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.”