Anything Like Me

by Kimberly Knight

  “Wake up,” I said to Brandon at midnight.

  “What––what’s wrong?” he asked, whispering, probably still half asleep.

  “Nothing. I want to give you your birthday present,” I said, kissing his bare chest.

  “Oh,” he said, turning over to lay flat on his back.

  “I have to turn on the light.”

  “Why? I don’t need a light to see where to stick it,” he said, laughing and running his hand under my shirt.

  “That’s not your birthday present,” I said, swatting his hand.

  “What? Why not?”

  “Well, I mean, yeah, we are going to do it. It is your birthday and all, but that isn’t your present.”

  I reached over and turned on my lamp on my nightstand. We both squinted our eyes, and then once they adjusted to the light, I slipped off my long sleeve shirt that I had worn to bed…another unusual thing.

  “Um, I’m pretty sure this is how sex starts,” he said, eyeing me as I threw my shirt on the floor.

  “Yes, but I have to take my shirt off to show you your present, Birthday Boy.”

  “Okay?”

  I scooted closer to where he was laying on the bed and held out my left wrist. “I got this today,” I said as I pointed to my new tattoo.

  “You got a tattoo?” he asked, sitting up and grabbing my wrist to look closer.

  He looked at my fresh ink, not saying anything. I had the tattoo artist ink the infinity symbol with the initials B and S intertwined at the bottom. Instead of the ampersand symbol was a red heart that separated the B and S.

  “I know it might be kinda silly of me to get a tattoo on my body for your birthday,” I started to say.

  “I love it,” he said, kissing it. “It’s the infinity symbol, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s perfect, like you,” he said and kissed his way up my arm, not stopping until all the Birthday Boy’s wishes were granted.

  *~*~*

  “Spencer, can I see you in my office?” Skye asked over my office intercom.

  “Sure, I’ll be right there.”

  I made my way down the hall to Skye’s corner office. As I stepped through the threshold, I saw Acyn sitting on one of the two maroon chains in front of Skye’s desk.

  “Spencer, have a seat,” Skye said, motioning for me to sit beside Acyn.

  I didn’t know what was going on. Acyn and I had been on good terms. I had set him up with my friend, Leigh, and I thought we moved past whatever was between us––whatever he felt about me. I actually thought that Leigh and I looked alike. We had a similar smile and our hair was the same shade of brown. I was going to start giving up on him.

  I eyed Acyn curiously as if to silently ask, “What the fuck is going on?”

  “So…,” Skye said, setting her pen down on her desk. “Acyn has brought to my attention that there is a health expo in L.A. at the end of November…”

  My body instantly relaxed at her words.

  “Some things have––come up and I won’t be able to attend, but I want for you two to go together as a team and promote BKJB and what our website has to offer.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  “It’s just for two nights. You would fly down on that Thursday afternoon and fly back Sunday morning. Your meals will be covered, so order as much room service as you want.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said, looking at Acyn with a smile.

  Acyn gave me a look––a look that I read as he was looking forward to time away with me alone and staying in a hotel with me. He obviously didn’t know me well. I would never cheat on Brandon no matter how hot Acyn’s body was. Don’t get me wrong––it was a nice body to look at, but Brandon had more than just a hot body. He was everything I had ever wanted. Ever.

  “I don’t need to stay at a hotel; I’ll stay with my parents,” I said, looking back at Skye.

  “We’ll work out all the details later. I just wanted to let you know that we are signing up and you will be representing BKJB,” Skye said.

  Acyn and I left Skye’s office after we were dismissed.

  “See you later, Spencer,” he said in a harsh tone.

  “See ya,” I replied.

