Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
brADLEY
“You think?” Her eyes are all big and round, and if I’m being honest, I want to wrap her up in a big bear hug until that frown disappears.
“I don’t think, I know.”
“You’re an incredibly decent man,” she whispers, wiping under one eye where a tear has formed. I always seem to make this girl cry.
“I’m not always decent.” I waggle my brows, trying to get her to smile.
She rolls her eyes and laughs. “Not according to the mom committee.” She thumbs behind her.
I glance over her shoulder, and several women quickly look away. “You know,” I say, my eyes back on her. “I think they think we’re an item.”
“I can’t imagine why; you did just sling your arm around me and veer me away from them.”
“You seem annoyed by that.”
“At saving me from the moms?” she laughs. “Most of them are cool, but there’s one or two wildcats. Although Lorelei seems to love having her paws all over you. But she is the leader of the pack, then there’s Mindy. She likes fresh meat.”
“Well.” I clear my throat. “I’m not fresh meat. I’ll have you know I’m not seeing anyone right now.”
She gives me a disbelieving look. “You’re not?”
Now it’s my turn to pique a brow. “When would I fit in a date with my crazy schedule?”
“We’re calling it dating now, huh?” She muffles a laugh.
I lean closer. “Just because I’m good at extracurricular activities doesn’t make me a bad person.”
“I never said it did, but after that little stint, they look like a pack of hungry piranhas out for blood.”
I chuckle, turning to look back at the field. I came here to support Deaton, after all, but all I’m doing now is teasing his hot as fuck mom; this delicate woman who has been under my nose the entire time, but was too wrapped up in myself to notice it.
Just as I’m about to reply, I see the said piranha heading our way. “Uh, oh,” I mutter under my breath.
“What?” Chelsea says, but it’s too late.
“Oh, Bradley?” Mindy purrs from behind us.
Chelsea and I share a look before I clear my throat, turning on a pleasant smile as I turn to face her. “Hello again,” I say.
She glances at Chelsea. “I hope you don’t mind if I steal him away, sweetie, but some of us moms need to put our orders in for the kids’ uniforms.”
“There’s actually no need,” I say, before Chelsea has time to answer. “I’ve accounted for all the kids. Mrs. Kite helped, so she has a list, and the kids will all be getting their new gear after practice.”
Clearly, Mindy had other ideas. “That’s so… wonderful of you. I can’t even tell you what we as a committee have had to do.” She rolls her eyes for effect. “Bake sales, pounding the pavement with fliers and car trunk sales, car washing, it’s been a battle.”
“It has for some,” Chelsea mutters. I don’t need her to tell me that this Mindy chick is one of those women who likes to boss others around, make it look like all the good ideas are hers, and take all the credit for herself.
I know for a fact that Chelsea was in charge of the bake sale, and the car wash, and most likely the trunk sale, but she doesn’t need recognition for it.
Instead she stays quiet, well, as quiet as my girl can be.
I know it takes a lot for her temper to come out, but I’ve seen it once or twice. Luckily, not directed at me.
Mindy tucks her hair behind her ears. “Well, I was thinking after the game, you might like to come and grab a hot chocolate with me?” she blurts. Just like that. “Samuel will be going to Xavier’s, so I have a free afternoon.”
I almost cringe in horror as she spider walks her fingers up my arm. Since when was it okay to just go around touching people?
“That’s such a pity,” Chelsea pipes up, causing me to glance at her. “But unfortunately, Brad is already occupied.”
“Oh.” Mindy raises a perfectly curved brow. “By who?”
“Me.”
Mindy instantly flushes, but she straightens her spine, and if I’m not mistaken, a small huff escapes under her breath.
I use this opportunity to remove her hand from my body before things get even more weird.
“My apologies.” She doesn’t sound sorry.
“I thought you two were just friends.” Mindy looks at me, then to Chelsea, then back to me for confirmation.
I open my mouth to speak, but Chelsea beats me to it. “What a misconception.” Her laugh is trill, and not at all like the laugh I know and love. It makes the edges of my mouth quirk. “Sometimes we…”
“Sometimes you?” Mindy’s eyes bug open in anticipation.
“Um.” Chelsea looks to me in desperation, her eyes widen, knowing she can’t exactly backtrack.
Mindy laughs. “Looks like the words are kinda stuck, which I can understand, Bradley Lucas is a catch—”
Chelsea grinds her teeth. “Uh, we spend a lot of time together.”
