The Upside of Being Let Down (new adult romance - 1) (14 page)

(16)

Bryan leaned back and stretched his
back. He swore to himself he wouldn
’
t
work on the weekends, but he needed something to keep his mind busy. After
meeting with his father, he tried calling Gary and Jeff. Gary had a date with
some girl he met online. On a fantasy sports site. Kind of like a dream date
for Gary. And Jeff was still nursing his hangover, planning on driving to his parents
’
house for dinner and to crash
there with some high school friends. That was just how Jeff was. One foot in
college and one still in high school.

After a decent lift at the gym,
Bryan went home, showered, and read AJ
’
s
note again. He was annoyed. He knew she planned on leaving yet he let her go. He
thought about what his father said. How a woman deserved to be chased down. AJ
was that type of girl. Someone that needed to know how important she was. Then
again, what did Bryan actually know about AJ? Other than being witty, bitchy,
and good in bed, he had nothing.

And that
’
s what took him to his desk.

His boss had asked him a week ago
to work on a new layout of the country club and come up with some ideas for
expansion. That involved vendors, costs, designs, finance, and all the fun
stuff of running a business. It made Bryan feel important and he loved the idea
of getting further involved with the company.

He spun around in his chair and
looked at the bed. It was the same mess as the morning. That meant the last
person to touch the bed, to get in or out of it was AJ. He considered smelling
the pillow or the sheets but he knew how desperate that would be.

After retreating to the kitchen for
a drink, he checked the clocked. It was past seven. He needed dinner. The
freezer had nothing to offer, as did the fridge. It was the kind of night where
a pizza would do just fine. There were plenty of places that would deliver. He
could throw on an action movie on demand and have a guys night without the
other guys.

It sounded like a pretty good idea.

Bryan grabbed his cell phone and
didn
’
t get through dialing
the area code when there was a knock at the door. He looked at the door and
smiled. He didn
’
t want to
believe it could be who he thought, but stranger things had happened in life.

He opened the door and was met with
two large, overflowing boxes.

“
What
the...
”

“
Grab
them!
”
AJ shouted from
behind the boxes.

“
Christ,
AJ. You carried these by yourself?
”

Bryan took the boxes and stood in
the doorway.

What do I do now?
he asked
himself.

“
Listen
to me,
”
AJ said.
“
I got a good paying job today.
But Angela is still a bitch and my sister
’
s
roommate has a sex thing... well, never mind it.
”

“
AJ,
are you asking...
”

“
Just
back up with the boxes. I have a couple more and that
’
s it. Just for a night.
”

“
Not
a night,
”
Bryan said.

He knew it wouldn
’
t be that easy to find a place.
Especially if AJ planned on rooming with someone. Unless she somehow got back
into college and got a dorm. Even then, that wouldn
’
t be a day process.

“
Just
go for the one night,
”
AJ
begged.

“
Fine,
”
Bryan said.
“
Come on in. The place is...
ours.
”

“
Ew,
don
’
t say it like that.
”

“
Like
what?
”

“
With
that look in your eye. Like we
’
re
playing house or something.
”

Bryan
’
s
mouth fell open and AJ darted away.

Bryan chased her down into the
parking lot and grabbed the other two boxes. He carried them into the apartment
and put all the boxes in the bedroom. When he was done he turned to find AJ
standing in the room. Their eyes met and Bryan wasn
’
t sure what to do next.

“
I
was going to get a pizza,
”
he said.
“
If you
’
re hungry.
”

“
Starving.
I had a grilled cheese for lunch.
”

“
Okay.
I
’
ll order.
”

When he got to AJ, she threw her
arm out. Bryan could have easily walked right by but he stopped. He looked at
AJ.

“
Don
’
t look at me,
”
she ordered.

He looked straight ahead.

“
Thank
you for your help. We
’
re
like strangers, but you
’
re
a good guy, Bryan. Just don
’
t
try any fucking cheap moves.
”

“
Not
a problem,
”
Bryan said.

He wasn
’
t sure if he was lying or not.

When he felt AJ
’
s lips touch his cheek, he knew
having AJ stay would be nothing but perfect confusion.

An hour later, AJ sat on the couch
and threw the last piece of crust into the empty pizza box.

“
We
split a pie,
”
she said.

“
We
did,
”
Bryan said.
“
I can
’
t believe you ate that much.
”

“
I
was hungry.
”

“
Want
more?
”

“
No,
I
’
m good.
”

“
I
’
ll order more...
”

“
I
’
m fine, Bryan.
”

“
So
tell me about this job.
”

“
It
’
s interesting,
”
AJ said.
“
The owner is very cool but
intimidating. She like grabs life by the balls and runs with it. She reminds me
of my sister, just...
”

“
Not
a stripper?
”
Bryan asked.

