Unsocial (28 page)

She’s
about to say something when there’s a knock on the door.  We both step back
further when it opens.  Her coworker, Paige, steps in. “How’s it going in
here?”

I
notice the blush on Brooke’s skin, and her voice is a breathy version of her
normal. “Everything is wonderful, Paige.  Thanks again for bringing in Boomer
for us.”

“Yeah,
I would like to thank you as well.”  I approach her and hold my hand out in
greeting.  “I’m Dylan Monroe, and this is my little sister, Gabby.” 
She’s
seriously checking me out.

“You’re
more than welcome, Mr. Monroe.  I hope you consider getting her a therapy dog. 
It looks to me like she’s crazy about them.”

“Please,
call me Dylan.  And yes, I see a dog in the very near future.  In fact, Brooke
is taking us Saturday to a lady that has one.”  I look over at Brooke, and
she’s staring at me.  I can see the desire on her beautiful face, and I know
I’m getting her closer to giving in.  I just need to figure out what that final
push is going to be.  Then Brooke and I will have our chance, a night of
scorching sex, and we’ll be all good again.  I’m past ready to give up this
bullshit back-and-forth we’ve got going on.

I
lean down and rescue the dog from Gabby.  “Hey, we have to give Boomer back to
Paige.  But how about Saturday we go with Brooke and pick out your very own
puppy?”  She looks like she wants to argue, but I know she won’t.  She nods
hesitantly and briefly tightens her hold.  Brooke squats down beside me and
reaches for Boomer.  With a final kiss on his head, Gabby gives him up with a
wistful smile.

Brooke
reaches in with one hand and smoothes Gabby’s head. “I’m so happy Dylan’s going
to get you a puppy, but you’re going to have to help take care of him, can you
do that?”

Gabby’s
smile grows, and she nods her head harder.  I have a feeling that once again my
social worker is going to be right.  It’s like she always knows best, except
for one area.  I know it's best she gives into this
thing
between us
before this whole situation gets ugly.

I
haven’t gone this long without sex since I was a teenager, and I don’t like it
one fucking bit.  I need to fuck her before I lose my goddamn mind.  And I need
to get back to the old Dylan.  I realize my old lifestyle is gone because I’m
now responsible for four kids, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to live like a
fucking monk.  I’ve firmly decided this shit is crazy.  I’m young, in excellent
physical shape, and have a healthy appetite for sex.  I’ve liked sex since the
first time I had it.  I also like my freedom.  I’ve got four kids taking care
of curbing that, so I don’t need a relationship to finish it off.  I need to go
back to randomly satisfying my sexual needs.  But before I hit that scene
again, I’m going to be hitting Brooke Porter.  Right now random doesn’t sound
as exciting as sleeping with Brooke, so I need to get her on board.  Dylan
Monroe needs a comeback in the worst possible way.

For
now,
I need to take a step back from Brooke and get these moronic thoughts out of my
head.  She’s no different than any other chick I’ve fucked. And I don’t know
why I’m letting myself get hung up over her, well other than she smells like
heaven and taste like my favorite dessert. There’s also her body made for sin
and looks like a walking wet dream. Nope, still not enough to be hung up over
her. 
So, why are you
?  Shit, this is all just making me a little
psycho.

I
take Gabby’s hand and head for the door, just needing to escape.  Really what I
want to do is grab Brooke and kiss her some more.  Maybe invite her to dinner,
take her to bed for a damn long time, and fuck ourselves stupid.  When I look
back at her, I notice a confused look on her face.  Yeah, I would be confused
too.  One minute I’m kissing her and the next I’m running out the door with no
more than an abrupt goodbye.  Until I sort shit out in my mind, I need a good
arm’s length from this situation. I’m beginning to think Jackson’s recent
advice to fuck her out of my system may not be such a good idea after all.

