“But—”
“If she happens to give him a blow job, then so be it. That’s the price you pay for trying to show her how you enjoy one. But what you need to remember is that she heard everything you said. She listened intently, and if I know Lia like I think I do, that will stick in her mind. Every time she looks at you, she’s going to think about how you like to be sucked, how you like to be between a female’s legs, and howeasilyyou can please a woman. She will remember that, and that’s the new foundation you work off.”
“Babe, seriously, keep talking like that and we’re going upstairs.”
Kelsey glances up at JP and says, “Unless you start being helpful to your brother, who clearly is in agony, then I won’t be going upstairs anytime soon. He loves her, JP, and he deserves to be with her.” She turns her attention back to me and continues, “This is go-time, Breaker. Forget about what happens between Brian and Lia. Act like he never came home and charge forward. Trust me, we spoke about you in our little girls’ gathering, and there’s intrigue there, and it’s not best friend intrigue. I think you have a chance, but you need to do this right. Brian will falter. He already has, so be patient.”
“I have four weeks,” I say in desperation.
“She will break before that, trust me. Between you and Brian, you have the history, the sex appeal, and the ability to make her happy. She’ll see that quickly. Brian is a blip. You are forever.”
“Babe.” JP clutches his chest. “Damn, that was sweet.”
“That was sweet,” I say.
“You’re making my heart all aflutter,” JP adds. “And naturally, my dick hard.”
Jesus.
Ignoring my brother, I ask, “You really think Lia and I are forever?”
“If anything, Breaker, I lovelove, and I would never mess with that. I truly believe you and Lia are soulmates. I’m just glad you’re seeing it now.”
“Okay.” I nod. “So what do I do now?”
“Well, when I was spiraling, I decided to donate money to make me feel better,” JP says. “I know of a great pigeon rescue that could use another donor.”
I look him dead in the eyes and say, “I’m not feeding into your pigeon obsession. You can fuck off with that.”
* * *
LIA
“So how was your flight back?”I ask, unsure of what to say to him. His presence is completely unexpected. I’m having a hard time processing he’s even here, let alone digesting the conversation I just had with Breaker.
“It was fine. Got some work done, thankfully,” Brian says as he loosens his tie.
Yes, thank God for that. Can’t imagine what would happen if he didn’t get work done.
“Well, uh, are you hungry? I can order food.”
“I just really want to talk to you.” His eyes go to my hair as he approaches me. Does he still hate it? He hasn’t said he loves it, that’s for sure. He takes my hands in his and asks, “Is everything okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Here, let’s sit,” he says as he brings me over to my couch. Once we’re seated, a few inches between us, he continues. “I know the wedding planning has been stressful on you, and I’m worried that maybe you’re not handling it all well, hence the haircut and color.”
Excuse me?
“What do you mean? I cut my hair and highlighted it because I wanted to, not because of the stress of the wedding.”
“Lia,” he says in his condescending tone. “I’ve known you for over a year now, and you’ve never made such a drastic change like this before. I’m just worried the stress is overwhelming, your parents aren’t around, you’re trying to find some semblance of control, and your appearance is the one thing you feel you can control. So you cut your hair. I’m worried this pattern will continue, and who knows what you will do next.”
I rear back, absolutely offended by his assumption. Firstly, where does he come off, even thinking he has a say in my appearance? Secondly, does he truly not see how happy I was in that picture I sent him?
“Brian, it’s a haircut. It’s not like I went off and tattooed a penis on my face. And my decision to do this has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I wanted to feel pretty.”
“You were just fine before. There’s no need to change anything.”
