13: Daydreaming

Collapsing on the couch, I felt my body tremble from my sobbing. This was all just too much too fast. Was Brooks trying to say Mike wasn’t right for me? Was I moving on from Steve too quickly? Was I even over Steve? Was I ready to move across the country? I couldn’t stop thinking. I just wanted my mind to shut down. Give me a few minutes of just complete . . . nothing. Yet my mind wouldn’t stop reeling. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to say. Let alone what to think. I was thinking about everything I didn’t want to think about.

The door swung open and Brooks walked straight to me, sitting down next to me and pulling me into his arms. “I’m so sorry Niko. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

"Wrong with you?! Look at me Brooks! What the hell is wrong with me? Am I making a mistake with Mike? You need to be honest with me, because all of a sudden I feel like I'm jumping in too soon. I feel like you don't approve."

He pulled me away from his shoulder and held me at arm's length, looking me straight in the eyes. His eye contact was so intense I felt goose bumps crawl over my arms. "Niko, Mike is a great guy, and like you said, it's been nine months. It's okay to move on from ex's. It's totally okay."

I almost felt like telling him I didn't want to get over Steve, but I knew deep down that I had to get over him. I could never fully enjoy life if I was still dwelling on the past. Fuck, Brooks is right about everything. We continued to stare at each other, but his eyes kept drifting down to my lips. There was that feeling again, low in my stomach. Hot, churning, breath taking. Does he want to kiss me? My mind kicks into overdrive once again at the thought of his lips on mine, overanalyzing everything I can possible think of. What!?

My hand drifted up to my lips and I rubbed my hand over them, as if he was trying to tell me I had something on my face this whole time. He released my shoulders and got up from the couch, heading straight for the bathroom. Dumbfounded, the only thing I could do was to collapse on the couch again. And that's when everything began to happen.





I didn't get much sleep nor work done my last week in Seattle. I'd been having daydreams. So much so that my boss told me if I wasn't already leaving he'd fire me for spacing out so bad on the job. I couldn't get these images out of my head though. I don't exactly know if I want them out of my head. Some would make me smile, others would make me breathe hard, or even cry some. Yet most of my day was spent spacing out on the 'what if'.

"NIKO?! Fuck, you're starting to creep me out."

"What?" I asked snapping myself back to reality as I looked over at Brooks.

"You sure you're okay? You've been spacing out a lot this week."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Really. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Okay, well as I was saying before I realized you weren't listening . . . we have to ship the last of your stuff, and then you're free." A big grin broke out over his face and I pulled him into a hug, whispering a small 'thank you' into his ear. I feel his muscles work behind my hands as he squeezes me tighter and I begin to daydream again. "Why are you so spacy all of a sudden? Is the move freaking you out?" He asked after I realized he had pulled away.

"Um, yeah. I guess. It's a big move Brooks. You're use to moving around with hockey and all, but me? Not at all."

"It'll be fun aright? Has Mike told you anything about your move lately?"

I give him a skeptical look as I shake my head from side to side. "He's coming to DC to help you move in. Then once you are all moved in, we're throwing a welcome to DC party. Just the three of us, and a few bottles of Johnnie Walker."

"I don't drink."

"And I don't play hockey," he laughed as he walked over to the last of my boxes in my now nearly empty apartment. I had worked it out with my landlord to leave all of my furniture behind. It was all mostly new, and pretty nice stuff, so he planned on taking full advantage of it. In return, he was letting me out of my lease early. It didn't hurt either that I was his only tenant without a drug problem and/or having the cops called on them constantly.

Once Brooks began hauling the boxes outside, I pulled my phone out and called Mike. He didn't answer at first so I just left him a voice mail telling him I knew about his 'surprise'. If it was even a surprise to begin with. Knowing I'd be seeing him in two days got me excited though, and I actually went more than ten minutes without drifting in to la-la land. It didn't take long though. Brooks walked through the front door and smiled at me before picking up the last box. I rested my hands on my stomach and my daydreams went in a whole different direction. One in the future.





As Brooks and I walked onto the plane that was taking me to my new life, my phone beeped alerting me of a new email. I pulled it out, planning on just shutting it off, but after seeing the email was from Steve, curiosity got the best of me.

We set a date. Should we even bother sending an invite?

"You're fucking kidding me right?"

"Hey sailer, we're out in public now, watch the language."

"Look at this," I half shouted as I handed him my phone. I took my bag and stashed it above our seats and sat down next to the window. I felt Brooks sit down next to me and he handed my phone back to me, with an empty reply window on the screen.

"It's time to be a bitch. Stand up for yourself Niko. Tell him what's really on your mind right now, and you better hurry up before they tell you to shut your phone off."

My fingers moved faster than my mind did, and I had to go to my 'sent' file to read what I wrote.

No thanks, and don't bother sending me a notification when you get divorced because I won't care then either.

Brooks sent out a low whistle as he read over my shoulder. I looked over at him with shock washed over my face. "That was really mean of me wasn't it?"

"I'm actually kind of in shock right now. It's about time you stood up for yourself toward him. I think I can fall in love with you for that one."

That's all it took for me to drift back into daydream land. Life with Brooks in a way I'd never imagine before, and most of the thoughts flooding my head were those of sexual ideas. Brooks' naked body pushed up against mine. Just the thought caused me to inhale sharply. His hand landed on top of mine. "You okay?" I couldn't look at him, not with his naked body in my head. He's my best friend, always has been always will be.

"Yeah, sorry, just nervous," I mumble as I pinch my legs together tightly and close my eyes. The strange part? I don't exactly want these daydreams to go away.





The tension in my body released once we arrived in the baggage claim of the DC airport. This was it. This was my new home. Two weeks, that's all it took. I picked up my whole life in two weeks, and now here I am. I noticed a shady figure off to the left, and looked over to see a guy dressed all in black, with his hood pulled up and black sunglasses on holding a sign. Veronica and her slave. I dropped my bag at my feet and ran toward Mike, launching myself at him.

His lips landed on my and it was at that point I wanted all of those daydreams to disappear. Mike made me feel wanted, while Brooks made me feel sane. That's how things should be. "I missed you," I mumbled against his lips.

"I think I might have missed you more," he laughed, uncomfortably shifting his legs. I looked down between us and quickly realized how much he really did miss me.

"We better hurry then, eh?" I smiled kissing him one last time before headed back toward baggage claim to grab my bag.

Once we arrived at Brooks' house and my bags were thrown in my room, I settled in the living room next to Mike. Brooks, exhausted from packing over the last two weeks, called it an early night and went to bed. "So is everything okay with you and Brooks?" Mike asked as he drew circles on my palm with his finger.

"Yeah, it was just one big misunderstanding." I think. I still wasn't one hundred percent sure what we were arguing over to begin with.

"Well that's good, I don't think I could handle my girl and my best friend fighting."

"I thought we agreed on no titles," I smiled at him, I didn't have any problem being called his girl, not anymore anyways.

"I can't call you 'girlfriend' even though I tell everyone you are my girlfriend. Just as long as you don't hear it, then we're good. Right? I thought long and hard about this."

"Let's not talk about it anymore, I have a new bed to break in," I smiled devilishly at him and he immediately jumped up from the couch and grabbed my hand pulling me behind him. I was a confused mess, and I realized that as he took two steps at a time heading up toward my room. I craved Mike, yet I couldn't stop thinking about Brooks.

12: The Blowout

"What the fuck are you trying to say? That you want to be with me? That I'm too fucking blind to see what might be good for me?!" I screamed at him, which then caused him to pull the car over to the side of the road. I looked at him expectantly, but he just shut the car off and got out, slamming the door behind him.

I climbed out of the passenger seat and looked over the top of the car at him. He was pacing the length of the car, his jaw clenched.

"I'm just fucking sick and tired of you picking the wrong guys Veronica. I know you feel like crap when you get burned time and time again because of these guys, but how do you think I feel?"

"I don't fucking care how you feel Brooks! I'm the one that gets hurt over and over again. You know, I thought I had pretty good judgement when it came to bringing men into my life. I have you don't I? Or is having you as just a friend not enough?"

"I don't know Veronica, but I get asked every fucking day that I wake up if we're together or not yet. Have you never thought about it?"

"Of course I have, when we were both eighteen!!" He stopped pacing as his face dropped as he looked over at me for the first time. Where was all of this coming from? I was a mixture of emotions, not knowing what was dominating what. I was angry, confused, sad, excited, enthralled. I just didn't know if I should lash out at him or run up to him and kiss him. KISS HIM?!?!?!

"I'm sorry, let's just get back home and go to bed okay?"

"No. No we will not. I need to know what you're talking about Brooks. I am so fucking confused right now." Now I was the one pacing.

"Have you ever asked yourself 'what if'?"

"Of course I have, but I can't dwell on 'what if' everyday Brooks. I live my life."

"You live your life?! You really think you've been living your life to the fullest? That you're making all the right decisions to make your life better? You just spent nine months dwelling over an abusive relationship! I'm practically dragging you out of Seattle because you have nothing here. If you at least had some fucking friends I'd let you decide on moving by yourself, but you have nothing Veronica. Nothing!"

"Do you think that I'm such a low life that you have to come to my rescue!? That I need to be saved? Is that where you get off Brooks? Do you get a fucking hard on knowing that you're saving me from this hell I'm living in?!"

Our shouting match had drawn people outside of their homes that we were putting on a show for. Yet now, all those emotions I was feeling before turned into one, pure anger. The only thing keeping me from pounding my fist into his chest was the car. "Niko, please can-"

"No! Don't you dare Niko me. I get it now Brooks, I understand. You just feel sorry for me, but you know what? I don't need your pity! I-"

"That's exactly it Veronica! I feel sorry for you! I'm sorry that you were once this vibrant, outgoing young woman! I'm sorry that you were once so spontaneous that you got me in trouble with coach! I'm sorry that no matter what you do, you can't be happy!"

