by L. K. Gandy
“Charlee, nice to see you again,” Branson says smiling at her. “How’s it going guys? Nice to meet you, I’m Branson.” He shakes the twins’ hands, smiling and making eye contact. Brooks does the same. I can’t help but hold my breath during the exchange. I’m not worried about him as much although Charlee seems to be. She hasn’t taken her eyes off him. Harrington gives a warm welcome to them both, but as I feared Graham is a little hesitant. He stands up from the tailgate. I know he’s trying to size himself up against Branson. The idea makes me laugh a little to myself. The twins are tall, but Branson is enormous. I can tell it throws Graham off. His face breaks into a smile.
“You’re a tall son of a bitch, you know that?”
“So I’ve been told.” Branson laughs.
“Sit down, have a beer.”
“Did you bring the booze?” Charlee chimes in. Seems she finally found her voice, but I notice her gaze never falters from Brooks. I’m so good.
“I got scolded by a bar owner when I said that I needed to stop by a store, so I’m assuming he has everything we need.” I turn toward Branson and wink. He returns a wink in my direction, and my body shivers. It’s a good thing there’s a fire close by, but I’m not sure even that would prevent chills from covering my skin while he’s around.
“You own a bar?” Graham looks genuinely surprised.
“I do. Whiskey’s. You been there?”
“Yeah, a few times. That place is nice, man. Good for you,” Graham smiles.
“Thanks, it’s been a long journey, that’s for sure. It’s worth it though, I love it.” I can tell by his face that he truly does.
“So what is it you do Brooks?” Charlee asks. I think her attitude has regained its composure, and she’s back to her witty self, because her head is cocked to the side and one eyebrow is raised.
“I own a contracting business. I took it over from my father just before he passed away.” The expression on his face nearly breaks my heart at the mention of his father. I don’t dare look at Branson. I’m not sure I could take it.
“Oh. Sorry,” she replies sheepishly, lowering her head before looking around at our group of friends.
“Don’t worry about it, he taught me a lot,” he says scratching the back of his head. “I think I’m ready for a drink, what about you?” His eyes find hers, and I can feel the tension emanating from their bodies. Good Lord, talk about chemistry.
We settle around the fire with our drinks making small talk, trying to catch up on each other’s lives. Harrington grabs his guitar from the backseat of his truck and starts to play a few of his favorite country songs.
“Play some Miranda Lambert,” Charlee and I both yell at him. We start to giggle from the effects of the alcohol in our systems.
“You always say that. I don’t know any girl songs,” he says shaking his head.
“What an asshole, we’ve been asking you for how many years, and you still don’t know a single girl song. FOR SHAME!” I tease.
“LOSER,” Charlee says in a robot voice.
“I swear, sometimes I question your sanity. Both of you,” Harrington says chuckling as he points between the two of us.
“I know some Miranda Lambert songs.” What in the world? My head whips around, too quickly, toward Branson.
“Well, well, well. You surprise me more each day Mr. Phillips.”
“I aim to please.” He smiles as Harrington hands him the guitar. “Thanks, man.” He starts playing Better In The Long Run, and I find myself singing along to the lyrics. He plays so well, my eyes are closed, and I can picture myself on stage at a concert sitting in a chair next to him as we perform for a massive crowd as they cling onto every word, hungry for more. That’s when I know I’ve had too much to drink. I open my eyes quickly, but he sings with me, his voice hauntingly beautiful. It’s deep and sensual with a slight gravely rasp; perfection. He has a bedroom voice. Before I know it everyone is singing, making it a little less awkward for me. I’ve never enjoyed singing for a crowd, but I’ve been told I can sing. What do they know, the bunch of kiss asses.
The night has gone smoothly so far. I keep an eye on Graham, something seems to be bothering him. Maybe it’s the fact that Brooks and Charlee have been inseparable the entire night. I don’t think I’ve seen as much PDA from one couple without them kissing as these two tonight. It’s kind of making me sick actually. Hmm. Maybe after all these years he finally sees what a great catch Charlee is, and he’s a little jealous. He’s always been busy with other women, distracting himself from finding true romance by hopping from one relationship to the next; if that’s what you want to call them.
