Love Love (29 page)

“
Ahhhh…put me down! Brad!
Put me down!”

He just holds on tighter until we get
further into the water and he throws me wildly against the
waves.

“
You’re going to pay for
that!” I warn with a lighthearted tone that burns with playful
revenge.

There’s that magnetic smile. “Oh, I
hope so, baby, I hope so.”

We splash each other until there are
no splashes left, only hysterical laughter and abundant smiles.
Brad pulls me close and grasps handfuls of my soaking wet hair and
I let my tongue venture into the depths of his mouth, both of us
pulled in by the ocean’s seductive charms.

I can’t resist Brad, but mix Brad with
the fresh scent of the ocean, the summer breeze, and the sand
between my toes and I’m powerless. Our hands wander up and down
each other’s bodies and I feel him grab my ass and bring me in so
close I can feel his erection through the thin cotton of his swim
trunks. I want him so badly, but as much as making love on the
beach is a fantasy of mine, I don’t feel like fulfilling everyone
else’s fantasy today. With that, I pull back abruptly and push him
down in the water. He needs to cool off.

It was a perfect day, and as
exhaustion settles over me, I can only think of one thing right now
that would make this day more perfect. Climbing into bed with
Brad.

We’re on the stairs up to my
apartment, Brad and I are giggling hysterically like
twelve-year-olds, until we get closer to the door. All laughter is
halted by the sound of Fran’s screaming voice.

“
Get your hands off of me,
and get the fuck out of here! I told you I never wanted to see you
again!”

Jesus. My hands fumble for the keys,
but Brad doesn’t wait. He uses every bit of force he has to kick
the door open, finding Fran in the clutches of an older man. A
tall, graying, fierce man. It can only be one person. Fran’s
dad.

Brad pipes up immediately.
“Didn’t you hear what she said? She
said
take your hands off of
her!”

“
Who the fuck are you?”
Fran’s dad bites out.

When Brad sees Fran crying, he springs
into action. Just like a freaking superhero. My superhero. He grabs
Fran’s dad by the arm to pull him away and gets knocked against the
wall, hard. I panic. Brad’s hurt, Fran’s shaking, and there’s a
psychotic asshole in our apartment. I vaguely hear Brad mumble
“call the police,” and I start digging furiously for my cell
phone.

When Fran’s dad hears the word
“police,” his posture suddenly changes. He bolts for the door, but
not before he eyes Fran one last time. “I’m your father, Franny. I
deserve to be in your life, and this isn’t over; not by a long
shot.”

As her father disappears out the door,
I’m left with the pain of the two people I care about most. My
instincts tell me to go to Fran first, but the need to see if
Brad’s okay pulls me in his direction. I run over to him. “Are you
okay, babe?”

“
I’m fine, baby. Go take
care of Fran.”

I walk over to Fran. She’s shaking
violently and tears are staining her cheeks.

“
Jesus Fran, come here.” I
wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly, wishing I could take
this one thing away for her. The one thing that almost destroyed
her life. I walk her into her bedroom and tuck her under the false
security of her blanket, press my lips to her forehead, and send
her off to a troubled sleep. “I’m here if you need me.” I pick up
the cell phone off her nightstand and leave Kyle a message to come
over as soon as he can.

When I come out of the bedroom, Brad
is still leaning against the wall. His head is back and his eyes
are closed. I grab an icepack from the fridge, sprint over, and
gently hold his face in my hands. “Are you sure you’re
okay?”

“
I’m fine,” he repeats,
reaching for my hand.

“
You’re absolutely insane,
you know that?” I say, letting out a huge sigh and pressing the ice
pack to his jaw. “You know, I already believed you were a
superhero, you didn’t have to go out of your way to freaking prove
it to me.” Brad tries to smile, but winces. “Seriously, I’m so
sorry you got caught up in all this. Her dad is crazy, and you
could’ve been seriously hurt.”

His lips turn up slightly. “All in a
day’s work, Lois.”

***

After
the nightmare with Fran’s dad, we somehow managed to get through
the week, although Fran has been in a funk since last weekend. She
definitely needs a fun night out. I also need a fun night out to
prepare for my mom’s arrival tomorrow. Instead of our usual Friday
night bar escapades, we decide to play pool. It was actually Kyle’s
idea and Brad is pumped for a little competition. Little do they
know, Fran and I know our way around a pool table. Back in college,
Fran, Clark, and I used to hang out and play pool…a lot. Clark and
a couple of his friends taught us to play, and while we’re no
sharks, we’re more versed than the average girl. We know how to
break and we certainly know how to sink balls; not to mention,
we’re masters of distraction! This should be interesting. Very
interesting.

