by Nella Tyler
Briella glanced at me a bit dubiously.
“I just understand.” I twisted my mouth to the side and looked out onto the water. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d talked about my mother. In passing with Tyler, sure. But not openly and honestly.
“It always feels like there’s more I could have done,” Briella continued. “Like maybe it wasn’t enough, maybe if I’d done one thing differently, she’d still be here.”
I nodded. All I really could do was nod. I’d done nothing, logically, to contribute to her death, just as Briella had logically done nothing to contribute to her mother’s. But that didn’t change the way that it kept me up at night sometimes, wondering if there was something I could have done. Maybe I made her overexert herself playing hide and seek. Maybe she’d stepped in the rain, and that’s why she caught a cold, because I’d forgotten an umbrella.
“That’s why I do what I do,” Briella said. “Well, not specifically wedding planning, although she did love to do that.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “She always wanted to run her own business, be her own woman. Even married to my father, even with her heart problems, she wanted to make her own way in the world. So now, I want to do that for her.”
“You’re doing her justice, as far as I can tell,” I said solemnly.
She smiled at me and lowered her head. “You wouldn’t know that.”
“I do know.” I tilted her chin up and rested my hand against her face, careful not to smudge any of her makeup. “You’re strong, confident, and beautiful. You work hard, and you don’t compromise on yourself. Any mother would be proud to call you their daughter.”
Briella’s smile grew, and she leaned up on her toes to kiss me. When she pulled away, she took my hand on her face in her own hand and held it tightly.
“It’s getting late,” she observed. She looked up at the moon, and I could have stood there for the rest of my life, watching her face in the moonlight.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Do you want me to ride with you back to your hotel?”
Briella bit her lip and smiled almost mischievously. “Actually, I was thinking somewhere more like your place.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“It is my last night in Florida,” she reminded me. She looped her fingers in the belt loop of my pants and grinned up at me. “I want to remember it.”
Suddenly, I couldn’t get back to my car soon enough. We drove home and I did my best not to panic about the possibility of further emotional attachment. She and I were going to sleep together again, probably, and with that came… what? Another night of fun that we could brush off?
I liked her too much for that. I didn’t know that I could even go through with this. Walking up to my bedroom, I thought about turning back and telling her no, goodnight.
When I opened the door, she leaped at me like she’d been waiting for me to turn around, and all my resolve to ever say no to her melted away. I wanted this, badly.
And I was going to have it.
Chapter Eighteen
Briella
I didn’t care that this was my last night in Florida. I didn’t care that I was never going to see Dexter again. The only thing I cared about, the only thing that I could care about, was having his body on mine again. It was the only thing that made sense to me. To erase any doubt that we might be just spending the night talking, I pulled him into a rough kiss the moment he got the door open to his bedroom.
He responded beautifully. He yanked me closer to him, and the rough action thrilled me. Our mouths parted, and at the rough way he bit at my lips and grabbed my waist, I pushed him against the wall to unbutton his shirt. He turned me over and pushed me against the wall, yanking my dress down. When I pushed him back, we knocked over a chair, and I heard us clash against something else on our way to the bed.
He pushed me back onto the bed and fell on top of me before I could even process what was happening. His mouth charted the familiar territory of my chest with even more expertise than the time before. I rolled over on top of him and yanked his pants away, eager to do what I’d wanted to do the first time we slept together but hadn’t gotten the chance.
Before he could guess what I was about to do, I’d taken his erection into my mouth. I didn’t beat around the bush or bullshit my way about it; I cut straight to the chase and placed one hand on his hip to keep him still.
“Fuck. Fuck, Briella.” My name came out of his mouth in a groan, and I knew I’d completely ruined my underwear. I flicked my eyes up to meet his gaze as I pleasured him with my mouth, and after a short time, he threw his head back. Sensing that he was going to come soon, I stopped, not wanting our time together to end there.
“Condoms?”
Dexter pointed to the bedside table. I reached over and grabbed one, then quickly discarded what little clothing I had left. I didn’t want to mess around with foreplay. I wanted him inside me immediately. His hands grabbed at my breasts, and the sensation only intensified my need. I rocked against his hips a few times, knees planted firmly on the bed, before finally, I angled us just right.
He was fully seated inside me within seconds. I moaned and was almost certain everyone in the world could hear me. Dexter thrust upwards, and I shouted at the way it felt.
I moved my hips, fucking myself on him, and he thrust upwards to meet me when I came down.
“God, yes. Yes.” I couldn’t get a hold of myself. He grabbed my hips with his hands and became almost forceful with how he slammed himself up into me. “God, yes.” I gripped the sheets in my hands and felt the world around me start to fade. Everything slipped from view and my body felt like a vessel meant only for pleasure.
When my climax came, I nearly cried, grinding down hard against his hips. I heard him climax, too, felt his erection jerk inside me, and when I opened my eyes—when had I closed them?—he had closed his; head back, mouth open in complete and breathless pleasure.
