by Amanda
He threw open the door to the restaurant and every head in the place turned his direction, he scanned the faces, not finding Helen and fought the string of curses that threatened to escape.
"Brian, just who do you think you are storming in here like this? This isn't like you." Tammy came towards him, coffee pot in hand. Her reprimand soothed some of his anger, reminding him of his behavior.
"Sorry, it's complicated, have you seen Helen today?"
"No, I talked to her Wednesday and she said you gave her the rest of the week off. What's going on." Of course, how could he have forgotten? Looking around he saw Jake Erickson, Todd's brother, the local sheriff, and, it just so happened, one of Tasha's exes, well, sort of. He marched over to his table.
"Jake, I need you to get her out of my office."
The other man looked up in confusion, "Who?"
"Tasha." Chuckles erupted all around him, he was sure it was the look of panic on his face combined with the knowledge of her relentless pursuit of him.
"Did you try asking her to leave?" Jake asked with a smirk,
Brian groaned, and leaned closer and lowered his voice, so that only he could hear, "I did, but she's handcuffed herself to my chair and hidden the key somewhere."
Jake tried—and failed—to stifle a chuckle, "Couldn't you just find it and let her go?"
"She's as naked as the day she was born." He confided, Jake mumbled a curse, followed by a groan.
"Come on Brian, I can't go over there, she'll set her sights on me again, at least you have a wife to help buffer her," he practically whined, Brian chuckled.
"You were engaged to her, besides, it's your job, Sheriff."
Jake's eyes narrowed, and still whispering, he confided; "You know I was only going to marry her because I thought she was pregnant and the dead beat dad had run off and left her, I never even touched her." Brian sighed, that was true, he'd been away at college at the time but had heard from Todd what had happened, though Jake was his age he'd always been closer to the oldest Erickson brother, he was like a second father and big brother all rolled into one.
"I know, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone there, but you are the sheriff." Jake huffed but pulled himself out of the booth, tossing a few bills on the table.
"Fine, but you're going to owe me big time for this, Harris. Do you want me there as an officer of the law, or a friend?"
"Just a friend, I don't want to press charges or have her arrested or anything, I just want her out."
"Who are we not arresting?" Brian stilled as the sweet, familiar voice came from behind him.
"We're drawing a crowd, let's take this out on the street, I don't want her to be any more embarrassed than she already will be." Jake said, herding him and Aria out the door. Aria flashed him a confused look, but didn't question him further. Once they had made their way back to his office Brian stopped outside and explained to Aria and Jake exactly what he found when he walked in that morning.
"I'll handle her," Aria growled and stormed into the building, both men following quickly behind, when they walked into the lobby area Aria motioned for them to wait as she headed toward Brian's office.
Brian started to follow her, but Jake placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Brian had never seen Aria so enraged before, and truthfully he was worried about how exactly she planned to handle Tasha. While she was a nuisance, and had definitely gone too far this time, she was really just a broken and confused woman in need of some serious direction.
He'd tried talking to her about her issues in the past, but she'd always shut him down and tried to proposition him instead, and from what he knew of her situation with Jake, she'd done the same to him. She'd gone away to college for a few years and came home pregnant, or at least that's what she'd told Jake, feeling sorry for her to have no one to take care of her and the baby he'd offered to marry her and provide for both her and the baby.
As far as anyone else in town knew they had kept in contact while she was away and were getting married out of love, no one else knew about the baby. Brian only knew because Todd had called and asked for prayer in the matter, knowing that he couldn't reach out to anyone in town. A month into the engagement Tasha broke it off and told Jake she had never been pregnant in the first place. She then went on to marry someone from out of town just a month later.
"You're back! I knew you couldn't stay away—" Tasha started as Aria opened the door, but stopped as soon as she'd moved into full view. The men had stayed back by Helen's desk, out of view, to give Tasha the respect she deserved, regardless of if she wanted it.
"I don't know what your fascination with my husband is, but it has got to stop, now. He's off the market, he doesn't want to dance, come over to dinner, have coffee, or have anyone naked in his office that isn't me." Brian's thoughts drifted into dangerous territory at the images she evoked with that last statement, he shook the thoughts off and refocused on the rant coming from his office.
"Now, I'm going to give you to the count of ten to tell me where the key is or I'll be forced to wheel you out of here, just as you are, park you on the sidewalk and let Sheriff Erickson deal with you. And let me tell you, everybody and their brother's uncle is in town today. It's your choice…one…two…thr—"
"Fine! It's in the bowl of kisses." Tasha plead with her, Aria must have looked intimidating for her to back down so quickly. There was some rustling around, and then the sound of handcuffs being undone.
"Thank you, now get dressed, and get out. I don't want to see or hear about you flirting with my husband again." Aria said firmly, but without any malice as she walked back into the lobby to join them. His heart swelled with pride for how well and quickly she handled the situation.
The door opened a moment later and a very contrite, and clothed, Tasha walked into the room, she stopped in front of Aria and mumbled, "I'm sorry, I finally realized today when he turned his back on me that a man can't be stolen if he doesn't want to be…and Brian doesn't want to be." Never taking her eyes off the floor she started to shuffle forward. Aria reached out, lightly grabbing her hand, "I forgive you."
