Unavoidable Bond

by C Bradley

  Clink, clink, clink. What the...? Are you kidding me!? I move quickly to my door and throw it open, nearly bouncing it off the wall.

  “What in the actual fuck?” I groan. “This is stalking, and it’s illegal! I could have you arrested or file an order of protection against you!”

  “But you won’t because you like me. Hannah Banana wants my banana. I was there, remember? Your bestie told me by accident.” Brody’s deep laugh fills my apartment, as he stands in the doorway, watching me undoubtedly, and I’m now blushing furiously. “I really love when you blush, and that shy smile you have going on, that’s hot as shit.”

  “So romantic.” I deadpan.

  “You want romance?” He asks with an inquisitive brow arched.

  “No, I was just ... wait a minute. How’d you find my apartment?” I ask, while jutting out my hip and scowling.

  “Your car actually. Remember the parking spot correlates to the apartment number. Not the safest plan, but it was very effective.” He mumbles, his cheeks pinking just slightly.

  “Aww,” I giggle, then catch myself slapping my hand over my mouth.

  Brody tugs at my elbow, and I drop my hand. “Don’t,” he whispers.

  “Don’t what?” Confusion marring my features.

  “Don’t hide from me. Especially not with how I make you feel.” He rasps out, cupping my cheek.

  “Oh,” I whisper back, to entranced to move or say anything else. My eyes jump from his lips back to his gaze, which appears to be glued to my eyes.

  “Hannah, I’m going to kiss you, because with the way you are staring at my mouth, is making it almost impossible to hold back at all.”

  Before I can even argue or raise concern, he pulls me into his chest and sweeps gentle kisses against my mouth. He takes advantage of my sigh by sweeping his tongue into my mouth, deepening the kiss. The previous feelings of warming from the inside out have turned into a blazing fire, burning freely through my veins.

  Pulling away, his smile is bright. “So, I’ll see ya in the morning for our Sunday run? I’ll even buy Dough Balls, if you can manage to push an extra half mile out.”

  “Hmm, we’ll see,” I smile and back away from him, as he walks backwards out my front door.

  “Babe, these things cannot be healthy,” Brody argues, as he eyes the box of Dough Balls. “I mean they are covered in sugar and fried in oil.”

  “Are you that worried about your bubble butt? It’s not even that noticeable,” I laugh.

  “I do not have a bubble butt.” Crossing and uncrossing his arms, he cautiously peers into the box again.

  “These are better than your empty calorie beverages. Come on tough guy, get your doughgasm on!”

  “I have no words for you right now,” he mutters, then takes a bite from the birthday protein ball. “Whoa, shit this is good!”

  Making an invisible tally mark in the air, I smile wide and blow him a kiss, “I told ya so, and you’re welcome, big guy.”

  “Mhmm yeah, you can be right this time.” He shrugs nonchalantly, and rifles through the box to find another protein ball. “So, Addy mentioned the Memorial Day party last night, when I ran into her at the gym.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?” He fumbles. “That’s all I get is an okay? Is this the same party Micah outed you over?”

  Sighing I drop my head into my hands, “Will you ever let that go?”

  “Nope, it was one of the most entertaining moments of my year. Not. A. Chance.” He laughs, and I cover my face because I can literally feel my cheeks heating up.

  “Hey,” he says, kicking the front leg of my chair to get my full attention, and I look up to find him staring at me. “Don’t hide.”

  “So bossy!”

  I’m suddenly woken up by persistent knocking on my front door. I rise out of bed, wearing just a pair of snug boxer briefs, making my way to the front door. “Just a minute!” I shout, as the quick and steady knocking picks up again. Unlocking the door and opening it just enough to peek my head out, I’m surprised by the unexpected visitor.

  “Good morning, Ms. Scott. What can I do for you at 5 a.m.?” I muster, my eyes give her a quick once over, as her intention becomes quite obvious with her choice of running attire.

  “Let’s go, champ. It’s time to run!” She blurts out, trying to peek into my apartment. “Hiding last night’s transgression, Brody? Tsk tsk.”

  My lips curve, “I’d introduce you, but she’s still sleeping.”