It wasn’t like the first time we’d slept together, with gentle nudging gestures and careful fingers. I thought that maybe my stomach was rearranged now, like maybe I needed to put my brains back in my head. I swung off of him, offering a slight moan at the sensation of him leaving my body.
And for a time, neither of us spoke, trying to catch our breath.
“You’re unbelievable, Briella,” Dexter said.
I glanced at him, naked, panting, a practical god of sex sprawled across his bed. I believed him at that moment. “So are you,” I said.
We got ourselves sorted out, and I asked him if I could borrow some of his clothes. He let me take a clean pair of boxers and one of his T-shirts, and he put on a pair of sweatpants, choosing to go without a shirt. I returned to his bed.
I had no idea what time it was, but it had to be late. I thought of the next day, and the flight I needed to catch in the morning. Dread filled my stomach as I thought about what I’d just done, and how I’d never get to do it again.
As if reading my mind, Dexter said, “I don’t want this to end. You and me, I mean. I don’t… I know it’s selfish and stupid and that it wasn’t the point, but I don’t want this to be over tomorrow.”
I couldn’t help but feel relieved that he understood the situation. “Jesus, me neither. I have to go home tomorrow, though. I have to go back to Houston, and there’s... I mean, there’s really no practical way to keep this up.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, and then he pulled me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around him, and it felt all too familiar to be consistent with what I was saying. I tucked my head against his chest and took a deep breath.
Before we could say anything more, before we could break the spell we’d cast over that room to make it so perfectly quiet, I fell asleep against his chest.
Chapter Nineteen
Dexter
When I woke up the next morning, Briella was still in my arms. I had my head buried in her hair, and I lifted it to see that she was still nestled against my chest. It felt right to have her like that.
It felt natural. I didn’t want to move and wake her up, so I stayed perfectly still. If I woke her, she might leave. I didn’t want her to leave; what she’d said last night still replayed in my mind. If I’d had been able to dream, if I hadn’t been so completely exhausted, it would have been some nightmare about what she’d said.
It wasn’t practical for us to be together. I knew that. Even if she lived here, if she wasn’t a tourist, it would be impractical at best for us to live together. My father wouldn’t ever approve of it, and I would send the company into chaos. She wouldn’t want to live with the son of a man who had built his empire on racism and hatred. I knew better than to think that her going to Houston was the only reason that we wouldn’t work.
And still, I knew that I would try.
I had just started to go back to sleep when I heard a knock at my door. I shot up in a hurry, eager to shoo away anyone who came by. If it was a business associate, I didn’t want them knowing that I had someone over. If it was my family, I really didn’t want them to know.
Of course, when I opened the door, it was Tyler.
“Dude, I think I might have done cocaine last night. Like, I’m not entirely sure, but there were a lot of girls, and I think I might have done cocaine. Do I look like I did cocaine?” He came galavanting into the house without a care in the world.
“No, but you know, maybe you should go to a doctor or something, or go get someone to check you out.” I did want to know more about whatever the hell he was talking about, but not as badly as I wanted to get him out of the house. I tried to walk him back towards the door.
“No, dude, we can figure this out. I went to a strip club with my bandmates at like 10 or 10:30, and we started doing shots,” Tyler recounted. He kept trying to step past me. “Dude, let me through, come on, we gotta sort through this. I might owe someone money.”
“Wait, um, why would you owe someone money?” If I could keep him distracted, maybe I could lead him back outside more easily.
“For the cocaine. I think. I’m not sure. That or I just really overpaid a stripper. I might have given a stripper several thousand dollars.”
“You might have spent several thousand on cocaine?” I shook my head. That wasn’t the point. “Forget it. Look, um, I’m a little busy—”
“Is that your brother?”
I froze, and Tyler did, too, stopping and turning his eyes towards the stairs. Briella stood at the top of the staircase wearing a pair of my sweatpants with the waistband tightened all the way and my T-shirt tied off with a ponytail holder. Her hair was up in a top bun. It was blatantly obvious she’d stayed the night.
Tyler’s eyebrows went up, and he stared at me expectantly.
“Yes, um…” I sighed. There wasn’t really anything I could do at this point to sway their opinion on what was happening. “Tyler, this is Briella. Briella, this is my idiot brother.”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“A couple thousand on cocaine?” Briella raised an eyebrow. “Come on.” Her grin betrayed her teasing, and Tyler laughed.
I could tell that they would get along well. It wasn’t often that Tyler found someone that would call him on his bullshit. That being said, he was still stiff, awkward, from the suddenness of the situation probably.
“Why don’t you make us breakfast, Dexter?” Tyler asked.
I shrugged and led them into the kitchen. I didn’t know what to do about this. I couldn’t make either of them leave, and I didn’t want them coming into contact with one another. My worlds were officially colliding, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Tyler said.
I turned around. “Do not.”
Briella leaned forward against the counter. “You have?”
“Just a few things. Everything good,” Tyler relented a little. “You’re staying in Florida for a little while, right?”
“Not much longer,” Briella corrected. “I have a flight to catch later.”
“Where are you flying back to?”
