Out Of The Friend Zone

by Stephanie Nicole

  "Oh, honey, whether I am independent or not, I will always need you," Brynn said sweetly, as she took his hand in hers. "I'm sure there will always be a bug I need killed, or a jar I need opened," she teased.

  Chandler pulled Brynn back to him and hugged her tight. He began washing her body, being extra careful around her cuts and bruises. Next he grabbed a cup from beside the tub and filled it with water. When Brynn tipped her head back, Chandler slowly poured the water over her forehead, so that the water would run backwards into her hair. After it became soaking wet, Chandler poured some shampoo in his hands and massaged it through her hair. His fingertips ran along her scalp, sending a tingling feeling throughout her body. She was so relaxed, that by the time she was all clean, she was almost asleep again.

  Chandler let Brynn stand on her own, but held her hand tightly. He didn't want her slipping in the tub and hurting herself even more. He helped her out and grabbed a big fluffy towel to dry her off. He wrapped the towel around her naked body, then pulled her close to him, his lips softly caressing her neck, sending shivers all the way to her toes. Chandler was getting turned on, even though he knew there was no nookie to be had for a while. He forced himself to stop with the kisses, because if he hadn't, he'd want to go much further than that. Instead, he inhaled deeply through his nose, trying to get the romantic thoughts out of his head.

  Brynn went to the bench in the bathroom, sat down next to the clothes Chandler had laid out for her, and began getting dressed. She put on some loose cotton shorts that fit perfectly around her protruding stomach. Next she reached for her Yankees jersey. As she spun it around to put it on, her brows furrowed.

  "This isn't my jersey," Brynn said, looking to Chandler for an explanation.

  "Well, I noticed the last time you wore yours that it was getting a little too tight around the stomach, so I had Mike get you a new one. Actually, he got you three, all in different sizes, so you won't grow out of them," Chandler laughed nervously. He knew how sensitive Brynn was about getting bigger.

  A wry smile spread across her face as she looked at the back of the jersey. "And I'm guessing they all say Mussina too?"

  "Of course! Do you think his ego could take it if he had to give you another Giambi jersey? I think it killed him the first time he saw you in a jersey that didn't have his name on it," Chandler laughed.

  Brynn happily put on the jersey. It fit her perfectly. "Come on, let's get you downstairs to the couch, so that I can get the kids ready for school," he said.

  Chandler drove the kids to school, then headed back to the house. When he walked back through the doors, he was on his cell phone, talking business with someone. After a little bit of arguing and even more negotiating, Chandler hung up the phone satisfied.

  "Honey, if you have to, go to work. You don't need to stay here and babysit me," Brynn told him.

  "Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you mind if I infiltrate your office for a while, just until you get back on your feet?"

  "What's mine is yours, but really, if you have to work out of your office, I can handle myself."

  Chandler shook his head. "You can't get rid of me that easily." He bent over the couch and placed a soft kiss on Brynn's lips. "Oh, there's one more thing I forgot to tell you..." he began but was interrupted by the doorbell.

  Chandler opened the door to find a woman with her purse clenched between her teeth, and two big boxes in her arms.

  "No thanks, we don't want any," he said, and began to shut the door.

  The eyes of the woman narrowed to slits, as her lips curled into a snarl. She was yelling at him, but all he heard was, "Mphnmp ror hss!"

  "I'm sorry, I don't speak your language," he said, trying to hold in a laugh.

  The woman gave him a gesture that might have been obscene if the boxes weren't obscuring her ability to make it. Chandler laughed out loud and took the boxes from her.

  With her hands now free, she took the purse out of her mouth. "You're lucky you're my boss, or I would seriously kick your ass. Now let's get moving. We've got a lot of work to do," Rylee said, as she shoved the man holding the boxes, while he still laughed at her. "Are you sure this is okay with Brynn? I mean she just got out of the hospital and all."