The women exchanged shy smiles, and Brian was completely shocked at what he'd just witnessed. The two women had been at each other's throats since day one, and not even five minutes ago Tasha had been naked and waiting in his office. Now, she was apologizing, and looking sincere about it. Even more amazing was how calm, yet firm and forgiving Aria had been, he couldn't have been more proud.
"Thank you, Aria," Jake stepped forward when the door closed behind Tasha, "I never thought taking this job would mean dealing with naked women, but that's the second time that something like this has happened." He shook his head with a slight chuckle
"Are you talking about the time you had to help deliver that baby?" Brian asked, the town was small enough that he thought he'd heard of every incident that took place.
"No, actually, I guess it was about five years ago now, but we had a streaker in the center of town. She wasn't from around here, and I never did see her again after her release, I wonder whatever happened to her." He shrugged it off, though Brian could tell there was more to the story than he was sharing, especially since he'd covered it up well enough that it never got around town. Something like that would be big news in a small town, the way Jake seemed to hold that particular incident close to him told Brian not to push him.
Jake said his farewells, and thanked Aria again for saving him from the awkward situation that he would have had to encounter otherwise, and the left the couple alone.
"Not even nine in the morning and we've already had deep confessions of dark pasts, and love, shared our first two real kisses, and had to pry a naked woman out of your office. I'd say this is shaping up to be quite an unpredictable day," Aria laughed and stood on her toes to kiss him.
"It sure has, but we'll get through it and any other unpredictable days that come our way, together." He kissed her on the nose and then pulled her in for a tight hug.
"I'll c
ome over to have lunch with you before I head back home, if that's okay?" She asked hesitantly. Though she was growing more comfortable and secure around him, these little shows of uncertainty still pulled at his heart. She still needed to know that she was welcome and wanted in all aspects of his life. He brought his hand up to cup her cheek and stared into her eyes.
"You never have to ask to pop in and see me, I can't think of anyone I'd rather have lunch with." She smiled, and with one last quick kiss headed toward the door.
Pausing with her hand on the doorknob, she looked over her shoulder and said shyly, "I don't want to hear of any more naked women in your office…unless they're me," and then she was gone.
Her blatant flirtation surprised and excited him, not that he thought it would be her in his office chair any time soon, but because it showed her comfort and confidence were growing. Even four weeks ago she would have cringed away after making such a bold comment, but instead she flashed him a flirty smile and was on her way.
He glanced down at his wedding ring with a smile, their marriage was becoming more real all the time. Brian said a prayer for Tasha, and of thanksgiving for the relationship with his wife, and the great strides they were making, and for her continued healing, and then decided to call in a few favors and see what he could do about getting Uncle Jack shut down.
17
It had been just about three weeks since he had found Tasha in his office and Aria had confessed her past. Things were getting better every day between them, he could see Aria's growth in her faith as well as her comfort in their marriage, though they still had a long road ahead of them.
While they still hadn't made love, the marriage was now far from platonic, they shared passionate embraces several times every day, each one more heated than the last. One of them always ended them before they could go too far, usually him. He could tell that Aria was trying to work herself up to that point for him, but he didn't want her to force it for his sake, he wanted it to be because she wanted it too. The second he sensed any hesitancy in her body he would pull away, when he told her they wouldn't come together a second before she was ready, he meant it.
It was his job to make sure she was safe, protected, cared for in every way, and most of all, loved. No matter the personal cost to himself, real love is self sacrificing, and he'd be willing to sacrifice whatever he had for her.
He wouldn't push her, and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable or bring back any old memories or insecurities. It was an area in which he had to tread lightly, how did you help someone take something that held so many ugly and traumatizing memories and make it better, normal? Especially something so delicate, and not having any experience there himself, made knowing how to handle this all the more difficult.
Sure, he recognized that he needed to take it slow and make it all about her, but he still didn't have the experience or the knowledge to put that into place if the time came. Would he be too nervous or excited? Would he hurt her? Would it damage her more? Would she see every man that hurt her in him? The questions were endless, he hadn't worried overmuch about it before, but now it was an actual concern they were constantly moving towards.
The bathroom door opened, shaking him from his reflection. Aria popped out and went to her suitcase for the hairbrush she'd forgotten to take with her, flashing him a sweet smile before disappearing into the bathroom again. It was the night before their flight for Paul's wedding, and they'd decided to drive up and get a room for the night so they wouldn't have to wake so early to take the two-hour drive in order to catch their six o'clock flight.
Aria returned from the bathroom and tucked her brush back into her bag before hopping into bed next to him. He switched the lamp off and rolled over to face her, even in the pale moonlight she was the most beautiful woman in his eyes, he loved her more and more every day, and could look at her for hours.
She wound her arms behind his neck and pulled him to her, there was no nervousness or hesitation any more for either of them. She trusted him to stop, and he trusted that she would let him know when it was time to.
