Chris
I tap my thumbs on the steering wheel of my black Mustang on the way to Brenda’s house. I’m nervous as fuck. If I wasn’t driving, I would’ve had a few drinks before I left—that’s how much Brenda affects me.
I’m about three blocks away from Brenda’s place when my phone rings.
“Hey, sister mama.”
My sister, Carol, giggles into the phone.
“Jesus, Christopher, you’re a dork.”
My sister Carol is fifteen years older than I am, and my parents always told me I was a surprise, never an accident. Carol and I lost them within a year of each other. My mother first…cancer. My father, nine months later…broken heart.
“How’s my little lovebug Rosie pie?”
“She’s good, but she’s been asking to see you.”
Instant guilt. I haven’t seen Rosie in several weeks. I feel pretty shitty about it too.
“I know. I need to get my ass up to Jacksonville soon. Tell her I’m sorry, all right?”
“Actually, she’s next door with Keegan, but she mentioned she wanted to video chat with you later. Will you be around?”
“Yeah, sure. I’m just heading over to Leo’s for dinner, but tell her to call me anytime and I’ll answer right away. She’ll always be a priority to me, Carol.”
“I know she will. You’re the only father figure she has, Christopher. Rosie idolizes you.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. I love Rosie with everything I am. Poor kid has been dealt some shit since she was born. Rosie pie was born with Cerebral Palsy. Thankfully, she doesn’t let it stop her. While she can’t do everything other five-year olds without CP can do, she attempts everything at least once. She even plays a little bit of soccer with me when I’m home. Of course, it’s a modified version, but she still gets to move and that means the world to her. To me too.
Her douchebag of a father left once he found out Rosie had CP. Since that day, I’ve tried to fill the void he left. But I can only do so much as her uncle who lives four hours away.
I pull into Brenda’s driveway, not even remembering the last few minutes of my drive.
“Are you there, Christopher?”
“Yeah, sorry. I’ll be at Leo’s in about thirty minutes. Have Rosie call me whenever she wants, okay?”
“I will. I miss you too, dear brother. Don’t be a stranger. Love you.”
“Love you too, sister mama.”
I sit in the car for a few minutes gathering my thoughts. Staring at Brenda’s door, I’m brought back to the last time I was here. This time will be different though. I’ll leave on my terms.
Just as I’m about to open my car door and go get Brenda, she comes bounding down her steps.
Fuck me! Her long blonde hair is pulled back, giving me a view of her neck. My eyes travel down to her low-cut green dress. It’s made for sin, just like her body. The way it hugs her curves, and her cleavage. Shit! This is going to be the longest night of my life.
Brenda
This dress is just what I needed to make myself feel sexy again. After the little bombshell Ricky dropped on me, my self-doubt came surging back. I may have even shed a tear or two for about fifteen minutes, but then I mentally slapped myself and got ready.
Tonight is about Leo and Sophia, not about my shitty choices in men.
With my hair back in a French twist, and my wrap around dress hugging my curves, I saunter out to meet Chris, who’s just getting out of his Mustang.
Of course, he looks delish! He’s wearing a pair of black jeans with a baby blue button-down shirt.
Do not look at his sexy forearms, I tell myself because he’s got those damn sleeves rolled up.
“Hi,” Chris says as he looks me up and down.
I can’t help but return the gesture, but I try to play it cool of course.
“Thanks for the ride. I really need to get a new car. Mine keeps breaking down. Anyway, I was surprised when Sophia told me you volunteered to pick me up.”
“It’s no problem. That’s what friends do, right?”
Friends. Yep, that’s what I told him I wanted to be.
Chris opens the car door for me and waits as I slide in, trying not to show off my goods.
Watching him as he moves around the car makes my heart skip a few beats. I know nothing can happen between us anymore though, so I stifle the warmth I feel.
The ride to Leo and Sophia’s doesn’t take long, and for that, I’m grateful because we’re both pretty quiet. We make minimum small talk about our day, but I don’t tell him about my breakup with Ricky. Well, it wasn’t really a breakup because we were never officially a couple.
When Chris pulls into their driveway, the relief I feel that we won’t be alone is apparently evident on my face because he turns to me.
“Look, Brenda, I know you and I are kind of in a weird place. I want you to be comfortable with me. Friends?” he says, as he extends his hand to me.
I stare at it like it’s a snake about to bite me.
Slowly I take his hand in mine and shake. “Friends,” I say with commitment.
Chris nods at the front door. “Come on, let’s go hang out with our other friends.”
A short while later, dinner is going better than I expected. The four of us are laughing at a story Leo is telling when Chris’s phone rings. I can tell it’s a video chat.
“Excuse me for a minute,” he says as he gets up from the table.
I watch him as he holds his phone close. Sophia shoots Leo a look who just shrugs.
“Do you want some coffee?” Sophia asks as she gets up to clear our dishes.
“Sure but let me help you first.”
Now, I’m not usually a nosy person, but I couldn’t help but hear bits and pieces of his conversation. From what I could tell, it sounds like he’s talking to some woman named Carol.
A girlfriend?
Chris
“Perfect timing, Carol. I just finished dinner.”