“Houston. Well, a little city outside of Houston.” Briella tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “I’ve been getting moved into a new place back home, so I’m staying with my dad in the meantime. That’s one of the reasons why I came down here, actually.”
I hadn’t known that, but I didn’t say anything. I cracked another egg into the skillet and put some toast in the toaster.
“Moving is the worst. You just came to Florida for vacation?” Tyler asked. He was getting dangerously close to addressing the fact that Briella had stayed here last night, which heavily implied sex, which was true, but I didn’t want to give him more material to torment me with.
“Yeah, just for a little bit. My friend thought of it. A short little break, go to the beach, do some shopping, come home.”
“Your boss gave you time off?”
“I’m my own boss,” Briella explained. “I’m a wedding planner.”
“Huh.” Tyler probably didn’t even know what a wedding planner did. I didn’t want them to get to know each other and further the bond that Briella was making in my life. She had a plane to catch that very day, after which she would never be seen again! “So, do you know anything about cocaine?”
“I know that one high’s worth shouldn’t cost a few thousand dollars,” Briella said. “But that’s about it. Why?”
“Tyler, come on.” I gave him a look, and Briella shook her head.
“No, no, I’ve learned plenty of party damage control from dealing with Nina for so long. I can help, I bet.”
“Nah, I don’t want to divulge my secrets, not yet,” Tyler conceded. I mentally thanked him and turned the coffee machine on.
They carried their polite conversation on to breakfast. I set the table and put the food in the middle so that everyone could give themselves what they wanted. I hoped that Tyler would take the hint and leave so that Briella and I could have a nice breakfast together, but of course, he stayed and continued to talk.
“Have you liked Florida so far?”
“I’ve found it breathtaking,” Briella replied, and Tyler nearly broke his polite façade. I sighed into my mug and focused on eating and listening rather than attempting to defend myself or minimize damages done to my character or the situation.
“There’s a lot to do here. Do you think you’ll be back?” Tyler asked.
“Maybe someday. I don’t know when I’ll get time off like this again, though. My schedule tends to get pretty busy, and I’m going to be crazy busy with the new apartment or wherever I choose to move,” Briella said. “So maybe, but not for a while.”
I wondered if maybe she would come back to see me. It was a conversation we hadn’t really had, or at least hadn’t really had in full, and I knew better than to bring it up now.
“Do you need a ride to the airport or something?” Tyler asked. “I know it’s a weird route to get to there from here, and sometimes cabs are a bitch.”
At least he was being moderately polite. Briella smiled and shook her head. “No, Nina and I have it under control. We didn’t really bring all that much, so a regular cab should be just fine. Besides, I think she wants to hit a few more shops on the way out.”
“Understandable. The mall here is amazing. That’s what most people come here for, anyway, that and the beach.”
Briella finished eating and set her plate aside. “I ought to get going. Thanks for breakfast, Dexter.”
“Let me walk you to the door,” I said. When she turned her back, I glared at Tyler as means of warning him not to follow me.
I walked with her to the front door and was honestly loathe to see her go. “Do you need a ride?”
“I called a cab,” she said. She held her phone up to show me.
“Okay.” I took a deep breath and frowned. “I… I want to keep in touch with you,” I said. “We can still call, text, maybe even email. Do people still email?”
She gave me a nod that didn’t reassure me that we were on t
he same page. “Yeah, maybe,” she said softly. The cab in front of the house honked its horn and she leaned up to kiss me.
I closed my eyes and wished the kiss wouldn’t end. I didn’t want her to go so soon. I hated that she was leaving, and I even further hated that there was nothing that I could do except watch her go.
“Goodbye,” she said, and she was off. I waited until her taxi had gone around the corner out of view, and then I closed the door, turning to go back to the kitchen. I could probably still cover my ass on this, as long as Tyler hadn’t overheard…
Tyler stood in my way, eyes wide. He’d clearly overheard, and frankly, even if he hadn’t, he could gather what the situation was without too much context.
I had a lot of explaining to do.
Chapter Twenty
Briella
I hated the way that it felt to leave. Getting in the cab felt like the wrong decision to make. I almost wanted to leap out, to tell Dexter that I wanted to make it work between us. My heart ached at the decision that I was making to leave him behind and pretend that my emotions weren’t yearning for me to stay behind and have him as my own.
What I’d said the night before was still true. Frankly, if I lived in Florida, it wouldn’t make anything easier. We weren’t in the same social class, and I couldn’t bring anything to the table when it came to assets. I didn’t have much money, anything worth selling, or any property. The Mason family was looking for someone to make the company richer, not make their son happy.
So I knew that it wasn’t the most fun thing to do, leaving, but it was the thing that was the best in the long run. When I reached the hotel, I’d come to my final conclusion. Dexter proved to me that there were still nice men in the world, and that was enough. I could find another man who could make me happy; they existed, if Dexter existed, and I would only need to work hard to find them.
When I opened the door to the hotel room, Nina was throwing things haphazardly into a suitcase. “Hey. Hey, watch your step; I’m packing,” she said.
