Exposed: Book One of The Love Seekers Series (19 page)

Bryan:
Go, have fun, and report in later. Much later.

Me:
I’m only staying an hour.

Bryan:
Give it an hour and if you are not having fun, lave, but if you are, stay.

Me:
Yes, sir! LOL.

Bryan:
Don’t get cocky.

Me:
I can’t. Ur the one with a cock.             

I thought we already had that talk. :P

Bryan:
I’ve created a fucking monster.

Me:
Hehe. U know u love me.

Fuck! I hit enter before I could stop myself. I didn’t mean to send that, but I meant it as a joke. I wasn’t serious.

Bryan:
Whatever. Have fun, Em.

Me:
Will do. Sigh. I guess I have no choice.

TTYL.

Deep inside me, I felt the pull to stay and talk to him. I longed to give into that temptation, but I couldn’t. I wasn’t his type, he lived in San Diego, and I desperately needed to get over my crush. The sooner that happened, the better for me, but he wasn’t making it easy.

Bryan:
TTYL, Emma. :*

Wait! Hold the presses! A kiss emoji? Had he used one before without me noticing, or was this the first time? What did it mean?

I willed myself to calm down. To him, he probably meant the emoji as a friend giving another friend a peck on the cheek. Reading any more into it, I predicted ended in disaster. But my heart didn’t listen. It raced faster than NASCAR at Daytona. No. I forbade myself from overanalyzing it and getting my hopes up. If I allowed myself to think about it too much, I would somehow convince myself he returned my affections. I’ve had this talk with myself too many times already. It was time to move on and get over him, and this barbecue would be the perfect place to start. 

Chapter 20

Emma

My car rolled to a stop in front of the address Bryan had supplied. In one word, the house could be described as quaint. Painted the color of redwood with white trim, it reminded me of some of the older homes located in the smaller towns of Texas. Four steps led up to a screened in porch that had a wooden white porch swing. That swing would make the perfect setting for an evening of relaxation as I watched the sun set and sipped on a cool glass of sweet iced tea, swinging back and forth without a care in the world.

And I felt nervous as hell about the fact I had to walk in there alone.

Knowing Mel the way I did, I brought my own car so that if I wanted to leave early, I could. That had been my initial intent, however, as I was about to pull out of my parking spot in my apartment complex, Mel texted me and informed me she and Luke would be an hour or two late. An hour…or two? FUCK ME!

I knew no one here, and Bryan’s great idea for a buffer just abandoned me to fend for myself. I considered going back inside my apartment to wait out the two hours because I did not want to go alone to a place I knew no one; but I also knew myself. If I didn’t leave right then and there, and the party would happen without me.

Before I could change my mind, I peeled out of my parking space—in my nervous excitement, I accidentally threw my car into reverse, slammed on the accelerator, and almost hit the cars parked behind me. My tires screeched when I moved my foot to the break and stomped it into the floorboards. Good news: my seatbelts worked perfectly, and I had a bruise on my shoulder for proof.

When I left the apartment, I was full of determination and gumption, but now that I had arrived and sat staring at a stranger’s house, my bravery left me, leaving me feeling unsure and hesitant. I wanted to throw up, but I hadn’t eaten anything this morning because my anxiety had made me too wired. Maybe a coffee run, or some sort of break would give me a small reprieve before I attempted to face my fears. Great plan.

Great plans have flaws. I reinserted my keys into the ignition, and then heard a
tap tap tap.
My head whipped around to see who dared interrupt my perfect escape plan, and standing there wearing a dreaded Chicago Windstorm’s baseball cap, stood a man. I didn’t know who he was at all, therefore, instead of opening my door—anyone who wore a Windstorm’s cap could not be trusted—I turned on the engine and opened my window a crack. Sometimes I wished I still had a crank handle in my car so I didn’t have to bother going through the motions of starting it first.

“Yes?” I asked with my guard up. The words
stranger danger
kept flashing like a Las Vegas billboard in my head.

“Are you Emma?” His grin grew by the second, and I got the distinct impression he might be laughing at me.

This man’s smile had the ability to lure in hapless females, and his slight British accent could make them melt. He was definitely not a Bryan, but I could feel the tiny jump in my heart. I was a sucker for foreign accents. That said, I wouldn’t drop my guard. “Yeah, I am.” Who the hell was this man?

I guessed he finally noticed I had yet to open the door or roll down the window more than an inch. “I’m Bryan’s friend, Chad.”

“Oh.”

