Chapter 8 Dreams Come True #2
“Argh. You aren’t getting it.” He wrung his hands.
“Fuck, I mean, words are kind of my thing and I can’t even get that right tonight.
I meant to say look at how strong you are, how capable.
You don’t need anyone to take care of you, least of all me.
You’re incredible. And beautiful. And I’m only hoping I haven’t just blown it and shown you what an absolute idiot I am.
I mean, it was bound to come out sooner or later, but I kinda hoped I’d have a little more time with you first. Jesus, no more shots for me; I’m cutting myself off. ”
As he talked, he’d moved closer to her. She inhaled a sharp intake of breath when his hands slid over her hips again, drawing her the rest of the way into him. Her frustration ebbed as quickly as it had arisen. It was that easy. She was putty to be molded by his strong, decidedly not-teacher hands.
“Can you forgive me for saying all the wrong things?” he asked her, his breath hot on her cheeks, making her warm in other places. “Make no mistake, I want you, Sophie. As a friend, yes, but hopefully more, too.”
She nodded, leaning her forehead against his. The sweet aroma of lemon liquor on his breath compelled her to move her mouth closer to his. He met her halfway and their lips touched, softly at first, then with more passion and fervor.
Sophie couldn’t believe the physical chemistry she had with Brad, especially just coming out of a particularly troubling relationship. She’d been trained by Drew not to expect much romantically or sexually from a partner, so this was unexpected and thrilling.
His tongue parted her lips, and she opened to meet him, her tongue gently exploring his mouth.
Brad’s lips were like clouds raining down on her after an eternity in a desert, making her thirst for more all at once.
She wanted to get drunk on him, have him fill her with everything he offered, which was turning out to be quite a lot.
His teeth nibbled on her bottom lip at the same time she felt his thumb glide along the bottom of her breast, and she moaned with pleasure.
Just as she was about to pull away and ask if he wanted to follow her upstairs, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She reluctantly and breathlessly turned towards the mystery person she wanted to pummel for breaking up such a perfect moment.
“Looks like you two had fun at the wedding,” Jackie teased.
“Or did you not make it, either?” Sophie’s best friend looked for all the world a different person than had shown up with her earlier that evening.
Her cheeks were flushed pink, not with embarrassment, but exertion and energy.
Sophie recognized it from the way her own skin glowed after a particularly good run or hike.
That, and there was something about the rest of her body that looked more relaxed, less rigid.
Usually her roomie was the portrait of poise and fashion, always ready for glamor shots, even when she was just out for drinks with Sophie.
Now, her shoulders were back, her head tilted to the side, knees crossed languidly.
She looked like she’d gone to the Caribbean for a week, not a crappy hotel bar in the middle of Montana in the winter.
“Well, well, look who decided to join us. You, by the way, are the crappiest date I’ve ever had, Jackie. And yes, we did have fun at the wedding, because, in case you forgot, that’s the reason we were here.”
Jackie looked up, reaching her arm back, and Sophie followed to where Jackie’s attention was being pulled.
Steve walked up, a crooked smile plastered to his face.
He looked like he’d joined Jackie on whatever mental vacation she’d gone on in lieu of attending her friend’s nuptials.
Brad sat up straighter, his face solemn.
“I’m sorry,” Jackie said, her smile matching Steve’s. “We just kept talking, and honestly, we forgot about the wedding altogether. Was it nice?”
Was it nice? Even more unlike Jackie was the fact that she’d miss a party for any reason—topping that list was missing out on fun for a guy. What the hell was going on?
Steve’s arm was naturally and protectively wrapped around Jackie’s waist, not unlike Brad’s brother-in-law’s had been around his wife earlier.
Jackie’s hands rubbed his hand absently, and Sophie felt a twang of jealousy in her chest. They looked adorable together if she was being honest. But still, Sophie wasn’t ready to let them off the hook just yet.
Brad seemed to agree with Sophie, interjecting, “You mean you forgot about us?” He was looking at Steve, but like Jackie, Steve’s smile never waned.
They looked not only like they were owning their decision, but also that they’d never thought their choice to skip the ceremony could be considered a questionable one.
“We didn’t mean to, believe me. It looks like you two fared okay, though, right?”
“Sure, after a pretty heated discussion with Julia on the dance floor,” Brad retorted. That was such a small part of their night, but Brad was right in pointing out how much he could have used his friend.