  One of these days, he would give up on trying to get into my pants. Obviously, it wouldn’t be today, but I hoped it was before we were both six feet under, because I loved my job, and I didn’t think I could be friends with someone who wanted more than just a friendship from me.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The August weather was hot. Well, hot to San Franciscans. The days were in the mid seventies and the nights were in the low sixties. August was definitely our summer. I flew my mom and sister to San Francisco for my bridal shower. I knew they didn’t want to miss it, and having to keep coming to see me was an expense my family didn’t have the luxury of doing. They didn’t have the extra money to buy expensive plane tickets or spend five dollars per gallon on gas.

  Ryan and Becca planned my bridal shower with the help of my mom and sister. Club 24 had an open room on the top level of the gym that expanded almost the entire top floor of the building. It overlooked the bay and was perfect for my shower. Across the open room held Brandon and Jason’s offices with the employee locker room and a staircase separating the two sides.

  The open room was used to rent out for private parties. Since Club 24 had it all, many parents held birthday parties there for their children. It was perfect. The kids could swim, play beach volleyball, basketball or even tennis all under one roof while parents used the sauna, got a massage or used the tanning beds. Brandon and Jason had thought of it all. It was no wonder they were so successful.

  We arrived early to my shower. My mom and sister didn’t know where to go, and since I was their chauffer, I didn’t mind helping set up for my shower––even if it was my day.

  When we arrived at the massive complex, Ryan and Becca were already setting up the room that overlooked the city and the bay. Round tables were covered with white linen tablecloths and white folding chairs surrounded the tables. Bouquets of summer flowers sat in the center of the tables with silver and teal accents intertwined to showcase my wedding colors.

  “Don’t wait for us,” my mother said with laughter in her voice.

  “Sorry, Jules, you know how I am,” Ryan said, walking over to hug my mom and sister.

  “Yes, I do. What else needs to be done?”

  “I’m going to put on the music,” I said, leaving the girls to work on whatever else needed to be finished.

  I made my way to the offices across the hall. As I walked towards the control room beside Brandon’s office, Mrs. Robinson stepped out of the employee locker room.

  “Guests aren’t allowed in there,” I spat, not able to control my hatred towards her.

  “Even when they’re invited, Spencer?” she purred.

  “What are you talking about?” I hissed.

  “Nothing, have a nice day,” she said, continuing down the stairs.

  What does she mean, being invited into the locker room? I questioned to myself as I turned on the music for the party room. As I closed and locked the control room door, I saw Jay, one of the personal trainers, exiting the locker room…and then it hit me. They were having sex in the male employee locker room.

  “Hey Spencer,” he said, waving to me as he walked down the same stairs that Teresa had just walked down––like nothing was going on, like it was a normal day at work.

  “Hey,” I responded, watching him walk down the stairs.

  I walked back to the room where my shower was being held. I knew Brandon and I had sex in his office, but what about other employees having sex with members? I decided to just enjoy my shower and not think about it. I would bring it up to Brandon later.

  Female friends and family members arrived shortly after everything was set up. I hadn’t seen most of them in some time, and it was nice to catch up. They sat around the tables, stood by the food and sipped wine and champagne punch as they talke
d amongst themselves. Brandon’s mother had flown in from Texas with his dad. We insisted that we had plenty of room at our house for them to stay, but they chose to stay in a hotel in the city so our house didn’t feel like a bed and breakfast.

  “Ladies, now that everyone’s bellies are full and Spencer has had a few glasses of champagne, it’s time for games!” Ryan announced, looking like a kid on Christmas morning.

  The ladies paired off in groups and played the traditional toilet paper wedding dress making. My friends Audrey, Loralee and Diane won, and Ryan gave them a gift certificate to the spa below. I looked at Becca and she smiled. Usually people won Starbucks gift cards, but not when your fiancé and his best friends owned a massive sports complex equipped with a full service spa.

  Next, everyone answered questions about me, and my friend, Brandi, won with knowing the most about me out of the people that played. I wasn’t surprised. Aside from Ryan and Audrey, Brandi and I had been friends for a long time.

  “Next up, Spencer is going to answer questions about Brandon. Please write the number of answers you think Spencer will get right. There are fifteen questions,” Ryan instructed.