It was those last few words that hit me like a train. I felt all the oxygen in my body escape and the dark sky above us, suddenly became darker. He was right and he knew it. He also knew that I knew he was right. Steve ultimately did this to me. He had turned me into a zombie and Brooks was right about everything. I didn't have any friends besides him. I use to be spontaneous. I use to be outgoing. Now I was like the old cat lady next door no one wanted to associate with. I was a zombie influenced with the thoughts that I wasn't good enough. So that's what I became. Someone that wasn't good for anything. I collected a pay check, paid my bills and that was the extent of my being. Who was I? What had I become? I felt the tears hit my hands before those knowing arms wrapped themselves around me.

"I'm so sorry Niko, I didn't mean it," Brooks whispered into my ear. I wanted to tell him he was right, but words weren't forming correctly in my brain, all my words were jumbled up and I knew if I tried to talk, it'd be a disaster. "Come on, let's get you home."





I woke up the next morning, alone in bed. I glanced around for any evidence that Brooks slept in my bed the night before, but there was none. The left side of my bed was still neatly made and no clothes were thrown about. I sat up and leaned back against the headboard, replaying the previous nights argument over in my head. I was still so confused about what Brooks was trying to say. I knew there was more to it than what he was revealing.

Why is it that everyone around us, everyone, wants us together . . . except for you?

What did he mean!? I knew our few mutual friends and family would joke about us being together, but they weren't serious. They were joking. Did Brooks actually think they were being serious this whole time? We could never work together. It just wouldn't work. "Why though?" I asked myself out loud and begin to ponder the many reasons as to why. Yet I can't come up with anything. Well one thing.

Mike.

I grab my cellphone off the night stand and flip through my contacts until I land on his name. I just needed to hear a voice that wasn't Brooks' at this point, and Mike was my number one guy after all.

"Hey beautiful, you're up early."

I glanced over at the clock to see it was just past 6:30 in the morning. "I was out like a rock last night. How are you? How was your night?"

"It was good. Stayed in, played some guitar and practiced on the drums. I was actually just thinking about you."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Well Brooks just texted me regarding you."

"What?! Why?"

"Don't worry about it. All you need to know is that he is playing the best friend role and he will always have your back."

I felt my heart sink and confusion wash over me at the same time. "We got into a huge fight last night," I mumbled into the receiver hoping he wouldn't be able to hear me.

"You and Brooks? Why?"

"I don't know. But I need to tell him he was right. I think I'm just stressed out from this move and overly sensitive to everything. He might have said something kind of funny and I probably took it the wrong way. I was drinking wine."

"Well whatever it was, I'm sure it's not such a big deal, just a misunderstanding." Not a big deal? I like to think it is a big deal, whatever it is. We finished up our conversation and I stepped out of my bedroom and into the living room where Brooks was sitting on the couch surrounded by pillows and blankets.

He looked up at me with regret and sorrow in his eyes. I glanced down at my hands and played with my fingers. "I'm sorry Brooks, you were right. About everything. I've allowed myself to turn into this zombie and I just don't know how to be happy anymore. But I know when I get to DC and being so close to you, and being close to Mike, that the old me will be back. I have no doubts about that." I brought my eyes back up to his and his jaw was clenched and his right hand was balled up into a fist.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," he grumbled as he got up from the couch and walked out of my apartment, slamming the front door shut behind him. I stood there stunned, not knowing what to think. What else had I done to piss him off so badly? What was happening between us?

11: Love Birds?

"We need to talk," I announced as I walked into my apartment at the end of the day. Brooks was sitting on the couch watching the news and he glanced over his shoulder at me with a worried look.

"You didn't quit did you?"

"No I did." A big smile appeared on his face and he jumped up from the couch and went to pull me into a hug but I stopped him.

"No, this has been eating away at me all day, and I almost forgot but I didn't. So we need to talk." I walked around him and sat down on the couch, he slowly approached and sat down next to me. "What the hell is wrong with you Brooks?"

"What?"

"At the reunion, Jodi told me you had a rough afternoon and hit the bottle pretty hard. Then driving home yesterday you seemed uptight. What's wrong?"

I could feel him tense up as our once brushing shoulders now felt feet apart. "It's nothing."

"No it's not Brooks Laich. I can see straight through you, what's wrong?"

"If you can see straight through me you would know what is wrong, but you can't, so therefore, nothing is wrong."

"You're lying, I know you are. Just tell me. We've been best friends for years, since when can you not tell me what's wrong?"

"What if it was-" He stopped himself and took a deep breath. "I'm just stressed out, okay?"

"Because of hockey?"

"Yeah, and I'm sorry if it's effecting you, I don't mean to do that."

"I just worry about you sometimes."

"I know, I'm sorry. Once I get you in DC though, things will be okay. So how did it go anyways? Quitting?"

"He was upset, offered me everything he could to get me to stay. If I knew that's all it took to get a raise I would have threatened to quit a few years ago. But the girls are already planning a going away dinner for me."

"So you told them you were moving?"

"Yeah, well he asked if I got a new job and when I said no he started asking more questions so I just told him I was moving to DC. That I needed a change in scenery."

As I was cooking dinner that night, I put my bluetooth in and called Mike. Was he going to be excited to hear I was really making the move? Or was our weekend together a total fluke? I could feel myself grow with nerves as I chopped up some peppers. "Hey beautiful," he smiled into the phone.

"Hey Mike, how are you?"

"Doing much better now. Are you cooking?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I am, how could you tell."

"I can smell it."

"Whatever you dork. So look, I wanted to tell you something. I quit my job today."

"Does that mean what I hope it means?"

"That I'm moving to DC?"

The phone went silent and I panicked. Then I heard something fall and break. "Mike?"

"Sorry, I got so excited I jumped up and just broke a glass table. Oh I can't wait! When do you get here?"

"We fly out on the 9th."

"Who will you be living with?"

"Brooks. Who else?"

"Oh, just wondering. How did this happen? I mean just the other night you said you weren't, now you are."

"Brooks means a lot to me, and I know you know that. It's time, and he knows that as much as I do."

"Well I can't wait! I won't be back in DC till the beginning of September, but when I get back, I'm taking you out for a night on the town."

"That sounds perfect to me. I miss you."

"I miss you too babe, but I have to go, I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay, bye." We ended the conversation and I ripped the bluetooth out of my ear to finish making dinner.





Excitement ran through my body as I drove over the 520 bridge toward Kirkland, back to our old stomping grounds. Brooks had called Kent and Barb, his old billets, earlier in the week, and now Saturday night, after taking a break from packing, we were heading to their house for dinner.

Kent and Barb had pretty much become a second set of parents to me. If I wasn’t at home after school, I was at their house cooking with Barb, waiting for Brooks to come home from practice. That was how my junior and senior year of high school was spent.

I tried to meet up with Barb as much as possible after Brooks left, but this would be the first time I would see her after some five or six months.

I pulled into the all too familiar neighborhood and a smile broke out over my face as well as Brooks’. “Ready?” He asked once we were parked in the driveway. I nodded my head and jumped out, popping the trunk to pull out my wine case.

The door flung open before we made it up the steps, and I was attacked by Barb. “Oh my two love birds,” she smiled warmly into my shoulder. I glanced up at Brooks confused but he only laughed. She pulled away from me quickly and wrapped her arms around Brooks. “Come, come,” she smiled motioning us to follow her inside. I stepped next to Brooks and looked up at him, “love birds?” He only laughed just a little bit more.

We greeted Kent, who was in his chair, like he always was so many years ago. “It’s so good to see you two finally together,” he smiled at us.

“We’re naahh-“

“Took me forever to convince her we were meant to be,” Brooks interrupted me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I glanced up at him confused. He just smiled and kissed my forehead.

We sat through dinner, and I managed to hog the bottle of wine I brought. All of these fictional relationships were confusing me, and it was wrong to mislead Barb and Kent like this. Everytime I felt the urge to speak up and tell them, Brooks would step on my foot.

“So Niko is moving to DC with me. She leaves this weekend,” Brooks announced after I helped Barb bring the cake into the dining room.

“Oh darling, that’s wonderful news. You know, we’ve been waiting for this day to happen. We knew you two would end up together. We can just tell by the way you look at each other.”

I felt myself blush and shrink in my seat. This was so embarrassing for me. I didn’t see Brooks that way, and I’m sure as hell that he didn’t see me like that either. Well I’m sure there were times in our nine year friendship where we asked ourselves ‘what if’, but not anymore. He’s a ladies man, and well I’m . . . I don’t know what I am anymore, but I’m sure Mike can help me with that.

Our visit with Kent and Barb finished up a few hours after the last bite of dessert was taken. Barb made me promise her that I would send a wedding invite. She of course will receive one, but I don’t know who the groom will be. That’s years down the road anyways.

Brooks took the car keys from me, and I climbed into the passenger seat no problem. “What the fuck was that about?” I asked once we were out of view from their house.

“What?”

“You told them we were dating?”

“You have no idea what they put me through when it comes to you. So I told a little fib, we’re both leaving. We’ll see them maybe once a year from now on. Barb concocted this whole story in her head about how we finally confessed our feelings to one another, what was I to do? Break her heart?”

"We're not together though! She's expected a wedding invitation in the mail sometime in the near future!"

"Why is it that everyone around us, everyone, wants us together . . . except for you?"

10: Heading . . . Home?

Kelly had her arms wrapped around me in a goodbye embrace. As happy as I was to leave the weekend behind me, I had to admit I was going to miss spending time with this family. And this, more than likely, would be the last time I would see them.  I pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, she knew as well this would be the last time. "Take care of yourself."
   
"I will, I'll miss you Kelly."

"I'll miss you too Veronica."

I waved goodbye to the rest of the family and climbed into the passenger seat of the car where Mike and Brooks were patiently awaiting me. "So we have to get Mike to the Vancouver airport within the next six hours. So no stopping!" Brooks explained and I nodded my head and he pulled away from the roller coaster of a weekend.