To me they weren’t relationships but more like casual agreements between fuck buddies. That always confused me how people can refrain from getting too attached. That’s not to say the girls didn’t. There was that one girl, what was her name...Samantha? Something generic like that. That girl went batshit crazy on him. Stalked him across campus when he ended things for the next player in the game and he finally had to put a restraining order on her. Talk about creepy.
Branson nudges me with his shoulder. I turn my head, too quickly again, in his general direction. I think it’s his direction; I’m pretty drunk at this point so there’s no telling. “What do you want, you handsome devil?” He laughs at my vulnerable state.
“You think I’m handsome? I feel so flattered. Am I blushing?” He grabs his face playfully with his large hands. He teases me because he knows I wouldn’t be able to tell if he was or not.
“Don’t be an asshole, you know I’m drunk. Out with it, what do you want?”
“So feisty! I like it.” He winks. “I’m having a good time, thanks for inviting me.” His smile is genuine from what I can vaguely make out of his face. Make out. That’d be nice. “What was that?”
“Huh?”
“Did you say you wanted to make out with me?” He’s laughing quietly to himself waiting for my answer.
“NO!” I think I’m the one blushing now. I pin my hands to my side so I don’t give myself away by touching my face.
“I’m pretty sure you did, and by the look on your face I’m guessing you didn’t mean to.”
Oh.
My.
God.
Did I seriously say that out loud? Why do I always do this to myself? I can never keep my damn trap shut. My eyes close from embarrassment, and my face sinks. Branson laughs at my expense the entire time; the nerve that jerk has! He should be the one asking ME to make out! Maybe he doesn’t want to...what if after tonight he doesn’t want to see me again? My heart immediately starts racing.
“Stop.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re thinking too much. I can tell. You look like you’re about to either pass out or murder someone. To be honest, I’m hoping it’s not the latter.”
Oh thank you baby Jesus, it’s just me- I’m going crazy. Thankfully it’s nothing serious. Maybe that’s enough liquor for one night.
“For the record, I’d love to make out with you, but I’d rather our first kiss not be in front of a group of friends and only one of us able to remember it in the morning.” He leans into me slowly, his lips grazing my ear sending chills down my spine. “When I do kiss you, and I will, trust me on that Sawyer, I want you to be fully aware of the situation. You won’t be able to forget the feeling of my lips on yours.” SHIT. I’m brought out of my sexual laced daze by the laughter of the twins.
“Do you remember her? Damn she was hot, but that girl was a freak. I’m talking, F-R-E-A-K. We were pretty hammered one night after a party. She wanted me to put Noxzema between her ass cheeks and then put her in front of a fan because she liked the way the cold air made it burn.”
“What the fuck, dude? There’s no way I’d let a man put that shit anywhere on my body. Please tell me you didn’t,” Charlee questions Graham with her mouth hanging open in disgust.
“Hell no! I grabbed my clothes and ran. I wasn’t about to burn my dick, he’s my best fri
end.”
“Oh, please,” I say rolling my eyes.
“Was her name Hannah?” Brooks surprises us by speaking up. I know that look; he recognizes this scenario. Gross, I do NOT want to hear about this.
“Yeah! Wait, you know her?” Brooks laughs hysterically. It goes on for more than a minute before he’s finally able to talk again.
“That shit is so funny, man. A few years ago some buddies of mine invited me to a party, and I met her there. Things started out great, but she got really sloppy and pretty bitchy the more she drank. I knew I wouldn’t get any that night so I decided to have a little fun. I told her that I wanted to get kinky and play out a fantasy from my spank-bank and mentioned the Noxzema ordeal. Obviously it was a joke but she didn’t know that. She was up for anything at that point. Needless to say I walked out on that shit with a soft one. Good times,” he says slapping his knee.
