Forbidden Love

by Freda Ann

  They talked a bit longer about it then Stephen told him about his recent auditions and the second call back he got for the part he wants the most. He said he should hear something this week. Brandon told him he feels good about him getting the part. By the time they finished talking, he was more than halfway home. He tried calling Mindy one more time before he pulled off the highway but it went to voicemail again. He was trying not to read too much into it so he let it go - for now.

  Brandon got out of bed feeling groggy. He kept waking up with Mindy and her ex on his mind as he thought more and more about her spending time with him. She was trying to tell him something when Tabu interrupted their conversation. Part of him couldn’t help but wonder if some of the old feelings came back while they reminisced over coffee. And was that all they did? He tried not to go there but not talking to her was driving him crazy. Mindy had said ‘he was in town and wanted to see me so we - we - ‘. So they what? And why did she seem to hesitate telling him the rest before Tabu interrupted the conversation? Damn it Tabu!

  With the kids gone, it was really quiet in the house which isn’t good when you’re trying to pull your brain out of a fog. He knew the quiet time will help him when he sits down to do some work but if he can’t keep his eyes open, he won’t be getting much done.

  He turned his single serve coffee maker on, grabbed the sugar bowl, his favorite mug and sat them in front of it. He put the K-cup in after it warmed up and pushed the lever down then put his mug under the water spout before hitting the correct cup size. While the coffee maker was doing it’s thing, he walked to the pantry to look and see what there was for breakfast. Just when he grabbed the door to look inside, the house phone rang. Looking at the caller I.D. he saw Stephen Raine so he tapped the speaker button to answer.

  “Hey man. What are you up to this early?” Brandon knew his friend wasn’t always an early riser with his busy schedule so he never knew if he was sleeping in or not.

  “Good morning sunshine.” Stephen chuckled as he picked on Brandon sensing a bit of grumpiness in his voice.

  “What’s so good about it? I haven’t had my first cup of coffee yet - but that’s about to be remedied as we speak.” Brandon heard the wind blowing through Stephen’s car over the speaker so he knew he was out of the house already. “Where you headed to?”

  “That’s why I’m calling. I have something to go with that coffee and I’ll be there in about five minutes if you want to make me a cup too.”

  “Alright. Sounds good. Maybe talking to you will help me snap out of the fog I’m in. I’ll see you soon.”

  “OK. I’ll do my best to help with that.” Stephen smiled and tapped the speaker off a few minutes before rounding the curve to Brandon’s neighborhood and turning on his street.

  After pulling in Brandon’s driveway, he grabbed the boxes of food and walked to the front door. He opened it and walked in, knowing Brandon would unlock it before he got there. “Foods here. Where’s my coffee?” He yelled out waiting for him to come back with some sarcastic comment but he heard nothing. “Brandon?” He looked out of the open sliding doors to the patio and saw him sitting at the table in the sun with his coffee mug in hand staring out over the canyon.

  Stephen headed to the table noticing two sandwich size plates, silverware and a full mug of coffee in front of Stephens plate. “What a good house husband you’d make.” He snickered watching Brandon look over at him.

  “Nah, that would require me actually cooking the meal which I try not to do, especially when the kids aren’t here. - So what do we have here?” He looked at the boxes Stephen put in the center of the table.

  “Just a little something to remind you of happier thoughts. Go ahead - open them.”

  Brandon lifted the lid of the top box and it was full of different pastries. Some had cheese, fruits, macadamia nuts and drizzle over the tops. “Mmmmm - “ Then he moved that box to the side and lifted the lid of the bottom box to see fresh strawberries, kiwi and pineapple that resembled what they ate at the hotel’s buffet in Maui. “Well this is a nice way to start my day. Thanks buddy.” He gave him a half smile as he scooped out some fruit with his hand then reached for a pastry before handing the box to Stephen.

  He grabbed the box and smiled at him looking pleased with himself. “They may not taste exactly like the ones at Ka Hiwa but at least they put a little smile on your face.” He grabbed two pastries and sat the box on the table. “ - So did you have a rough night? Is that why you look like shit?” He took a bite of his pastry.