The kiss began tender and sweet, exploring, giving and taking, but it quickly heated up, she pulled him closer so that he had no choice but to angle his torso over hers, with a hand on each side of her.
Normally he kept his hands above her clothes on her waist and hips, but tonight the little strip of skin revealed on her waist from her tank top riding up was too much temptation to resist. Slowly he skimmed his fingers along the smooth, silky flesh revealed there, all the while paying close attention to her reactions.
Encouraged when she pulled him closer, he continued to let his fingers brush over her smooth skin while their kiss spun on. When she broke away for a breath he began to trail little kisses down her jaw, over her chin, and across her collar bone.
That was a first for them, he'd never been so bold with her, always afraid it would be too much, but her sighs and muttered words of approval told him she was enjoying it as much as he was.
When he reached the hollow of her throat he felt her entire body go suddenly stiff, drawing back immediately he saw the fear in her eyes, followed by guilt and remorse.
"I'm so sorry, Aria I got carried away, I don't know what—"
"No, don't. You don't have anything to apologize for, for the first time in my life I find myself wanting and enjoying these things. That actually felt good, it's never felt that good when someone's touched me," her voice hitched and he could see tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Talk to me, sweetheart. Tell me what's going on."
"I…I want to, I want to make love to you, I do, but…I'm afraid." She was looking everywhere but at him, and she was gnawing on her lower lip, her vulnerability tore him to shreds.
"Do I scare you? I don't mean to, but if you tell me what I'm doing—" she cut him off again.
"That's not what I mean. I'm not scared of you, or that you'll intentionally hurt me. Sex hurts, I know this, I've done it countless times and it hurts every single time. I'm honestly not even afraid of the pain. I'm afraid that it will change how I view you, even though I know you won't hurt me on purpose, I'm afraid that if we do this I may resent you for hurting me. You're the one man that never has, and I don't want to tarnish my view of you by knowing you'd hurt me, even if you didn't mean to. Your touch means so much more to me, and I'm afraid to associate the sweet, gentle touches that I love with something so painful, or with those men. You've never been one of them to me, even when I kept looking for ways that you would become one, deep down I knew you weren't capable of being like them. I don't want anything to change that. I don't know if that makes sense, but once we cross that bridge we can't uncross it, you know? I'm just afraid of what it will do to our relationship."
He wrapped her in his arms and drew her into an embrace, kissing the top of her head. There wasn't much to say that, she was voicing some of his own trepidation. As much as they both wanted this to be a normal marriage, it wasn't and in some ways, it never could be.
"That makes perfect sense, sweetheart. Honestly, I don't know how we could prevent that, or whether it would happen or not, we would never know until it happened, but you're right, we can't go back once we do. It's a huge step, and we'll make it when you're ready, if you ever are, and if not, I understand that too. That's not where I was intending to go tonight, I just got a little caught up in kissing you. Maybe talking to a—"
"I've told you, I'm fine. I don't want to talk to anyone about it. I'm recovering in my own way, on my own time. It's going to take time to heal and grow, therapy or not. If it gets to a point where it's consuming me again, then I'll go. I promise" since the morning after her confession he'd been trying to convince her to seek professional help in healing, but she absolutely wouldn't hear of it. She had a valid point, she was doing better, she was able to talk about it, and the dreams and flashbacks had only happened a time or two in the past several weeks.
"I know, but I worry. We'll just keep taking it a day at a time.
At your pace."
"I love you," was her only response as she snuggled closer.
As he found himself doing nearly every night after these conversations, he prayed.
"Are you sure this is okay? I've never been to a wedding before," Aria asked, turning in a circle causing the blue dress she was wearing to flare out. He knew that social situations like this still caused her a great amount of stress, she was slowly becoming accustomed to the potlucks and barbeques that were a constant in Hanesworth, but something like this, a wedding, was causing her a great amount of unnecessary stress. He hated seeing her like this, so upset over something most people wouldn't give a second thought to.
"I'm positive, you look stunning, trust me, that dress is perfect for this. Now, let's get going, we're running behind," Brian adjusted his tie and gave her a peck on the cheek as he led her out the door of their hotel room and they made their way toward their rental car.
"The wedding was beautiful, they're not exactly two people I would put together, but at the same time they seem perfect together, you know?" Everyone was gathering in the Kingston's palatial backyard for the reception now, and he and Aria were off to the side, in their own little corner.
"I know exactly what you mean. This is only the second time I've seen them together, he'd just finally convinced her to give him a chance right before everything with Kara happened," he responded. Paul and Katie were a perfectly odd couple, she was a much larger woman from a poor family, and at one point Paul was the most sought after bachelor in the state. Their relationship came as a shock to everyone, but Brian was happy for his friend. He knew what it was like to be so in love with someone that the rest of the world seemed to disappear, making her the only woman in the world.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we got married when and how we did, but…" Aria started, but trailed off. She seemed to be frozen all of a sudden, her eyes were wide, all the color had drained from her body and her eyes were fixed on something ahead, he followed her gaze, but didn't see anything but fellow wedding guests mingling.