Saturday
an excited Gabby and I pick Brooke up outside her apartment building. Other
than a short text last night confirming our time for today, I’ve avoided all things,
Brooke Porter.  She called once and sent a couple of texts which I ignored and
deleted without reading. I’ve come to the conclusion,
I think
, that this
crazy attraction to Brooke stems from her stepping up and helping with
everything for the last few months.  Add in the fact that she’s fucking gorgeous,
and I have come up with this uncharacteristic obsession to fuck my social
worker, and I’m still on the line whether it would be a good thing or bad
thing.

Watching
her walk to my car in skinny jeans and a NASCAR t-shirt that does amazing
things for her already perfect tits and ass, I’m thinking obsession be damned,
I’m going to fuck Brooke Porter and just deal with the fallout later.  My
obsession has become singular; one whole night with Brooke Porter.  That should
do nicely.

Brooke
hops in the passenger seat of my car with that beautiful smile that gets me
hard every single time. “Hey, guys.”  Then she turns to Gabby, “Are you ready
to see your puppy?”
Gabby nods, ecstatic. Seriously it’s like she can’t contain her excitement, and
it is so good to see her like this.  Brooke buckles her seatbelt, and we head
to the address about 20 minutes away.  When we get there, Gabby is the first
one out of the car and runs right up to the door. We follow behind her, and
Brooke is smiling ear to ear. 
Beautiful
. And I need to man the fuck up.

We’re
greeted
by Denise, the owner of the shelter.  She’s the one who rescues and trains the
dogs for therapy as well as just to adopt.  We walk around the shelter, and
Gabby excitedly pets each animal she comes in contact. I hope I get out of here
with just one dog and not a whole houseful.  Finally, Gabby stops when she gets
to a golden retriever puppy. She reaches out to pet him, and he goes crazy for
her. She giggles happily before turning to me and nodding. It’s like she knows
that he’s the one.  She’s greeted a dozen dogs before this one, and other than
a smile after doing so, she moved on.

Denise
walks over and smiles, “Looks like she’s made her choice.  He’s actually the
one that I thought would be perfect for her given the information Brooke gave
me over the phone.  I’ve had him for two months, and he’s just five months
old.  Parents buy these animals for their kids and then can’t handle the
responsibility, so we get them.”

Gabby
points excitedly at the dog and Brooke laughs, “So what do you think, Dylan?
Looks like Gabby has decided, but you have the final say.”

I
nod, “Yeah, let’s take him home.”

Gabby
is bobbing up and down with excitement and grabs my leg hugging it tight while
I fill out the paperwork and pay an adoption fee.  We settle the pup and Gabby
in the backseat, and he immediately settles next to her with his head in her lap. 
We both look at each other when she starts that soft singing to him. I’m hoping
he doesn’t piss in my car, but at this point, I don’t think I would care.

When
Brooke gets settled, I turn to her and speak before thinking.  “So you gonna
come back with us and play with the new puppy for a bit?”

“Of
course. I can’t wait to play with him.  But first we need to go to a pet store
and get some supplies.”

“Shit,
I didn’t even think about that.  I know there’s one a mile or so from the
house.  I hope you know everything we need.”

“Food,
toys, bed, collar, leash…..”

I
stop her rambling. “Okay, okay.  Now you’re scaring me. You know the basics,
for the rest we’ll ask someone who works there.”

After
spending an hour and 200 bucks on the essentials for Gabby’s puppy, I’m ready
to head home.  Obviously, my lack of enthusiasm for shopping extends to pets as
well.  Of course with Brooke and Gabby weighing pros and cons on every collar,
leash, sweater (yes sweater), food bowls, bed, and toys then I’m pretty much
done.  When we get home, Gabby wastes no time in getting her puppy in the house
to show the rest of the kids.  Brooke and I start grabbing bags of supplies.

“Are
you happy about this, Dylan?” Brooke asks me tentatively.

“Yeah,
I am.  I think this is going to be good for her.  Why do you ask?”

“Well,
you haven’t said a lot.  I’m just hoping I didn’t push you into this.  I know I
got really excited because of Gabby’s reaction.”

“No,
it’s fine.  I’m totally on board with the puppy.”