My sister has a habit of calling me at the most inappropriate times; usually, when I’m with a woman.
“Oh good. Rosie is dying to tell you about her first visit for Hippotherapy yesterday.”
My sister found a place near Ocala that specializes in a type of therapy in which horses help kids with Cerebral Palsy work on balance and coordination. Carol sent me some pictures and I have to say, I got pretty choked up.
I hear my sister hand the phone to my niece as she whispers not to keep me too long. But my niece can keep me as long as she wants.
“Hi, Uncle Chris.”
“Hey, sweetheart,” I say, envisioning my sweet niece. Her fierce determination is only matched by her fiery red hair.
“I went to see horses yesterday and I even got to ride one.”
“Wow, Rosie, I’m proud of you. I’ve never even been on a horse. Were you scared?”
Rosie giggles. “I wasn’t scared, Uncle Chris because my horse’s name was Princess. Princesses aren’t scary.”
I laugh because she’s right.
“When are you coming to see me? I miss you.”
“I miss you too, baby girl. How about I come to see you next week? I’ll come up Saturday morning and stay until I drop you off at school on Monday.”
Rosie attends a private school that caters to students with physical disabilities. It was a heart-wrenching decision to pull her out of public school, but Carol knew Rosie needed smaller classes and boy, has she thrived.
“Yes, Uncle Chris. Can we go to the zoo when you come?”
Her question makes me laugh because we pretty much go to one of three places when I go to Jacksonville—the zoo, the beach, or to the waterpark.
“Of course we can go to the zoo. Maybe I’ll even bring you a surprise when I come.”
Rosie squeals into the phone, hurting my ear but I don’t give a shit. She deserves nice things and I love spoiling her.
“Yes, I love surprises.”
I hear my sister tell Rosie to wrap it up because I�
��m busy with friends.
Then, like she always does, Rosie asks me the inevitable question.
“Do you have a girlfriend, Uncle Chris?”
And I give her the same answer I always do.
“Nope, you and your mom are the two women I love.”
Rosie giggles. “I love you too, Uncle Chris.”
After promising to talk soon, I disconnect the call and head back to Leo, Sophia, and Brenda when it suddenly hits me between the eyes. While half of my heart is in Jacksonville, the other half is here tonight.
And neither half is anything I can have.
Brenda
My heart sinks when I hear Chris talking to a little girl named Rosie. Does he have a daughter somewhere? And who’s Carol? His ex? But the way he spoke to whoever Rosie is, melted my broken heart.
“Sorry about that,” Chris says as he shoves his phone into his pocket.
“How are Carol and Rosie?” Sophia asks.
Wait, my best friend knows about them and never freaking told me? Christ, every person I care about has been chipping away at my heart today.
I feel as if the room is closing in on me. Shit, I can’t have a panic attack right now. Needing some air, I excuse myself from the table and head to the bathroom.
Locking the door behind me, I quickly open the window and take deep breaths. Nausea overwhelms me as I dash to the toilet and get sick.
These damn panic attacks have to stop, I tell myself as I clean up. When I look at my reflection, I cringe at the dark circles under my eyes. Suddenly that sexy, confident girl is gone.
Not sure how long I’ve been in here, lost in my thoughts, I jump at the sound of a knock at the door. “Brenda are you all right?” It’s Sophia.
“Yeah, I, uh, I’ll be right out.”
I wait for another few minutes. I don’t want anyone to know I’m upset so I rinse out my mouth, square my shoulders, and head out to join my friends. When I open the door, Chris is leaning up against the wall across from the bathroom.
“You okay? You ran out of the kitchen pretty quickly.”
Damn it! I tried to sneak out unnoticed.
“I’m fine. Something I ate today made me feel a bit sick but I feel better. Sorry if that ruined your appetite,” I say as I try to calm my racing heart.
“It doesn’t bother me. When my sister Carol was pregnant, she’d get up and run from the table almost every day.”
“Wait, you have a sister?” I choke back the bile that threatens to return.
Chris pushes off the wall, coming closer. I feel like everything is closing in on me and work on controlling my breathing as he tucks a piece of my long blonde hair behind my ear. The gesture makes me fall a little more for this bad boy.
“Yeah, I have a sister, and a niece named Rosie. That’s who I was talking to on the phone. Rosie and I have a special bond since I’m the only male figure in her life. Her piece of shit father left both of them when he found out Rosie had Cerebral Palsy.”
Tears threaten as the relief I feel is overwhelming. Well, I think it starts as relief, then it turns into something else—sorrow and understanding for a girl left behind by her father.
“Are you okay?”
Nodding slightly, I try to smile at the man who makes who affects me like no one else.
Chris wraps his arm around my shoulder. That’s what friends do, right?
“Good. Come on then. Leo and Sophia said they want to talk to us about something.”
One foot in front of the other. That’s what I focus on, not the sexy man’s arm around me. I’m not very successful.
“There you two are,” Sophia smirks like something was going on.
“Sorry about that,” I say as I sit in my chair.
Chris sits back down across the table. I feel his eyes still on me, but don’t return the look.