  The two of them walked into the living room, where Brynn was lying on the couch, watching some daytime TV. "Um, Brynn, this is what I forgot to tell you. Not only will I be working out of your office here, but Rylee will too. Do you mind? There's just a few things we can't let go, especially not since I haven't been to work in over a week."

  Brynn looked up from the couch to see Rylee standing there next to Chandler. "No, that's fine, I guess," she said. Unconsciously, she began rubbing her belly, as if to tell the baby everything was going to be alright. Sure, she trusted Chandler, but she just couldn't help feeling some sudden resentment towards Rylee. For the first time, she wondered if Rylee really did have a thing for Chandler.

  "Hey, why don't you take those boxes to the office, and I'll be there in a minute," Rylee said, motioning that she wanted to talk to Brynn.

  "I'll be right back," he said, as he looked between the two women with worried eyes.

  After he left the room, Rylee sat in the chair that was facing Brynn. She leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and took a deep breath. She wasn't quite sure what she wanted to say, or how she wanted to say it, but she knew that there were words that needed to be said.

  "I know you're probably upset with me, but you have to trust me...I have no romantic interest in Chandler," Rylee said.

  "I'm sorry if I'm a little untrusting, but I've heard that one before, plenty of times." Brynn said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  "We truly were trying to plan a shower for you, Brynn," Rylee pleaded.

  "I have no doubt about that Rylee, but why did you need to talk to him for so long? Why did you feel the need to plan it? You barely know me, and you're doing something that should be reserved for one of my best friends? It just seems like there is a little more to it, like you are trying to get a little closer to Chandler, get on his good side," she said, voicing her suspicions.

  "Brynn, if I really wanted Chandler, I would have tried to get him a long time ago. That ship has sailed, and there was no one on the boat." She paused. "I know that it seems weird I wanted to throw a shower for you, but when you hear why, you'll understand. Just give me a chance to explain."

  "I'm listening. It's not like I can exactly get up and leave," she said, reminding Rylee just how bad the accident was, and that she was the reason Brynn left so hurt and angry that day.

  Rylee nodded. "I know what it's like not to have family. My parents died at a young age, and I was an only child. I guess I always hoped that if I had a baby, someone would do something like this for me."

  She cleared her throat. "You see, I look at Chandler not only as a boss, but also as family. He's like a brother to me. When I watched everything he went through with Brooklyn, it nearly killed me. Not only was he not happy with her before they got pregnant, but when she died, he just turned off emotionally. Now I see the light back in his eyes, the fire that was gone for so long. And I just can't help but want to be close to the person who did that for him."

  Rylee started to tear up. "I guess in a way, I look up to you...so many people have tried to get Chandler to live again, and the only one who achieved that was you. You did something really special, and I just wanted to give something special back to you."

  Brynn too was getting misty eyed. "I'm nothing special Rylee. Look at what an idiot I was when I accused you of wanting Chandler."

  Rylee laughed. "Hey, if I had someone like him, I'd want him all to myself too. He's a wonderful man. But just because I recognize that doesn't mean I want him to be my wonderful man." She wiped the tears from her cheeks. "So, am I forgiven?"

  "Only if I am," Brynn said.

  The two women laughed and hugged, completely unaware of the man watching them with a relieved smile on his face.

 
Chapter 31

  The days and weeks wore on endlessly for Brynn, with nothing more to do than lie on the couch, read, and watch TV. There was only so much she could read, so much that she could watch on TV, until it didn't hold her attention anymore. From her position on the couch, Brynn could see out into the back yard, where she longed to be running and playing with the kids. Instead, she was confined to the couch that she loved so much in the store, but now detested. She felt like she was going stir crazy, and seriously wondered if anyone ever died from such a serious case of 'cabin fever'. If they had, she was the next to go, for sure.

  The highlight of her days included walking to the bathroom on her own and visiting her doctor. As hard as Chandler tried to cheer Brynn up, nothing did the trick like the doctor giving her the go-ahead to start moving around, as long as she didn't overdo it. As soon as the words were out of the doctor's mouth, the sparkle immediately came back to Brynn's eyes. She looked as though she was going to jump off the exam room table and crush the doctor in a big bear hug.

