“I won’t advise you to go against your lawyer’s advice, but whatever you’re doing now isn’t enough. I’ll say that.” He set a twenty on the table and made a show of sliding off the stool and straightening his tie. “You played great tonight, Brigs. It was the old you. The passion and energy. I miss that kid.”
He left, making me feel hollow and unsettled. The urge to do something stupid was dangerously close to overtaking my mind. I craved a release, an escape from this hell, and when my phone buzzed with a text, I knew the exact person I wanted to spend time with.
Blue Bell: If you didn’t know, the latest tabloid said I was pregnant with your cousin’s triplets. I felt like you should hear it from me.
Brigham: Can I see you tonight?
Blue Bell: Is this about the triplets? We can still be friends if it’s not awkward.
Despite my awful mood, she made me happier.
Brigham: I’m in a shit mood and am probably shit company but I’d really like to see you.
Blue Bell: You know where I’m at. I’ll be here.
Blue Bell: I’m sorry you feel down. I’ll start baking. It helps.
It took twenty minutes to leave the bar and arrive in front of the door. A momentary panic took over, knowing she didn’t live here permanently, but that was weeks away. There was no time to worry about things that had yet to happen.Thanks for the advice, Mom.I knocked twice, shifting my weight between my feet as the pressure around my neck got worse with the growing stress.
“Should I have your cousin Bert leave?” she asked as she swung it open. She had her hair in two braids and wore a flimsy red tank top with the same-colored shorts. Even her pajamas were cute. It was her smile and open expression that had my heart beat faster in a good way.
“Bert?” I bit down on my lip to hide my reaction. “That smug bastard. Where is he?”
She giggled, like I wanted her to, and I scooped her up into my arms and kissed her. She parted her bare lips for me and I lost myself in the simplicity of the kiss. Warm mouth, tentative hand movements, soft sounds. She melted in my arms and I broke apart, grinning ear to ear at her gobsmacked expression. “Did you make something with blueberries?”
“Your brain is something else. The ability to go from Bert to kissing me like that to blueberries is a train of thought I can’t comprehend. Your kisses make my brain feel drunk.”
“That is a very good answer.” I set her down and sniffed. “Mm. Something with chocolate?”
“Chocolate chip banana bread. The bananas help convince me it’s healthy.” She ran her finger over her bottom lip and stared at me with wide eyes. “Shall I expect a greeting like that every time you come over?”
“If I say yes?”
“Then I will prepare myself accordingly.” She made a proud face and put on an oven mitt. She made quite the picture with her PJs and mitt, and my sour mood left me little by little the more I stared at her. She pulled out the pan and stuck a toothpick in the center. “Damn. It needs another thirty minutes or so.”
“Thirty minutes, hm?”
She blinked a few times and raised one arched eyebrow. “Do I detect a naughty tone, Brigham?”
“Yes. You definitely do.” I waited until she put the pan back in the oven. “But I’m a nice guy, so I’ll wait until the dessert is done before I make my move.”
“Oh, a move.” She wetted her bottom lip. “I would love to see the moves of Brigham Monaghan, famous sports baller.”
The quick reminder of my life made me wince and a look of regret crossed her face. She frowned and closed the distance between us. “I’m sorry for saying that. Come here.”
She pulled me into a hug. I let her think she had the strength to physically move me, and her tight hug made my chest feel funny. It wasn’t from pain, because she couldn’t actually hurt me, but the feeling of being comforted. It was so new, so foreign, that it startled me. “You’re stiff as a board, Brigham.”
“I know.” I rested my chin on top of her head and took a calming breath. She felt safe while also turning me on each time she wiggled against me. She might be new to sexual experiences, but this comfort with the opposite sex was new to me. “Being around you helps.”
She snorted against my chest before looking up. “Do you want to talk about it? We can talk, not talk, eat, not eat.”
“This is perfect. Right now.”
We stood there, arms wrapped around each other, for a few minutes, and I swore I felt the moment my body relaxed. My muscles unclenched and my mood lifted. Sarah was my happy place for the time being, whether she wanted it or not. “Tell me about your day.”
“Hm. It was pretty okay this morning. The GoFundMe already has a thousand dollars. I couldn’t believe it!”
That was good news. I picked her up and set her on the counter, standing between her legs and keeping my hands on her. “Hell, yeah.”
