Be Good A New Adult Romance (RE12)(7)

“Thanks,” I said and turned to leave.

It surprised me when I heard Jake say, “Is everything okay?”

I didn’t want to laugh in his face but that was such a stupid question to ask his completely f*cked-up little sister. Okay was not a word I would use to describe anything about my life. “Sure,” I lied. “Everything is fine.”





Three


On the plane, I was seated next to a huge man, who had purchased two seats to accommodate his wide girth. He was sweating profusely and I hoped he didn’t have a heart attack before we landed.

I was seriously doubting my wardrobe choices but I had no idea what to pack. First, I had never been to Palo Alto, so I had no idea what people there wore or what the weather was like. The internet said it was going to be 65 degrees all weekend and overcast. I lived in Phoenix my entire life and was used to seasons of hot and very hot. Phoenix was almost always sunny. My wardrobe wasn’t exactly conducive to overcast skies and 65 degrees. Second, I had no idea what the agenda for the weekend was except probably sex. I emailed my flight itinerary to Brett but he only emailed a short note back confirming that he’d be there to pick me up and apologizing that he couldn’t talk much because he had a lot of work to do. He said he wanted to make sure he had no work to take home over the weekend, which I thought was kind of sweet.

I noticed the large guy sitting next to me was asleep, which calmed my nerves at bit. I really didn’t want to have to give him CPR, or anything like that. Not that I actually remembered the details from what we learned about the procedure in high school health class. I was too busy flirting with the captain of the football team, who happened to be assigned to seat right next to me. For the first time, I felt a twinge of regret. Maybe if I had paid more attention to what was going on in school and less attention to the boys sitting next to me, I would have an actual career instead of barely getting through college with a major in communication (the only credits I could patch together in my abysmal transcript) and end up working at my brother’s law firm.

When the plane landed, I actually started to panic. At first, I thought I was the one having a heart attack then I realized I was scared out of my mind. Hard to believe that someone, who most people said was fearless, was actually scared to see a guy.

“Are you okay,” the big guy next to me asked as we pulled into the jet way. Sweat was pouring down his face again. If he thought there was something wrong, I obviously looked bad. “Afraid of flying?”

I shook my head. “No, just a guy.”

The man laughed a big hearty laugh that made his fat jiggle. “I’m sure someone as cute as you has nothing to worry about.”

If you only knew, I thought. If you only knew…

Brett was waiting for me front and center of the large crowd of people waiting for their loved ones and friends to deplane. That made me wonder what I was to him. I wasn’t really a friend and I definitely wasn’t a loved one. Did he think I’d be some kind of long distance f*ck buddy, perhaps? I guess I’d find out in…three…two…one!

I could see Brett’s green eyes light up as soon as he spotted me. He was wearing black dress jeans and a white button down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. If I’d never met him before and didn’t know anything about his past, I wouldn’t peg him as a geek at all. He actually looked semi-hot.

When I approached, he gave me a warm smile. He surprised me with a small bouquet of flowers he had been holding behind his back. They were garden flowers tied with a ribbon. It was the kind of bouquet you’d expect a sixth grade boy to give to the teacher he had a crush on. It was exceptionally cute.

“Thank you for the flowers.”

“I grew them. They’re from my garden.”

That may have been the last thing I expected him to say. I could feel that damn withered heart of mine start to expand again. Brett had that effect on me.

Then he bent down and gave me a light kiss on the forehead. “I’m glad you’re here,” he whispered. I could feel his breath on my cheek and it made me tingle. I thought he might try to touch me, or kiss my lips, or hug me but he did none of those things. He simply put his hands in his pockets and said, “Come on. Let’s get your bags.”

Brett didn’t live that far from the airport but the trip seemed to take forever in traffic. I noticed he was playing Pearl Jam on his car stereo and that made my smile. I wasn’t surprised he drove a Toyota Prius. I should have guessed he’d be a hybrid owner. It seemed to fit his personality. Not that I really knew him. I hardly knew him at all. But it fit what I knew about him and what I sensed about him.

“Thanks again for inviting me.”

“Thanks for coming to visit me.”

I liked watching Brett drive. It was one of the few places I’d seen him look so confident and sure of himself. It kind of turned me on.

“So, you work for NASA? That’s impressive.”

“I guess so.”

“Do you like it?”

“I love it.”

“Do people ever give you shit about being a rocket scientist?”

He laughed. “What do you think?”

“They’re just jealous.”

“Maybe,” he said but I didn’t think he believed me. “Do you like your job as a paralegal?”

“I work for my brother’s law firm. It was pretty much the only job I could get.”

“You didn’t really answer my question.”

I sighed. “Sometimes, when I’m sitting in my cubicle, I think beating my head against the desk would be less painful than my job.”

“That good, huh” he teased.

“It’s my dream job,” I joked.

“What is your dream job? Your real one. If you could do anything in the world, what would you do?”

My first response was to shrug. I had never thought about what I really wanted to do with my life. I usually never thought beyond the weekend and the next party.

“I have no idea,” I said finally.

Brett was quiet for a moment, then he said, “Well, what did you want to be when you were little?”

“Grown up,” I said without hesitation. “From the time I was eight years old, I can remember wanting to be pretty and popular and the life of the party.”

“Well, you are all those things.” He was quiet for a moment then he said, “What about being a party planner?”

I had never thought about it. Did people actually get paid to plan parties? If so, that was the job I wanted.

He continued. “We could do some research on it and see if it’s a viable profession.”

“Thanks. That would mean a lot to me.”

I could see a small smile form in the corner of Brett’s face.

By the time we got to his place, I felt exhausted. Traveling always wore me out. All I wanted to do was have a hot shower and go to sleep.

Brett’s townhouse was amazing. It made my tiny apartment seem like a dump, which it really wasn’t, but it wasn’t nice either. Winter and I lived marginally better than I did when I was in college, when I actually did live in a dump. Winter and I had what you might call a starter apartment.

Brett’s place was no starter. The townhouse was expertly decorated and looked like a model home or the feature story in a home design magazine.

When I glanced over at Brett, his face was lined with tension. I hoped he wasn’t regretting inviting me to spend the weekend with him.

“Well, what do you think?” He motioned around the place. He seemed to be holding his breath waiting for my response.

“It’s incredible—truly spectacular.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you like it. It’s already paid for so I’m kind of stuck here for a while.”

“You own this place?” I tried not to sound too shocked.

He suddenly looked embarrassed.

“That’s not a bad thing,” I said quickly. “It’s just…we’ve only been out of college a year. I know you have a great job but this place must have cost a fortune.”

He nodded. “I inherited some money when my aunt passed away. I was her only nephew. It was enough to buy this place. I did a few internships when I was in college and saved enough money for all of the furniture and decor.”

I was so impressed with everything about Brett but at the same time, I could feel myself shrinking. For the first time in my life, I felt intimidated by a guy.

“Let me show you to your room.” Brett grabbed my bag and we headed up the stairs.

There were two fully decorated guest bedrooms with a bathroom between them. There was also a small open study, where Brett had a desk and computer, and what looked like a gaming area with a sleek flat screen television and video games.

“You can stay in either room,” Brett offered. “But I thought you might like this one better.”