“That’s just fucked up.” Charlee laughs. “That poor girl probably needs some type of therapy. Oh, God, please don’t let her come to me,” she groans.
“Now that, I would pay to see,” I say pointing at her. The rest of the night runs so smoothly, I don’t know what I was worried about to begin with. I guess Charlee really did have a talk with Graham about not bringing up the past. I swear I love her.
“MOVE YOUR ASS JAXX! We’re going to be late, and you know how my father is about punctuality.” I’ve been ready for my parent’s annual formal Christmas Eve dinner for the past half hour but I triple check my outfit in the full-length mirror in my closet to pass the time. Jaxx is normally ready before I am, but since telling my parents about our engagement and pregnancy my father’s personality has changed toward us both. Not that he was extremely loving before, but his daily glass of scotch has turned into four or five, and he’s more distant than ever. I thought he would be happy for us, or at least me. He’s never fully accepted Jaxx for some unknown reason. Maybe he’s intimidated by what an amazing husband and father to our little baby I know Jaxx will be. Maybe he’s jealous that he isn’t both of those things with my mom and me. Sure, I grew up in a very wealthy household and never wanted for anything. We were very blessed in that sense, but my father was always working lengthy hours, putting his family on the backburner for his career. I would rather him around to spend time with me than to push money and gifts in my face trying to make up for lost time, but that never happened. I just got to watch other little girls spend time with their loving and doting parents.
“Alright, I’m ready to…wow. You look stunning babe.” Jaxx stands behind me in the mirror, and I can feel his hands sliding around my waist. They rest on my growing baby bump. “Are you sure we have to leave? We can stay here. I think I can keep you entertained for the night.” His warm lips find the soft spot behind my left ear causing my body to shiver and his hands slide upward and finally grip both my swollen breasts. Damn those things hurt.
“Oh no you don’t. Keep that shit in your pants. We’re leaving right now.” Turning away from him to get my purse, I grab my keys as well.
“Damn, shut down again. Sorry buddy.”
“Are you talking to your dick again? He probably hates me from all the crap you tell him about me.”
“He probably hates you because you don’t love him like you should,” he says shrugging his shoulders with a sarcastic look on his face.
“If I ‘loved him like I should’,” I say using my hands to quote the last phrase, “I wouldn’t be able to leave the house, let alone get anything done. Your expectations are a little too high in that department sweetheart.”
“You can’t blame a man for trying. Especially with you looking like that. Damn woman!” I can’t help but roll my eyes, but I also can’t help but kiss him. Why does he have to be such a cute pervert? That doesn’t help me any.
“I can blame you every day of the week, but it wouldn’t do any good. You’d still come after me.” Jaxx nods his head repeatedly. “Are you ready? I swear you’re worse than a girl when we have to go to my parent’s house. Get your panties out of your ass, you look fine.”
“I can’t get them out of my ass, I’m wearing a thong. I took it from you while you were sleeping. It looks better on me anyway.”
“Now THAT I would love to see. Actually, I’d pay money for that. I’d probably sell tickets to that show too. “
“That show would be sold out quicker than you could blink. Now get your ass in the car, you’re wasting time fantasizing about my half naked body. You can’t have this meat right now, calm down.”
“Good grief. Do you think your head will fit through the door on our way out?”
“Which one?”
“Gross. Really?”
“It’s a valid question.”
“Let’s go already. I can’t handle you right now.”
“The club can’t even handle me right now.”
“Okay Flo-Rida. You’re making us late. Maybe you can sing to me on the drive over there.”
The drive takes somewhere around eight minutes but you’d think it was an hour away. I’ve had my parents over to my house a whopping three times, and I’ve lived in the same location since my junior year in college when they bought it for me. I’ve taken over payments since getting out of school, but it still gets under my skin that they spent so much money on me. Granted that place was in need of some major work, and they hired the city’s finest contractors to come in and remodel the entire space. I had one request, and that was my closet. A woman needs a closet that she can fall in love with every time she walks into it, and that’s exactly what I got. Other than that, I really didn’t give a shit what everything else looked like. Leave it to my dad to go completely over-the-top.
