Page 13 of Hard To Stay

She looked directly at me pursing her lips together. “Yeah, you and Brad.”

Her statement caught me off guard. I thought for a moment that I might actually choke on my sandwich. I quickly wiped my face off with my napkin, eager to set the record straight. “He’s a really nice guy, but we’re just friends.”

“Friends? Please.” She shook her head with her ponytail swinging back and forth like she didn’t believe me. “I saw the way he was looking at you and it sure as hell didn’t look like friendship in his eyes. Trust me, I would know.”

Guilt started to seep inside of me. It was no secret that she was interested in him. What kind of friend did that make me?

As if she could read my mind she put down her fork and looked at me. “It’s no secret I’ve been trying to get his attention forever.” She sighed looking away then she turned her gaze back to me. “Trust me, he’s never once looked at me the way he was looking at you last night.”

“He was just doing his job. Really.” I tried to explain, not sure who I was trying to convince more, her or me?

“Really!” She looked at me in disbelief. “I don’t think so. Him driving you home last night and walking you to work this morning had nothing to do with his job.”

I laughed, trying not to let my mind go there. “Whatever you say.”

She smirked at me as she finished the last bite of her salad. “I say you should go for it.”

Without saying another word, she stood up from her chair and walked out of the room leaving me alone with my thoughts.

The rest of the day seemed to drag by at a slow and impossible pace. When I glanced again at the clock and saw that it was quitting time, I shot out of my chair like a sprinter in a 100-yard dash, threw my purse around my shoulder and bolted towards the door.

As soon as I stepped outside, my heart quickened at the sight of Brad. He was leaning with his back against the front of my office building, hands in pockets, shades on and looking even more striking than he did this morning. God sure did bless him in the looks department. As far as I was concerned, he was the total package. I stared at him for a good 10 seconds before he raised his eyes toward mine. I saw a slight knowing grin spread across his face.

“Hi there.” I said, as he stepped in front of me.

“Hey!” He nodded in return pushing his sunglasses up to the top of his head. “How are you doing?” I expected him to sound relaxed and carefree but his voice was thick with concern.

“I’m fine.” I lied, trying to ease his worry.

Sensing my fib, he placed his hands on his hips and shook his head back and forth. “I’m sorry, Lexi.”

“Hey!” I reached out and placed my hand gently on his arm. “It’s okay, I know you tried.”

His heavy gaze focused on my hand but his expression was unreadable. He looked away, and I sensed a tug of war going on in his head. There were moments in time where you just knew they held some special type of significance. This was definitely one of those moments. I dropped my hand, letting it fall to the side. There wasn’t a single nerve ending in my body that wasn’t aware of him. Even with all the noise, and the mass of people clogging the streets around us eager to get home, it still hit me like a ton of bricks. So, I did what any normal person would do. I pushed it back into my subconscious as far as it would go and locked it up tight while avoiding his gaze.

He lifted the sleeve of his dress shirt and checked his watch. “Do you want to go grab a bite to eat and talk about it?” My eyes flashed in surprise as I tried to read into what the invitation actually meant for me.

My mindset wavered between wanting to spend time with him and knowing that it wasn’t a good idea. My emotions felt like they were on a roller coaster ride. I wasn’t sure what was going on between us, but I liked it almost to the point of where I needed it. There was something indescribable about Brad that pulled me towards him with a force I couldn’t resist.

“Sure,” I said, hoping he didn’t notice the careful way I had answered his question. Brad and I slowly walked along West Broadway as we headed toward my apartment. Normally I would jump at the chance to avoid having to cook but the past 24 hours had left me sleep-deprived, and I just wanted the comfort of my own apartment. “On second thought, would you mind if we eat in instead?”

“No, not at all,” he said, as we continued to walk along the busy street. Lost in my thoughts, I absent-mindedly stepped into the intersection, completely oblivious to the ‘Don’t Walk’ sign flashing red in front of me. I was startled to attention when I heard a cab horn scream in my ear and felt Brad grab me at the waist, preventing me from stepping in front of its bumper.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his concerned eyes searching mine. My body was trembling as I reflexively pulled back from his grasp. The way I was feeling had nothing to do with the scare of the taxi. It was the impact of falling into the safety of Brad’s arms that had my head spinning.

I laughed nervously, silently wrestling with the emotions that I was feeling. “Oh my God. I’m such a klutz.” I said, trying to recover from my embarrassment. Acting like a fool seemed like a much better option than admitting what really had me worked up inside.

He still looked unsure. “You’re not a klutz.” He gently scolded. “You just weren’t paying attention. You walked right out into the street when the cab had the right of way.”

“Sorry, I guess I’m just a little distracted.”

A light breeze stirred in the air as I squinted into the setting sun, searching for a way to make sense out of the undeniable chemistry that we had together. My life had been a whirlwind since Colton popped back up in my life, conjuring up feelings that I had hoped to never feel again. Both men had taken up space in my head today and when you combined the two, it left me feeling rattled. I was one hot mess.

Once we arrived back at my apartment, Brad insisted on going in first to check things out. I watched him move through my small space, carefully checking each room before declaring it safe. I wished I could say he was overreacting, but the truth was with Colton anything was possible.

Making my way into the kitchen, I inspected the contents of my fridge, blocking out the feelings that swirled in my head. I couldn’t ignore the fact that I enjoyed having Brad in my personal space probably more than I should have.

I pulled out a block of cheddar cheese and reached to open the cupboard. A box of shells and a container of Italian breadcrumbs sat on the bottom shelf. Perfect, now I just hoped he liked mac ‘n cheese because if he didn’t, then it was clear we were going to have a little problem.

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