"So wait, when do you fly back?" I turned to ask Brooks.

"The 9th."

"What? How come you didn't tell me you'd be staying around for two weeks?"

"I just changed my flight. There are some people in Seattle I want to visit, like my old billets. I also wanted to spend more time with you before the season starts back up again."

"Oh, okay."

The drive was long and boring, nothing like our drive up. Mike was asleep in the back, Brooks was quiet, and I still felt drunk. That's probably why Brooks insisted on driving. I was grateful for the silence though, I don't think I could handle discussing what happened.




I wrapped my arms around Mike's neck outside of Vancouver International Airport and stuck out my bottom lip looking up at him.

"Oh stop," he laughed as he leaned down and kissed me, pulling my body into his.

"I'll miss you," I whispered against his lips and he mumbled a 'mm-hmm' against mine.

"Greener, your flight leaves in forty minutes," Brooks called out and we reluctantly pulled away from one another.

"I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay, bye Mike."

"Bye Veronica." I stood on the curb and watched as he walked away, slowly fading into the crowd that was bustling around the airport.

"Ready babe?" Brooks asked from his position leaning against my car.

"Don't call me babe," I smiled at him and shoved him with my shoulder to climb back in the passenger seat.

I offered to drive, knowing he had already been behind the wheel for five hours, and we still had another two or three to go, but he declined. Instead, he just rolled all the windows down and turned the music up as loud as it would go without blowing my speakers out.

"You know if you're tired I can drive!!" I yelled to him once we were a few miles away from the border. I watched as his jaw clenched and he pulled off at the next exit. We swapped seats quietly and the second I pulled back onto the highway, his eyes were shut and the chair was leaned all the way back. The poor guy. The crap he had to put up with this weekend, and it's all my fault. I knew I shouldn't have gone. Sure it would have pissed Brooks off for me to back out, but a weekend at home was better than what I had just gone through. And what I had just put him through. Brooks hates drama, it's a well-known fact, and all this weekend was, was drama. I glanced over at him once I stopped in line for the border. A small smile was playing on his lips and his right hand was smashed between his thighs. He sure was an image.

Once we arrived in Bellingham, a hippy college town just south of the border, I pulled into the town’s only T-Mobile store. I looked over at Brooks, who was still in a deep sleep. The border patrol officer had asked me to wake him up, but all Brooks did was mumble a few choice curse words, and the officer waved us through. I placed my hand on his shoulder and shook him around until he woke up.

"Are we home already?"

"No, you owe me a new cell phone," I smiled to him and got out of the car.

We walked into T-Mobile side by side and was greeted by a kid, no older than eighteen, in black slacks, polo T-Mobile shirt and bright pink skater shoes. Brooks immediately started laughing upon seeing them. "How can I help you today?"

"This big guy over here threw my cell phone out the window on the freeway, so he'll be buying me a new one," I explained to the kid who then looked at Brooks with a shocked expression on his face.

"What? We were on vacation. No cell phones while on vacation!" Brooks defended himself and I just laughed as the salesman brought us up to the counter and Brooks dished over the four-hundred dollars for my phone.

"Happy now?" Brooks asked as we left the store and he reclaimed his spot in the passenger seat.

"You know I can't fully survive without my cell phone. I wasn't even able to Twitter that you threw my cell phone out the car window at 70 fucking miles per hour!"

"You did not just say Twitter."

"What? It's entertaining."

Once we got out of Bellingham and hit the straight-aways of Skagit county, it felt like no time before I was parking outside of my apartment.

"Do you work tomorrow?" Brooks asked as he carried both of our suitcases up to my third floor apartment.

"I do," I grumbled as I opened my door and held it open for him. I would love to take another day off just to unwind, but it was hard enough getting days off as it was. I wouldn't dare ask for one more day.

"I'm going to take a nap. Make yourself at home," I smiled to him as I grabbed my suitcase and dragged it behind me into my room.

"Hey, can I use your computer? I have to print something out real quick." He asked me before I reached my room. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at him.

"Of course."





When I woke up from my nap, I quickly realized it was just past 5:30 the next morning. I sat up in bed and stretched my arms up over my head. I looked next to me to see the other side of the bed disrupted, but Brooks was no where to be found. I stumbled out of bed and swung the door open to peak into the living room, he wasn't there, but the smell of sausage filled my nose.

I walked into the kitchen to find him cooking in just his boxers. "Hey, why are you awake so early?" I asked him as I took a seat at my small kitchen table.

"It's a big day for you, so I wanted to cook breakfast."

"Why is it a big day? I'm just going to work."

I watched as he walked over to my purse and plucked out a white envelope and handed it over to me. I was confused, but he just turned back to the stove to continue cooking. I pulled a folded white piece of paper out of the envelope and began to read it.

Dear Dr. Robert Larson,
Please accept this letter as my two-weeks notice of resignation. My last day of work will be August 7th. While I have been very satisfied at Larson Family Dental, I have decided to make this move to advance my career. I have enjoyed working with you and appreciate the opportunities I have been given here.

"This sounds like you copied it off the internet."

"I did."

I laughed and then it hit me. "What?! Why did you do this?!"

"I'm not leaving Seattle without you. We have a flight booked for the 9th, now I don't have to be back in DC till the beginning of September, so I can easily change the flights to a later date, but I'd rather not."

I held the letter in front of me, starring at the blank space where my signature should be. Thinking about everything Seattle was to me, I felt myself begin to cry. I loved this city, it just didn't love me back. Brooks set a plate down in front of me, and then kneeled down next to me. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm scared," I admitted.

"Don't be scared. This is a good thing for you Niko. Would it make you feel better if I was doing this more for me than for you?"

"What?" I sobbed out lifting my hand up to my face to wipe away my tears. He grabbed my free hand, and held it tightly in his.

"I just need you with me. This is going to be a rough year on me, I'm not that rookie kid no one knows about anymore. There are rumors flying around that I'll be captain, more than likely not this year, but that's a lot of pressure on me. I need my Niko there for support. Besides, I thought now that you and Mike were an item you would be more open to the move."

"If you need me there so badly . . . then okay."

"Okay? Just like that."

"Yeah. Well, I guess. You're right Brooks, I don't have anything here."

"Mike is going to be one happy guy."

"We're not an item by the way. We're dating. No titles."

"So it's nothing official between you two?"

I shook my head from side to side and could see the smile he was fighting to hold back. He stood up and quickly kissed me on the forehead before retuning to the kitchen. When he returned to the table with his own plate, he handed me a pen and I quickly signed my name in the blank spot on the document, officially sealing my future.

I was moving to DC.

9: No Titles, Not Yet

"Do I tell her?" I asked Brooks after arriving back at the resort.

"Tell who what?"

"Ashley. About what happened with Steve yesterday morning."

He took a deep breath before glancing over at me. "How would you feel if your new fiance's ex-girlfriend told you he kissed her a few hours before they got engaged?"

"I would think she was lying, trying to get back together with him."

"Exactly, so I wouldn't say anything."

"But I don't want to get back together with Steve."

"She doesn't know that. She doesn't even know you."

"I just feel sorry for her. I don't exactly see their marriage lasting."

"I don't either. Now let's talk about something else, like you moving to DC."

I groaned inwardly. Brooks just couldn't understand that unlike him I just couldn't pick up and move my life across the nation. It would take imense amount of planning and a nice big lump sum of money to make the move. I can't just snap my fingers and appear in DC so easily.

"Don't stress yourself out over it. You know I'll take care of everything. Besides I haven't gotten laid in awhile and you're not going to spread your legs for me anytime soon. I need my wingwoman back."

"Ugh! Try not having sex for nine months!!"

"Why are we wasting our time sitting here then? There's a lock on our door."

"You're unbelievable."

"You know I'm always messing with you, but seriously, I've always wondered . . .." He looked out into the thin air like he was in deep thought.

"I hope you're not trying to imagine me naked."

"Always am sweetheart," with that he laughed and got up from our spot on the couch and made his way toward the elevator.





Once the thunderstorm from the previous night finally rolled away, I laid myself out on the beach to try and darken my pale skin. Mike laid down next to me, while Brooks, his brother and sister and some of their cousins rented jet skis and went crazy out on the lake.

"Veronica? Hi darling, how are you holding up?" Kelly asked me as she sat down on the lounge chair next to me. I held up my margarita and smiled at her.

"I can't believe he did that to you, I just wanted to come out here and apologize. I-"

"Kelly, you don't have to apologize for your son. Please don't apologize for your son. It's okay. I'm going to be okay.'

"Good. So, we're going to start cooking dinner here soon, and I know what an excellent cook you are, so Gram and I were wondering if you would help?"

Cooking could be an easy escape for me. It would keep my hands and mind busy, but was I too drunk to cook? Was I even drunk? Or was I immune to the tequila now? "I'd love to," I smiled as I got up from the chair and nudged a sleeping Mike. "I'm going to help cook dinner, don't fry out here."

"Okay baby, have fun," he mumbled grabbing my hand and squeezing it gently before drifting back to sleep.

We gathered in Kelly's suite in the kitchen and got to work right away. Just like old times. Mid way through dicing up four pounds worth of tomatos, Ashley joined us in the kitchen. "Can I help with anything?" She asked with a smile and a sparkle in her eye. I smiled back at her, remembering that feeling of cooking with the mother and grandmother. It's a bonding experience.

"No, that's alright dear, why don't you go make sure the boys are staying hydrated," Grandma Jaharus suggested and the smile on my face dropped. Her smile on the other hand went from a genuine one to a fake one. The poor girl. My heart was breaking for her. Once she left the suite I turned to Gram.

"She could have helped, actually she should help, she's about to become family."

"Veronica, I don't like her. At all." I was taken back by her bluntness and looked over at Kelly who was rolling her eyes.

"Why not?" I asked, curious to see if there was a real reason.