  I sat next to Ryan in front of all my girlfriends and family. I secretly prayed that they weren’t questions about sex. I didn’t want my mom or Brandon’s mom to know about our sex life, but I also knew Ryan, and I knew she would have those kinds of questions for me to answer. She wanted to embarrass me, and that made me nervous about my bachelorette party.

  “Question one––What is Brandon’s middle name?” she asked.

  “Lucas,” I answered.

  “That is correct.”

  “You think I wouldn’t know his middle name?” I asked. Everyone in the room laughed.

  “Of course not, but we are just warming up,” she said and winked.

  “Great,” I murmured.

  “What is Brandon’s favorite color?”

  “Green.”

  “Correct.”

  “What’s his favorite season?”

  “Um––summer?”

  “Wrong. It’s Autumn because he said that you told him that you have always wanted to get married in Autumn, so now that is his favorite time of year, especially since that’s exactly what you are doing.”

  I blushed while all the ladies awed. I loved that man so much.

  “Question five––what animal would he compare you to?”

  My eyebrows scrunched at her question. “What kind of question is that?” I asked.

  “Just answer it, Spencer,” Ryan huffed with a hand on her hip.

  “Um…a white tiger?”

  “Nope, he said a rabbit ‘cause you two do it like horny rabbits all the time,” she laughed.

  “Oh Lord!” I said, covering my face with my hands.

  Laughter filled the room. I couldn’t look up. I couldn’t look at my mom or Brandon’s mom either.

  “What was the first restaurant you two ate at together?”

  “Scoma’s in Sausalito.” I smiled, remembering our first date.

  “Yep.”

  “What is his favorite food?”

  “Barbeque ribs.”

  “That is correct,” Ryan said in her best Chris Farley voice.

  I laughed at her. She never ceased to amaze me.

  “Us Texans do love our barbeque,” Aimee said, nodding her head towards my mom.

  “Question eight––what is his favorite drink?”

  “Alcoholic?”

  “I didn’t specify,” she answered.

  “Um…Blue Moon?”

  “Yep!”

  I sighed with relief.

  “Now let’s get a little more personal…”

  My eyes shot up and once again I said, “Oh Lord!”

  “Where was your first kiss?”

  “His car.”

  “Brandon answered more than just his car. Should I read it for everyone?”

  “No!” I shouted, lunging for the note card.

  “Obviously, he doesn’t care if people know, Spence.”

  “Maybe he didn’t realize you were going to read all this out loud?”

  “We want to know,” my cousin, Gloria, shouted from one of the back tables.

  “Oh well,” she shrugged and continued. “Spencer and I had our first kiss in my car after running in the pouring rain on our first date. She,” Ryan emphasized, “kissed me first and we haven’t been able to keep our hands off of each other since.”

  The crowd awed again. I was mortified. I was going to kill Ryan and then Brandon.

  “Question ten––boxers or briefs?”

  “Boxers.”

  “Correct.

  “One thing he couldn’t go a day without?”

  I knew right away that I would get this wrong. Playing the naïve card, “Going to the bathroom,” I said with a smile.

  “Spencer!” Ryan huffed again.

  “What?” I asked, pretending to be innocent.

  “Wrong! He can’t go a day without you!”

  “I know,” I said to myself so no one else could hear. I did know that. I couldn’t go a day without him either. Yes, we had been separated when he went away for business, but we were still together and still talked on the phone. I knew we both couldn’t go a day without talking at the very least.

  “What feature does Brandon like most about you?”

  I thought for a good ten seconds. How could I name just one? He told me repeatedly that he loved my lips, my hair, my smile, my eyes, my boobs, my pussy, my butt, my legs, my spunk––my heart.

  “My––legs. He loves my legs when I wear a dress.”

  “Nope. He said your loyalty to him and your friends and family.”

  “That was a trick question. I thought you meant physically,” I pouted.

  “There are no trick questions. Anyway, question, thirteen. Three more to go… what is his pet name for you?”

