Brandon frowned, then sighed.“Yeah.I am kind of tired.”He stood again, and paused in front of me.“Last night at the hotel?”
“Yeah?”I both did and didn’t want to hear what came next, especially with him coming down from creative high.
He brushed his lips over mine.“Hot as fuck, exactly the way it looked.And it’s not going to happen again.”
“Okay.”I pointed him toward the bedroom and gave him a push to propel him forward.
After Brandon vanished into our room, I took the seat he’d just been in, adopting a similar slumped posture.I should be satisfied, pleased even, with his assurance.But it wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
What was wrong with me that I wanted what happened between Brandon and Reese to happen again?
Four
Brandon
Danny nudgedme awake with a kiss.There was more nudging than kissing, but it still wasn’t a bad way to greet consciousness.“We have to be at Dustin’s in less than an hour.Do you want to get up now, or snooze until the last minute and leave in a panicked rush?”he said.
It was a question worth giving some serious consideration to.I hadn’t pulled an all-nighter in years, and a day later, I still felt the effects.I also still felt the buzz from what I’d created, and that had me hopped up despite the exhaustion.
“I’m up.”I pushed myself out of bed.
I sleep-walked my way through a shower and getting dressed, hoping to hold onto the pleasant fuzzy feeling as long as possible.Traces of a dream lingered in my thoughts.A replay of Friday night with Reese.In my dream, details changed, new scenarios appeared, but it was all nearly as scorching as the reality.I hated to say that my musical inspiration was related, but…
Taking that risk with her was a rush I couldn’t compare to anything else.I needed more freedom like that.Maybe notexactlyof the fucking someone else variety.Unless it was Reese again.But no, definitely not.That was a bad idea.
Something that got my adrenaline racing though, and let me shrug off responsibility for short blinks of time.
I headed into the kitchen, and was surprised to find Adam already up, and making phone calls.I was used to seeing him move from one project to the next without flinching.This time though, he’d been working since yesterday to try to find out what was salvageable in his workshop and where else he could go to get back to work.
He’d also been struggling to get a hold of his business partner.
Sure, it hadn’t even been two days, but this was a long time for him to hold on.
I grabbed Adam’s attention with a silent snap.
“Can you hang on a minute,” he said to the person on the other end of the phone.He covered the mouthpiece.“What’s up?”
“We’re heading out.Probably back this afternoon.Want me to pick you anything up?”
Adam gave me a tight smile.“Two months of lost work and maybe a new 3D printer?”
Poor guy.“I’ll ask around about the printer.”
“Thanks.”He went back to his call.
“Heads-up.”Danny’s voice drew my attention.
Without thinking, I put my hand in the air and snagged the keys he tossed me.He handed me a to-go mug of coffee as we headed outside.
I took a sip of a drink almost hot enough to scorch the roof of my mouth.Perfect.“God, I love you.”
“Duh.”He grinned.
The music was loud and the conversation limited on the drive across town.When we got to Dustin’s, Reese’s Jeep was already parked out front.The purple Willys Jeep had been a graduation present from her mother more than twenty years ago.The two of them had kept it running together until her mother passed away when Reese was in her mid-twenties, and since then Reese poured her soul into making sure the Jeep lived on.
She was seated on the front porch, chin in her hands, and looking very different from Friday night.The stage makeup was gone, she was wearing a battered old sweatshirt with Danny’s alma matter on it over faded jeans.
“Where’s the man of the hour?”I asked as we joined her on the steps.