Pulling into the parking spot on the curb in front of my parent’s house, my mood becomes slightly panicked. There’s no telling what my dad will say to Jaxx tonight, especially when he sees my growing stomach. He hasn’t vocalized his discontent, but it’s obvious in his behavior that he’s not overly excited that his daughter is knocked up out of wedlock. Honestly, I’m not sure he’d be happy even if we were married.
The entryway is filled with red poinsettias stacked around a formal Christmas tree that makes a grand statement at the center of the foyer. Snowy white lights give a romantic glow reflecting from the crimson and gold ornaments that suspend from the branches. This has always been my mothers’ favorite holiday, and this is the first of many decorated trees that I’m sure we’ll see during the night. Each doorframe is lined with garland that has been wrapped in lights.
Walking into the dining room I notice the table settings. Metallic silver ornaments and candleholders line the nine foot table. Small golden trees and pinecones fill the spaces between candles that appear to have just been lit. Gold rimmed plates show us where we’ll be eating along with the wine glasses that join them. Shimmery napkins wrapped in hammered silver napkin rings rest on the plates.
“Oh you’re here. It’s about time, I thought your father would never shut up,” my mother says warmly, embracing me in a hug. She pats Jaxx on the shoulder and smiles up at him. “I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you’re hungry.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“You look like a boy that likes meat. You two take a seat, and I’ll get your father. Dinner is ready.” Waiting for her to disappear down the hallway before I speak is proving to be difficult.
“Well do you?”
“Do I what?”
“Like meat.”
“You like my meat,” he says wagging his eyebrows at me suggestively. “Well, sometimes. Not tonight apparently.”
“She didn’t say anything about me. That was all you honey.”
“Damn, you’ve finally caught on. I thought I’d have at least another few years before the secret was out.”
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
“What secret is that dear?” my mother asks as she walks back into the room, rubbing her hands on her red and white polka dot apron that flows to her kn
ees.
“Oh, umm, he’s been thinking about the ham you’ve cooked for dinner all day. Guess it’s not a secret now. Oops.” Jaxx rolls his eyes at me but gives my mom a warm smile.
“That’s right. I look forward to this meal every year.”
“You think you do? I dream about this meal all month long. It’s the one time she goes all out in the kitchen,” my dad says taking his seat at the head of the table.
“I can see why,” Jaxx responds trying, but failing, to make eye contact with him.
“Hmm.” My dad has already taken his napkin and placed it in his lap, waiting for his doting wife to serve him. I’m not sure what the hell that little noise was about, but it’s already getting on my nerves. I just need to remember to stay calm tonight. We’ve got an agenda. Eat dinner, give out the few presents we brought with us, and go home. I can do that.
“So Mr. Hall, Sawyer tells me you’ve taken on quite a bit of work lately.” Jaxx tries to make conversation, but I’m not really sure why he even tries.
“That’s what I do. I stay busy.”
“Yes sir, I’ve noticed that.”
“Then why’d you mention it? I work, I come home. Nothing has changed since you two have been together.” He takes a swig from the scotch glass that my mom placed in front of him when he sat down at the table.
“I guess you’re right, sir,” he says clearing his throat. “I was just trying to make conversation.” I squeeze his leg under the table to reassure him that I’m here for him. I need to get this stagnant, shitty mood that’s hanging in the air turned in a different direction and quick.
“Mom, did you make my favorite cookies this year?” Every year she makes the most amazing sugar cookies. The kind you can’t have just one of, even though you try your hardest. They’re worse than those damn Girl Scout cookies. Before you know it the entire container is empty, and you’re left still wanting more.
“Of course I did honey. I know how much you love them.” She leans down to whisper in my ear. “I packed a few extra in there for your cravings.” I give her a warm smile in return. “Alright everyone, time to dig in.”