  That night, Chandler took Brynn out to celebrate. Knowing they still needed to be cautious, and not push Brynn too hard, Chandler was careful in choosing the restaurant. He didn't want to keep Brynn out for too long, as he was sure she was going to get tired easily, after having not moved much in the past six weeks. It also didn't help that Brynn was just over five months pregnant now, and growing quite large.

  Brynn was tickled she was finally able to get off the couch and out of the house for a while. Though the food was good at dinner, the atmosphere and the people watching were much better. She felt refreshed, rejuvenated, and carefree. Though she knew that being on bed rest was vital to the health of her unborn baby, she didn't think she would have been able to handle much more of it if the doctor hadn't set her free that day.

  By the time Chandler took her back to their house, she was definitely feeling exhaustion sweeping over her. Before her head even hit the down-filled pillow, Brynn was sound asleep.

  Over the next couple of weeks, Brynn slowly regained her strength. Chandler still wouldn't let her do any work around the house, but secretly she didn't mind. She quite enjoyed having someone come in to clean, after having done it all herself since her teen years.

  One Saturday afternoon, there was a knock on the door. Since the kids were at a birthday party and Chandler was putting in some overtime at the office, Brynn got up to answer it, wondering who it could be. When the door opened, there was a large bouquet of flowers.

  "Delivery for Brynn Chase," the man holding the flowers told her.

  "That's me. Thanks!" she said, as she grabbed the flowers and closed the door.

  "Well, this is a surprise," she said out loud, talking to herself as usual. She walked into the kitchen and put the large vase on the counter, searching out the card. She finally found it, buried behind some large irises.

  Brynn, come to the Country Cafe. Sit down at the counter and order yourself a tall strawberry milkshake.

  Her eyes narrowed as she looked at it questioningly, but then she grabbed her coat, her purse, and the keys to her new Toyota Highlander.

  Brynn walked into the Country Cafe and took a seat at the empty counter. "Excuse me, could I please get a strawberry milkshake?" she asked the passing waitress.

  "Sure Brynn, I'll get it for you," the waitress said.

  Brynn's eyes narrowed as she watched the woman walk away. She started wracking her brain, trying to figure out where she knew the woman from. Her face didn't look at all familiar, but she had to have known her, since she knew Brynn's name.

  The waitress walked back, and set the frosty glass in front of Brynn. Before she could walk away again, Brynn decided to ask if she had met her before.

  "I'm sorry, but I have been so forgetful lately. Can you tell me where we've met before?"

  "We've never met," the woman said with a smile and walked away, leaving Brynn even more puzzled.

  Mulling it over in her mind, Brynn attacked the strawberry shake sitting in front of her and looked around the cafe for Chandler. She started to take a few sips, letting the flavor invigorate her mouth, but soon that wasn't enough. A few slow sips turned into a few giant gulps.

  As soon as the milkshake was finished, the waitress walked back by Brynn and smoothly slid the bill on the table, face down. Brynn was annoyed by this...What if she wanted something to eat? What if Chandler wanted something when he got there...if he ever got there?

  Brynn turned the bill over, giving in and getting ready to pay. Instead of having her total, there was a poem. A cheesy, poor excuse for a poem, but cute anyway.

  The bill is paid, I've been delayed.

  Meet me at the zoo, by the bird that asks, "Who?"

  Brynn shook her head and left the cafe with the poem in hand. Driving over to the zoo, Brynn couldn't help but laugh at how corny Chandler was. However, she was really excited to see the owl exhibit. A lot of people had been talking about it lately, and when the kids went to see it on a school field trip, they had talked about it non-stop for days.

  She got out of her SUV, paid her admission and walked towards the owl habitat. As she got closer, she noticed a group of people surrounding a clown that was handing out balloons. She thought it was odd. She had never seen a clown at that zoo before. She approached hesitantly, and watched the crowd of people walk off to the next exhibit. She leaned on the rail, watching the owls and was startled when she felt a tap on her shoulder. The clown had one balloon left, and after handing it to Brynn, he walked away.