  Hannah’s expression quickly changes, “Oh-h okay. Well then, I’ll just leave you be.” She turns abruptly and starts towards the stairs. Swinging the door open, I grab her elbow and spin her to face me.

  “Hannah, it was a joke, and a bad one at that. I’m not hiding anything or anyone. I just don’t normally answer the door this...” my voice trails off, as I glance down to my skivvies, “naked.” Flush masks her face, when she realizes that I’m standing in the very public hallway of our building in just my boxer briefs. “I’m a little exposed here, so can we take this conversation inside?”

  I grab her hand, guiding her through the threshold; she closes the front door and leans up against it. Her eyes start at my feet, slowly making their way up my legs, and stop briefly around my midsection, eventually meeting my eyes.

  “Enjoying the view?” I inquire, leaning against the kitchen island. My cock twitches, when I notice her teeth tugging at her perfectly pink full bottom lip.

  “I needed a visual,” she sasses, an obvious mock of my words a few days prior.

  “By all means Ms. Scott, don’t let me interrupt.” I saunter towards her, resting one arm on the door beside her head. Leaning in closer, I hear the sudden hitch in Hannah’s breath, so I cup her face with one hand and whisper, “Breathe, baby.”

  Before I can make my move, her lips are feverishly pressed against mine, and her tongue greedily swirls in rhythm with my own. She throws her arms around my neck, and my body instinctively reacts by pressing hers against the door. A few minutes pass, before I peel my lips away from hers.

  “Not yet,” I turn my face, breathing heavily into her nape. Her arms fall from my neck, and her hands catch my waist to steady her feet and stand up straight.

  “Jesus, fuck. I don’t know where my head goes, when I’m around you,” she mumbles.

  “Mine neither, but I can tell you where the blood in my body goes, when I’m around you.” I tease, and she takes notice and nudges me.

  “As much as I would love to run with you right now, I have to work for a few hours before the BBQ. Addison extended an invite to me, but I would much rather attend with you.” I propose.

  Hannah sighs, before a smile cracks her face, “You, Brody Lucas, are unavoidable.”

  “I like to call it persistence, baby.” I say, smiling wide and putting my dimples on full display.

  My eyes widen, as we approach the massive three-story beach house, and multiple levels of deck wrap all the way around the white exterior. The pool and hot tub are visible from the floor to ceiling windows that encase the first level area. Jesus. This pristine beachfront house can’t be more than 200 yards from the ocean. An imminent feeling of Deja vu washes over me, and I can’t help but feel like I’ve seen or been here before. My eyes briefly roam the perimeter for any other familiar sights, but cease, when I fail to recognize any of the surrounding landmarks or houses. My eyes make their way back to Hannah.

  “I wasn’t intimidated by your friend Micah, until I saw the size of his house.” I chuckle.

  She rolls her eyes, before climbing out of the truck, making her way up the walkway. “Size matters, babe,” she fires back with a smirk.

  Addy is the first to spot our arrival, as she makes her way through the sea of guests gathered by the buffet style table. “Hey Hannah. Hey B,” she greets us both with a half hug. “B, you can set the cooler down next to the food table. Please tell me there’s alcohol in your cooler. If I hear another boring story about legal mumbo jumbo, I might pull what li
ttle hair I have left out,” she groans.

  “It wouldn’t be a party without booze, Adds.” I grin.

  “Thanks for helping Micah out by setting up. I’m just going to take Brody around the property really quick,” Hannah says. “Oh Addison, tell the stuffy lawyers it’s an off day and mentioning cases or jargon cost $100.” Addy’s face is pure shock, as Hannah continues, “No really, it goes in the glass jar.” She points towards the hallway table. “They know the rules, so just hold out your hand. They’ll fork it over.”

  “If that’s the case, can I go collect back pay?”

  “Sure!” Hannah shouts, tugging my arm in the opposite direction.

  “See ya around, Adds,” I shout, before turning and following Hannah.

  Concluding the tour, we make our way out to the open beach. “And let me guess, this is the beach that you lost your precious flower on?” I grin and squeeze her hand a little tighter.

  “Oh, my God, really,” she growls. “I’ll kill him!”

  Tapping a finger over my heart, “Such fond childhood memories.”