AJ threw a pillow at him.
“
Ass.
”

“
What?
Why are you so worried about it?
”

“
I
’
m not worried about it.
”

“
Did
you get picked on because of it?
”

“
Are
you picking on me right now?
”

“
Not
at all. I
’
m curious.
”

 
“
If
you must know... it
’
s
different for me. I don
’
t
care anymore but guys tend to freak out. And then use me.
”

“
What
made her start stripping?
”

“
What
game is this?
”

“
It
’
s not a game,
”
Bryan said and laughed.
“
It
’
s
called getting to know a person.
”

“
Ask
me something good then.
”

“
Tell
me something good. Everything we
’
ve
talked about has been bad.
”

“
Is
that bad?
”

“
I
don
’
t think so,
”
Bryan said. He turned and faced
AJ.
“
It
’
s nice to meet someone who is
real and lives a real life.
”

“
What
’
s a real life?
”

“
A
life that hurts,
”
Bryan
said.

AJ licked her lips and nodded.
“
That was good. It
’
s almost like we
’
re in a movie.
”

“
Oh
yeah?
”

“
Yeah.
And after that brilliant line is where you would kiss me.
”

Bryan smiled.

“
Only
if we were in a movie,
”
AJ
warned.

“
Of
course.
”

A few seconds ticked by and Bryan
held his ground, playing AJ
’
s
game. She stared back at him, and finally curled her lip. She looked cute doing
so. Her hand flew out and took Bryan
’
s
shirt.

“
Fuck
it,
”
she whispered.

Their lips touched. Bryan exhaled
and savored the taste of AJ
’
s
lips. AJ moaned and then the kissed ended.

Just like that.

“
She
has a great body and personality,
”
AJ said.
“
And she hates our
parents.
”

“
What?
”
Bryan asked.

“
That
’
s why Winnie strips. Any other
questions?
”

“
Do
you hate your parents too?
”
Bryan asked.

“
Next
question,
”
AJ said.

“
Fair
enough.
”

“
Better
yet, tell me about your life.
”

Bryan smiled.
“
I visited my father today. He
’
s an alcoholic in a halfway
house.
”

“
Recovering?
”

“
He
thinks so.
”

“
Bad
deal?
”

“
For
him, yes.
”

“
You
too then. Sucks to not have a father I bet.
”

“
I
have one, or a shell of one I guess. I don
’
t
know. He always manages to get back in trouble. One second he
’
s good, the next he
’
s driving drunk, fighting
someone, getting hurt, getting arrested. I
’
m
afraid he
’
s going to kill
someone someday. Or himself.
”

“
People
like that... eh, forget it.
”

“
No,
say it.
”

“
I
don
’
t want to hurt your
feelings,
”
AJ said.

Bryan touched AJ
’
s shoulder and pulled her closer
to him.

“
No
moves,
”
she whispered.

“
This
isn
’
t a move,
”
Bryan said.
“
Say what you have to say.
”

They stared at each other, inches
apart.

“
I
was going to say that some people like that... maybe they
’
re better off...
”

“
Gone,
”
Bryan whispered.

AJ nodded.
“
Yeah.
”

“
I
hear you.
”

“
Can
I ask a question?
”

“
Are
you being polite?
”

“
You
’
re right.
”

AJ stood and walked from the couch.
She made it ten steps when Bryan tried to stand. He froze when he saw AJ grab
the bottom of her shirt. Up and off it went and she tossed it over her
shoulder. Before Bryan could say a word AJ reached back and unsnapped her bra. It
fell to the floor and AJ looked over her shoulder.

“
What
the hell are you doing?
”
Bryan asked.

AJ turned and Bryan jumped and made
fists. His eyes went right for AJ
’
s
chest but she had her hands over her breasts. When he looked back at her eyes,
she shook her head.

“
And
I thought you weren
’
t
gross,
”
she whispered.

“
What
are you talking about?
”

“
At
the strip club. I noticed how you looked at the girls
’
eyes and not their chests.
”

“
That
was different,
”
Bryan said.

“
Sure,
sure.
”

“
What
are you doing, AJ?
”
Bryan
asked.

He felt the sexual tension - and
frustration - rising in his body. The blood flow raced through his body thanks
to his heart pounding.

“
Bryan,
relax,
”
AJ said.
“
I
’
m
going to take a quick shower.
”

Bryan watched AJ go into the
bathroom. He heard the bathroom door shut but he didn
’
t hear the click of the lock. When the water turned
on a couple seconds later, Bryan
’
s
entire body ached. His hands were still in fists and the urge to punch
something - for any kind of release - took over. He grabbed the pizza box and
walked it to the kitchen. With the flick of his wrist he whipped the box as
hard as he could, letting it crash against the wall. The cardboard bent and a
couple pieces of crust fell to the floor. As Bryan cleaned the small mess, his
mind couldn
’
t stop focusing
on the shower. The rushing water. The idea that AJ was in there, naked.