"She's not you." Those words hit harder than I first expected they would. I felt my mouth go dry and stepped away from the tomatoes and excused myself. I headed back to my room down the hall and grabbed a new bottle of tequila. Was I an alcoholic? Absolutely not, not even close. But this weekend? Yes.

When I reentered Kelly's suite she glanced down at the bottle in my hand and smiled. "Can you make one for me too?" She laughed and I smiled at her all while nodding my head.

By the time dinner was done, and we had the boys take it down to the beach, Kelly and I weren't exactly sober anymore. Neither was Brooks for that matter. I arched an eyebrow at him as he stumbled a bit on his feet, a goofy grin on his face. "He's been hitting the bottle I see," I commented to Jodi.

"He had a rough afternoon."

"Really? Why?"

"Eh, we had a brother-sister heart-to-heart. I'm sure he'll explain it to you when he's sober." I nodded my head, but kept my eyes on Brooks. He was laughing hysterically about something Aaron had said. A smile cracked my face as I felt a warm body envelope me from behind.

"Hey baby," Mike cooed in my ear and chills shot through my body.

"Hey yourself," I smiled leaning back into his chest.

"Are you drunk?" He laughed and I turned around in his arms, and threw my arms around his neck, pushing my chest hard in to his. Suddenly not only craving contact, but craving skin to skin contact.

"Can I lie and say no?" I smiled, my eyes fixated on his lips.

"Can I lie and say I absolutely do not want you to kiss me right now?" The corner of his mouth curled up and that's all it took for me to attach myself to him.

"Get a room," Aaron laughed from behind us and I pulled away from Mike's lips.

"I think we will," I smiled up at Mike and grabbed his hand and dragged him back inside.





After cooking for what felt like hours, I wasn't hungry anymore. Yet looking over at a very naked Mike next to me, my appetite came back, but it was only for him. I wanted more of him, I just couldn't get enough of him.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked after his breathing returned to a normal, steady pace.

“What I’m going to do to you next,” I smiled crawling back on top of him.

“You’re feisty tonight.”  

“It’s been a long weekend, and you leave tomorrow. I don’t know when I’ll see you again. I just want all of you right now.”      

“I want all of you too,” he grinned, reconnected his lips to mine, as we fell back into that sensual movement we found together only an hour before.



Trying to keep my screams to a minimum, I flopped onto my back and felt my whole body go limp. Mike grabbed my hand and brought it up to his mouth, kissing my palm down to my wrist and back. “I think you’re amazing Veronica. All around amazing, and the sex? Wow. Just wow. I want to see you more, I want to start dating you.”

“Mike-“

“No wait, hear me out. I’ve had my eye on you since I met you, but I never did a damn thing because you are Brooks’ best friend. I didn’t know if making a move would be stepping over that boundary line or not, but this afternoon he chewed my ass out. Hard.”

“What?! Why?!”

“Because he basically gave me his blessing to make this fictional relationship between us real, but if I break your heart, he’ll break my neck.”

“Was this before or after he started drinking?”

“Before.” I stayed silent, still trying to figure out why he had such a ‘rough afternoon’. “So anyways. I like you. I think you like me. We obviously have chemistry in and out of bed. Why don’t we give this a shot.”

“Nothing official.”

“What?”

“Nothing official. We can date, but you know what I’ve gone through. I can’t just throw myself back into a relationship, especially with someone that lives so far away. We date, then we’ll discuss ‘titles’ later on.”

“Brooks said you’re moving to DC.”

“Brooks says a lot of things.”

8: I Need More Tequila

I could feel my soul leaving my body. There was nothing left to me. Just a shell. A broken down shell with leaks on the front of my face. I couldn't even feel myself crying. I pulled the hood of Mike's sweatshirt up over my head, hoping to just disappear. Why did I do this to myself? Why do I allow myself to be effected like this by him? He makes me want to hate my life. I don't want to hate my life. I never want to hate my life. I just want to hate him.

Every time Mike took a step toward me, I would tense up, causing him to back off. As much as I wanted to be held and comforted, he just wouldn't be able to do it for me. I needed Brooks. I pinched my eyes shut tight, trying to prevent the dam from breaking. Apart of me just wanted to reach out and hold on to Mike for dear life, but the other part was mentally pushing him away. Just wanting to push all men away at that point.

I sat on the kitchen counter and cried. I didn't know what else to do. "He's an asshole!" I yelled through my tears at Mike. He finally stepped between my legs and wrapped his arms around my waist. My arms immediately went around his neck, and I dug my nose in to his shoulder. Wanting, and needing the comfort, I wrapped my legs around his waist as well. I was overly emotional and just needed to be held, and Mike was doing exactly that.

"He's scum Niko, you deserve so much better than that," he whispered in my ear. No matter what he would say though, I still felt like I was shot in the chest. I pulled away from his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. I nodded my head knowing he was right. He reached up and placed his hand on my cheek, swiping away some of my tears. "I wish that person was me," he whispered.

I knitted my eyebrows together and pulled away further from him. "What?" I asked choking back a sob. He didn't say anything, he just pulled me closer and pressed his lips to mine. I didn't do anything, I just continued to shake and cry, with his lips pressed up against mine. What was I to do? He was the first to make any sort of movement, and it was to suck my top lip between his. I inhaled sharply as my tears became heavy, and kissed him back.

We didn't stop kissing until I heard something fall and hit the ground. I pulled away from Mike and wiped my eyes to look over his shoulder. Brooks stood there, with a brown paper bag and a few movies by his feet. His mouth hung open and he looked from me to Mike than back to me. I jumped down from the counter and walked out of the kitchen and in to the room I was sharing with Brooks. What the hell just happened?

A few moments passed and the door opened and Brooks stepped in. "Please, don't. I don't want to talk."

"I have nothing to say. I just came in to change," he assured me. "Mike though, he's really worried about you out there."

"Did you go to the liquor store?"

"I did, got two bottles of tequila and some movies."

"Chick flicks?"

"Braveheart and Snatch."

"Perfect, thank you Brooks."

"Look, about what happened with Mike, just be careful okay? I don't need my baby being heartbroken again. I don't think I could handle that."

I looked up at him and nodded my head. There was some sort of emotion in his eyes that I couldn't translate. Was he mad that he walked in on me kissing his teammate? I don't think he should be, he was the one that set us up, regardless if it was fake or not. "Brooks?" He turned around from his suitcase and sat down next to me, giving me his full attention. "Are you okay with the idea of Mike and I? I keep telling myself it's too soon, but I've been single for nine months now, and he's a good guy, and I think I might like him. A lot actually. If it makes you uncomfortable or just whatever, you know I won't explore these feelings."

He closed his eyes momentarily before opening them back up and taking my hand in his. "You just need to do whatever makes you happy. A happy Niko is a happy Brooks. Even if it is Mike," he laughed and I smiled leaning into him for a hug.

"Can I have my tequila now?"

"Sure, want to watch the movies in here?" I nodded my head and pulled back the comforter to get comfy on the bed. Moments later the door opened back up and Mike and Brooks, along with three of the other guys in the family, including Aaron in his wheelchair came in and took their spots.

Mike crawled in to the bed next to me, and Brooks took his usual spot between my legs with his head on my stomach. He always told me this was the only way he could watch movies I liked, because when I laughed, the movement of my stomach would wake him up. I always called him a jerk for not liking my movies and sleeping straight through them. Either way, it always gave me something to do with  my fingers, and that was massage his scalp.

Mike wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and we all settled in to watch Snatch.






My head felt like it was full of lead when I tried to lift it up. I couldn't exactly move it. All I could feel though, was a heavy body on top of me, and then it felt like I was laying on another body. I peaked my eyes open slowly to see Brooks' face resting on my stomach, a small wet circle forming on my shirt next to his mouth. I looked to my right and saw the empty bottle of tequila just an inch away from my hand. Then of course, behind me, Mike was snoring and mumbling something in a deep sleep.

I forced my head to look to my left and Aaron, in his cast, was fast asleep on the couch, the TV still on with Braveheart's DVD menu displayed upon it. Why the fuck was everyone in my room? I could still taste the tequila on my tongue, and I wouldn't be surprised if, and when, I stood up that I would discover I was still drunk. Brooks began to move around, his hand coming up to his face, itching his eyes. His movements cause my shirt to ride up and his hot breath on my stomach caused my whole body to tense up. I felt sensations occur between my legs when his breath continued to hit my bare skin. Sensations I’ve never had caused by Brooks before. I needed to get out of bed, and I needed to do it quick.

Not exactly caring about the two boys who became my pillow and blanket over night, I climbed right out of bed, causing Mike to slump over and Brooks to fall on the ground. Once I was upright my stomach flipped and I made a mad dash into the bathroom. On the bathroom counter was yet another empty bottle of tequila. No wonder I couldn’t remember any of the previous day’s events. I was shocked I was alive.

When I walked back in to my room Mike and Brooks were now both awake, barely, and both laying more comfortably on the bed. “How you holding up babe?” Brooks asked as he rolled on to his stomach, digging his face into my pillow.

“Other than extremely hung over, perfectly fine. Whose idea was it to get wasted last night? I’m gonna kick their ass.”

Both Mike and Brooks brought their heads up to look at me. Both confused. “Y-you don’t remember?” Brooks asked just above a whisper.

“Remember what?” I sat down on the bed between them, crossing my legs, trying to get the room to stop spinning.

“Steve asked Ashley to marry him last night.” – “Three feet in front of you.” – “In front of his whole family.” – “Hours after he told you he loved you.” They both explained to me and in one quick flash of my memory I dashed for the bathroom again.

That explained the tequila, and my room filled with people. That explained the hole I suddenly felt in my heart. As I released the rest of the tequila in my stomach into the toilet, anger quickly overtook my whole body. Who the hell did Steve think he was? Who the hell pulls a stunt like that?