“I, uh, I saw you pull up. Do you need help getting out of the car?” He stammered. Suddenly, he seemed a little unsure of himself.

My defenses skyrocketed. This man knew about me from Bryan, he knew I was disabled, but the last thing I wanted was for him to think me completely helpless. I wasn’t helpless. I wasn’t an invalid. “No,” I answered with as much attitude as I could muster.

Taking a small step backwards, he held his hands up in surrender, the smile never leaving his face. “I just thought I’d offer. Bryan said you might need some assistance getting into the house, and I wasn’t sure if you needed any getting out of the car too.”

I breathed in and out in an effort to calm down. Chad had done nothing wrong and didn’t deserve my disdain. He wanted to help, and the only crime he committed was the hockey team he chose to support. Personally, I loved the LA Surf, and we tended to hate the Windstorms with a passion. Again, not his fault he possessed poor taste in team selection. “Sorry.”

“It’s all good.” He moved to the side and leaned against the back of my car, giving me space to get out, however, when I made no move to roll up my window or exit, he asked, “You coming in, or do you need my help with anything? Not a lot of people here yet. Mel telephoned to say she and Luke are going to be late, but last time she said that, they never showed up.”

He sounded as if he had all the time in the world and his ramblings began to put me at ease until he got to the part about Mel not showing. “Excuse me?”

Realizing his mistake, he tried to correct himself. “Sorry. I’m sure they’ll come because you’re here. And if they don’t, we’ll tell Bryan and he’ll kick their asses. Or I can. Either way, they’ll get what’s coming to them.”

I snorted and covered my mouth in an attempt to hold in my laughter.

“Nah, you can’t cover that, I heard it. Come on. We’ll get you in the house and something cold in your hand to drink. You really don’t want to sit out here in the afternoon sun, do you?”

Shaking my head, I rolled up the window, and shut off the engine. Time to meet my maker, or go to a party, whichever worked. “Thanks,” I muttered, shifting my legs to the street and pulling myself out. “Where are you from?” My curiosity got the better of me, and as I slowly made my way to the trunk where my walker lay on its side, I thought I’d ask.

“My parents moved me and my siblings here from London when I was five, but the accent stuck.” He chuckled and his smile grew. His lips curled up higher on one side than the other, and he didn’t have dimples like Bryan, but he had full lips surrounded by a light brown beard.

“Excuse me, I have to get my walker out.” My body got stiffer when I said that. Would Chad balk, would he say something? Would he give me a horrified or pitying look?

He popped the trunk open, and before I could lay a hand on my walker, he pulled it out and set it in front of me. Closing the trunk, he waited patiently, his expression never changing.

“Um, thanks?” I told him uncertainly. I felt like I was floundering.

“Are you asking?” His words were not rude, but they did sting a bit. I opened my mouth to say something, to apologize, but he waived me off. “Don’t worry about it. I understand. My sister has MS.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.” Now I felt like a total bitch.
Why hadn’t Bryan told me?

“She handles it like a trooper, like I heard you do.”

“I don’t have—“

He interrupted me before I could continue. “No, but you have another neuromuscular disease. You can’t compare which one is worse. They’re both bad, both do damage, both affect the body, and both suck.”

For the first time since I became sick, being around a stranger didn’t bother me. I wanted to cry. My nose and eyes burned, but I refused to let my tears fall. I was sure if they did, he’d panic.

“So, here are the rules. I won’t baby you, but you have to tell me if I’m overstepping. Bryan said you use either a walker or a cane depending on how you feel. Since you’re using your walker, I’m going to assume, it’s not a great day. I know the heat bothers you and can make everything worse, and so can stress. So being thrown into the lion’s den like today probably didn’t help you. The same thing happens to my sister, Megan. If you need help, ask. If someone is being an asshole, tell me. If you want to leave, let me know, and I’ll help you out to your car. And if you just need to lie down for a nap, I have a room ready for you.”

I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer, and they fell one by one down my cheeks. To have a complete stranger do all of this for me, overwhelmed me. No one ever treated me like Chad. I could overlook his choice of hockey team for this. For the first time, I didn’t feel like I was drowning from the weight myasthenia gravis put on me.

“You okay?” His voice was soft and full of understanding.

Nodding, I sniffled as I attempted to stop crying. “Yeah. Sorry, I just…” Unable to continue, I swiped at the tears, wishing they would stop. His hand gripped my shoulder. He didn’t pull me in for a hug, or do anything that might frighten me or push my body off balance, but the pressure of his hand comforted me.

“There’s nothing to apologize for. It’s a lot to take on, and I bet you’ve had a rough go of it.”

