by Claire Adams
“I think you should use those hands on me instead of heading home. I mean I did just risk my life. Plus, did you see that girl fight between me and your ex-wife. That will be in your spank bank for years.”
“Yeah, isn’t that the truth? Should we head back to my place and relax a bit? I still need to call the bank and figure out how to get the accounts unfrozen.”
“Sure.”
We made our way back to Brandon’s house, but when we arrived, the front door was opened and the alarm was going off. Neither of us could believe our eyes. If Antonio and Carlos had just been arrested, then who was trying to break into the house?
“Stay here,” Brandon said forcefully as he got out of the car to head inside. “I’m serious. None of your hero stuff, young lady. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you. Stay here.”
“Should I call the police?”
“No, the security company will be here shortly. But don’t come in after me. Carlos could have had someone else working with him. There could be someone with a gun or any number of other things. You promise me that you’re not going to come in there?”
“I promise. I’ll stay right here.”
I stood outside the car as Brandon went inside. I waited to hear some sort of commotion when he confronted whomever had broken into the house. The tension was killing me as I paced back and forth and watched through the windows to see what the heck was going on.
“Are you okay in there?” I hollered out.
There was no reply. My heart pounded louder, and I could hardly think straight as I walked closer and closer to the front door. I didn’t have my phone with me. There was no way the police would get to us in time if someone was in there.
Fear was a hard emotion for me and I struggled with it more than I wanted to admit in my life. I wasn’t going to let it control me though, and this situation was no different. I took in a deep breath and prepared myself for whatever was going on inside of Brandon’s house.
I had promised that I wouldn’t go inside, but that was before I knew what the unknown felt like. I needed to know he was all right. I was willing to risk everything if I had to.
“Brandon, are you okay in there?” I yelled again from the doorway.
“Ahhhhhhh!” I heard a woman scream.
It was a blood-curdling scream, and I rushed into the house, not thinking about anything except making sure Brandon was all right.
“Maria!” Brandon yelled.
“What’s going on in there?”
“It’s fine. Come in and punch five-two-eight-one into the keypad by the door, please,” he shouted.
I quickly punched the numbers into the alarm so the loud sound would silence and I could go find Brandon. My ears continued to ring as I went down the hall and found the room where he was standing with a slightly older woman who was holding a mop. She looked terrified, but so did Brandon.
“Mr. Baker, I’ve not been able to get into clean the house all week. I lied about being here legally and did not want to be arrested by the police. The alarm goes off and I was scared always. But today I stayed because I do not want to be fired, so today I stayed to clean.”
“Maria, I’m so sorry. I was going to tell you I had the alarm set again and I got wrapped up with a big disaster. Please, accept my apologies. I’m sorry for scaring you.”
“I’m sorry for the noise. I left the last couple times I set the alarm off, but I have not been able to catch you at home. I was very afraid that you would not let me clean if you knew I was not supposed to be working here. I was also afraid the security men would think I was breaking in, and I did not want to have trouble.”
“Oh, it’s my fault. I am so sorry,” Brandon said as I stood in the doorway. “Maria, this is my girlfriend Delilah. Delilah, this is the most amazing house keeper you’ll ever meet, Maria. Who I’m going to have to give a big bonus to since she’s had to put up with this alarm all week.”
“Really?”
“Yes, now don’t worry about all this. Take the day off and again, I’m very sorry. This was all my fault. I’ll pay you for the week and make sure there is a nice bonus in your check.”
Maria seemed to calm down very quickly as Brandon talked to her. I felt so bad for her.
“It was nice meeting you, Miss Delilah,” she said as she shook my hand. “I look forward to seeing you again soon. You are the first friend of Mr. Baker I’ve met.”
“Well, it was nice meeting you, too, Maria. I think we will see each other again very soon. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
As she was leaving, the security company was pulling up. It only took a minute or so to explain to them what had happened and they were on their way. The security guy didn’t seem to think the whole incident was as funny as Brandon thought it was. By the look on his face, the guard looked pretty annoyed that they had come out to the house so many times throughout the week and it was all because Brandon hadn’t told his housekeeper the new alarm code.
“Now that was funny.”
“I know! I spent the whole week thinking that the big-necked thug was going to come in the house and murder me while I was sleeping. It turns out it was just Maria trying to do her job.”
We stood in the entryway of his house as his arms pressed me up against the wall and his lips devoured mine. I’d been waiting to have him near me like that again. Everything that had gone on throughout the week had made our lives so chaotic, it was a relief to be there with him and in the safety of his arms.
“I’m pretty sure you promised me a massage,” I teased him as his hands moved toward my shirt as if he was going to take it off.
“Oh, yes. That’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m going to give you a massage. Head over to the couch and I’ll work every muscle you have,” he winked.
I could barely walk as his arms stayed wrapped around me and his lips moved up and down my neck while we made our way into the living room. I walked down the two steps and toward the couch when I saw the beautiful painting hanging on the opposite wall.