  Brynn couldn't get over all the weird things that had happened that day. All she wanted to do now was find Chandler, and head home to relax. The wind started to pick up, and blew the balloon around in the air. As the balloon shook in the wind, Brynn heard and felt something rattling inside of it. She yanked the string down, and caught the balloon so that she could see what was rattling.

  Looking inside the transparent balloon, Brynn saw a piece of paper, folded in the way that she used to fold notes in high school. She knew that she'd need to pop the balloon to get the note out, but didn't want to jump on it and scare the owls. Instead, she worked at getting the knot loose to let the air out. Thankful for her semi-long nails, she finally got the knot open. She let the air out slowly, then pried the note out.

  She slowly walked back to her car as she read the note, careful not to bump into anything or anyone.

  I guess I wasn't there either, was I? How about I take you out to dinner to make it up to you. Meet me at Nulli's Restaurant, and I'll apologize.

  Italian food did sound good to her, and even though she had just downed a big milkshake, the baby was still hungry. She got back into her SUV for what seemed like the millionth time that day and headed to her favorite restaurant.

  She cruised through the parking lot when she got there, but didn't see his SUV anywhere. If she had been paying attention to anything other than looking for his vehicle, she would have noticed a lot of other familiar cars.

  When she walked into the restaurant, she was greeted by a maitre'd with a fake Italian accent. "Ah, Miss Brynn, we have been waiting for you," he said, taking her arm and leading her through the dining room.

  With each table passed, Brynn wondered when he was going to let her sit. Instead, he kept walking past all the tables and into another room. As soon as he opened the door to the dark room, Brynn saw the flicker of candles. "Surprise!" was yelled in unison by many different voices. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Brynn was able to make out the faces of all her friends and soon-to-be family.

  Brynn stood there in shock, her mouth wide open. She didn't move until Chandler came up and gave her a hug. "They surprised me too, about fifteen minutes before you," he whispered in her ear.

  One by one, dim lights were turned on, revealing signs that said "Baby Shower" on one wall, and "Wedding Shower" on the other wall. Brynn looked around the room and saw both Nyla and Rylee standing together, looking so proud of themselves.

  "So you didn't send
me flowers, or take me on the wild goose chase?" she asked, turning to Chandler.

  "I have no clue what you're talking about, so I'm going to assume that's a no," Chandler told her with a smile, letting her know that this time, he was actually innocent. "It sounds like it'll be a great story when you tell me about it, though."

  "So, how did they get you here?" Brynn asked.

  "Rylee said she had scheduled a client meeting, and this was the only time he could meet with me. I came here under the impression that I had work to do. I thought it was a little funny when she insisted that she had to come to the meeting too, and that I ride over there with her, and leave my SUV at the office," Chandler said with a smile.

  "You do have work to do. This food isn't going to feed itself, and the presents won't open themselves, so get cracking!" Rylee said, as she came up behind the couple, and put one arm around each of their shoulders.

  "This is so great, Rylee! We can't thank you enough," Brynn said, knowing that she meant every word that came out of her mouth. She was glad that she and Rylee had overcome the small speed bump in the road, so to speak.

  "That's what friends are for," Rylee said, giving Brynn a hug, then rubbing the belly that seemed to protrude further and further every day. "But I can't take all the credit. Nyla helped me so much. We were equal partners in this."

  "I just have to know, who did you force into the clown suit?"

  "Let's just say I need to be extra nice to Zaiden for the next two months or so," Nyla grinned as she walked up to join the conversation. The three girls looked at each other and burst out laughing. The night had been meticulously planned. Chandler and Brynn received more gifts than they knew what to do with, and were very appreciative of all their generous friends.

  But the best part didn't come until they got home. Chandler crawled into bed, waiting for his fiance to come out of the bathroom, where she had been for the past fifteen minutes.