Leo clears his throat. “Sophia and I want to ask you each a question. Chris, you’ve been my best friend for years. We’ve been through a lot together and I was hoping you’d be my best man?”
Chris leans back in his chair with a smile that makes all my lady parts go haywire. Shit, is it hot in here?
“Yeah, man. It’d be an honor to stand up with you.”
The two men get up from the table and hug, slapping each other on the back.
“Brenda, of course, I hope you’ll be my maid of honor. You and I’ve planned our weddings ever since we were in grade school.”
I giggle, even with the tears in my eyes.
“Of course I will. This is going to be so much fun!” I squeal.
I’m not sure what happens next, but the looks between Leo and Sophia tell me something is going on.
“So, we want to do things a little differently than probably what you’re used to,” Sophia says as she looks at me and Chris.
“Ooookay,” Chris says, as apprehensively as I feel.
Sitting back in my chair, I feel sick again. It isn’t the food, it’s the unknown of what’s coming. I have a bad feeling it’s some sort of payback. After all, Chris and I did some sneaky shit to Leo and Sophia.
It’s Leo that speaks up first. “You know Sophia and I both love surprises. We thought it would be fun if you two, as the maid of honor and the best man, plan our wedding together.”
“What?” It’s really all I can say because I’m in shock.
Sophia repeats their request. They want us working together to help plan their wedding? I mean, I know I’m supposed to help her as her maid of honor, and Chris should help Leo, but that’s not what they’re asking.
“So, you two wouldn’t plan any part of the wedding?” Chris asks, apparently as confused as I am.
“Well, of course, we’d set some guidelines but yeah, you two would plan out the details,” Sophia says with a smile. “We’d like to have a small ceremony, under forty-five people, sometime this fall. That gives you three months to pull it off.”
“With you out of work for the summer, Brenda, and it is the offseason for Chris, we thought it’d be great if you two could help us out. You know, since we’re both busy with work.” Leo smirks.
“Leo, can I, uh, talk to you for a minute, buddy?”
Chris
“What the hell, Leo? I mean this setup is pretty obvious, don’t you think?” I whisper-yell as I run my hand through my hair.
“Did you even think this shit through, man? It’s gonna take a lot of time together to plan this wedding. Fuck! It’s difficult enough for me to be around that woman for more than a minute, and now you want me to spend weeks with her, planning a romantic wedding? Are you nuts?”
All my best friend does is smirk and watch me pace the front porch.
“You did this on purpose to push us together, didn’t you?”
Leo throws his hands up in surrender. “Hey, it wasn’t my idea. I told Sophia it was a bad idea, but once my woman gets something in her head, there’s no arguing with her. And we’ll give you guidelines. You won’t be going in without knowing what our likes and dislikes are.”
Exasperated, I give up but not before giving my best friend fair warning. “If I fall hard for this woman and get my heart broken, you’re going to have to pick up the pieces.”
“Deal,” Leo responds with his hand extended.
I already know I’m fucked.
Brenda
“Apparently you don’t love me, Sophia.”
“Oh my God, you are so dramatic. I’m doing you a favor here. Are you really that upset you have to spend the summer with Chris? I thought you two would have fun with this. But if you don’t want to do it, I understand. I’ll just go tell him the idea isn’t going to work.”
My former best friend tries to get past me but I grab her arm out of survival. “Don’t you dare go out there and make it look like I can’t handle spending time with Chris.”
I swallow my fear as it threatens to overtake reality. I can do this. Shit, he’s just a guy, right? Yeah sure, a really hot, sexy, sweet guy, but just a guy, nonetheless.
“I’ll do it for you, but hear me, Sophia. If my heart gets broken, you’re going to have to put it back together again.”
“Deal,” Sophia says with a hug and a smile.
The minute we break apart, Leo and Chris come back into the house. The man who has seen very intimate parts of my body can’t seem to look at me. I can’t blame him. He’s probably wondering how we go from sleeping together to spending a lot of platonic time doing romantic things. Hopefully, he can figure it out because I sure as hell can’t.
The car ride home with Chris was awkward, to say the least. While we both tried to make light of the situation we’re now in, I could tell he was as weirded out about the whole thing as I was. And if I didn’t love Sophia as much as I do, she’d be looking for a new best friend.
Knowing I’m not going to get to sleep anytime soon, I call my dad. Since he lives out on the West Coast, it’s only nine o’clock for him.
The phone rings twice before he picks up.
“Hello, Brenda.”
“Hi, Dad. I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“Of course not. We have some people over for dinner and drinks, so I can’t talk for long.”
And there it is. My father’s boundary. Don’t take too much of his time with his wife and friends.
“Well, I just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you. I miss you, Dad. Maybe we can see each other for the holidays this year.”
I knew as soon as I said it what his response would be. It’s always the same. “We’ll see, Brenda.”
I don’t know why I’m always disappointed but I am. Maybe one day, he’ll return the love I still feel for him.
As soon as I click off, I get a text message. The second I see Chris’s name, my body tenses.
Chris: I don’t know what Leo and Sophia were thinking tonight. I’m sorry they put you on the spot.
Me: They are crazy for sure. I told Sophia as much.
His Runaway Goal: Book Two in the Game Winner Series Page 2