  “Babe or Baby. They are like the same thing, right?”

  “He actually said Babe or Baby, too,” she smiled.

  “When did Brandon know he was going to marry you?”

  “When I said ‘yes’,” I chuckled.

  “Wrong! He said he knew he was going to marry you when he saw you running on the treadmill at the gym the first day.”

  “That’s ridiculous. How could he know that then?”

  “I don’t know, but that is what he said. I don’t make this stuff up.”

  I looked out into the sea of ladies and saw Brandon’s mom wiping her teary eyes. Did she know the answer and I didn’t? How could he know he was going to marry me before we even spoke one word to each other? What if I had turned out to be a crazy person? He’d already had a crazy girlfriend, but if he didn’t know she was crazy at the time, how did he know I was any different?

  “What did Brandon say is your favorite position in bed?”

  “I’m gonna kill you,” I murmured.

  “Answer the question, Spencer.”

  “Doggie style,” I said behind my hands over my face.

  “Yep, and last but not least, what is Brandon’s favorite position in bed?”

  “Reverse cowgirl,” I whispered.

  “What? I don’t think they heard you.”

  “Yeah, Spencer, I didn’t hear you,” my co-worker, Bel, said.

  “Reverse cowgirl!” I shouted.

  Most of the girls laughed while my mom asked Aimee, “What is reverse cowgirl?”

  “I don’t know,” Aimee shrugged.

  *~*~*

  After my shower and everyone had left, Aimee stayed behind and helped us clean up. I was really going to kill Ryan and then Brandon. I couldn’t believe how much they both embarrassed me.

  That night, Brandon and Blake drove into the city to have dinner with us and his parents. After dinner, Aimee and Robert asked Blake to stay with them for the night. I had a feeling they wanted to talk to Blake about what happened back in May and probably make sure he was doing okay. He was doing okay besides getting my fi
ancé drunk on a regular basis and making me take care of the hungover Brandon.

  It was nice having my mom here for a reason other than because she was comforting me with my life being recently in danger. The DA called me a few days prior when the judge made his ruling. Christy was sentenced to a mental hospital until doctors deemed her as sane, Colin was sentenced to five years in prison, and Michael received fifteen. Finally, in a long time, I was able to relax and not worry about hiding from stalkers or pregnant ex-girlfriends.

  My mom, sister and I stayed up into the wee hours of the night finalizing all the details for my wedding. We had the flowers and cake ordered, , the venue, the photographer and DJ booked, and all the wedding attire picked out. Things were moving along and RSVPs were slowly but surely coming in.

  I was starting to get nervous. In two months, I would finally be Mrs. Brandon Montgomery.

  CHAPTER TEN

  I met with Ryan for Happy Hour after work while Brandon and Blake had their weekly poker game. We talked almost every day, but it was hard to find time to hang out with her since I lived so far away. She was still trying to talk Max into moving into our neighborhood.

  Ryan always wanted to live in the suburbs. Even though the city fit her and she liked to party, her heart’s greatest desire was to start a family. Max still wasn’t ready to have a baby. Being a defense attorney required him to work many hours. He promised her that after being married for a year, he would cut down on his hours so they could start trying.

  We ordered our usual vodka and cranberry with appetizers for dinner at MoMo’s.

  “I’ve missed this,” I said.

  “Me too.”

  “I saw a house for sale down the street from me this morning on my way to work.”

  “Really? I’ll tell Max. Our one year wedding anniversary is just right around the corner.”

  “Not really.” I laughed. “You’ve only been married like three months.”

  “Four, but it seems longer.”

  “I can’t imagine how you will feel in ten years.” We laughed.

  “How’s Blake?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  It had been almost two months since our Tahoe trip. After talking to Ryan the morning of the Fourth, I let her flirting with Blake go. I knew Ryan wouldn’t cheat on Max and I understood that getting attention from a hot guy was––in a word––awesome.