  “You’re such an ass!” She shouts, punching my arm playfully, then she takes off running down the beach. Quickly catching up with her, I swing an arm around her waist, which causes both of us to lose our balance and stumble into the warm gray sand. Our laughter fills the otherwise quiet beach; I turn my head, glancing at Hannah. Her features are more prominent in the bright sunshine, and her usual cocoa eyes are more of golden brown, when she’s outside and relaxing. They brightly smile back at me, as we lay in the sand, belly laughing like a couple of kids.

  Hannah begins to turn on her side, effectively trying to break the moment we’re locked in. “Hey, where’d you go?” I ask, reaching out to grab her arm and turning her back to face me. “When are you going to let go and stop being afraid to fall for me? I told you, I’ll always catch you.”

  “Brody, I-I’m not one to just fall for the Prince Charming. Life gets messy, it’s dirty, and well, it’s been a long time, since I’ve actually fallen.” Her eyes look anywhere but back into mine. “This just seems so fast, and yeah, we’ve known each other for a few months now, but the new goes away. You’ll see.”

  Smiling softly at her, I say, “Hannah, I don’t need new. I want you. Hell, I’m to the point of needing to see you, or I begin to feel off.” Rising to my feet, I reach my hand out taking hers, before helping her to her feet. “Trust your gut and trust me. You stand here, and when I tell you, run towards me full speed. Don’t stop.” I walk backwards from her about 30 feet or so. “Remember, don’t stop,” I order, digging my feet into the sand.

  “Are you crazy? You’re making no sense!” She blurts out, as she continues watching me in amusement.

  “Hannah, don’t think. Now go!” She charges full speed down the beach towards me, and I reach my hands out in front of me just before she reaches me. I grab her sides and lift her straight above my head. Her giggles grow louder, as I start humming the tune “I’ve had the time of my life” from Dirty Dancing. Hannah’s giggles turn into a fit of laughter, causing me to lose my grip on her sides, but I catch her right before we both hit the sand, chuckling away.

  “I told you, I’ll always catch you Hannah Scott,” I wrap my arms around her, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek.

  “You two look like you’re getting along well,” Micah observes audibly, as we make our way up to the expansive patio.

  “Eh, I like him alright I suppose.” I laugh, and then laugh harder, as Brody clutches his chest as if I’ve wounded him.

  “So, water volleyball is going to commence in about an hour, so suit up Banana because you’re on my team.” Micah winks, and I feel Brody’s hand take residence on my lower back.

  “My stuff is out in the truck. Let’s go grab it,” I offer to Brody over my shoulder.

  With my bag tossed over Brody’s shoulder, I take the lead towards my room, which overlooks the ocean. “Remember me mentioning Audrey, Micah’s late mother? She actually assigned us separate bedrooms in junior high when we’d stay here during the summers. I was the girl she never had, so I got to pick first,” I explain, as we cross the threshold. “Welcome to my childhood bedroom, tres.” I acknowledge, holding up three fingers.

  “And you’re first?” He inquires.

  “Well, after Kathleen relinquished all parental rights to the State of North Carolina, I moved into a foster home just across the road from Micah, which was a few houses down from the only house I’d known before then.”

  “Jesus, Hannah.” Brody approaches me cautiously, as I stare at the mirror, reflecting on all the things I’ve trained myself to store away and deflect.

  “It’s fine,” I shrug. “My foster family was nice enough, until I turned 17 and graduated. I’ve known the James’ family, since I was in primary school. They’ve always had a room for me. They’re my family.”

  “And they taught you how to love,” Brody’s voice soothes me like a balm to a burn, and I take a moment to just enjoy the peace and contentment. “It’s in your eyes whenever you mention them, but so distant when you don’t.”

  “What about you, Brody. Do you have a good family?” I ask in earnest. I mean if he wants me to fall, I need to see where I’m falling. It’s too huge of a jump to go in blind.

  “I have a great family, Han. I’m sure they’d love to get to know you, and I know they will be taken captive by your spirit just like I’ve been.” Wrapping his arms around my waist, he continues, “You’d like them, too.”

  Folding my arms over his, I lean my head back onto his chest. “You know I’m very competitive, right? And Micah separates the partners, but at least you’ll have Addison, when you lose.”

