I take in his gorgeous face and don’t miss how happy he seems. I can’t help but hope it’s for me, but that’s crazy. “You look happy,” I greet him.
When he reaches me, he slips his arms around my waist and plants a quick, loud kiss on my lips. “I’m always happy to see you.” His voice is a sexy purr that my body reacts to in all the appropriate places. My nipples harden, and all points south clench in anticipation. He releases me and opens the door, and I have to take a moment to regain my equilibrium. I always feel off balance around him. “Why didn’t you just go on in?” He asks.
“Um, not my house,” I answer.
He looks at me like I’m crazy. “Whatever, Brooke. Everyone’s expecting you, so just come in. Find the kids, and you guys can play with Toby for a while. I need to do some stuff in the kitchen.”
“Wait. I need to change first.” I say holding up my bag.
“Not a problem. Follow me.” He leads me to his room and puts my bag on his bed then turns to me grabbing my hand to pull me close to his body. With his other hand, he threads his fingers through my hair. “You know how many times I’ve pictured you in here. But all those were me helping you undress.” He kisses me again, slowly and deeply, then lifts his head. “Someday, Brooke.” He backs up and swats me on the butt before turning and heading toward the door like he didn’t just knock me off kilter even more. “Hurry up and head to the backyard.”
I sit on the bed for a moment and wonder why in the hell I don’t stop him when he does things like that. We both know this is an impossible attraction we are dancing around. It just seems like we both ignore it. I know I should push him away when he grabs me or kisses me. I know I should tell him to stop talking like we are going to be a foregone conclusion, but I don’t, and that scares me. I get up and do a quick change job before heading out into the backyard to find the kids and Toby. I don’t need a jacket, although it’s November in Kansas, it’s almost 70 degrees outside.
Today I’ve brought my camera so I can get some pictures of them. No one notices me for several minutes, and I snap away capturing each one of them chasing the dog, running from the dog, and rolling in the thick grass. Even Luke is having a good time trying to teach him to fetch. Michael finally notices me and calls me over. When I reach them, I place my camera on a nearby lounge chair. Then it’s my turn with Toby. He’s an excited puppy. I kneel on the grass next to Luke, and he and I take both try our hand at fetch with a tennis ball. Gabby sits close to me, placing her hand on my leg, and laughs at our attempts to get Toby to return the ball.
After about an hour and a half of playing, Dylan finally steps out and calls for Cassie and Michael to set the table. The rest of us follow, and I have to admit that I’m curious about what Dylan prepared. After washing up we gather around the table as Dylan starts bringing in dish after dish of food, and color me crazy happy when he brings in a rack of lamb. The crazy man cooked a rack of lamb.
“This is wonderful, Dylan. I can’t believe you did all this.” I praise him.
“I told you to prepare to be amazed,” He smirks.
“Well, I am.” I smile at him. I take a bite and moan. It’s delicious, so I tell him so. I notice he has a fork full of food that hasn’t made it to his mouth. I think my moan did it because it was rather loud. I smile to myself knowing that I got him a little worked up so easily. “And to show my appreciation Michael and I are going to work on his spelling bee while we do the dishes.” I smile over at Michael, and he raises his hand for a fist bump.
“You don’t have to do dishes. Besides its Cassie and Gabby’s night.”
“It’s okay, Dylan. Luke and I will trade so I can study with Brooke.”
Dylan looks at me, “Are you sure?”
“It’ll be fine. I’ve found a whole list of words most asked in spelling bees for his age group. It’ll be a good time to get started. I thought we have a couple of weeks to get through them, so if we put in….” I get interrupted by my pager going off. The only calls I get through my pager are emergency numbers from the office and clients. “Excuse me, guys. I need to get that.” I get up from the table and find my purse in the living room. The call is from Janice, so I grab my cell and call her back.
“Brooke, I hate to call you and ruin your evening, but I need you to go to the Renner place. He apparently got drunk and locked all the kids out of the house. You’re going to have to get them and find placement for a while.”
Mr. Renner is an alcoholic widower with five children. This isn’t the first time the kids had to be placed because of his dangerous behavior when he gets drunk, but for some reason, he always gets them returned to him after he shows a few weeks of sobriety. Since I inherited his case when I started with Social Services, he has made it no secret he does not like me. In fact, he scares me a little with his unveiled threats. I’ve had to intervene on one other occasion, luckily Dylan showed up at the office that day.
I go back to the table. “I’m sorry, guys, but I have to go. I have an emergency I have to take care of for work. Michael, I’ll leave the list for you so you can start looking them over, and then we’ll get together for a little while each day to go over them.”
Dylan stands and walks to me. “Is everything okay?”
“I honestly don’t know what I’m walking into until I get there. It’s the same man that was in the office the day you showed up about taking Cassie shopping.”
His jaw tightens. “Are you going by yourself? I don’t want you going there alone. I didn’t like how that asshole got so close to you, and I know you were trying to be tough, but he seemed dangerous, Brooke.”
“Dylan, it’s my job. I have to get his kids and find somewhere for them to stay. The police are there now so I won’t be there alone.” I grab up my bag and head for the door and turn back.