I walked back into the bedroom to find Brooks and Mike whispering back and forth. “We’re going to need more tequila,” I announced feeling my tears begin to fall down my face.

“Want to get out of here for awhile then? Head into town?” Brooks suggested and I quietly nodded my head before returning to the bathroom to shower away all of my emotions.

Once I was ready to go, I headed back into the bedroom to find Brooks ready to go, but Mike was still passed out on the bed. "I think he drank more than you last night," Brooks snickered poking Mike in the thigh, he didn't budge at all.

Brooks drove my car into town and we stayed in silence until he reached over and wrapped his hand around mine. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked looking at him confused.

"For bringing you out here, and making you sit through that circus last night."

"You didn't know he was going to do that though Brooks. It's not your fault."

"I feel responsible, for everything though. You met him through me. I want to kick his ass I hope you know."

"I know, but I'll be okay. I've been through worse . . . I think. As long as you stick by my side, I'll be fine."

"I'm not going anywhere," he smiled as he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my hand gently.

7: Congratulations, But That's Fucked Up

It wasn't until the door swung open that I realized what had just happened. "Hey, you okay?" Brooks asked and I slowly turned my head to look at him. Tears rolling down my cheeks freely. I shook my head from side to side and instantly his arms were wrapped around me. "What happened? What did he do?"

I didn't know what to say to Brooks, because I knew once I told him he'd be running down the hall to hunt him down. I just wanted to hold on to him. "He kissed me," I finally choked out and loosened my grip around him, expecting him to leave, but he didn't. He just stepped closer, and held me tighter.

"Hey Veronica, it's your turn. Hey everything okay?" I heard Mike ask from behind me. I composed myself long enough to pull away from Brooks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled before leaving the two boys in the hallway and headed back into the hotel room.

It when then that it came to me, what I wanted tattooed on me for the rest of my life. I sat down in front of the tattoo artist and held out my left wrist. "What can I do for you darling?" He asked with a thick British accent causing me to smile.

"A Victorianesque heart with the roman numeral 'twenty-one' blended in to it somewhere. I trust you, you're a professional, you have free reign."

"I think I like you," he laughed as he sterilized the area around me and prepared his needle and ink.

As the needle dragged along my skin, I couldn't feel it. I actually couldn't feel anything now that I was thinking about it. I was numb again. I was back in that state of mind where Steve had to come in and fuck everything up. Someone grabbed my free hand and I looked over and smiled at Mike. "You doing alright?"

"Yeah, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be," I smiled over at him and he leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "I like you. You're a good guy."

The corner of his mouth curled up and his eyes squinted, "I like you too."






I stood in the bathroom, getting ready for the cocktail party that the family held every year. I picked up a new black dress the week before, knowing I had a new set of eyes that I wanted to impress. I finished with my makeup and glanced down at my new tattoo quickly. You could barely tell the '21' was in there, but I knew it was. Brooks was the best thing that's ever happened to me in my life, and I knew with this tattoo that he would always be with me. Be that strong support that I would need in my life. If I ever met a man that disagreed with this, then he just wouldn't be right for me. With me comes Brooks as well. I smiled inwardly and left the bathroom and met the boys in the kitchen.

"Wow."

"Damn girl."

I blushed as I took in their appearances, both looking great in suits. Brooks kept it summery in a linen khaki suit with a white shirt, left unbutton. Mike on the other hand was looking very James Bondish in a black suit, white shirt and black tie. He even had the aviator sunglasses resting on top of his head.

"Wow boys, I feel like the luckiest girl at the prom," I smiled soaking each of them in.

"Ready Niko?" Brooks asked as I linked my right arm through his left, and then my left arm through Mike's right.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I smiled and we left the room.

Upon arriving in the banquet room I couldn't believe we had assigned seats. Sure there were forty or fifty of us, but was a seating chart necessary? I picked my name up off the table and read 'Table C' I looked at Mike, he had the same, but Brooks was holding 'Table B'. I looked at him with sad eyes but he kissed me on the cheek and we wandered through the room and found our tables. Luckily Brooks was right behind me at his table, unfortunately Steve and Ashley were directly across from me at the same table.

I felt Steve's eyes raking over my body and I tensed up, feeling the room close in around me. Mike picked up on my uneasiness and placed a finger under my chin, pulling my lips up to his awaiting ones. He pulled away and looked me in the eyes, momentarily glancing over at Steve. "I love you."

Whaaa-?

Acting, right. I opened my mouth to say it back, but he kissed me instead. I felt my cheeks catch fire, and covered my stupid grin with my hand. I looked around the room to see Ashley looking at us with admiration in her eyes, Steve on the other hand. He looked like he could kill Mike. Asshole.

Conversation was flowing easy with everyone at our table, and at one point, I reached behind me and grabbed Brooks' chair, dragging it to our table. "Everything alright?" He asked whispering in my ear.

"Yeah, so far anyways. He keeps looking at Mike like he wants to kill him though."

"And that's the whole point why we brought Mike remember? Make him jealous, make him realize he's an ass."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Let me see your tattoo," he smiled grabbing my hand and flipping it over, resting my hand on his thigh. He bent over to look at it closely. "Is that . . . is that the number '21'?" He asked bringing his head up and looking me in the eyes.

"Yeah. I didn't think anyone would be able to see it."

"Why . . . why did you do that?"

"You're my back bone Brooks, and when you're all the way on the east coast I'll always have you now."

He reached his arms around me and hugged me. No words needed to be said, that’s just how I wanted things. We got each other, no questions asked.

I heard the clinking of a spoon to a glass and pulled away from Brooks to see Steve standing at the table, grabbing everyones attention. I wanted to roll my eyes, dramatically, but kept my composure, feeling Mike’s fingers lace through mine.

“I wanted to welcome everyone to the Jaharus/Laich family reunion. On behalf of my family and myself, I wanted to thank everyone for taking out time in their busy schedules to come here and celebrate what an amazing family this is.”

Everyone erupted into a small round of golf claps, and I slapped my hand on my thigh once or twice, not really feeling the spirit Steve was trying to project to the family.

“One thing that is so beautiful about this family is the acceptance of others we bring into our circle. I wanted to thank you all for welcoming Ashley to this family like she was one of our own. And now there is nothing I want more than to make her officially one of our own.” I felt my heart stop beating and my breath catch in my chest as Steve reached into his pocket. In agonizingly slow motion, he went down on one knee. Much like he did with me some three years before.

I lost all of my senses except for my vision. All I could see was Steve’s mouth moving, a sparking diamond ring in his hand, and then Ashley jumping up with her hands covering her mouth nodding her head. I closed my eyes numerous times, thinking for sure that this was all a dream. A sick, sad dream. Or at least a prank that someone was playing on me. No way in his right mind would he propose to his girlfriend mere hours after kissing me. No way, right?

“Niko! Veronica!” The voices of Mike and Brooks in my ear were what brought me back to reality. This really was happening. He really just did that.

“I’m sorry, I have to go,” I state as I stand up from my seat, and slowly make my way out of the banquet hall. It was when I heard the click of the door behind me that I pulled off my heels and ran down the hall. I didn’t know where I was going, all I knew was that I had to get far away from what just happened. I ran into the lobby, numerous guests looking at me with frightened eyes. I slowed myself down and looked out the back windows to the dock floating on the lake. I opened the back doors and made my way outside, not even realizing the heavy downpour and the thunder and lightning off in the distance. After I made it down the first flight of stairs, I gave up. I sat down on the wood planked walkway and broke down in tears.

“Veronica!” I could hear Brooks yelling from the door I had just walked out from. Moments later, two warm arms wrapped around me, pulling me in to their warm chest. I grabbed onto his water soaked linen blazer and cried in to his chest.

“Why did he do that? Why is he such an asshole?”

“I don’t know Niko, I don’t know. Let’s get you inside though okay? There’s a big thunderstorm on it’s way.”

“I can’t move. I don’t want to move. Just leave me here.”   

“You’re going to catch a cold or worse get struck by lightning.”

“I don’t fucking care anymore Brooks. Those options sound fantastic to me right now.”

He sighed obviously frustrated but just held me closer. “Is there anything I can do for you? Anything you need?”

“Tequila. Seriously Brooks, I’m not joking right now. I need my boys, a bottle of tequila and a good movie. I need to forget this shit, right now.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll go see what I can find.” The minute his arms were unwrapped from me, a new set of warm arms found their way around my body.

“Look at me,” Mike whispered and I brought my head up to look into his eyes, tears falling quickly down on to his hand that rested beneath my chin. “That guy in there is a complete asshole, and you do not deserve to be put through what he puts you through. You are an amazing woman and it’s a damn shame that he doesn’t see that, because everyone else around you can. Please don’t, do not, wish you were that girl right now. You would be miserable.” I nodded my head, digging my face into his chest, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"He just told me a few hours ago that he still loves me! That he wishes things were different!" I shouted, suddenly pulling away from Mike. "Fuck him, he's a fucking asshole and I feel sorry for his girlfriend."

"Come on, let's get you inside," Mike stood up and offered me his hand. I reluctantly placed my hand in his and we made our way back to our room.

6: A Slap To The Face

Friday morning I woke up with the body pillow that was separating Brooks and I on the ground. His butt was pressed up against my hip, and when I went to roll onto my side I nearly fell off the bed. He once again managed to take up the whole bed. I put my hand on his back and pushed him away from me, giving me some room to stretch out and maybe get a few more minutes of shut eye.

“UGH!” He groaned, rolling onto his stomach to give me a few inches to work with. I glanced at the clock quickly to see it was just past 7 AM. I hated that I could never sleep in, the only way I could is if I had been drinking the night before. Just as I closed my eyes, I felt his arm fall over my waist. I grabbed on to the comforter that had fallen off of me at some point and brought it up around my neck and fell back asleep.

