Mending (14 page)

“So, if I called you Brad, would you respond?”

“Yes, for you I would.  You
can call me whatever you want.” 
He chuckled.
  “W
ell anything nice.”

“Ah, well I’ll keep that in mind.” She teased.

“
You do that
.  Goodnight, Gabby.”

She said, “Night, Brad,
” as she busted out laughing. 

“
Hmph
, cute.”

“I don’t think I like it.”  She giggled
.  “Night, Bradley.”

“Goodnight
beautiful
.”

They both sat on the phone not saying anything waiting for the other to hang up first. 

“Gabby?”

“I’m here.” She spoke softly.

“Do you want me to hang up first
?
”

“I’m not sure.”

“W
hat do you mean you’re not sure?
”

“I’m not sure I want you to go.”

He inhaled sharply.
“Oh, I know the feeling.  Believe me.  But, the sooner we go to sleep, the sooner tomorrow will come.”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

“So, I’m going to tell you goodnight again and then I’m going to hang up because tomorrow can’t come fast enough for me.  I can’t wait to see your beautiful face again
, Gabby
.”

Her heart fluttered. 
“Okay.”

“Goodnight, Gabby girl.”

Beaming she said, “Goodnight,” as she waited for him to hang up first.  And, as promised the call dropped.  Her breathing was ragged and she felt like she had been running for miles.  She wondered had she been holding her breath for the entire conversation,
or what?

Bradley

He exhaled and slouched back relaxing aft
er he hanging
up the phone from her.  He wasn’t used to feeling these emotions.  In fact, he’d never felt like this b
efore.  He was sure that was
precisely why he h
ad tried to avoid it for so long
.  The thought of being so out of control was bothersome for someone who craved it in every situation. 

Not only that, he was pretty sure that once a guy got to this point with a girl, that it was inevitable they would surely be whipped in no time flat.  In fact, he wondered if h
e might already be.  Living the lifestyle he had been living prior to meeting Gabby had prevented that from happening.  He had always thought his father
was right. 
He would say college was supposed to be a
great big party with a little studying in between
.  Bradley’s
photographic memory
meant that
he had not needed
to study much.  
H
e had
enjoyed his freedom.  If he wanted to hang out with the guys or have a one night stand, he had no one to answer to about his decisions. 
It had been the time of his life. 

On
ce he got out of college, he
focused on his career and there was certainly no time for serious dating.  Joe had the club and he was able to go and meet women who were in similar situations.  They didn’t want to be tied down because they wanted to advance the corporate ladders in their affluent occupations.  It had been a perfect situation for him.  Why would he have any desire to commit to anyone?

The night of Cade’s wedding when he first saw her, he knew immediately she was different.  He had reflected the past couple of months and even tried to fight it.  Eventually, he realized that he couldn’t get her off of his mind.  He had always laughed when people talked about soul mates
and love at first sight
, but now he was laughi
ng at himself.  He wasn’t completely sure because he’d never been in love before, but he knew that the feelings he had for her were already so de
ep.  He was pretty certain
that if he had a soul mate, if they existed, then she was his.

He got up and sulked into the kitchen, already missing her.  He poured himself a shot of Brandy.  The warm liquid velvet slid down the back of his throat and into his empty stomach. 
Opening the fridge, he picked
up a beer and the leftover Chinese food
he’d had delivered
the night before.  He warmed it and then took b
oth into his bedroom, flipping
on the
plasma
television
as he walked past it
.  The sta
tion rarely
changed from ESPN, so Sports Center was on and he listened to talk of the upcoming football season. 

He put his food down
on the bedside table
and
p
ulled his T-shirt over his head.  The muscles on his groomed chest and abdomen flexed.
 
He smiled as he thought of Gabby and how much he hoped that one day she would be the one undressing him.  He barely had to touch the worn cut off sweats he was wearing to cause them to puddle at his feet
, dropping
from his lean hips
.  He pulled back the duvet on his king size bed and
climbed in
gloriously naked except for a fitted pair of boxer briefs. 

