Chapter 14
14
Tracey slowly opened her eyes and stretched. Sunlight filtered through the blinds. Not the lacy curtains in the room she slept in at the inn. Tracey froze. She rubbed her eyes, but the window coverings didn’t change. She looked around: this was not her room. The night before rushed to her. Following Brian back to his place, having a drink, the awkward kiss followed by him leading her to his bedroom. They’d gotten on the bed, Brian had rubbed her back and shoulders. She’d relaxed and then…she couldn’t remember.
She was going to be so pissed off if she’d finally had sex and couldn’t remember any of it. Tracey lifted the covers and checked her body. She was still dressed. Her shoes were gone, but the rest of her clothes remained. Surely she wouldn’t have gotten dressed after having sex. She clenched her sex, checking for any signs of soreness. Nope, everything felt perfectly normal down there. So if they hadn’t had sex, what happened?
“Did I fall asleep?” she wondered out loud. Heat crept across her chest, up her neck, and through her cheeks and forehead. She closed her eyes and groaned. She had.
Not only had she not known what she was doing, she’d doubled down and fallen asleep like the tired old woman Bernard claimed her to be. Brian wasn’t in bed next to her. She could only imagine what he’d thought. He was probably ready to call their deal to an end. No one wanted the person who fell asleep in the middle of their seduction.
Tracey sat up and saw a yellow sticky note affixed to the nightstand. She recognized Brian’s loose, easy handwriting. There’s a new toothbrush in the bathroom. Take your time.
She got out of bed and went into the adjoining bathroom. After cleaning up, she headed toward the front of the house. She would make this quick and easy. Get out before he could make her feel like crap for falling asleep on him. She’d deal with the fallout of this later.
Brian was in the kitchen. When she entered, he grinned and pointed toward the table. “I’ve only got two different kinds of cereal. I don’t eat breakfast a lot, and when I do it’s usually a frozen breakfast biscuit or something quick that I can eat before going to work. I hope you don’t mind.”
She looked from his smiling face toward the cereal and back. “You want to have breakfast?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Do you have to hurry back to the inn?”
She did need to get back. Shirley would be there handling breakfast. She wasn’t even sure if Jessica had made it there on time to make sure the guests were covered. She had interviews lined up for an office manager later that afternoon. Following Brian home had been a whim and something she shouldn’t have done knowing everything she needed to do today.
“I kind of do. I have a lot going on.”
“Can you spare me twenty minutes before you run out? It’s still early. Not even seven yet.”
“You still want some of my time?” The words came out before she could think. Guess her get-out-and-deal-with-this-later plan was a waste.
“Why wouldn’t I want any of your time?”
“Because I fell asleep when we were supposed to be having sex.”
He nodded and crossed his arms. “Yeah, I can’t say that’s happened to me before.”
Embarrassment made her want to turn and run out of his place. Pride kept her feet cemented to the ground. “So are you mad?”
He shook his head. “I’m not mad. Disappointed, a little. But mostly, I want to know what happened.”
“I fell asleep,” she said defensively. She braced herself for his anger. For him to call her a tease or say she was playing with him.
“I mean, what was up with you last night? I could tell your head was somewhere else.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
She didn’t meet his eyes. He’d noticed that, too. She should have stuck with her vibrator. She been worried about being a bad lover. How in the world was she supposed to explain that?
Brian crossed the room and stood in front of her. “Nah, don’t do that. If we’re going to be together, then we need to talk. I’m not a mind reader, Tracey. You’ve got to tell me what’s going on up there.” He gently tapped her temple.
Tracey looked up and met his eyes. “I wasn’t distracted.”
He raised a brow, and his stare called bullshit. “Tracey, be real with me. If you can’t trust me enough to tell me what’s going on, then we might as well not do this.”
“Is that it? You want to stop?” she asked defensively.
He shook his head. “That’s not what I said. I want to do this. I really want to do this, but I don’t want to if you’re not ready. I won’t force anything on you. Understand?”
She closed her eyes. She wanted to sleep with Brian. She was just nervous and afraid. She could walk away right now and he’d never bring up what happened last night again. She could say nothing and pretend she was okay and sleep with him, but he’d think she was forcing herself to have sex with him. Or she could tell him the truth.
“I don’t know how to do this,” she said in a rush.
“What do you mean?”
Tracey opened her eyes. He studied her face. As if he really wanted to know what was up instead of just saying pretty words to hurry and get her in bed.
Let me take care of you. His words from the night before. Even in the middle of everything he’d shown concern for her. Brian wasn’t going to make her feel bad about what happened.