When I woke up again, Brooks was spooning me, with his arm tightly wrapped around my waist. I found comfort in the position I was in, but knew that we needed to get up, it was after 9 AM. I slipped out from his grip and grabbed my bathroom bag before leaving our room and headed to the bathroom. After combing my hair and brushing my teeth I headed out to the common area of our hotel room just as Mike was walking out of the kitchen in just his boxers with a platter of breakfast goodness. A thought quickly crossed my mind that he should be the one on the platter, not the bagels and muffins.

"Morning," he smiled as he set the platter down on the table and sat down next to me, giving me a quick kiss on the lips. "Brooks still sleeping?"

"Yeah, hogging the bed as usual."

"You know, you can sleep with me, I don't hog."

I rolled the offer around in my head, knowing that if I took him up on it, there was no way I would keep my hands to myself. "No, that's alright, thanks for the offer though." I grabbed a muffin and began to pull it apart as we sat on the couch in silence. I knew that we had to start getting ready soon, as the tattoo artist would be coming around 11 or so. "I'm gonna go wake him up," I smiled as I went to get up from the couch, but Mike's hand on my arm stopped me. I turned to look at him, and he kissed we sweetly on the lips before letting me go. "Today we act girlfriend," he laughed as he got up as well and headed for his room.

I snuck my way back in to the room to see Brooks laying on his back with his arms and legs sprawled out everywhere. I shut the door behind me and climbed on the bed and over him, straddling his lap. I grabbed his hands and held them above his head with one hand. With my free hand I began my assault on his most ticklish areas, right around his nipples. He squirmed at first before waking up fully, and easily flopped me over on to my back, with him laying on top of me. "Now why can't I wake up like this every morning?" He asked with a sly smile before crawling off of me and pulling basketball shorts on over his boxers.

"Time to get ready and face the family Brooksie."

"Don't call me that." I laughed as I walked out of the room and frowned upon seeing Mike fully dressed.

"Did you wake him up?"

"Yup, are you mentally prepared for this family?"

"As best as I can be."





Dressed in my favorite yellow summer dress, Brooks, Mike and myself headed down to the beach where the family was gathering. My eyes immediately landed on Steve with his arm draped around a blond girl. Mike laced his fingers with mine and I smiled at him. I had no doubt in my mind that we wouldn't convince these people that we were together, we just looked at each other with lust in our eyes. Or at least I was looking at him lustfully. I wanted to pounce him earlier in his lime green boxers.

"Veronica!" I looked over my shoulder to see Kelly making her way toward me. She looked down at my hand linked with Mike's quickly before engulfing me in a hug. "It's so good to see you dear." We broke the hug and Mike reclaimed his spot in my hand.

"It's good to see you too. How are you?"

"I'm doing good. So, um, who is this?" She asked laughing and I turned and smiled at Mike.

"This is Mike, my boyfriend. Mike this is Kelly. She's Brooks' aunt, sister of his mom," I explained and he nodded his head before offering his hand toward her. She pushed it away and pulled him in to a hug as well. That was just how Kelly was. She didn't care who you are, but if you were apart of this family somehow, you get a hug.

After she walked away to greet more people I mumbled to Mike that that was Steve's mom.

"And you're that friendly with her?"

"Well yeah, she became a second mom to me. It's amazing, when I left Steve she was on my side. She helped me out a lot."

"Speaking of the devil here he comes, quick kiss." He leaned down and pecked me on the lips quickly and I looked up just in time to see Steve standing in front of us with his blond.

"Veronica."

"Hi Steve, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Mike-"

"Mike Green. I know who he is. You didn't tell me you were dating a hockey player."

"I'm not dating a hockey player, I'm dating Mike. He just happens to play hockey," I snapped a little too sharply remembering a comment he made toward me once about being a puck bunny. I forced a smile on my face and smiled at the blond. "Hi, I'm Veronica."

"Ashley, it's nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you from Steve's family."

"Oh good things I hope. I know how those boys are, always twisting things," I laughed which got her to laugh as well.

"Babe, I think Brooks is looking for us," Mike announced.

"You hate being called babe," Steve laughed and it took everything in me to not shout out that it was actually him I hate. He was right though, I hated being called babe or baby, but I allowed it to slide.

Mike and I made our way toward Brooks, and Mike was instantly snatched up by Brooks' mom, Jane. I turned back around to see an all too familiar face in front of me. "Jordan!" I shrieked as I jumped in to the arms of Brooks' younger brother.

"Hey Niko, how are you?"

"I'm doing really well actually, better than I thought I would be here. So how are you?"

"Kind of shocked to see you with Greener, actually, I always though you'd end up wi-"

"Don't finish that sentence."

"Um, yeah sure, okay."

"Where's Jodi?" I asked of their older sister.

"She won't be here till tomorrow. She's been asking too you know."

"Stop."





Mike looked at me with wide eyes as we made our way in to the hotel to meet the tattoo artist. "This family loves you. Like no joke, they are in love with you," he laughed, sliding his hand in to mine.

"Can you understand why this whole thing with Steve has been so hard now? Because I love this family just as much."

"Yeah, I can now. Well let's go get some ink."

A few of us gathered in our hotel room, and Mike was the first to go under the needle. He was getting a sailor inspired number '52' on his back. I laughed at his originality, but still didn't know what I wanted to get.

I was sitting on the kitchen counter talking with Jordan when Steve walked in to the room. "Hey, Veronica, can I talk to you?" Brooks shot me that knowing look. That look that told me whatever Steve had to say was probably just a bunch of B.S. and to not fall in his trap. I hopped off the counter and followed Steve out in to the hallway.

"I'm happy you came."

"You knew I was coming though. I never backed out of coming."

"I know. Look, I guess I just wanted to tell you that I'm still in love with you and I wish things were different." I looked down at my feet and thought of Brooks and how he would slap me across the face at this point.  When I looked back up Steve was closer to me than I remembered. With a blink of the eyes, his lips were on mine and I froze in place. He pulled away a moment later and looked me in the eye. "Oh how I wish things were different."

5: Hitting The Road

With each day that past by, I could feel the weight on my shoulders slowly lift away. The sun was brighter, flowers were more vibrant and most of all, I was smiling. Really smiling.

Mike and I had ironed out our “story” to make it more believable. I knew Steve could see straight through me, so I had to put on my best Oscar-winning performance. We figured sharing short, sweet kisses in front of the family would be the best course of action. Well I guess I should say he figured that would be best. Thinking about his lips on mine, I easily agreed.

The family reunion was going to be at a waterfront resort just south of Kelowna in British Columbia on Lake Okanagan. There were so many different things planned for the weekend, that I wasn’t stressing out about being in the same building as Steve anymore. If he was doing one thing, I would just simply go do something else. Easy philosophy. Mike and I convinced Brooks to hire a tattoo artist to come to the resort one day so we could all get tattoos. Brooks won’t let a needle touch him, but Mike and I were excited and would discuss ideas to one another via emails.

I left work at noon and began my trek down to SeaTac airport to pick up Mike and Brooks. Brooks thought it would be fun to drive to Kelowna, because it had been a long time since he’s been on a roadtrip, and six hours on the road sounded like fun. I didn’t mind at all, it actually did sound like it would be a fun time. Mike had emailed us telling us he would bring MadLibs.

I got to the airport around 12:45 that afternoon and walked in to see Mike sitting in baggage claim waiting for me. I walked up to him and kicked his shoe to take his attention away from his iPod. He instantly stood up and wrapped his arms around me. “Hi girlfriend,” he smiled as he kept a grip on me, but pulled away to look in my eyes.

“Hi boyfriend,” I blushed just as he leaned down and planted a kiss on my lips. I inhaled deeply, desperately wanting to deepen it, but knew not to considering our surroundings.

“What time does Brooks get in?” He asked dropping small kisses along my jaw line. Wait. Where am I?

“Uh, 1:30.”

“Wanna grab some coffee then?” He pulled away and I nodded my head. He grabbed my hand, and then pulled his suitcase behind him with his other hand. I walked slightly behind him, making it look like he was dragging two things behind him. What the hell was going on?   

We sat down at a Tully’s on the main level of the airport and sipped on our coffees. I was bouncing my leg nervously, well mainly excited to see Brooks and hit the road. Mike’s hand landed on my bare knee and he laughed. I stopped moving my leg and looked over at him. “Nervous?”

“Excited.”

“Really? I just thought, with this being his family and all you would be nervous.”

“Well yeah maybe, but I always get excited when I see Brooks.”

“You know, I have no idea how you guys met. So how did it happen?”

“I was in a sporting goods store with my brother at the end of my junior year of high school. I see this guy in the hockey section, which is tiny mind you, with this mo-hawk. So I ventured over there, intrigued, and picked up what I guess was a four hundred-dollar stick. He kind of yelled at me to be careful with it, and we just started talking. I admitted I didn’t know much about hockey, and it was his mo-hawk that pulled me in.”

“Wait, let me get this straight . . . Brooks had a mo-hawk?”

“Yeah, it was green.”

“Oh wow!” Mike laughed and we fell into a comfortable silence. I was checking my phone every few minutes, waiting until it said 1:30. Mike scooted his chair next to mine and threw his arm over my shoulders. “You’re pretty impatient there, miss.”

When I turned my head to look at him, he was looking at my lips. “Why are you kissing me?”

“Because I like to. All I’ve thought about since Brooks’ birthday was kissing you.”

“Why though?” I asked. his eyes fluttering back to my lips.

“Because I like you,” he smiled as he leaned forward and kissed me again. I was still so confused though. Was this still acting or was this real? Just as I felt his tongue drag along my bottom lip my phone rang. I pulled away and snatched it up quickly. “Hello?”

“I’m here!” Brooks sung rather loudly.

“We’ll meet you in baggage claim.” I hung up my phone and laced my fingers with Mike’s as I was now the one dragging him behind me.