When we arrive at the pool hall, Fran
and Kyle already have a table. As we walk over to the table, I
whisper to Brad, “I can hold my own with a cue, so be
forewarned.”

Brad’s eyebrows lift and he grins. “I
was hoping.” Then he pinches my ass. Oh, this is definitely going
to be fun.

We’re playing girls vs.
guys and I watch their surprise as Fran nails the break, sinking
two balls right off the bat. We call stripes and continue to sink
balls, another two before Fran miscues. When it goes back to them,
I’m eyeing Brad as he leans over the table. He looks so hot, and
him bending over the table is giving me a
lot
of ideas. He raises his head and
catches me in mid-stare, puckers his lips, and grins.

When he comes back around the table,
he leans in and nibbles at my earlobe and I melt. “Baby, I hope you
like what you see.”

I definitely like flirty
Brad. Two can play this game. I slink past him and chalk my cue
ever so slowly, fully aware that Brad’s watching my every move. I
lean
way
over to
take the shot, making sure he gets an eyeful of cleavage. I hear a
sudden choking sound and know I’ve succeeded.

Fran and I are about to win when Kyle
looks over at Brad. “I don’t know about you, man, but I think we’re
being hustled. These beautiful ladies have definitely played pool
before.” Just then, Fran leans over to take a shot, her breasts
poke out from her yellow blouse and Kyle beams. “Actually, I like
being hustled. Let’s play another game. Double or
nothing.”

Fran playfully shoulder bumps him.
“Why not?”

We play one more game, this time
couples, and Brad and I end up losing and buying dinner. We grab a
booth and order something to eat. Kyle snaps his fingers suddenly
and his brown eyes shine. “So, did Fran tell you she kicked our
butts again in Scrabble last night. You should’ve seen her. I’m
kind of thinking she needs to enter some sort of competition. She’s
becoming quite the wordsmith.”

Fran turns to Kyle, glowing.
“Uh…wordsmith? I don’t think so.”

Kyle leans over and gives Fran a kiss
then takes her hand in his. She smiles contentedly. She looks so
happy tonight and this seems to be just what she needed. I’m so
glad. Not to mention, Fran and Brad seem to really like one another
and that puts me over the moon. They’re both so important to me.
Just when I feel like all is right with the world, Fran opens her
mouth.

"So, Brad, what are your
intentions?"

Kyle gives her a piercing
glare.

I kick her under the table and she
screeches. I give her my most evil death stare; I can't believe she
just said that.

Brad doesn't seem the least bit
ruffled, or if he is, as usual, he doesn't show it. "My
intentions…" He pauses. "My intentions are to make Gabby
deliriously happy."

You already do.

Fran has a humongous grin on her face
as she winks at me. And me, well, if I'm not as red as a hot juicy
tomato right now, I’d be shocked.

Brad leans in close to my ear. "I have
other intentions, too...for your ears only." He nips my earlobe and
I nearly choke on my drink. He has a habit of making me do
that.

Fran stares at me with a twinkle in
her eye. She moves in so close only I can hear her words. “I like
seeing you like this. I haven’t seen you this happy in a long
time.”

She’s right. I haven’t
been.

***

My mom
is coming into town today, so waking up with a hangover is a given.
After I take two Tylenol to calm my pounding head, Fran and I spend
the morning cleaning up the apartment so I don’t have to hear Mom
complain.

“
Gabby, you need to relax.
Everything’s going to be fine. She’s not even gonna be here that
long.” Thank goodness for Fran, she’s always the voice of
reason.

“
Well, you wouldn’t know
it, the way we’re scavenging the apartment looking for rodent
cadavers. You haven’t seen any cockroaches recently, have
you?”

“
Very funny. So, are you
going to introduce her to Brad?”

I sigh. I’ve been debating introducing
Brad to Mom. It could go great, but I doubt it. “I was thinking
about it. But I’m not sure she can control herself.”

“
Gabby, he’s absolutely
adorable, she’ll love him.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Yeah,
well, I don’t care if she loves him or not.”

Fran crosses her arms over
her chest. “Whoa. Rein it in there, chickie. I’m on
your
side,
remember?”

I stare at her as I make swirls in the
carpet with my feet. “I know, Fran. I’m sorry. It’s just… You know
how I get whenever I’m around my mom. I become a completely
different person and I’m so uptight.”

Right on cue, as if she knows we’re
talking about her, my cell phone rings. I cringe when I see her
name pop up. I might as well get it over with. “Hi,
Mom.”

“
Hi, dear! Guess where I
am? New York City! Right smack in the middle of fashion central.
It’s fabulous! I’m so glad I decided to come. The couture lines are
amazing. I’ve got lots of great ideas for my shop.” Take a breath,
Mom. “I’ve had a chance to meet some of the designers
and
the models. It’s so
exciting!”