Out Of The Friend Zone (5 page)

When she got downstairs, she saw that the babysitter was the one who had arrived. She gave the girl all the instructions, and wrote down her and Chandler's cell numbers, and put them near the phone. Brynn ordered a pizza for them, and gave the babysitter the money to pay the delivery guy when he got there.

When there was another knock at the door, Brynn went over to answer it. Chandler stood there in shock when the door opened.

"Hi, I'm looking for my friend, Brynn? We're going out tonight. Have you seen her?" he asked, when he finally was able to speak.

"Ha-ha! You're funny," she replied, and pulled him in. Brynn had to admit, he looked so hot tonight, wearing a royal blue button down shirt and nice black pants. He even smelled great.

"Wow, you definitely don't look like you're the mother of an eight year old boy. You look really hot tonight!" Chandler said, still shocked at her appearance. "I never would have guessed that body was hidden under all those clothes you usually wear!"

Brynn blushed, and gave a small laugh. "Thanks, I think. You look pretty hot yourself!"

They went over and said goodbye to their kids, and headed next door to Chandler's car. Chandler opened her door for her, like a perfect gentleman, and helped her into the seat.

"I can see where Willow gets her manners," Brynn smiled.

Chandler walked to the driver's side and got in the SUV. "Thanks. So, we're going to meet everyone at this Italian restaurant. Is that fine with you?"

"Mmm, sounds great! Good thing I'm not kissing anyone tonight...I can eat all the garlic I want!" Brynn said.

"Yeah, but don't forget, I have to share a ride with you. You're going to kill me with that breath, aren't you?" he teased.

"Ok, I guess I'll go easy on the garlic for you. So, how many people are going to be there?"

"Well, probably between five and ten of my friends. Only two of them have girlfriends, and the rest are always on the prowl, so let me know if any of them bother you," Chandler told her.

"Ah, how sweet, you'll be my protector... my body guard. I feel so honored," Brynn teased.

"And you should!" he laughed.

They talked about a wide variety of things on the way to the restaurant, and the night was already a victory of sorts, because she didn't once think about Nico.

When they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, Brynn started to get nervous. For some reason, she began to get worried about what Chandler's friends might think of her. Logically, she knew that their opinions shouldn't matter, but for some reason they did.

Chandler opened her door and helped her out of the vehicle, then offered her his arm. Brynn put her hand on the crook of his elbow, and the two made their way inside. When his friends saw them, they all stopped talking and just stared, making Brynn even more nervous. Chandler guided her to an empty seat and sat her down, then took the seat right next to her.

"Hey guys, this is my friend Brynn. She moved next door a few months ago." Chandler introduced everyone at the table and they all said hello to her.

"So, why is everyone so quiet?" he finally asked.

All the friends looked at each other. "Well, when you said you were bringing a friend, no one expected it to be a female friend. I think we were a little shocked," Zaiden said. "It's just been a while since we've seen any woman on your arm."

"We're just friends, very platonic and everything," Brynn rushed to say, to clear up any misgivings that his friends might have had.

"Oh, that's too bad," Zaiden said, and winked at her. He seemed to be the most outspoken one.

After that, everyone started talking again, included Brynn in all the conversations, and made her feel welcome. The food was great, but Brynn kept her vow to Chandler, and didn't eat too much garlic.

When dinner was finished, they all headed to the club across the street. Chandler took Brynn's drink order, then went to the bar to get it for her. He came back with three of the drinks she asked for.

"Why did you get three?" Brynn asked.

"Well, I promised you a nice dinner, a few drinks and tons of dancing, right? We've already had the nice dinner, now we're working on a few drinks. So drink up, then we'll dance," he explained.

"It's been so long since I've had any alcohol. I think these three will get me pretty smashed," Brynn said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Nothing wrong with that!" Chandler told her as he sipped on his beer.

Brynn started her first drink, and after tasting it, she decided the best plan of action was to slam it. After it was all gone, she put the glass back on the table, and picked up the next one. Chandler's eyes got wide as he watched her, and he began laughing. "Easy killer, you keep going like that, and you'll really be paying for it tomorrow!"

"Sorry. The first one is always the hardest, had to get it over with," she smiled.

A little while later, Chandler pulled a slightly buzzed Brynn out on the dance floor. "I might be a little rusty," Brynn told him. "It's been a while."

"It's okay, I'm rusty too," he told her.

They found an empty spot on the dance floor and started to move, a little awkwardly at first, but as the music played on, they started to loosen up and get more comfortable. They were really getting into it, when the music turned from a fast song to a slow one.

Chandler looked at Brynn. "How about it?"

Brynn nodded and moved closer. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her in until her hips were touching his. She rested her hands on his shoulders as they moved to the music.

"Are you having fun?" he asked.

Brynn looked up into his eyes. Even in the dark, she could see the beautiful shade of green. "I'm having a great time. I don't think I've ever had so much fun. Thanks for making me come out tonight."

Brynn laid her head on his shoulder. Her heart was racing as she smelled his cologne, and she ran her hands up and down his nicely muscled arms. She felt like her world was spinning out of control, and at that moment, she didn't care.

Chandler tightened his arms around her waist, picked her up, just slightly, and hugged her body to his. He nuzzled his face in her neck, before putting her down. "You smell so good," he whispered, as he looked back into her eyes.