We stood in baggage claim, just in front of the escalators, and I squeezed the hell out of Mike's hand when I saw his feet, then legs, then upper body appear. I let go of Mike's hand when he saw us and smiled. I allowed him to move out of the way of people behind him on the escalator before jumping on him. "I missed you," I mumbled as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I missed you too. Are you excited?" I crawled off his body and nodded my head like a little girl.

"Well then, after I grab my bag we can hit the road."





"Cell phones, please," Brooks smiled from next to me in my car. This was something I was use to from him. Since this was considered a 'vacation' and not a 'visit' no cell phones were allowed. I grabbed my phone from between my legs and handed it over to him. Mike handed him his cell phone from the back and with one fluid motion, Brooks' window was down and our cell phones went flying out on to Interstate 5 all while going seventy miles per hour. "WHAT THE HELL?!" I yelled as I nearly crashed my car looking over my shoulder just in time to see three black phones explode upon hitting the asphalt.

"What is wrong with you?" I yelled at Brooks who wouldn't wipe the smile off of his face.

"I've always wanted to do that." I looked in the rearview mirror at Mike, his mouth hung open in shock.

"Why though? What if we need to call someone?"

"Because last time we were on vacation you stole your phone out of my bag. No technology this weekend, we are going to enjoy each other's company. Why do you think the stress level of America has skyrocketed since the cell phone was invented? No one can fully relax when they have one. Anyways, if we need to call someone there are payphones you know. I have a lot of change with me."

"I can't believe you. I can't believe you did that."

After an hour had past on the road, Brooks attempted to start a conversation but I wanted nothing to do with it, I was still fuming from my shattered cell phone sixty miles back.

"I'm hungry," Mike muttered from the back seat. It was at that moment that my stomach grumbled and I realized I had nothing to eat so far in the day. I pulled off at the next off ramp and there were three gas stations, a Denny's and another diner across the street from it. That was it. "Which one guys?" They both looked at Denny's and then pointed to the other diner.

"Babe, stop, listen to me. I'm sorry okay? You know I'll get you a new one as soon as we are back in Seattle. Don't be mad. Trust me, you'll enjoy yourself a lot more now that you don't have a phone," Brooks attempted to smile when we got out of my car and made our way to the front door. I stopped walking and motioned for Mike to go in.

"You didn't have to throw it out the window though."

"Yeah I did, otherwise you would find it anyways. Look if you're that mad about it, we'll stop at the next T-Mobile store and get you a new one, okay?" He reached out and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in to him.

"No, it's fine. I just can't believe you did that. That was so out of character for you." I dug my face in to his chest and breathed in his scent. Immediately feeling relaxed and once again excited for the weekend.

"So one more thing, what's up with you and Mike?" I pulled away from his chest to look up in to his eyes.

"He's my boyfriend, remember? This was you're idea."

"But you were holding hands at the airport."

"Practice makes perfect," I laughed as I leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek before releasing myself from his body and headed in to the diner.





Once we were in Canada it was really sinking in. I was almost panicky thinking about it. Why the hell was I going to Steve's family reunion again? Oh right, Brooks invited me. I looked over at him now in the driver's seat and he was humming along to the music with just enough of a smile to see a hint of his dimples. My eyes rolled over his shaved head, probably the best thing he's ever done with his hair, and I smiled just as he glanced over at me. "What?" He asked laughing.

"Nothing. I was just checking you out," I laughed and glanced over my shoulder to see Mike fast asleep, laying down on the back seat.

"How come the only time you check me out is when I can't give you my full attention? Why can't you check me out when I come out of the shower or something?"

"I've seen that body of yours, it's nothing to drool over."

"Well it's a hell of a lot better than softy in the back seat." I began to laugh again and glanced back at Mike once again. He still has his baby fat, but he's only 23, he still has plenty of time to firm up.

"Do you like him?" Brooks asked, instantly getting serious.

"I don't know. He's a lot of fun. He's a lot different from you though, that's something I have to get use to." A smiled appeared on Brooks' face, one I don't think I have ever seen before. It was a mixture of pride and something else, I just wouldn't put my finger on it. I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what I said that would make him smile like that. He wouldn't look at me though, he kept his eyes trained on the road, and that smile on his face.

4: Reassurance

Data entry. The two words I hate the most in my vocabulary. Having taken off four days instead of just two, I had a lot of catching up to do at work. I scooted away from my computer to rub my aching hand and look at the still very large pile of papers in front of me. Data entry, I hate it. My mind kept wandering back to that kiss I shared with Mike though. I'd been doing data entry for so long, I could do it without even thinking about it. Giving me more than enough time to think about the way Mike made me feel when his mouth attacked mine. It felt so real, but it was meant to be fake.

I glanced down at my keyboard to see my phone illuminated and the name Kelly scrawled out over the screen. Why was Steve’s mom calling me? I picked it up and excused myself from the front desk and answered the phone.

“Veronica, Aaron was in a car accident. He’s in Seattle visiting. He’s at Harborview.”

“How bad is it?” I asked feeling my heart drop to my knees, beating agonizingly hard.

“All I’ve found out so far was a broke leg, dislocated shoulder and a concussion.”

“I’m on my way.” After finishing up the conversation I looked over the counter at my desk. Fuck my work. Even though Aaron was Steve’s little brother, he was like my little brother too. I rushed to the doctor’s office and told him what was going on, he told me to just go ahead and worry about my work later. He was always a ‘family first’ kind of guy, and for that I owed him.

I raced from the eastside to Harborview in Seattle. What was I going to tell them when I got there? Did Kelly tell whoever called her that I would be on my way? Did I have to play the dreaded ‘sister-in-law’ role? I didn’t even know Aaron was in town for crying out loud!

I parked my car and ran into the ER. I waited impatiently in line for the admittance line. I looked around, trying to see if there was anywhere else I could go to get information, but this desk looked like it would be the one I would want. When I finally reached the front I looked at the receptionist, realizing she probably hates her job even more than I do.

“I’m looking for Aaron Jahraus. His mother called me and told me he was admitted here.”

She typed away at her computer, glancing up at me quickly. “Up the elevator to the third floor, room 3002.” My eyes flew open in shock. I was trained in patient privacy, she should have asked me who I was. I was thankful though, I just wanted to see Aaron and make sure he was okay.

I rushed off the elevator and navigated my way toward his room. I walked in and could just feel him in there. I didn’t look his way though, I kept my eyes trained on Aaron. I walked up to his bed and took in his sight. His whole left leg was in a cast, his left arm in a sling and an ice pack on top of his head. “Hey buddy, you okay?” I asked him as I reached out and took his hand in mine.

“Best I can be. I guess I hit my head pretty hard.”

“Looks like you busted the whole left side of your body,” I smiled and a sly grin crawled over his face. He was definitely drugged up.

“Hey V, if I die, will you promise me you’ll marry Steve?” I cringed at his words, and ignored the body now standing a few feet away from me.

“You’re not going to die for a very, very long time,” I answered with the best fake smile on my face.

“You changed your hair.” I glanced over my shoulder quickly at Steve but continued to ignore him.

“You did change your hair!” Aaron exclaimed with a smile. “You cut it and dyed it. Why’d you do that?”

“I needed a change. I hated my blond hair anyways.”

“Well it looks good on you,” Aaron smiled then his eyes fluttered shut. Now with him asleep there was no possible way I could ignore Steve. I turned to him just in time to see his eyes scanning over my body. I almost felt violated. That poor woman he is with, I immediately felt bad for her.

“What happened?” I asked sharply pointing to Aaron.

“Some guy in a truck ran a red light doing fifty. Aaron was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. He’ll be fine though. He’s got a third grade concussion, broken femur and tore the labrum in his shoulder.”

“What are you doing here? In Seattle?”

“Just visiting. We swung by your apartment last night, but you weren’t home.” I shuddered at the thought that he knew where I lived now. What he must think of me now, living in the slums, instead of the beautiful condo we shared in Bellevue. “So where were you?” I rolled my eyes at his question.

“Like it’s any of your damn business, but it was Brooks’ birthday, I was in Wawota. Now that I know he’s okay, I’m going to leave.” I made my way toward the door and noticed he was following me. I stopped in my tracks and spun around and looked at him. “What are you doing?”

“I’ll walk you out.” I knew that even if I told him not to, he would anyways, so I figured the best course of action was to just ignore him.

We remained silent until I was five feet away from my car. He grabbed on to my upper arm and spun me around, forcing me to face him. “I miss you.”

“That’s too bad, I don’t miss you.”

“I still love you Veronica. I never stopped loving you.” I felt my eyes fill with water. I screamed at myself internally to not let him see me cry, but it was too late. I reached up quickly and wiped my tears away before they reached my nose. “I know you still love me.”

“I stopped loving you a very long time ago,” I lied through clinched teeth.

“Well you don’t look happy.”

I turned to walk away but he kept a firm grip on my arm. I wiped away a few more tears and diverted my eyes down to my feet. Why did I allow him to do this to me? To make me feel this way? It wasn’t fair to myself. Every time I thought I made a breakthrough with getting over him, he’d show up, making me regret ever leaving him.

“Leave me alone Steve, please?” I pleaded, almost begging.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not? All I want to do is just get over you. Put you in my past, but I can’t do that if you still talk to me like this! You have no idea what I’m going through!”

“You left me, did you forget? I can’t leave you alone because somewhere in my head I have this fantasy that you’ll come running back to me. Maybe realize what you did was stupid, and that we are supposed to be together.”

“I have to go.” I walked away again, and luckily this time he released my arm.





My hands trembled as I scrolled through my contacts, landing on Brooks’ name. I hit the send button and stuffed the phone between my ear and the pillow. Hearing his voice, receive his reassurance was all I needed right now. I made the right choice. Right? Brooks would tell me.

“Hey you’ve reached Brooks, it’s summertime which more than likely means I’m in Canada and have minimal cell service-” Just hearing his message made me smile, but I still needed someone, anyone, to talk to. Again, for reassurance.

I quickly dialed another number and shoved it back on top of my pillow.