“But you’re not dating?” Mindy presses, it doesn’t even sound like a question.
Chelsea smiles, but it’s not the kind to reach those beautiful eyes. “Says who?”
“Actually, I’m not on the market,” I try to interject, but the two women are staring at one another like this is some duel. I don’t even think either of them hears me.
“I’d always just assumed the two of you were besties. I don’t know if you’re aware…” She whispers the next part… “But your bestie here has quite the reputation.”
She’s not wrong, but still. Chelsea folds her arms across her chest. “People can change. Brad can’t help it if women just swarm around him like bees to a honeypot, he’s got character, good looks and charm, he can’t help it.”
But Mindy is having none of it. “And he is quite the beekeeper.” She finally looks at me, her eyes lowering for a moment to scan me over.
Chelsea looks around quickly, lowering her voice to a whisper and blurts; “Fine. We’re fucking. Which means Bradley Lucas is off limits. Got me?”
My eyebrows shoot up. Holy shit. Did she just say what I thought she did?
Well, there is nobody around us, and all the kids are on the field screaming at one another for the ball. I guess that’s a good thing considering what I just heard.
My eyes widen at the same time I swing an arm around Chelsea’s shoulders, confirming my part in the lie to Mindy about us fake dating was one thing, but… okay then. We’re gonna go straight to fucking.
“Oh, my…” Mindy raises a hand to her chest. “You… really are an item…I just…”
I don’t think anyone has ever cussed in front of Mindy before, and I can’t say I’ve heard Chelsea drop the F bomb too many times. It’s quite comical. I like the way those dirty words sound coming out of her pretty mouth.
“What Chelsea means is, I’m taken.” I try hard not to roll my lips, but it’s fucking hard. She just told the queen bee we’re fucking, and I know for a fact she’s about to run over to Lorelei and the other moms to fill them in.
“You know?” Mindy begins to walk backwards. “I think I heard Sarah calling me, but just forget this ever happened. Okay? Buh-bye!” Her voice is high-pitched, it reminds me of the mice in Cinderella, I almost want to stick my finger in my ear and ring it out again and again.
Instead, I finger wave. “Thanks for stopping by.” Once she’s gone, I swiftly turn to Chelsea and give her a slightly bedazzled look, which she avoids. “Way to clear a room, honey.”
“Jesus, what was I thinking?” She buries her face in her palms. “To Mindy of all people!”
“Well, I think your attempt at getting rid of her worked.”
She whacks me on the arm. “Not helping.”
I chuckle, my shoulders giving way. “Do you want me to see if she’s telling the others?”
“Let’s just watch the game.”
The kids are all still running around, trying to get the ball.
A few moments pass. “Not that I’m going to get on your bad side, Mama, but fucking?”
“Shhh!”
“Nobody can hear.”
“I’m an ass. It’s official.”
I smile smugly. “Just admit it; you were jealous.”
“I was not!” She protests, then lowers her voice again. “I was not jealous, Bradley, but the way Lorelei and then Mindy kept manhandling you like that, and openly flirting. Neither of them is a class act. I don’t get women like that. If a man did that to a woman, it would be holy uproar.”
“For the record, I removed Mindy’s hand.”
“I know,” she sighs. “But women like her don’t give up easily. She’s a man-eater.”
I chuckle again. “I kinda established that already. But thank you for protecting my honor.”
She blows her bangs out of her eyes, clearly frustrated with herself. As if justifying her actions, she adds, “That’ll shut them up, at least.”
“I dare say it’ll give them something to talk about.”
I get an elbow in the ribs for that comment.
“Still not helping,” she mutters.
“Hey, I don’t get what I did? You’re the one who said we were doing that thing.”
She said fucking. Fucking. She could have said screwing, but she didn’t.
“Stop laughing.” She shoves me again, then waves, smiling to Deaton as he passes by. “Go, honey!”
“I love how you switch from potty-mouthed-biker-babe to sweet-innocent-pie-making-mom-with-a-cherry-on-top in the blink of an eye.”
She straightens her spine. “I stand by my decision.”
“I still say you were jealous,” I taunt. “Trust me, Baby Girl, there’s enough of me to go around.”
“Just because you think you saw jealousy, doesn’t mean you did. I was trying to get her away from you. By the way you were pulling that face, you seemed uncomfortable. I just assumed you’d rather have her greedy paws off you.”
Greedy paws.
God, this woman is one of a kind.