  Letting out a muffled laugh Brandon turned his head to the side giving Stephen the evil eye. He stayed quiet for a few seconds chewing what was in his mouth. “Lets just say it was one of those nights where you wake up repeatedly over-thinking crap that you don’t want to think about to begin with.”

  “Damn. I hate those nights. - So you’re still worried what Mindy thought about you and Tabu?” He took another mouthful of pastry.

  “If only it were just that, I probably would’ve gotten more sleep. - But I kept remembering her telling me she was meeting up with her ex and my thoughts were all over the place after that.”

  Stephen sat his pastry down looking dead at Brandon. “Man, I’ve never seen you like this. You’re not usually the jealous type. - As you said, you’re over-thinking the situation. Don’t imagine things that probably haven’t happened.”

  Looking down briefly he shook his head. “I know. - There’s something really special about Mindy. I can’t imagine not having her in my life. And I know she felt that connection just like I did. I saw it in her eyes. We can really have something that most couples don’t ever have. My gut is telling me we’re meant for each other.”

  Sitting back in his chair Stephen laid his hands on the arms looking over at Brandon. “Well there’s another reason I came by this morning. I thought it through last night and decided I’m definitely calling Mindy today to hire her - that is if she’ll let me talk her into flying here for a few weeks to work on designing my house.”

  “That’s great. It might be just what we need. It’s been almost a month since we saw each other. It just might help. - Though the timing kind of sucks since I start filming Monday but I’ll see her every chance I get and definitely when we take our break between weeks - that is if she still wants to see me.” Brandon felt anxiety running through his body at the thought.

  “Alright - good. I’ll keep you posted on what she has to say when I ask her. And I’m going to see if Faith can come with her or at least fly out part of the time. I’m missing her more than I thought I would and I’m hoping to get to know her a little better real soon.”

  They talked as they finished breakfast and had a second cup of coffee while Stephen told him some thoughts he had for Mindy to decorate his house. He’d found some ideas in magazines that he saved since he bought the house and thought that would be a good place to start for Mindy’s design ideas. This way she could see the style he has in mind.

  Brandon thanked his friend for the thoughtful breakfast and walked him to the door. After asking him to call once he hears from Mindy about the job offer, he waived goodbye and shut the door. He cleaned up the food and dishes from the patio and went to his office to get some work done.

  He turned the computer on, logged in and started looking through his e-mails to see if there was anything important before he looked over his notes for the movie he’s getting ready to start filming. Brandon was hoping there might be something from Mindy but he didn’t see anything after a quick run through of the three pages of unread items in his inbox.

  Staring out the window for a few minutes he knew he wasn’t totally out of his fog yet so he decided to do some laps in the pool before getting wrapped up in his work. That usually helped him feel more refreshed, especially with a nice cool morning like today.

  He got up from the computer, turned on some music to keep his mood up and went out back to the pool house to change and grab a towel. Laying his towel on the chair, Brandon turned
, dove in the deep end and started doing his laps getting more of a rhythm going with each lap. He loved swimming. It kept his mind focused while he glided through the water which is exactly what he needed today.

  By the time he got to his twelfth full lap, he felt really good so he decided to stop before he exhausted himself. Climbing the ladder in the deep end he grabbed his towel to dry off and saw someone out of his peripheral vision coming from his open sliding doors. He wondered if Stephen came back to tell him he already spoke to Mindy but as he stood up straight, he saw the one person who could totally ruin the mood he’s been fighting all morning.

  “What are doing in my house Tabu?!”

  “There you are darling. Your front door was unlocked so I came in when you didn’t answer the door. I looked for you in your office but you weren’t in there. That’s when I saw you out the window in the pool so I came out here.”

  Still drying off he looked directly at her to get his point across as he waved his hand in the air. “You can’t just walk in my house because I don’t answer the door. - When are you going to get it through your head that we’re no longer together and that’s not going to change Tabu! - And after that crap you pulled last night you’re no longer welcome in my house.”