My head snapped up to meet his gaze. “Did Bryan…?” I couldn’t finish my inquiry.

Shaking his head, he explained, “He told me nothing except that you might need help and that you had MG. Your secret is safe with him.” His wink made me feel bad that I had jumped to conclusions. He gave my shoulder one last squeeze. “Shall we get you inside? You can take your time. I’ll go at your pace.”

Was I dreaming? Because everything felt like I had been transported to some make–believe world, and if that was the case, I didn’t want to wake up. I took a good hard look at Chad after I had wiped away the last of my tears away. I had already noticed the well–groomed beard that covered his jawline, but he also had tufts of shaggy sandy blond hair escaping his cap in the back. His blue eyes reminded me of the ocean in Cancun, and I almost wanted to drown in them. His six foot body was trim and built with more muscle than Bryan, making this guy look more like a bouncer than…actually, I didn’t know what he did for a living. In other words, Chad was HOT! And his personality gave him bonus points. If I had to choose someone other than Bryan to crush on, Chad made the short list. However, as good–looking as he happened to be, he probably had a girlfriend tucked away somewhere, and if he didn’t, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t make his list.

He must have been talking to me because he shook my shoulder gently and squeezed it again. “You okay?”

“Huh? I mean, yeah. Right as rain. Sorry, I was thinking about a few things.”

“Got it. Well, come on then. We’ll have some fun today. Did you bring your suit?”

“My suit?”

“For swimming.”

“Uh no. No one told me to, and besides, I think it’s probably best if I don’t. You know?” While he accepted my handicap with an open mind, others would probably not be as kind.

“That’s all right. My sister left one here and you two are about the same size. If you decide to take a dip, you can borrow it.” Chad outright ignored my decision not to get in the pool.

“But—“

Holding up his hand, he told me, “You never know. You might get in the mood to take a dip, and if you want to, you need to know you have that option available to you.”

“Uh…thanks.”

“No problem. Now let’s get inside and get something to drink. I left my friend Mark manning the grill when I went to see if you had arrived yet, and I don’t completely trust him. Last year, he cooked the burgers until they transformed into charcoal. I left him with one job today, to man the fire and gave explicit instruction not to start cooking yet. But knowing him, the meat is on the grill already.”

“You can go in without—“

He kept interrupting me. If Chad had a flaw, that would be it. “No can do. I’ll assist you up the stairs and we can go in together. Trust me, you’ll need help. My railing is a bit loose and I don’t want you falling. Bryan will have my ass if anything happens to you.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Is that why you’re being nice to me?”

His eyes grew wide and round, and he shook his head. “No, not at all. I’m being myself, but I’ve seen my sister struggle. So I guess you could say, I’m more in tune with what you may or may not need help with. I don’t need your boyfriend’s threats in order to be a gracious host. My mom is big on manners and can be scarier than Bryan.”

“Bryan’s not my boyfriend,” I said, confusion evident in my tone.

“He’s not?”

“No. He’s Mel’s friend.”

“Well, they’re both my friends.”

“No, I mean I met him through Mel, and he’s trying to get me out of the house more.” Too embarrassed to admit the real reason for Bryan’s interference in my life, I decided to keep that to myself. I had yet to tell Gia. If I hadn’t told her, I sure as hell wouldn’t spill my guts to a stranger. I was curious though. Why did he think Bryan and I were together?

“Oh. Sorry, with the way he talked, I assumed you were more than friends.”

Smiling, I tried to put him at ease. “It’s okay, but we’re only friends. Besides, I can’t blame you. Your ability to think might be hindered by your choice of hockey team.” I giggled when I saw his frown.

“Who do you root for?” I could tell he wasn’t too offended by my statement, and his demand lacked intensity.

“LA.”

“Fuck me! The enemy is coming into my house. Bryan will die a slow and horrible death for not telling me.” He winked.

“I know. He gave me no warning either. He deserves slow and agonizing torture.”

“Agreed. Come on then. We’ll go inside, get a beer…uh do you drink beer?” At my nod, he continued, “And we can plot his demise.”

I had made an ally out of the enemy. This day had turned into something surprising already.

After walking up the short staircase to the porch, I was relieved I had help. One false move with that banister and I would’ve fallen into his bushes. If only the good feelings continued when I entered the house. Chad hadn’t babied me or treated me like a broken person, but as soon as we stepped through the front door, all eyes were on me and all conversation immediately ceased. If the radio had been turned off, a pin drop could’ve been heard.