She took a deep breath and then blurted out everything in her head. “I was nervous. I couldn’t get out of my own head. I’ve only had sex with one person for the past eleven years. And only another person before that. I know everyone in this town thinks I’m like my mom. That I had a dozen guys lined up outside my bedroom before Bernard lowered himself to marry me. But I didn’t. I talk a good game, but I’m no hot girl or whatever the kids are saying these days.”
Once the words were out she wanted to run. But if she couldn’t figure this out with Brian, then who would she figure it out with? Craig? The thought of doing something similar with him made her stomach sour. As much as she hated that Brian was always there when she was embarrassed, he never made her feel bad when she was at her lowest. She didn’t trust anyone easily, but he’d earned her trust enough that she would try and be open with her feelings.
“I don’t expect you to be a hot girl or whatever the kids are saying these days.”
“Then, what do you expect?”
“Exactly what you did just now. Be honest with me. Tell me what you want. What you like.”
“I don’t know if I know what I like. I mean, I’m trying to figure that out, but I’m worried about doing something wrong.”
“You can’t mess it up.”
She put a hand on her hip then pointed back toward the bedroom. “I fell asleep.”
He chuckled. “And I’m glad you felt comfortable and safe enough with me that you would fall asleep. We’ll try again. You tell me what you’re thinking, and don’t worry about messing anything up, okay?”
“But you’ve been with a lot of women.”
He brushed her hand on her hip aside and replaced it with his before pulling her closer. “And none of those women were you. I’m not thinking about those women. Right now, the only person I want is you.”
Her bones turned to mush, and she leaned into his body. “You’re good at this sweet talk stuff.”
“It’s not sweet talk. It’s the truth.”
He cupped the side of her face and stared into her eyes. He lowered his head and kissed her. Tracey relaxed into the kiss. Her mind swam not with the thoughts of how things would mess up or what she needed to do but floating on the clouds of his words about wanting to take care of her and his interest in knowing what she wanted. The kiss started slow but quickly increased to the point where her body heated and a delicious tingle started between her legs.
“Do we have time for a quickie?” she asked. “I can make up for last night.”
Brian groaned and kissed her again. “No quickie. Not today.”
“Why not?”
“Because, I don’t want our first time to be a quickie. Just like I didn’t want you overthinking like you were last night. Plus, we both have to work. Tomorrow’s Thursday. We agreed on Tuesday and Thursday. Let’s try again.”
“Do you want me to come back here?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
Brian’s grin said he already had a plan forming. “Because I’ve got an idea for a better place.”
***
Brian was in his office scrolling through a travel site when Natalie knocked on the door. He looked up quickly before glancing back at the computer screen.
“What’s up?”
“Your brother is out here.”
Brian sat back and frowned. His brother lived in Atlanta where he worked as an investor at a bank. He only came to Peachtree Cove for birthdays, holidays or when their mom insisted that she needed to see his face.
“For real? Send him in.”
“I’ll get him.” Natalie turned away, and a few seconds later his older brother breezed through the door.
“What’s up, B,” DeWayne said with a grin. He was the same height as Brian with the same dark skin and low-cut hair. He was slimmer than Brian with more of a runner’s physique. His tailored clothes always showed off his long legs and arms.
“Nothing much. What are you doing in town? Did Mom call you back for a visit?”
DeWayne shook his head and sat in the chair across from Brian’s desk. “No, but I am going to go by and see Mom. I had a golf outing with some clients in Augusta, so I decided to swing through before going back home. I came to see if you wanted to hang out after work.”
Brian grinned and nodded. “Sure, but I don’t get off for a while.”
DeWayne glanced around the office. “You own this place. You can get off when you want.”
“I do, but I need to check in on a plant installation that went wrong yesterday. I can meet you around seven. That’s not too late is it?”
DeWayne twisted his arm to check the expensive watch on his wrist. He frowned and shook his head. “I’ve got an early meeting tomorrow. I’d hoped to check in on Mom and have an early drink with you so I can get back to Atlanta.” He slapped his hands on his crisply pressed slacks then sighed. “How about I chill with you for a few minutes and we get a rain check on drinks?”
Some time with his brother was better than none. Only three years separated Brian and DeWayne, but they hadn’t hung out much when they were kids. DeWayne was always focused on two things: making money and getting girls. His brother had done everything their parents expected of him. He’d gone to college, pledged their dad’s fraternity and gotten a successful nine-to-five job. Brian had tried to follow his brother’s footsteps, but their love of ladies was the only similarity. Brian couldn’t imagine sitting behind a desk all day and having an early morning meeting discussing numbers.
Despite their differences, their relationship was good. They didn’t have to talk every day, but Brian knew if he called DeWayne for anything his brother would be there, and DeWayne knew the same.
“You can chill for a minute. I’m not leaving for that job just yet.”