“What’s that?” I said as I noticed the painting I had admired from the art show a few weeks ago.
Brandon pressed up behind me and wrapped me in his arms as we stood in front of the large painting. I looked at the details again, just as I had done when I first saw it at the art show. It was a beautiful painting, that was for sure. But it also had so much emotion to it. Each little detail told a story that I felt like I could stand and look at for a year and never get tired of it.
“I bought it at an art show the night I saw you.”
“What? You saw me there?” I said in total surprise. “I didn’t see you.”
“Oh, yes. Josh and I saw a man grab your arm, and you looked like you were going to slice his head right off of his body. I didn’t know it was you until after we met. But Josh thought it was, and so I messaged you on the dating app.”
“So, you didn’t just message me because of the bikini photo? I really thought that was my big selling point.”
“What? Me? Noooo,” he laughed. “I’m not that shallow. Okay, maybe that was why I first messaged you, but it certainly wasn’t why I kept talking to you. You’re an amazing woman, Delilah.”
“I can’t believe you’re the person who bought this. It was a really expensive painting; I remember that much. I remember standing in the gallery and how my heart raced as I looked at all the intricate details built into the red paint. Then when I moved closer and looked at the blue, it was as if a calming sensation took over. It’s really an amazing piece of art.”
“Noah painted something that looked a lot like this after our trip to Hawaii. It had the blue as the waves and red as the sky. I lost it, though. He painted it before he got sick, and we didn’t save it. If we had known he would get sick, I’m sure Rose and I would have saved every single thing he had ever done while at school.
“Anyways, when I saw it at the show, I just had to have it. I actually have never spent that much on anything, especially a piece of
art. I was just moved to buy it.”
“I see how it could look like the ocean. I bet this is very meaningful to you. That’s what I think art is supposed to be. I know some people just collect paintings because they are popular or the artist is the latest thing. But to me, art should be about the emotion that the work evokes in you. Especially if you’re going to be spending this kind of money on it.”
“I could sit on the couch and stare at it forever. It really does remind me so much of Noah, but not in a sad way. It’s more like I feel his presence and he’s watching over me. It makes me feel calm just standing here in front of it. Maybe I’ll even be able to go back to Hawaii someday and the beach that inspired Noah’s painting.”
“I’d love to take Connor to Hawaii someday; he’s always wanted to go there. Probably because I’ve always wanted to go,” I laughed.
“I would really like to meet your son someday. I don’t want to rush you, and I don’t mean that I should meet him right away. I don’t even know if I’m ready to meet a little boy after losing Noah, but I do know that I want to continue seeing you, and that means I want to know your son and love him as much as I can.”
“That sounds like a very reasonable plan. But…” I said as I pulled away from him. “I think it’s only going to happen if you can keep your promises. Don’t you agree that it’s very important for people to keep their promises?” I smiled as I lured him into what I was going to say next.
“I always keep my promises.”
“Then get to work on that massage,” I laughed as I turned around and pressed my back up against him.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said as he swept me off my feet and threw me onto the couch.
It was so much fun to be with Brandon. He made me feel like I was young and carefree again. Being around him had my heart fluttering and my face smiling like I’d thought I’d never have the chance of experiencing ever again.
His lips explored every inch of my body as we lay together in his living room. Each touch of his hands, each kiss of his lips made me fall more and more in love with him. As his hands explored me, I felt comfortable in my skin, more so than I had felt in a very long time.
It was weird to have the word love on my tongue after only knowing Brandon for such a short time. I knew it was odd and tried not to think about it, but as we moved together, I knew the truth. I did love him, and I’d love him for as long as he’d let me.
Brandon and I had bonded so much in our short time together that I couldn’t wait to explore what would be next for us. But in that moment, I just wanted to feel the pleasure he could give me. We made love on his couch for hours and hours as our bodies melted together into one.
Life hadn’t been easy for me. It had thrown me some wild and crazy turns.
I certainly hadn’t expected to find love while working at a dating company and I hadn’t expected for one date to turn into the amazing feelings that I had toward Brandon. But there we were: two hurt humans who had found each other and healed each other.
Epilogue
Brandon
“If we hurry, we can catch the sunset,” I urged as we got into the car that was waiting for us at the airport.
“Brandon, if you hadn’t been on that call with your new business partners, we would have gotten off the plane in time to get over here,” Delilah teased me as we had the driver head to the beach. “Don’t blame this on me. I had all my shoes packed and ready to go on time.”
“Mom, where are we going?” Connor asked.
Connor had done fantastically on our flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu. It was a long flight over a lot of water and I wasn’t sure how well he was going to handle it. Delilah had told me that he was afraid of planes and even had a nightmare the night before because he thought our plane was going to crash.
As soon as the plane took off though, Connor seemed to relax as he cuddled between Delilah and I, and we had a smooth flight. It probably didn’t hurt that I had splurged on a private jet – it was nearly impossible not to be comfortable on one of those. I didn’t like to waste money, but if it was going to make him comfortable, I was willing to do it. In fact, I would do almost anything for that boy.