He quickly ate his dinner realizing that being awake, yet
away from her in an empty bed
,
was torture.  He turned the television off and thought of being with her until he could no long
er keep his eyes open
.

The next day, he had found it difficult to contain his excitement.  He was sure that he
was
walking around the entire day with a stupid grin plastered all over his face.  Everyone knew not to ask about his personal life, but it was clear that the office was a happier place because he was happier.

He couldn’t wait for lunc
h to roll around because he figured she would have
a break between her two classes.  He wanted to call to confirm they were still going to meet at the same place and also to make sure the t
ime was still good for her.  Really
, he knew deep down that th
e real reason he wanted to call and not email her
was because he wanted to hear her sweet voice.

He decided he would grab a sandwich at a local deli.  As he waited for his lunch to arrive he dialed her number and waited for her to answer.

“Hello.”

He smiled
.
“Miss
Gerhart
, I hope you’
re having a good day.”

“I am.
  Has your day been exciting?” S
he asked playfully.

He bit his bottom lip while smiling a wry smile. “Ah, you remembered.  My day has been boring up until now.  But, I must say that I am anxiously anticipating our evening.”

“Me, too
,
”
s
he spoke warmly.

He cleared his throat and took a swig of his sweet tea.  “I just wanted to confirm the location and time are the same.”

“I assumed they were.”

The waitress walked up with his order and placed it down.  She was smiling at him, and he knew that she found him attractive by her body language.  He politely smiled and nodded his head, motioning that he had everything he ne
eded while
mouthing thank you. 

“Good,” h
e replied to Gabby.

“So, I guess I’ll see you later.”

He chuckled.
“
Oh y
es
you will. 
I need to eat my lunch.  I’m in
dreadful
meetings all afternoon.”  He crunched into a pickle slice that was on the side of the baske
t.  He quickly chewed and swallowed it.  “
I hope the rest of your classes go well.”

“Likewise to your dreadful meetings.”
She giggled.

“Be careful driving and
I’ll
see you soon.”

“See you soon.”

U
nlike the night before where she had waited for him to hang up first, s
he hung up relatively quickly.
  He furrowed his
eyebrows and sighed. 
Why did women have to be so confusing
?
 

Gabby

She beamed through the rest of her classes.  The first day of Tuesday and Thursday classes were exceptionally boring, but add to it the anticipation of seeing him again in just a few hours made the last class drag by at a snail’s pace.  She could barely be still.  She fidgeted, doodled, twirled her hair, and chewed on her lip throughout the entire class. 

Usually at the end of class
she would take her time packing her things.  She’d usually go to the professor and let them know how much she was looking forward to their class.  She had learned that professors appreciated the gesture and it went a long way in the end to be on their good sides. 

But today as soon as class was over she threw everything into her bag and rushed out of class.  She
jogged to her car.  E
arlier when Bradley had called
, she had just finished her lunch.  S
he didn’t want to seem like she was in a rush to
get off the phone, but she
wanted to make sure she had time to get gas so she could leave as soon as she got out of class.  She was thankful at this exact moment she had done that because
that meant she would be on Interstate
20
, which led to Bradley Banks in just a matter of minutes.

While she waited at the stop lights leading to the interstate, she
loosely pulled her cur
ls back into a bun.  She plugged her iPod into radio
and started her favorite playlist. 
The drive wasn’t too bad. 

She stopped in Aiken
, which was about halfway to Thomson
to use the restroom.  She had always loved Aiken.
  It made her wonder
if maybe one day Bradley might like to meet there.  She and Sam had g
one there last year at
for Ch
ristmas at
Hopeland
Gardens.  The park was one
of the most beautiful places she had ever seen.  The history in Aiken was rich, known for its horses and winter colony mansions. 
The town in and of itse
lf was quite beautiful.  Crepe Myrtle and M
agno
lia
trees
adorned
the
streets.  Its downtown was charming, much like Charleston.