In
the living room, all four are on the floor with the dog.  Cassie gets grossed
out when he licks her face, but giggles.  Luke is playing it cool with pats and
scratches whenever the puppy runs to him for attention, but I can tell he’s
excited too. Michael and Gabby are rolling on the floor with him when he
attacks them.  It’s been too long since they’ve had this much happiness.  One
more thing I have to be thankful to Brooke about. 
She’s right, every
fucking time.

Brooke
drops her bags and joins them on the floor for her chance to play too.  I have
a fleeting thought of a fucking Hallmark commercial right now,
the perfect
family
.

I
look over at Luke, “We’ll have to build him a doghouse for outside.”

“Yeah,
that would be cool.”

Gabby
looks worried and holds him tighter. I have a feeling that this is going to be
mostly an indoor dog. That’s okay, thank God for the maid that comes every week
nowadays. I reassure her, “Just for when he wants to play outside, Gabby. Dogs
like this one love to run and play outside. But he can sleep in your room every
night if you want him to.”  She grins and nods her head.

Jax
walks in thirty minutes later and greets the new pup. He notices Brooke is here
but doesn’t say a word, and I notice Brooke stiffen and withdraw. I’m sick of
his issue with Brooke, and he knows it. I’m also wondering about Brooke’s
reaction to his presence. He focuses on the puppy and the kids. After a while,
I get up to unload bags, and Brooke follows to help.  We put away his food and
set up his bowls in the kitchen. After finishing, I notice it’s getting close
to starting dinner and make the decision to invite Brooke to stay.  Maybe
she’ll even help. 
Cooking with Brooke. 
I smile at that thought.

“So,
what are your plans for the rest of the day?”

She
shrugs, “Nothing.”

“How
about dinner then, I’m thinking of grilling tonight, you in?”

“I
would love to, but I can’t tonight.  I told Trevor I would go to dinner with
him tonight.  Alex is working late and has a yoga class afterward.  He thought
it would be a good chance for us to catch up.”

It
irritates the fuck out of me that he’s staying there, and I can’t keep the
irritation out of my voice when I ask her, “So he’s still there?”

She
laughs and shakes her head.  “Yeah, it’s only been a few days, and he’s already
invading my space.” She tries to make light of it, but it drives me crazy.
Seriously I have lost hours of sleep since I found out that he’s going to be
staying with her, well, and his sister, but that doesn’t make me feel any
better because he wants Brooke, and Alex doesn’t seem to mind it at all. Jax
telling me that he is into her drives me crazy, but the thought of them under
the same roof night after night just pisses me off.

“You
know he’s into you right?”

Brooke
laughs, “No he’s not. We’re just friends, and he’s like a brother to me.”

“Who
you’ve fucked.”

She
scrunches her nose, “That unfortunate incident was a very long time ago and
should never have happened.  Fortunately, we were able to move past the
awkwardness and go back to being friends, which was easy enough since he was
away at college and then starting his music career.”

She
can’t be this naïve. Is she just saying this for my benefit or does she believe
this shit? It’s been a good day, and I don’t want to ruin it, so I just smirk
over at her and say, “Whatever you say, Brooke. Come on and I’ll drive you
home.”

On
the ride to her apartment, we talk a little about Gabby and how well we both
think she’s going to do with having the puppy. Otherwise, we both seem lost in
thought. A few times I catch her looking over at me with a smile.  When we pull
up, she reaches for the door.  “I guess I’ll see you on Tuesday?” She looks
like she’s waiting for something more from me than an affirmative response to
her question. So I give it to her.

Before
she can open the door, I lean across and slide my hand through her long hair. I
do it so she’ll think of me tonight while she’s having dinner with her
houseguest from hell.  I kiss her, and just like every time I give into this
craziness of having my lips on hers, we go all in.  But this time, I add a
little more. I possess her lips.  I control the kiss. I stake my fucking
claim.  When we finally pull away I’ve never been more pleased with myself in
knowing that I put the hazy look in her eyes and the swollen lips on her face,
and then she smiles, “I’ll see ya, Tuesday.”

“Will,
you stay for dinner?”

“I
can do that.  I’ll help Michael with his spelling bee while you cook for me,”
she says teasingly.