“Thank you for dinner. Hopefully next time it won’t be interrupted.”
He follows me onto the porch and grabs my elbow. “Call me when you get home, please. I’ll worry about you.”
“I will, but it may be late,” I promise.
“Don’t care. Just call and let me know you’re okay.”
“Okay, good night.” He watches me as I leave, and I’m pissed that this evening was cut so short.
The next few days are busy with making sure the Renner kids have all settled. After arriving at their house, I had to pack for them and take them to the emergency room so they could all be checked over. Hours later I was lucky enough to get them placed in a temporary foster home until things are worked out in the courts to decide their fate based on what happens with their father. I hadn’t gotten home until the early hours in the morning, but I remembered to text Dylan to let him know everything was okay. I’ve been meeting with Michael an hour after school each day at his school library to help him with his spelling bee which is coming up quickly. Truthfully he is a very bright boy, and his ability to spell these words is astounding. I don’t think he’s going to have too much trouble at all. On top of all this, I still have plenty of other clients to see as well.
By Friday I’m exhausted. When I enter the apartment, the first thing I see is Trevor. He has his guitar and looks deep in thought. His shirt is off, but at least, he is wearing jeans. He grins over at me from the couch, and I sit down next to him, "New song?"
"Yep."
I don't ask if I can hear it; I know better. He puts the guitar down, "How was your day?"
I shrug, "It was okay. Long, but not terrible."
“That’s good.”
“So where is Alex?” It’s been tense and awkward around here lately, and I’m beginning to hate it. I know she was pissed about Halloween, but I’m ready to move past it. I don’t understand why she can’t trust me. Okay, that’s a lie. The attraction between Dylan and me is hard to deny or ignore, but she has to know that I won’t act on it. I hope.
“Gym.”
“Ah, anything to avoid me right?”
He laughs, “You two will figure this shit out. Remember your j
unior year in high school when you two didn’t talk for three weeks?”
I nod, that was a terrible time. And I don’t even remember what the fight was about exactly. Alex and I are like sisters and when we fight we really fight. “Yeah, I do, and it sucked.”
He laughs, “But you guys figured it out. She’s just worried about you, you know?”
I roll my eyes, “I’m a grown woman.”
He scans my body with his eyes and then smiles, “Believe me, Brooke, I know.”
I slap his bare shoulder, “Do you ever wear a shirt?”
He flexes his bicep, “Why the hell would I do that, with these guns? Don’t tell me they’re turning you on,” he teases waggling his eyebrows.
Again I roll my eyes. Trevor has a nice body, but my mind drifts to Dylan’s “guns,” and I can’t help but laugh because Trevor’s don’t even come close. He’s been overly flirty with me lately, but I’m sure it’s just Trevor being Trevor. There is nothing between us. I tease him like always, “Woah, put those away!”
He puts his arm down and then his look turns semi-serious. “Brooke, are you sure that Alex has no reason to be worried?”
I groan, “Yes I’m sure. Dylan doesn’t do relationships, and I don’t do one-night stands.”
He laughs, “Why not? You did with me.”
Oh my God, is he actually bringing that up? That is something I want to keep in the past, and I thought he did too. “Seriously? That was just a stupid mistake when we were kids. That was the one and only time I’ve ever done that.”
He looks slightly hurt, I think. “Well, you were the one that wanted to keep it a one-time thing if I recall.”
I look over at him trying to decide if he is kidding. The problem with Trevor is that he’s rarely serious. Therefore, it’s so damn hard to tell with him. “No, we both decided never to do it again.”
He scoffs, “Yeah because you were in high school and fucking jailbait. But after you turned 18, I was hoping for the occasional fling when I was home. It’s just that you latched onto that little shit you met in college. He touches my thigh slightly, “Hell. Brooke, anytime you want to, we can have as many repeats as you want.”
I’m shocked, and I don’t think he is kidding right now. I need to shut this down, now. “You’re crazy. Have you been drinking?”
He moves his hand and laughs; maybe he is just messing with me. “No, I’m serious. I mean, I don’t remember much about that night, but I wouldn’t mind a refresher.”
I stand up because he’s obviously lost his mind. “Not happening. You and Alex are the closest thing I have to family, and there is no way I am ruining that.” I start to head to my bedroom and then turn back around and look at him, and then I remind him, “Besides, you are a married man.” There is no hint of teasing in my tone, but he only laughs.
“The divorce is as good as final. I’m waiting to sign the papers any day. What will your excuse be then?”
“No excuses, Trevor. There won’t be a repeat, ever.” I close myself in the safety of my room, and then sit on the bed a moment to get my head straight. How the hell did my life get so confusing?
Saturday morning I wake up bright and early. In the kitchen, I find Alex making a smoothie. I miss her, so I swallow my pride to begin a talk that is long overdue. “Good morning.”
“Morning”
“Do you have time to talk this morning?”
She looks at the clock. I know the salon doesn’t open until 10:00, but sometimes she goes for a run in the morning before work. She sighs and walks over to the kitchen table, sits down, and pushes a chair out for me with her foot. I smile and sit down, “I miss you, Alex. I hate how weird things have been since Halloween.”