“Cool. What were you working on before I came in?” DeWayne leaned forward and looked around at Brian’s computer screen. “Hotels? Where you going?”
Brian closed the screen with the list of hotels. “I’m thinking about spending the night out of town.”
His brother chuckled and leaned back in his seat. “Ah, I get it. Who’s the lady? You still seeing Angelica?” DeWayne had introduced Brian to Angelica when he’d visited his brother in Atlanta.
Brian shook his head. “No. I never got to tell you that we didn’t work out.”
“I thought you were feeling her.” DeWayne’s disappointment wasn’t a surprise. His brother liked to succeed in everything. Even when it came to introducing his brother to a woman he thought he’d be into.
“It just didn’t work out. I wasn’t ready to give her all she wanted.”
DeWayne narrowed his eyes. “Renee called you.” His brother said as if that was the answer. “You not starting up with her again, are you?”
“What? No! I’m not even thinking about Renee.” Thankfully, she hadn’t called him again since he’d last told her that her marital issues weren’t his problems.
“Mom mentioned that she called. I’m just checking.”
“She called, and I told her that I’m not getting in her business anymore. She’ll be good.”
“Then, if it’s not Renee or Angelica, who is it?”
“Don’t worry about all that. Just know it’s not either of them.”
He didn’t want to tell his brother that he was looking up romantic hotels for his next night with Tracey. He wanted her to relax and enjoy their time together. He’d wondered if maybe getting her out of town would help. If he could take her mind off things and focus just on them. No distractions, just the sparks that flew when she let her mind free and got lost in their kiss.
“How was the class?” DeWayne asked.
“Huh?”
“The class?” DeWayne said in an Earth to Brian tone. “You had class last night, right? How did it go?”
Brian had forgotten all about going to the entrepreneurship class the night before. Tracey and their time together had consumed his thoughts. “Oh, it went well. Mikayla wants to use my business as an example in one of the sessions.”
DeWayne sat up straight. “For real? That’s cool.”
His brother sounded impressed, which made Brian sit up a little straighter. He didn’t do much that impressed his brother. DeWayne didn’t support most of Brian’s boneheaded decisions. He’d cursed him out when he’d dropped out of college and eloped with Renee. He’d been frustrated when Brian decided to open a nursery instead of take the job he’d lined up for him at the bank. So for DeWayne to be impressed by Mikayla’s request meant his brother might think this was a big deal.
“Yeah, but I didn’t see the reason to use my business. I mean, I haven’t done much.”
“You’ve done a lot. I may not have agreed with you opening a nursery, but you’ve kept it in business and you’re growing. I don’t want to play with plants and dirt all day, but you’re making this a success. Don’t downplay what you’ve built.”
Those were the most encouraging words his brother had spoken to him in a long time. Brian shifted in his seat. He didn’t deserve that much credit. “But I’m in the class to learn how to keep my business successful, not to brag on what I did.”
“Go ahead and brag. Hell, even I didn’t think you’d make it this far.”
Brian scoffed and tilted his head to the side. “Why not? Because I dropped out of college?”
DeWayne frowned before meeting his brother’s eye. “Because, man, you were heartbroken when you moved back. I thought you were doing this nursery thing as a rebound before you bounced back and started doing other things.”
“I wasn’t heartbroken.”
His brother raised a brow. “Yes, you were. I would have clowned you, but I was worried you’d break down in tears. You were worse than one of those sad nineties brokenhearted love songs.”
Brian grunted and waved a hand. “Whatever. I wasn’t that bad.”
“You were pretty bad. That’s why I’m glad you’re not dealing with Renee and whatever she’s trying to bring up and that you’re going to a hotel with someone new. Even if it’s not Angelica. Don’t get tied up in some drama like that again.”
“I have no plans on getting tied up in anything. Even though I wasn’t nineties brokenhearted love-song sad, I’m not trying to get back in that place. I’m good.”
DeWayne nodded and leaned back in his chair. A satisfied look crossed his face. “Good. Then, don’t worry about bragging on what you’ve done with this nursery either. Mom is proud of you. Dad would be proud to see you settled and doing something. I’m proud of you. It’s time for you to be proud of yourself.”
“I am proud of myself. I just…” He sighed then grinned at his brother. “I’m not as arrogant as you.”
His brother glared before wiping at the shoulders of his shirt. “I’m not arrogant. I’m confident.”
They both laughed, and Brian relaxed. He looked around his small office. Nowhere near as shiny and opulent as the office his brother had, but it was his. He had started something when he was at his lowest, and now it was successfully thriving. He was proud of what he’d done.
He looked back at his brother. “Thanks for dropping in today.” He’d needed the pep talk from his brother. He looked up to him and his words encouraged him.
“Anytime, brother.”