Out Of The Friend Zone (9 page)

She returned the picture to the mantle, and turned around to see Chandler standing in the doorway, leaning against the wall. She looked at him and flashed a sad smile before her eyes drifted to the floor.

"I'm just not ready to put her pictures away yet," Chandler told her.

"I think this may be a mistake Chandler. You aren't ready, and I don't know if you ever will be," Brynn said as she rushed to the door.

Chandler stepped in front of her and grabbed her arms. "Please, don't go. I can't tell you that I'm going to forget the memories of everything that ever happened with Brooklyn, because I won't. But I think I am ready to put the memories into the past, and move forward with my life. I can't just go from mourning to moving on, and getting rid of all her pictures overnight. This is going to take some adjustment for me," Chandler said, pleading with her to understand.

"I do understand that. I'm not asking you to forget your life with Brooklyn. I would never do that." Much to her chagrin, Brynn began to cry.

"Then what is it? What has you so upset?" he asked

"Nothing, Chandler."

"That's not true. Please talk to me."

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just overreacting since I didn't get enough sleep last night," Brynn said. Chandler gave her a look that said he obviously wasn't convinced.

"Well, when you're ready to tell me what's really bothering you, let me know," he told her, and let go of her arms.

Brynn took one step away from him. They looked at each other for a long, awkward moment.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"How about we go out for breakfast instead?"

"That's probably a good idea. Are you sure you want to put up with me though? I'm not much use when I've had no sleep."

"I think I can handle you," he said with a smile.

"Chandler..."

"If you apologize again, we'll go to your house and you will have to cook for me."

That made her smile.

"Come on, let's go," Chandler said, and pulled her out the front door. They got in his SUV, and headed to the diner a few minutes away. Leaving his house made Brynn feel a lot better, but she worried that she would never feel comfortable there with all the memories that haunted it. Only time would tell.

A
fter breakfast, Chandler and Brynn strolled down the street filled with small shops, going into the ones of interest and looking around. Brynn had bought a few knick-knacks for her house, some clothes, and even managed to buy something for Chandler when he wasn't looking.

"So, I take it you like shopping?" Chandler asked as he helped her carry some of her many bags.

"Not really. That's why when I shop, I really shop. I don't think I could shop in stores or a mall more than once every month or two. Just another reason why I love the internet. There are no crowded stores to deal with, and I can wear my pajamas while buying!"

"So then you won't make me come out shopping with you all the time?"

"Well, no! We'll do this as little as possible!" Brynn reassured him. "Speaking of which, I've had it for the day. How about we head home and enjoy our time left until the kids come back from the beach?"

"Music to my ears!" Chandler said, and led her back to his vehicle. He put her packages in the back, and helped her into the passenger seat. As he drove them back to their houses, he reached over and took Brynn's hand in his, content to just touch her.

Chandler and Brynn spent the rest of the afternoon at her house relaxing. They were taking the time to get to know each other better, sharing stories from their childhood, and reliving old memories. Shortly after lunch, Chandler got a call on his cell phone.

"Hi Chandler, it's Mom. I just wanted to let you know we're on our way back from the beach. I wanted to make sure you were home before I dropped Willow and Barrett off."

"Yeah, I'm home, Mom. You can drop them off at Brynn's," Chandler said into his phone.

"We'll be there in about 15 minutes. See you then. Love you," she said.

"Love you too," he told her, before closing his flip-phone.

"Mom said they'll be here in about fifteen minutes," Chandler told Brynn.

"Sounds good. I feel like I haven't seen Barrett for a long time," Brynn laughed.

"Well, how about we spend some quality time with our kids, then meet up again after they've gone to sleep?"

"Good plan." She thought about being alone with Chandler at night. "You know, I still haven't used my hot tub. Maybe we can break it in tonight after they go to sleep. Why don't you bring Willow over here to spend the night, so that you aren't too far away from her?"

"I think I like the sounds of that." Chandler pulled Brynn down so that she was sitting in his lap, then captured her mouth with his. "Mmm, this is going to be the last time I can kiss you like this until later tonight. I don't know if I can wait that long!"

Brynn laughed. "You went for months without kissing me when we met. I think you can handle waiting until later tonight."

"Yeah, but that was all before I got to experience how good it feels to kiss you. Now I never want to stop."

"I'll give you that one. It does feel pretty good to kiss you. But I still think it's not going to kill us to wait until later," Brynn said, then leaned her lips down for another lip lock. The tingle spread through her body, all the way down to her toes. She had never experienced so much pleasure from just a kiss. It made her wonder how sex would be with him. Her nipples were hardening, the moisture between her legs was growing, and knew that she had to stop before they did something they both would regret.

She broke the kiss, breathless. "I think you better go now before the kids walk in on something more than a kiss."

Chandler took a deep breath. "I think you're right. I need to calm myself down before I see Willow and my mom," he told her, then chuckled. "Well, that did it. All I had to do was say 'my mom', and my erection vanished."

Brynn laughed with him. "Now I know the secret to turning you off, huh?"

"Don't use it on me, please."

"Definitely not!"

"But I still better head home," he said reluctantly. "I'll see you later tonight. I'll get Willow ready for bed, then bring her over. Then you and I can spend some time getting to know your hot tub."

Chandler kept turning around and looking at her as he made his way through their backyards. Brynn laughed and waved each time, finally turning and walking into her own back door. She sat on the couch and turned on the TV to wait for Barrett to come home from the beach. Jeter took the opportunity to jump onto the couch and cuddle up with Brynn while they waited.