“I know, and I fucking hate it. I just can’t believe that you blew me off to go trick-or-treating with Dylan.”
“I told you; I didn’t even go with Dylan. I went with Cassie, Michael, and Gabby.”
She rolls her eyes, “But you spent the whole night with the family. Brooke, that’s not normal social worker behavior, even I know that.”
I know that it’s probably not normal, but I have to try to make her understand, “Alex, this family, they mean a lot to me, and yeah, maybe I go above and beyond for them and treat them a little special, but they are. They have been through hell, and I just want to help them come back from that in any way I can.”
Before she can say anything I add, “And I know that you think this is just about my attraction to Dylan, but I swear to you it’s not.”
That is true, I care about all of the members of the Monroe family, and I have to find a way to show her that. She cracks a tiny smile, “I know you care about them, Brooke. You have a huge heart, but I’m just scared of the flirtation between Dylan and you. You may not see it, but believe me, five seconds in the same place as you two is all it takes to know this is no innocent attraction.”
“I’m not going to cross any serious lines, and you have known me long enough to trust me.”
“I guess I’ll have to,” she says resignedly.
“Thank you. But, I am going to continue to do special things for them. I’m helping Michael with a spelling bee right now, and there will be other things for the rest of this year. Just please stop giving me such a hard time. If I feel like a line is being crossed, I’ll pull back.”
She still looks unsure, but nods, “Okay, I’m sorry, and you’re right. But you have to see where I’m coming from. When it comes to men you adjust and change yourself to fit them every time.”
My mouth drops slightly, but I smile knowing she’s right. I still argue, “No, I don’t.”
She laughs, “Oh, please. You were a good girl with straight A’s, and then Adam comes along and all of the sudden you are sneaking out, drinking, smoking, going to races, getting tattoos…”
“Okay, but that wasn’t all because of him.”
It truly wasn’t. I was going through a rebellious phase, and Adam just coincided with that.
“Yeah, well he helped a whole hell of a lot. Then you meet Billy, and it was a total transformation. You never wanted to have fun. You just studied and kissed his ass twenty-four seven. Started wearing your hair in that fucking tight ass bun and using big stupid words.”
Ouch. I forgot how much she hated Will. I called him Billy when we would fight because it drove him crazy, but Alex always called him Billy. He cringed every time. “Okay, I know I wasn’t myself with him, but I did need a change. Because of him, I buckled down and…”
“No, you could have done that without him, and that’s the thing, you just let men change you. Now you’re getting it all together, kicking ass at your career, and you’re starting to have some fun again. Then here comes Dylan Monroe.”
“Alex, I was young with Adam. We all do crazy shit when we’re young. And with Will, I let myself buy into his ideas of being successful.”
“Okay, just don’t let another guy change you or mess up your life.”
I know she cares about me, but I hope that this will put an end to the lecturing. I stand up; she does too, and I give her a hug, “I promise.”
“Okay, good.”
“Are we okay now?”
We both pull back from the hug, and she nods, “Yep. So how has work been?”
“Great, yours?”
“Pretty good. I’m getting some great regulars that tip well.”
I laugh, “Good. Look, I have to get going, but can we please have a movie night tonight and takeout.”
“Hell, yeah, I think Trevor is going out tonight so we should have the place to ourselves.”
As much as I care about Trevor that is great news. I need some space from him and some girl time with Alex, “Awesome, girls’ night.”
“See ya later.”
Thank God she didn’t ask me what my plans were for the day because I doubt she would have been too happy to know I was spending the day at Dylan’s helping Michael on his spelling bee. Unfortunately, well maybe, fortunately, Dylan was called out
of town for the day to meet a guy in Topeka who has some cars for him to see. Luke has taken his Tahoe to the shop so he can start customizing it, and he wants to do some of the work himself. The four of us left, played with Toby for a while before Michael and I buckled down with his list of words. I spent a great day with them, and sometimes it’s hard to believe how well I fit in them.
The following Tuesday I wrap up my meeting with the Monroe family, well if that’s what you want to call it. Somewhere along the way, my home visits with them have less to do with social work and more to do with socializing. I just figure unless some issue has come up, I’m just going to enjoy myself with them. So far, so good. Everyone seems to be doing wonderfully.
Since getting Gabby the dog she is blossoming, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we finally witness the great break through and she begins talking. Cassie is busy with her cheerleading, and Luke is wrapped up in football playoffs for the state championship. At the games that I’ve been able to attend, I couldn’t be prouder of them. Thankfully Cassie seems to have lost some of her boy craziness, which I’m sure pleases Dylan. Luke is smiling more, although he still has a badass attitude about him, much like his older brother. Since I find that to be one of Dylan’s hottest attributes, I can’t say it irritates me that much. I think it’s just part of the Monroe charm.
Dylan’s business is thriving, which doesn’t surprise me at all, and I know this because Cassie and Luke are always bragging about their big brother. They seem to be getting along a lot better now that she and Luke aren’t being grounded so much anymore.
Unsocial Page 26