  She looked at him as her mouth dropped open in shock. “But - but darling - I was just being friendly and enjoying your company. - What did I do wrong? You know I’m a harmless flirt and was just happy to see you.”

  Walking towards his house and throwing his towel over his shoulder, he looked back at her trying to catch up to him. “Don’t play dumb with me Tabu. I’ve come to know your antics all too well.” He raised his voice a bit as he continued. “You knew I was on the phone with my girlfriend and you were determined to make her think we were a couple again. - And that is why we can’t be friends any more. I’m over your jealousy and your trickery so just leave my house before things get really ugly.” He glanced at her next to him with a furious look to show her how serious he was.

  “Brandon - darling - you can’t mean that. I promise I’ll stop being jealous and will do whatever you ask me to. - You must give me another chance. - Please don’t give up on me?” She reached out and grabbed his arm looking as if she was going to cry.

  He stopped in his tracks and yanked his arm away from her. “You have a hell of a lot of nerve asking that. - I’m going to tell you for the last time, get out of my house. We’re nothing any more - period!” He walked to the front door and held it open for her. Walking slowly towards him and looking as if she hoped he’d change his mind, he glanced at her and simply said “goodbye” and slammed the door behind her before she could say another word.

  * * * * *

  Faith stayed holding Mindy’s hand while they talked a little longer. She kept reminding her how ruthless reporters can be and that it may be blown out of proportion or just a flat out lie. But Mindy was having a hard time believing that it was a total fabrication. She was afraid there was a little more to the story and that was the part that upset her and made her feel like a fool, yet again.

  Mindy took their glasses and the empty bottle of wine into the kitchen with Faith following close behind. After rinsing them and setting them on the counter, she hugged Faith, thanked her for coming over and told her she was going to take a nice hot bath to relax then try to get some sleep.

  Faith grabbed her purse and headed for the door while Mindy walked next to her. When they stopped, she turned and gave Mindy one more hug. “I’ll call you in the morning. Maybe we can do some yoga together. It’ll be good for you.” Grabbing her friend’s fingers she continued. “Try not to buy into the Hollywood rumor mill Min. Wait for the facts.” Squeezing her fingers she let go and walked to her car as Mindy shut the door and locked it.

  Mindy finally got out of bed after the sun came up. She’d laid there a while snuggling to her pillow with her mind wandering aimlessly. She’d slept off and on the first half of the night then fell into a deep sleep some time after 2:30 until the crack of dawn. She refused to get up until the sun peeked out from the horizon.

  After going to the bathroom and washing her face, she went downstairs to the kitchen to make coffee. She opened the french doors to her patio to see what the weather was like. A smile came across her face as she took in some cool fresh air before going to her office to grab her laptop carrying it to the patio table then pouring her coffee and adding a splash of cream.

  Mindy sat in the chair at the table sipping her coffee then set her cup down. She wanted to check her work e-mails and review some upcoming projects before Monday so she turned on the laptop and logged in. By her second cup of coffee, she’d gone through her e-mails and organized them by priority. Thankfully the only ones she had to worry about were the ones with the highest priority. Her staff and assistant dealt with the others, depending on the priority she assigned to each one.

  Mindy logged out of her work e-mail and was about to log into her private one when her kids tried FaceTiming her. She hit accept and saw three happy faces staring at her. That sight alone filled her heart with such joy. She returned the happy face while they told her daddy and Sophia are taking them to the zoo today. They were so excited since they haven’t been for awhile.

  After Taylor, Lane and Mia talked their mother’s ear off about all the animals they hoped to see, their dad hurried them up so they could leave for the zoo. Mindy told them she loved them to the moon and beyond and blew them kisses as she disconnected the video chat.

  She decided to get dressed before tackling her personal e-mails. Climbing the stairs slowly, she marveled at the memories from the photos of her and the kids on the wall as she made her way up to the top. Just as she walked in her closet she heard the phone ring. Mindy walked over and grabbed the phone next to her bed. “Hello?”