Delilah and I had been dating for several months and my time with Connor had really helped me grow as a man. I’d been so caught up in the loss of Noah that I worried I wouldn’t be able to be around Connor, but I loved being around him. He was fun, and we played and got along great. He taught me all about his favorite animal, the squirrel, and I taught him about throwing a baseball and how to hit off a tee for his tee ball league. We had without doubt become buddies, which was a huge relief for me.
“We are heading to the beach before it gets too dark to see the sunset. Remember that really cool picture at Brandon’s house? The blue and red one that is in the living room?” Delilah said as she held Connor’s hand.
“The giant one? Oh, man, I love that painting. I like the blue side better than the red, though.”
“Yeah, we are going to see the beach that reminds Brandon of his son Noah and the painting he made at school. Remember I told you the story of how Noah had painted a picture that looked almost exactly like that painting on the wall?”
“Oh, that’s awesome. I can’t wait to see it. Will there be those mean words on the red part, though? I don’t like those.”
“No, there won’t be those. It’s going to look a little different than the painting, but I know you’re going to love it.”
“You know I’m really sorry I had to take that business call. I’m just so excited about this new company,” I said to Del as our driver made his way down the coast and toward the beach we were heading to. “Things are really going fantastic, and we are turning a profit already. It’s almost unheard of to be profitable at this early in the business.”
“Oh, honey, I know. I’m just teasing you. You take all the time you need. I’m really excited about your new company, too. It’s going to be huge. After all those cyber-attacks that have been going on, a company that truly can help keep people’s information safe is exactly what businesses are looking for.”
Delilah and I had come up with the best idea for a new dating company. Not only would it have state-of-the-art technology, but we hired the best of the best to incorporate the most top of the line security available. Customers could trust that their intimate information was safe and nothing was going to happen to it.
Luckily, the company had been doing great and within the first few months, we had seen huge growth. Not only had our clients doubled, but our advertisers loved the concept and we were gaining more revenue than any of our competition. We had a winner already and it was hard not to be excited about the whole thing. I needed a business to run and couldn’t have stayed home without work another week longer.
“Are we almost there?” Connor asked as it started to get dark in the car.
We had been traveling almost all day long. Between getting packed and driving to the airport, then flying and sitting on the tarmac in Hawaii, Connor looked exhausted. It was a lot to expect he could stay up too much longer, but I hoped he’d at least make it to see the sunset.
“Yep, we are getting close. Keep your eye out over there. Soon the waves will look like the blue from the painting and the sky will look like the red, but without the words,” I said softly to him.
I loved Delilah’s son like he was my own. It had been hard at first to be around him because he reminded me so much of my Noah. Not that they looked alike or anything like that, just his innocence and joy when he looked at the world.
I really had been terrified that I wouldn’t be able to handle the job of being any sort of father figure to Connor. Luckily, Connor had made the transition flawless for me and my fears quickly died down.
“You’re doing great with him,” Del said as she grabbed my hand. “He really likes you. I think sometimes he even likes you more than he likes me. That’s pretty darn good for being the new guy in his life.”
“I feel like I’m
doing it all for the first time again. You would think I’d remember how this whole thing worked. Sometimes I think I sound like the lamest old guy on earth.”
“Well, it’s different with every kid. There’s no real way to know if you’re doing it right or not. I guess we will just have to see how much therapy he has to go through when he becomes an adult.”
We both laughed at the thought of Connor someday being an adult. I’d only known him a few months, but I really had started to bond with him. He was a funny kid and so much like Delilah. He was turning six soon, and I hoped we would continue to get along as he made his way to adulthood, although I certainly couldn’t imagine that day ever coming.
“We are here,” the driver said. “I’ll stay here and wait for you. Take your time.”
“Oh, Brandon, it looks just like the painting,” Del said as we got out of the car and went to the beach to sit for a minute.
She was right: it did look just like the painting. I could hardly move as I took it all in.
Of course, it was different because it was real and not an actual painting, but I flashed back to when Noah had given me his version of the sight and how excited he had been. His eyes had lit up and he was so proud of the work. I could tell this spot and our trip to Hawaii had meant a lot to him.
“Yeah, even more beautiful than I remember it,” I managed to say as I held back my tears.
“I wish you still had Noah’s painting, but I’m so glad you bought the one you did. I can just imagine what his painting looked like and what it must have meant to you.”
“This moment means so much to me, Del. This is what I want for my future, for our future. I want you and I want Connor. We both have pasts, and I don’t want either one of us to have to forget about those, but I want to go to beautiful places and sit on beaches and make memories together, the three of us.
“Delilah Hunter, will you marry me?”
The words hadn’t been planned at all. I didn’t have a ring and I hadn’t talked to her family, but as the emotion of the moment hit me, I couldn’t let it pass us by. I was done living in the past and ready to live in the future with Delilah and Connor. My heart raced as I waited for her to give me some sort of answer. I even slid down to one knee and looked up at her hoping that she would say yes.