"Jeter, you're getting too big to be a lap dog. You're only six months old, and you're already forty-five pounds. I think we have a problem here, you big bruiser," she said, as she stroked the dog's head and back. "But you're a good boy and Barrett loves you to death. I even like you a little."

The dog turned to look at her and she smiled at him. "And I really like Chandler a lot," she confessed to the dog.

Jeter looked completely bored with her revelation.

"Mom! I'm home!" Barrett called as he walked through the front door. Jeter jumped down and ran to greet Barrett. "Hey, buddy, did you miss me?"

Jeter licked Barrett's face, making him laugh. Barrett rolled onto the floor, and Jeter got even more excited, jumping on him and licking him. Barrett giggled uncontrollably as he played with the boxer.

"Hey, save some of those kisses for your mom, Cole!"

Barrett looked up at his mom, and smiled even more. He got up from the floor and ran over to her. She knelt down and opened her arms to him, and when he reached her, they threw their arms around each other.

"Hi Mom," he said. "Willow and I went to the beach today, and it was so cool!"

"So, tell me about the beach. Did you bring me back any shells? Did you build any sand castles?" She stood up and took his hand, leading him over to the couch, where they sat and talked.

"Mrs. Tiller is so cool. She gave us buckets and shovels and stuff, and helped us make a castle with a moat and everything. Then she showed us how to make a turtle sculpture in the sand. We had to knock it all down though, because some guy was running down the beach and stepped in our moat and hurt his ankle. But it was cool while it was up. Mrs. Tiller took some pictures of me and Brynn by the castle and turtle, and she promised she'd give me some pictures. Can we go back to the beach sometime, Mom? We could take Willow and her dad."

"We sure can. I'm sure Willow and her dad would love to go with us sometime."

"Good, because I like them," Barrett said, and hopped off the couch. "Can I go to my room and play for a little while?"

"Sure, if that's what you want to do."

Barrett smiled and headed to the stairs to his room. "Come on, Jeter, let's go play," he called to his dog to follow him. Barrett and Jeter disappeared into his room as Brynn watched them from the couch.

Half an hour later, it sounded too quiet upstairs, so Brynn went up to check on Barrett. When she looked in the door, she saw Barrett and Jeter cuddled up on the bed, sound asleep. She smiled at how cute they looked, then covered them up with a blanket and left the room.

Later that night, Barrett was running around the house full of energy. She knew that she had let him nap too long when he got back from the beach. It was now nine at night, and he didn't show any signs of being sleepy. Brynn wondered how Chandler was faring at his house, so she decided to give him a call.

"Hey, how's Willow?" Brynn asked, when Chandler picked up the phone.

"Well, my little bundle of joy is currently a bundle of energy. I'm surprised you can't hear her from your house right now!"

"Let me guess. She took a nap after getting home from the beach?" Brynn asked, laughing.

"Yup. I didn't have the heart to wake her up. Same with Barrett?"

"Yeah. I didn't have the heart either," Brynn sighed. "Hey, here's an idea. Why don't you bring Willow over. Maybe they'll wear each other out and go to sleep faster."

"I'll be there in two minutes!" Chandler said without hesitation, and hung up the phone.

Brynn told Barrett that Willow would be coming over. That seemed to wind him up even more, but Brynn also knew that about a half an hour later, both he and Willow would be exhausted and ready for bed.

Two minutes after they had hung up, Willow and Chandler were at her back door. Willow ran in looking for Barrett and headed straight for the stairs. Chandler walked in wearing a pair of swim trunks and a t-shirt. He looked around to make sure the kids were upstairs, then pulled Brynn into his arms and kissed her.

"So, are we bad parents, wishing our kids would hurry up and go to sleep so that we can have a little fun together?" Brynn whispered.

"I don't think so. All parents need a little peace and quiet, a little time to themselves every now and then. We're no different," Chandler told her.

"Good. I didn't want to feel any guilt tonight." Brynn let out a sigh of relief, glad that Chandler felt so sure about it.

After the kids calmed down, Brynn went up and told them both it was time for bed. She tucked them in and said goodnight, then headed for her own bedroom. Once inside, she went to her drawers and found her red string bikini. She changed into it, then put a t-shirt on as a cover-up. Before heading back downstairs, Brynn stopped outside Barrett's door to make sure the kids were finally asleep.

She continued back downstairs to find that Chandler was already outside, taking the cover off the hot tub and getting it warmed up. She stood at the door and silently watched him for a minute. He had taken his t-shirt off, so she watched the muscles in his back ripple as he removed the cover. His shoulders were so broad and toned, and his back went into a 'V' at his waist. He had the perfect shape, and the perfect muscle tone. He was tanned a light golden brown, to perfection.

He was startled when he turned around and saw her watching him. "Hey, the kids asleep?"

"Yeah, finally. You want some wine or beer?"

"I'll have whatever you're having." She nodded and walked back into the house. He watched as she walked. All he could see were her long, slim legs peeking out from under the over-sized t-shirt, and it was enough to drive him wild.

She came back out to the deck with two wine glasses and a bottle of wine. She poured the wine and left the bottle on the table next to the hot tub. She handed his glass to him, her eyes never leaving his. Her heart was already pounding like mad.

He took her free hand and led her over to the hot tub. When they reached the steps, he took her glass of wine and set both his and hers on the ledge. He wanted both hands free for what he was going to do next. Chandler pulled her closer and reached for the hem of her t-shirt. The only time their eye contact was broken was when he lifted the shirt over her head.

Brynn stood perfectly still, nervous under his gaze. Chandler allowed his eyes to wander up and down her body. What he saw made him whistle low under his breath. He put his forefinger under Brynn's chin and raised her head so that she was looking into his eyes again.