"So do you." Brynn said breathlessly, while the space between their lips lessened. Before either one could find their common sense, their lips touched. Tentatively at first, then harder, until they were engaged in a full-on liplock.

Chandler removed one of his hands from her waist, and put it at the base of her head, on the back of her neck. He closed his eyes and deepened the kiss, enjoying the tingling feeling in his lips, not to mention what was happening to the rest of his body.

Brynn allowed his tongue to enter her mouth, and massaged it with her own. This was the last thing she had expected, but right now it seemed like the best thing that could have happened. He felt just as good as she thought he would. Every part of her body was reveling in the joy of what was happening.

When neither could breathe any longer, the kiss was broken. Both Chandler and Brynn's face registered the surprise of what had just happened between them. There was no point in hiding what it did to them - both were blushing and panting.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that," Chandler whispered.

"It's my fault too. I'm sorry," Brynn told him.

"This just isn't the right time. I don't want to ruin our friendship," he explained.

"I know, me either. I think we just got carried away."

"Yeah...we did."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Brynn broke the silence with a smile. "How about we blame it on the alcohol, and forget it ever happened?"

"That sounds good," Chandler told her, but wondered if he would ever forget that marvelous kiss that awoke so many feelings in his body.

Brynn wondered the same. No man had ever made her feel like that from just a kiss before. But she knew how badly she needed a friend, and he needed a friend too. Something like this happening again could ruin that, and what was better? To have a chance, or to have a friend? Right now, for Brynn, it was definitely the latter.

"Maybe we should head home. It's getting late," she said.

Chandler nodded, and led her out of the club. The ride home was quiet, with small conversations about his friends and the dinner they had had. Neither of them mentioned the kiss. When they got home, Chandler walked her to her door to say goodnight.

"Thanks for tonight. I really did have a great time," Brynn said.

"I did too. Thanks for coming with me. Tell Willow to come home when she wakes up in the morning, please?"

Brynn nodded. "Good night," she said, her voice a little shaky. She took her key out and unlocked the door. Chandler stood there behind her as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he did what he was sure was the right thing, and let her go.

"Night," Chandler said, and left.

Brynn paid the babysitter, then locked up the house behind her. For a moment she looked over at the neighbor's house and wondered what Chandler was doing over there. She wondered if he felt as lonely as she did.

She then headed to bed, for a long night of passionate dreams.

T
he next morning, Brynn woke up with a monster headache. She rolled out of bed and headed straight for the medicine cabinet in her bathroom. She shook out three pills from a bottle of Advil, and put them into her mouth. After turning on the water faucet, she scooped up a handful of water and poured it into her mouth, washing the pills down her throat.

After taking the Advil, Brynn headed for the shower. The pulsing water seemed to soothe the pounding inside of her head. She turned it up as hot as she could stand it, then gradually turned the water temperature down until it was blessedly cool against her overheated skin.

After finishing her shower and drying off, Brynn dressed in a pair of comfortable navy yoga pants and her white Yankees jersey. She headed downstairs to get breakfast started for Barrett and Willow.

Just as she was finishing making French toast, Brynn heard the scampering of little feet running down the stairs. She grinned - the kids had impeccable timing where breakfast was concerned. Barrett and Willow jumped up onto the stools at the breakfast bar, ready to eat.

"Good morning. Did you two have fun last night?" Brynn asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool," Barrett said. "Are we still going to the arcade today?"

Brynn wanted to go anywhere but the arcade. She knew that once she got there, her headache would go from bad to worse, with all the bells and whistles, and little kids running and screaming...all the wonderful attributes of the arcade!

"Of course. I promised that we would go, so we will," she said, putting on a brave face.

After breakfast, Brynn called to let Chandler know Willow was on her way home. "Just wanted to make sure you were awake. Willow's on her way over, then we're going to head to the arcade," she told him.

"I'm up. Send her over," Chandler told her. He paused for a minute, then said, "Do you still want me to go with you to the arcade?"

"Just try and get out of it. I'm not suffering alone!" Brynn mock threatened him. "Meet us outside in about half an hour?"

"We'll be there," he said, then hung up.

After Barrett changed into the clothes Brynn laid out for him, she asked him to take Jeter out to go potty before they left. He was doing a good job being responsible when it came to his puppy. He never whined about having to take the dog out or to feed him. She was now convinced that getting him that puppy was a very good idea.

After Brynn had cleaned up the kitchen from breakfast, and the puppy was put in his crate, Brynn and Barrett headed outside to meet Chandler and Willow. When Brynn walked out their front door, her stomach started doing somersaults, remembering the kiss they had shared on the dance floor the night before. She could still feel the way his lips felt against hers, the way his tongue had begged for entrance into her mouth, and the way her lips tingled after the kiss was broken.

He sent a nervous smile her way as she walked towards the SUV. Brynn smiled back and kept a sedate pace as she walked to the vehicle. Barrett, on the other hand, ran over to the SUV and jumped into the back, talking excitedly with Willow about how much fun they were going to have. Brynn climbed into the front passenger seat, and as soon as everyone was buckled in, Chandler put the vehicle in reverse and backed out of his driveway.