Brigham
Despite the urge to fire Charles for interfering in my personal lifeagain, I couldn’t recall the last time I’d been excited to go to a charity event. It wasn’t because I was heartless—I loved giving back to the community—but the photo-opportunities and the schmoozing and the fakeness of the nights wore me down.
But tonight was different.
Sarah would be with me. Not as my fake girlfriend to appease Charles’ idea that it would help my image, but because she could use it as a career move. She wasn’t a pawn in his game but had instead chosen to make her own decision, and I was proud of her. It was silly, only having known her a week, but it didn’t make it less true. She was so far removed from the fast-paced high life of famous athletes that she was precious to me. I would protect her from that side of my life, no matter what.
I showered and got ready after an afternoon session at the gym, and the huge bouquet of blue irises sat on my table. The color was almost identical to her eyes. I’d hung up on my sister after asking her what flowers were blue and where I could find them. She was nosy as hell, but she could wait until our call tomorrow. It was five and, fuck it, I wasn’t waiting until five-thirty to go over. I had a restless energy that had everything to do with my date for the night, and surprising her early with flowers and wine seemed like a good idea.
With the flowers in one hand and the wine tucked underneath my arm, I locked my door and was about to knock on hers when the elevator pinged. She walked out with an empty plate and her face froze when she saw me. “Ohno. I swear I’m not late, right? Oh shit.”
“You’re not.” Nerves got to me for the first time in years, and I coughed to cover them up. “I was bored and thought I’d come over early.”
“Phew.” She blew out a long breath and her face softened when her gaze landed on the flowers. “Beautiful. Wow.”
“They match your eyes,” I said, hating myself for how goddamn cheesy that sounded. Her answering giggle made it worth it, though.
“Dork,” she said, taking them from me and burying her face in them. “I know the first flowers weren’t from you, but this is the most flowers I’ve ever had. No one has given me any before. Well, my dad did once, but it wasn’t cute. My mom forced him to, but, anyway, let’s not rehash that story.” She entered the code and I followed her into the foyer. She wore tiny jean shorts and a plaid shirt that showed a sliver of her stomach, and it shouldn’t have affected me that much, butdamn.
Tiny Blue Bell is cute.
“I’m glad you got them twice on my behalf then,” I said, reminding myself to stay focused.
She set them on the counter and her eyes widened when her gaze landed on my chest. For a second, I thought I’d spilled something on my shirt, but she blushed head to toe. “Man, you look excellent in a suit. Very excellent.”
Very excellent?I fought a laugh. “Thank you.”
“My dress is not that fancy.” She checked her watch and winced. “I promise I’ll get ready fast. Just…hang out. Talk to the dogs. They like men, those hussies.”
“Okay then,” I said, but she’d already disappeared into a back room. The two dogs in question stared at me for a full three minutes before coming over to me for attention. They were cute but high-maintenance, and I’d always imagined a dog being a black Lab. Playing fetch, going for hikes and long walks. Not…a stroller.But to each their own.
Small footsteps pulled me away from a stare down with the rambunctious pup, and I found Sarah wearing a purple dress that was snug all the way to her hips but flared out and had a slit.Woah.I was a fan of the slit. A big fan.
“What do you think? It dulls in comparison to your suit. Shit.” She spun on her heels and went back into the room before I got a word in. She came out a few minutes later with a bright blue dress that dipped low in the front and hugged her entire body. “This?”
“Yes,” I said, nodding like an idiot. Sarah didn’t have a huge chest or all the curves I was used to, but it didn’t make her less beautiful. “You look incredible.”
“Would you trust your most precious animals with me?” She twirled and curtsied at the end.
“One hundred percent, yes.” I stood and walked toward her. She stopped her smile and sucked her lip into her mouth. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She hummed and looked at me with so much curiosity that I wanted to demand she share her thoughts with me. Her large blue eyes were framed with thick, dark lashes, and the way they fell against her face was pretty. “Let’s boogie.”
“Boogie?” I repeated, amused at her word choice.
“I said it.” She looked mighty proud and held up a finger. “Hold on real quick.”
I obeyed and waited for her to return, but this time, she wore bright red lipstick that drew my attention to her full lips. They were the curviest thing about her and I wanted to bite into them, to feel them on my skin, andwhat the fuck?I snapped myself into the present and hoped my expression didn’t make me look like a constipated weirdo. “You ready?”
“Yes, sir.” She looped her arm in mine as we headed down to the main floor and she looked concerned. “Is this okay?”
“Is what?”
“My arm in yours. I assumed it’s what people do on dates, but now I feel stupid. I keep thinking about what I should do with my hand. Do I grip your muscle? Do I let it dangle?”
“Blue Bell, has anyone ever told you that you overthink things?” I teased. I reached over to intertwine our fingers for a minute and held her hand tight as we walked outside to catch an Uber. It felt nice having her small fingers in mine. Hers were soft and warm where mine were roughed up with callouses from weights and batting.
“Almost every person I’m friends with or related to tells me to not overthink, but I’ve discovered in my time on earth that I can’t change that part of myself.” She looked up at me with parted lips, and my chest got tight. “I didn’t even ask. Where is this event?”