“Hey Niko,” Mike answered with an obvious smile on his face.

“Tell me leaving Steve was the best decision I’ve ever made?”

“What?”

“Tell me Mike. Did I make a mistake leaving Steve?”

“Hell no. Look I’ve only met the guy once or twice, but he’s a total asshole. Why are you so upset? What happened?”

“He’s here. I saw him. He told me he’s still in love with me.”

Silence. That’s not what I wanted to hear. Damnit Brooks, why didn’t you answer?! “Are you still in Saskatchewan?” I asked after the silence was screaming at me that Steve was right and I wasn’t.

“Yeah, you want to talk to Brooks?”

“Please.” After some rumbling I heard Brooks’ voice greet me and I instantly began to cry.

“What do you mean you saw him? He doesn’t live in Seattle anymore.” I went on to tell him about Aaron and how they were visiting. The hardest part was telling him that Steve knew where I lived. I had no idea how he figured that out. Who would tell him?

“I want you to listen to me carefully okay Niko?”

I sniffed a few times before telling him “okay”.

“The only stupid thing you did was not leave him sooner. He really messed you up, man,” the last few words he mumbled to himself. “Look babe, I don’t know what to tell you other than leaving Steve was the best thing you have ever done. I really want you to get over him though, but I’m not going to push you. I haven’t pushed you yet. I understand it takes time, but there’s a certain point where you just need to buck up and stop feeling sorry for yourself. You may think you still love him, but he’s no good for you. I want you to think about yourself. Imagine yourself ten years down the road if you were still with him.” I held back my sobs, wanting to be able to hear everything he was telling me.

“Steve has cemented these lies into your head about what you should do with your life. And that’s all they are; lies! Trust me Niko, you don’t want to be the butt end of someone’s verbal abuse for the rest of your life.” The sobs I were holding back came out full force, and I shoved my face into my pillow, all while punching the mattress.

“I love you Niko, you know that right?”

“Yes, I love you too Brooks. Thank you for putting up with my shit.”

“Of course, now I have a question for you. How come you called Mike and not me?” He asked with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“I did call you. You didn’t answer.”

"Fuck, I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"And you'll be okay too. I know you will, I wouldn't think you were so awesome if I didn't think you could get through this. Now take a hot bath, open a bottle of wine, watch one of your chick flicks and then get some sleep." I ended my conversation with Brooks and immediately felt better. I knew whenever I needed a pick-me-up, Brooks would always be there for me. Always.

3: How Did We Fall In Love?

I kept to myself relaxing out in the sun, scared I would break down yet again. I didn’t know how I felt throwing that journal in to the lake. Relief? Sadness? I was confused. That was something I felt like I would hold on to for the rest of my life. No matter what would happen in my life, Steve will always be a huge part of it. He’s helped me grow in to the person I am today. Was that a good thing though?

I heard strumming of a guitar from behind me and smiled. He’s gotten better at the guitar. I chuckled thinking about the day he went out and bought his first acoustic. He was so excited, and within two hours of having it he was frustrated and angry. “I’m musically challenged!” He shouted tossing the guitar on the bed and storming out of his room. I kept encouraging him to play though. Now a sweet, soothing sound filled the air surrounding us in the middle of Canada.

“Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone,” I heard from behind me, and I immediately turned around in the lounge chair I was in to look at Brooks. “It’s not warm when she’s away. Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, and she’s always gone too long anytime she goes away.”

I got up from my chair and walked up to him, sitting down next to him on the bench.

“Wonder this time where she’s gone. Wonder if she’s gone to stay. Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, and this house just ain’t no home anytime she goes away.” He bumped his shoulder into mine and stopped singing.

“Since when do you sing?”

“That was the first time outside of my shower.”

“Honest opinion, or no?”

“Honest.”

“Great song, probably one of my favorites, but . . . keep it in the shower.”

“Whatever,” he laughed as he got up and set his guitar down. I watched as he tore his shirt off and grabbed my hand, pulling me up off the bench. I followed him down on to the dock, and he jumped straight in to the water. I sat on the ledge of the dock, and allowed my legs to soak in the polluted water. Polluted only because his words were now in the bottom of the lake.

“Are you still thinking about it?” Brooks asked floating in front of me.

“No,” I stammered out a little too quickly and sharply.

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“It’s hard Brooks, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh right, because when Molly left me after two years of dating it wasn’t hard at all. Come on Niko. I just want you to be happy again. Can you please be happy?”

“I will. It’s just . . . I don’t know. I go through these swings where I’m just down right confused and miserable, and that’s happening right now. It’s like relationship bi-polar. It’s sickening. I love you though, that’s all that matters.”

“You say you love me but you won’t put out, what kind of shit is that?” I kicked up my foot, splashing water in his face. Seeing the look in his eyes after he wiped the water away, I knew I was done for. Sure enough, not even thirty seconds later I was in the lake with him.






“You need to call your boss and tell him you won’t be back until Wednesday.”

“What? Why?”

“Did you honestly think I was okay with you leaving the day before my birthday? Besides, Mike’s on his way out here.”

“I didn’t want to leave before your birthday, but I can’t take that much time off of work. I have to use my vacation time accordingly, and I don’t think I have that much left as it is.”

“How much do you get paid an hour?”

“Why?”

“I’ll match what you would get paid, to spend my birthday with me.”

“Damnit Brooks. It’s fine. It’s okay, I’ll go call him.”


After pulling some bullshit lie out of my ass for my boss, I walked back in to the house and found Brooks rummaging through the kitchen. “So you said Mike is on his way out here? Like driving out here? That’s a long ass drive. When will he be here?”

“Yeah, it’s about ten hours, and he should be here within the hour, he called an hour ago from Weyburn.”

“And when were you planning on telling me?”

“It was supposed to be a surprise. But you know, I can’t keep my mouth shut about anything.”

I rolled my eyes as I pushed him out of the kitchen and took over preparing dinner. What was I going to cook for dinner? I look in his cupboards, Kraft Dinner after Kraft Dinner. I laughed as I made my way to the refrigerator. I opened the freezer and mounds of meat were piled high. Looks like we’ll be BBQing. I pulled out a few steaks and grabbed some seasonings out of his pantry and went to town.

By the time the meat was sizzling on the grill I heard a commotion in the house. I looked in and sure enough there was that all too familiar mo-hawk making his way out toward me.

“Hi girlfriend,” he smiled, and at that instant my knees buckled just the slightest bit.

“Hi boyfriend,” I smiled back and waited till he was right in front of me to throw my arms around his neck.





Three glasses of whiskey were held in the air and we looked from one person to the other. After a fun-filled dinner with Brooks’ family, the three of us were back at his house with a fresh bottle of whiskey and not a damn care in the world. Well almost, I had a 1 PM flight home, with a three hour drive to the airport. Being an international flight, Brooks and I had to leave the house no later than 8 AM. Whiskey and early mornings usually never mix very well.

“Here’s to my two best friends spending my birthday with me, acting like boyfriend and girlfriend, but most of all putting a smile on this girl’s face,” he smiled at me and we clinked our glasses together. I took a sip of my glass, but before I could take it away from my mouth, Mike’s fingers were on the bottom of my glass pushing it up, causing all the alcohol to go down my throat. When it was all gone, I set the glass down and felt my eyes water up and my mouth salivate. “You asshole.”

“You’re one of the boys, you need to drink like one of the boys.”

“No, that’s one rule I will never abide by.”

“So we need to come up with a story,” Mike smiled as Brooks filled our glasses up again. I grabbed my glass and slid it away from Mike. He was known for filling my glass without my knowledge.

“We met through Brooks. It’s true and it’s believable.”

“How did we fall in love though? And how long have we been together?”

“I fell for your baby face two months ago,” I laughed reaching out and pinching his cheek.

“You do that again and it will get ugly. I’ll do something to that hair of yours.”

I grabbed a piece of my chemically dyed jet black hair and twirled it around my finger.

“I liked it better blond,” he said bluntly as he sipped on his drink.

“I like it black,” Brooks added all while looking at the label on the bottle.

“Thanks Brooks, I like it black too,” I smiled at him and he looked up at me quickly and flashed a smile before turning his attention back to the bottle.

“Anyways, so we fell in love two months ago. Is there anything Steve knows, that I need to know too?”

“I hate grasshoppers.”

“She hates grasshoppers.” Brooks and I both answered at the same time.

“Wait, what? Grasshoppers?”

“The resort we’re going to, it’s covered with grasshoppers, and little Miss over here hates them. She’s terrified of them.”

“So if I see one I can just pick you up and rescue you?” When I looked at Mike again, his bottom lip plumped out, I got that weird feeling again. When did he get so good looking? Thinking about being in his arms made me lose my train of thought.

“Um, yeah, sure. Whatever you want.”

“BUT NO SEX!” Brooks shouted and I laughed. “If I can’t sleep with her, nobody can.”

“It will be fun,” Mike smiled. The side of my mouth curled up, but it didn’t do much more. I was still dreading going.

“One can hope,” I mumbled just as the timer for the oven went off, alerting me the birthday cake I made was finished. I excused myself and headed into the kitchen.

As I was icing the cake I felt a pair of hands land on my waist. I froze in place and by the smell of the person behind me I could tell it was Mike. “If I’m going to be your boyfriend, you can’t stiffen up when I touch you.”

“You startled me, that was all.” I turned around and leaned up against the counter, he took a step forward.

“We have to make it look believable you know.”

“I honestly plan on being drunk the whole weekend, so whatever you think.”

“Just one.”

“One what?” He took another step forward and placed his hand on my jaw, pulling my face toward his. The minute his lips came into contact with mine, I lost my footing a bit and slid down, but his hand found the small of my back, keeping me in place. Our lips moved insync, and not for one moment did I think we were faking this. The sparks emitted from his lips to mine were unmistakable. He pulled away with a smile on his face, and I could only imagine I looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He winked at me before walking away. What the hell just happened?