  “Hey Min. I was going to head over so we can do some yoga if you’re up to it?” Faith sounded cheery as usual.

  Feeling blessed that her friend is always there for her, she answered without hesitation. “Good morning Faith. I’d love to get some yoga in today and was just about to get dressed so come on over. I’ll get the mats out and put some relaxing tunes on. See you in a bit.” She walked in her closet and picked out blue capri yoga pants with pink and white splotches and a blue bra top. She put on some flip flops and headed downstairs.

  Since it was so nice outside Mindy put the yoga mats out back on the grass looking out at the large pond about a thousand feet behind her property. It was a relaxing sight with the different trees the community put around it, a walking path and the ducks that come and go at different times of the year. Connecting her phone to the speaker she pulled up the yoga playlist, put it on repeat and tapped play before sitting it on the small table she sat near the matts.

  She went back in the house to get them each a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and went to get each of them a small towel from the downstairs bathroom. She was walking back to the kitchen when she thought she heard Faith’s car so she went to the door to let her in after looking out the window first.

  Smiling at Mindy when she walked inside, Faith turned to her after she shut the door. “Well you look better than I thought you would. Did you get some sleep?”

  Shaking her head with a grin at the first comment, Mindy started walking to the kitchen with Faith. “Ha ha - and yes I got some sleep. It was off and on until about 2:30 then I guess I was so mentally exhausted I just passed out until just before dawn.” As they reached the kitchen counter, she reached for a bottle of water and towel to hand to Faith then picked up hers before going outside. “I FaceTimed with the kids just before you called and that boosted my mood tremendously.”

  “That’s good. It will help your body be more receptive to the workout if you’re more relaxed. So lets get started and we’ll talk afterwards.” Walking out back they put their bottles and towels on the table then kicked off their flip flops before stepping on the mat with Faith leading the yoga session.

  After fifty minutes of yoga
, Faith added ten minutes of meditation to help keep Mindy’s head more clear. Between the yoga music and the nature sounds in the back yard, it was a very relaxing hour. “Namaste.” Faith said ending their session. They got up and drank half of their bottle of water before folding up the mats, grabbing the speaker, cell phone and the towels then went to the patio to talk.

  Faith wanted to know how Mindy was dealing with everything today. She told her she was trying not to let her mind get filled with too many assumptions but the doubts kept popping in her head from time to time. She said she was avoiding Brandon’s calls and despite the two brief voicemails he left, she hadn’t called him back yet. She was trying to figure out what to say to him first and just how to address her feelings and what she heard on T.V.

  Changing the subject, Faith dished about her recent phone call from Stephen where he told her he would love to see her again - soon. And with a big smile on her face she started to tell Mindy something exciting but stopped when Mindy’s cell phone rang.

  Mindy held up her index finger for Faith to wait a minute as she picked up her phone to look at the caller I.D. “That’s strange - it’s Stephen.” She looked at Faith curiously.

  “Answer it!” Faith yelled at her with a grin.

  Wrinkling her eyes at her, she answered it. “Hey Stephen.”

  “Hey Mindy. How are you?” He said sounding chipper.

  “I’m alright. - How have you been?”

  “Doing good. I had several auditions when I got back so I’ve been busy getting ready plus I had a call back for one of them. Thankfully, I got the part I really wanted so I won’t be auditioning any more until after filming is done. - And that’s why I’m calling you. I have a month before my new movie starts filming and I was hoping to get my house decorated while I have some down time. I’ve lived here a few months and have very little furniture. - Mindy, I’m offering you a job. I’d like to hire you to design and decorate my new house. Please say you’ll do it. - I’ll fly you here and provide transportation and you’ll be paid your going rate for the job. Not to mention you get to spend some time with Brandon and I while you’re here. We can hit some good restaurants and have some fun.” He chuckled then realized he’d rambled on so he let her process it a minute.