn’t mean to hide anything from anyone or lie,” I added quickly. “We just wanted to make sure that this was something before we made a big fuss about any of it. We’ve talked about it a lot and I assure you that our relationship will not interfere with my training or Bree’s job at all.”
Still nothing. I looked to Bree for help but her expression mirrored my bewilderment. She shrugged her shoulders but had nothing to say.
“Sir, please say something,” I pleaded. All this silence was making me anxious.
Pat set his fork down, folded his arms together across his chest as he relaxed back into his chair, and looked right into my eyes. “How long?” he asked with the best poker face I’d ever seen. “How long has this been going on?”
“Um, I guess, well, since the shrimp festival,” I answered.
Silverware clinked against the glass plate as Liam threw it down. “I TOLD YOU!” Liam shouted. “Pay up! I tried to tell you! You never listen to me!”
I stared at the exchange in speechless shock. Pat and Liam were laughing hysterically at each other, as if Bree and I weren’t even in the same room. Pat leaned over in his chair to extract his wallet from his back pocket and pulled a crisp fifty dollar bill out of it, passing it over to Liam.
“All right, all right, here you go. You won fair and square. Now shut up about it,” Pat said to Liam.
“I’m sorry, what’s going on? You had a bet going?” I questioned, almost offended.
Liam answered me this time. “I knew it this whole time. I tried to tell Dad, but he doesn’t ever think I know anything. So we made a bet.”
“I knew something had changed with Bree after the shrimp festival,” Pat put in, “I just didn’t quite know what it was. She was happier, traipsing around the house humming and singing, for Christ’s sake. Liam told me that you both liked each other, but I didn’t believe it.” Pat sat there shaking his head back and forth, dumbfounded that he had just lost fifty dollars.
“So you’ve known? This whole time?” Bree inquired, looking completely surprised. Astonished, to be more specific.
“You both have been running around town like lovesick fools,” Pat teased. “This is a small town, ya know? Everyone’s talking about it.”
“Oh, they are not!” Bree belted out.
“I’m only saying that you haven’t been hiding anything. Who are you kidding?” Pat sneered.
“So you’re cool with this? With us?” Bree asked softly, with disbelief in her voice.
Pat took a sip from his drink and swallowed loudly before speaking. “Look, the heart wants what it wants. You’re my only daughter and no one is good enough for you. No one! But if it’s Drew that you want to date, well, that’s great. Drew has become like another son to me. He’s a good guy and seems to have your best interests in mind.” He turned his narrowed eyes to me. “Plus, he knows me well enough at this point to know that if he breaks your heart, I’ll kill him.”
We all started laughing; well, Liam, Bree, and I were laughing. But when I looked over at Pat, he was sitting perfectly still with a stern expression on his face, no amusement in his eyes at all. It took a few seconds for us all to catch on and stop chuckling. I looked to Pat, waiting for him to say something else.
He was looking at me and only at me and slowly and deliberately narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think you understand, son,�
�� he said calmly. “If you hurt her, ever, even a little bit, I will fucking kill you. I will not even hesitate. And they will never find the body.”
“Dad! Enough!” Bree cried.
“No, it’s okay, Bree. I understand. Yes, sir.”
The awkwardness of Pat’s threats faded away as we finished our dinner. We joked with each other, talked about the gym, changes in our training schedule, and laughed about lighthearted things here and there. I felt like I was truly a part of the family, accepted and cared for. I hadn’t thought about my mother and father in a while, with the distraction of Bree helping bury my memories to the deep chambers of my heart, but in this moment I couldn’t help think how different things could have and should have been for me growing up. Everyone has a certain level of dysfunction in their family, of that I was sure. Even Bree’s family wasn’t perfect. But the love there, the true, unconditional love and loyalty that they all held first was something to be in awe of. My fleeting thoughts were ranging from bitterness that I had never experienced this before now to warm fuzzies when thinking about sitting across the dinner table from Bree for many years to come.
“Drew, can I have a word with you outside for a few minutes?” Pat asked, interrupting my errant thoughts.
“Sure,” I replied, and we both excused ourselves. I laid my hand over Bree’s and gave a light squeeze as I walked past her at the table. She grinned at me, as if to say thank you.
I followed Pat outside to the back deck, the heat of the night smacking into me like a wet blanket when I opened the sliding glass door. The late June Florida humidity, in combination with the anxiety I felt about this impending conversation, was enough to make me break out into a sweat.
“Have a seat,” he instructed, gesturing to one of the patio chairs. “And take a breath, for God’s sake. I’m not gonna crucify you.”
“Yes, sir.” He was totally going to crucify me.
“I really am fine with you and Bree,” he said right off, meeting my eyes. “Supportive, actually. I think you’re a good match for each other. But tread lightly. She’s my only daughter. And she’s innocent. To my knowledge, she’s never dated and I’ve never pushed her to for obvious reasons. I don’t know how experienced you are with women, but you need to be careful with her. She’s naïve, and loves fiercely, with her whole heart. She’s an adult now and can make her own decisions, and I trust that she’ll make the right ones. Just please be careful with her.”