“I’m sorry, man, but this couldn’t be helped.” Steve looked down at Jackie and kissed her forehead, a move so intimate it made Sophie uncomfortable to watch.
“How drunk are you?” Brad asked, no hint of humor in his voice.
Maybe that was it. It wasn’t so much like Jackie looked like she’d been on vacation, but more so that she’d drank like she was. It would explain everything.
“Not at all, actually,” Steve said with a small chuckle, as Jackie leaned back into his chest. He ran his hands through her hair, and Sophie’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Not that he’d made such an intimate gesture, but that Jackie had allowed it. In public.
“What do you mean? You’ve been in this bar for more than three hours now,” she said. Her voice sounded as accusatory as Brad’s despite the fact that she wanted to be happy for her friend. She’d never seen Jackie this comfortable with someone.
“We actually haven’t had a drink since you guys left. I guess we just sorta forgot about all that.”
Sophie shared a “what the hell is this” look with Brad.
“I know how this looks, believe me,” Steve said.
“Do you?” Brad asked. Sophie recalled the story he’d shared earlier at the wedding.
Was he capable of picking a fight with his best friend?
He’d clocked Chris at a bar and had to pay a couple thousand dollars in damages.
Who’s to say Steve’s abandonment of him at Julia’s wedding wouldn’t trigger him again?
Sophie really didn’t know all that much about Brad, did she?
“Ask the bartender,” Jackie added. At the mention of him, Sam arrived and asked if he could get the four of them anything.
“Two more for us,” Brad told him, pointing to Sophie. “And how much have they had since we left? I don’t want to pay a huge bar tab on their account.”
“Only a beer each, a few hours ago,” he said. “They’re the easiest customers I’ve had all night. The cheapest, too,” he added with a hint of sarcasm before heading back to his post to make their shots.
“Told ya,” Jackie said. Steve laughed and kissed her forehead again.
What was going on? Her serial-dating best friend and a guy described as being her male counterpart were acting like they’d been dating for months, years even. Not one of her behaviors matched up with Sophie’s knowledge of her best friend, knowledge she used to consider all-encompassing.
“So, do you two mind explaining what the hell did happen?” Brad asked.
His arms were crossed over his chest, and his scowl was deeper than ever.
Sophie was secretly pleased to note that he was as sexy—maybe even sexier—with a serious expression on his adorably young-looking face.
She was also intrigued by how much more perturbed he was than her.
She understood why, though. Things could have been a lot worse for Brad if he hadn’t summoned the strength to walk away from Julia.
Who was to say what would have happened if Chris had decided to approach Brad?
He would have needed Steve’s muscle if nothing else.
“You want to take this, or should I?” Steve asked Jackie, the question punctuated with a soft kiss on the lips.
“Go for it, hun,” she replied. Hun? Now this was entering The Twilight Zone kind of eerie.
“Well, long story short, we hit it off.” Steve’s eyebrows were raised in amusement.
Brad let out a sigh that bordered on a grunt of disapproval.
“No shit, Steve. But what happened that you completely forgot about me in my time of need? You’re gonna need to give me more than that.”
“You were fine. Thanks for that, by the way, Sophie.” He reached out to shake her hand but at the last minute kissed the top of it instead. “Now we’ve officially met.”
Sophie grinned up at him. He was a charmer, that was for sure. He wasn’t too bad on the eyes, either. In fact, with his dark skin, ridiculous muscles, and bright-white teeth that gleamed each time he smiled, he reminded her of Dwayne Johnson, the actor and one of Sophie’s star crushes.
“Nice to meet you,” Sophie said. She meant it, too.
“I did fine,” Brad interjected, “but you had no way of knowing it would have turned out that way. You were supposed to be my wingman. Keep Julia off my back.”
“I know and I’m sorry, but there was no way I was letting this woman go.”
“You know you sound crazy, right? You just freaking met.” Brad was yelling now. Sam looked up, keeping a tighter watch on the four of them.
“So did you and Sophie, and you were just making out. What’s the difference?”
Sophie leaned in, interested in hearing what Brad might have to say about this, because to passersby Brad sounded pretty hypocritical.
They’d been talking about what might transpire between them after the wedding was over, which wasn’t too different to what Steve and Jackie were doing, with the exception of the skipping the wedding part.