  Wiggling my butt, I step out of the cocoon we’d formed and make my way to the ensuite bathroom to change into my swimwear. I may be curvy, but it’s in all the right places, and I’m in love with the little pouch on my lower abdomen. Some women hate it, and they think it’s a flaw to their body, but I’ve never been that girl. I pray I’ll never turn into her either.

  “Holy shit. What in the hell,” Brody starts to rant, when I step out of the adjoining bathroom with my turquoise racerback bikini top and matching bottoms. Swallowing hard, he tries again, “Hannah, go change, please. I can’t play water volleyball fucking full mast!”

  “It’s my most conservative suit, Brody.” Tugging his muscle tank up over his head, I slip it over my suit, as a cover-up. Granted with the sides almost completely open and the fact that I’m swimming in it, it’s not doing much covering up, but it’s more than just prancing around in my suit. “Better?” I purr.

  “I think I need a minute,” he laughs heartily. “I really like you in my shirt.” Biting his fist, he pivots and opens the bedroom door. “By the way, I always win, so this game ought to be fun, baby.”

  “Aww, don’t be sad you lost, Hannah. It just wasn’t meant to be,” Brody antagonizes, as we make our way to my guest room to change and then rejoin everyone for dinner and fireworks. “Someone’s a little pink,” he tsks. “I offered to rub you down...twice.”

  “Mhmm, because you were so concerned over my skin baking under the glaring rays. I’m going to rinse off in the shower. You can use Micah’s. It’s the next room over to the right.”

  The spray against my body causes goose bumps to cover my wet skin, as it takes the heat of my burn out from within. After a few moments of stalling under the spray, I move quickly through the rest of my shower, towel off, and wince, when I attempt to put my bra back on from earlier. Grabbing the Aloe from my vanity, I move back into the room and my mouth goes slack.

  Yes, I’ve seen Brody in workout gear, and I’ve seen him in pajamas. Hell, I even watched him in the pool all afternoon, but seeing him now, sets a fire in the pit of my belly. His tall frame stacked with bumps and ridges of tight muscle is tanned and glistening with water droplets.

  “Pssst, Han. You got a little,” he pretends to wipe his mouth, as if to insinuate that I’m drooling, but I
’m not because my mouth is drier than the Sahara. “What?” He chuckles. “You’ve seen me half naked multiple times in the past few months.”

  Shaking my head, I quickly gather myself and thrust the Aloe bottle towards him. “This might be weird, and if it is, I’ll go get Micah. But would you, uh rub this on my shoulder blades and lower back?” My voice shakes slightly. I really should’ve just called Micah. I’m not sure I can handle him touching me anywhere. Need and want both begin to swirl in my belly, as he takes the bottle from my hand.

  “I’m going to be a gentleman and give you a minute to situate that tiny ass towel, so let me know when you’re ready.” Once he turns back to me, I hear a loud intake of breath followed by an exhale. “Hannah, I told you I’d catch you, and I told you not to hide from me, but I think it’s only fair that I warn you, this may be my breaking point. I’m not going to hold back my pursuit of making you mine.”

  “So very cavemanish of you, and I’m ready.” I call out, my stomach pressed to the bed, white towel draped over my plump rear, and my head turned towards the ocean. “My blades burn the worst,” I say, as a direction of where to start.

  I feel the bed dip at my hip and take in a shuddered breath. “Ah,” I cry out, as the aloe drops onto my skin. “That’s effin cold!”

  “Oh hush, big baby,” Brody laughs. “I’m really loving that you decided to forego the sunscreen.” His hands gently pass over my back, coating my shoulders, and his fingers curve around, rubbing the gel onto my neck and upper chest. I try to control my breathing, but it’s near impossible. I’m embarrassingly wet, and it’s damn near impossible to stop the instinctual clenching together of my thighs.

  “You’re really reddish-pink on the back of your calves,” he murmurs, moving his body to begin massaging the Aloe gel onto my legs. I clench my body tight, as his long dexterous fingers caress the backside of my thighs. Leaning forward, he whispers, “Hey, just relax, okay. I’m sticking to the towel covered boundaries. I mean it’s hard, but I am.”