Free Story: Platonic (Part 6)

Previous Chapters: Pt. 1     Pt. 2     Pt. 3     Pt. 4     Pt. 5

Platonic, Pt. 6

 

Rumson, New Jersey
Wednesday Evening

Brandon went to answer his door thinking that the first thing he’d do was tell Terri that he appreciated her coming, and then that he hoped he hadn’t come off as arrogant last night, because that hadn’t been his intent. If she felt that he had been, then he’d apologize. He’d even apologize about Lisa, though he didn’t feel he’d done anything wrong regarding that incident. He just wanted to start things off on the right foot, and then move forward.

He opened his door, ready to make things right.

Andrea was standing on his porch, smiling her sexy smile.

As he tried to regroup she presented a bottle of wine and said, “Repayment for last night. I really appreciate you not letting me spend Valentine’s Day alone.”

“Likewise,” Brandon said, and stepped aside to let her in.

Before closing the door he looked out at his driveway, expecting Murphy’s Law to go into full effect. Now was when Terri’s Ford Focus would pull into his driveway behind Andrea’s Mercedes CLS, and all hell would break loose.

Behind him Andrea said, “I brought you something else, too.”

Brandon closed the door and turned around as Andrea extracted a disc from her shoulder bag.

She held it up and said, “I burned you a copy.”

“I see.” He looked at her mouth – one of his favorite of her many sexy features – and had no doubt that the last thing she’d done before getting out of her car was freshen her gloss. He knew her so well. And she’d reapplied her gloss because she knew him so well.

Watching him watching her, she smiled her sexy smile again.

The night ahead flashed before Brandon’s mental eye. He was going to be in Andrea up to his kidneys when Terri rang his doorbell, because God is a practical joker, and sometimes a cruel one.

“Do you feel like Chinese, my treat?” Andrea asked.

“Sure.”

She said, “I’m thinking we order some food, sip some wine while we watch this and relive some wonderful memories.”

He stepped closer to her. “And decide if we need to make a sequel?”

Andrea gazed up at him, and her sexy smile transformed into a victory smile (he knew her so well). She said, “Then we can start our undress rehearsals tonight.”

Brandon lowered his face to kiss her. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled in anticipation of the doorbell chiming.

It didn’t.

———-

 “Everything okay?” Andrea asked.

Brandon gave her a smile that he wasn’t completely feeling and said, “How could they not be, all things considered?”

A thing to consider was Andrea stretched out on his den sofa on her stomach, with her face in his lap.

A thing not to consider was that it was just after 7:00 p.m., and there was still a possibility (though becoming less likely) that Terri would show up.

“You seem a little distracted,” Andrea said.

The curse of having once been best friends: They knew each other so well.

Brandon slid his hand down Andrea’s back to the generous swell of her bottom. Another thing to consider was that since she’d come over straight from work, she’d wanted to take a shower, after which she’d put on one of his tee-shirts. Only his tee-shirt.

He pulled the bottom of the tee-shirt up to the small of her back. Andrea’s sexy smile turned wicked. She had a nice ass – one of the best – and she knew it. And, she knew he knew it. Thus her wicked smile.

She held him grasped gently in her hand. Gazing at her amazing ass, he pulsed against her soft palm. She wrapped her wicked smile around him.

As Andrea demonstrated one of the amazing powers that made her a superhero among women, Brandon stared across the room at the cable box clock. He watched the blood red LED change:  7:12…7:13…7:14. How late before it would be too late, so that he could relax?

The doorbell chimed. Brandon jumped. Andrea gagged.

She sat up, frowned at him and said, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah…I was kind of lost in the moment,” he lied.

He started to close his pants, but Andrea said, “I’ll get it.” She looked at his lap and smiled at her handiwork. “You’re in no condition.”

She stood up, turned her back to him, and leaned to the coffee table to pick up her credit card. She bent over low enough to give him a view of what was important in life, and then pranced away to answer the door.

When she was gone Brandon closed his pants, sat back and got ready. Either the delivery person bringing their dinner or Terri bringing hellfire would be at the door.

He hoped that God wasn’t in the mood for one of His jokes.

———-

Long Branch, New Jersey

“Do you think she wants to get back together?” Lucas asked.

Evan stood at the glass balcony doors of Lucas’ oceanfront condo, watching white surf on a black ocean. He’d stopped by Lucas’ place after work, partly on a whim, and partly because Lucas knew women as well as anyone. He wanted his opinion on his situation with Freda. He said, “I don’t know, man. I think maybe she’s just feeling lonely, and I’m a safe bet.”

“I’m guessing it’s a safe bet for you, too,” Lucas said.

“No doubt. There’s a lot more bullshit to wade through dating these days than there used to be, so I can definitely relate to her on that. Speaking of dating, I’m surprised to catch you at home the day after Valentine’s Day.”

“Man, I’ve been non-stop for five days straight. I need air. So you like Freda giving you booty calls?”

“I’m not complaining.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“There isn’t one right now, not for me. I thought about it, and I can get with keeping things as they are, with us being friends.”

“You mean friends with benefits.”

“Yeah.”

“With Freda Michaels.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Your ex-wife.”

“Yep.”

“You know you’re out of your fucking mind, don’t you?”

“How do you figure?”

“Evan, I’ve known Freda almost as long as I’ve known you. She’s not the friends with benefits type, not even for you.”

“So you think she’s going to want to turn this into some kind of relationship?”

“Come on man, you know Freda. From the moment you let her into your bed, in her mind you were in a relationship. She’s just waiting for you to read that headline.”

“She can wait all she wants, because things are fine with me as they are. She wanted out of being married and she got it. So we can work with what’s left.”

“Well as a friend to you both, I hope you get back together. You were good together – better than any couple I know. But more important, I haven’t had any of Freda’s Chicken Melanese since you split up, and I’m sick of that bullshit.”

Evan’s cell phone beeped that he had a new text message. He checked it out and said, “Speak of the devil.”

Grinning, Lucas said, “I was about to offer you another beer, but I guess you’re on your way out to answer a booty call.”

“Nah, she’s telling me that she just got out of an emergency session with a patient. It’s a crazy situation. She wants to know if I’m busy so she can give me the latest.”

“I thought that stuff was confidential between the doctor and the patient.”

“She’s only telling me.”

“Uh-huh. And that’s the kind of thing you share with a spouse – not with a booty call.”

———-

Terri felt better as she left Dr. Michael’s office, but she was still on the fence about what she should do about Brandon. On that part Freda had been no help. She’d just turned the question back on her with the standard, ‘What do you want to do?’ crap. Hell, if she knew what she wanted to do, she wouldn’t have asked Freda for a short-notice session.

Freda had actually looked shocked when she told her that Brandon had come to her place last night talking about wanting a relationship. But she’d recovered in a hurry. Then she got on her usual ‘Look at yourself in a mirror’ game:

 “What did he say, Terri?”

“He told me to quit working so we could be more than platonic friends.”  

“And how did that make you feel?”

“It made me feel like he’s an asshole, that’s how it made me feel. He told me to come to his place today, like he was giving me an ultimatum. Who the hell does he think he is?”

“What if he’d asked you in a different way?”

“Like what?”

“Well, let’s say he’d asked you if you would consider not working for the sake of your being together. Would you have considered it?”

“Well, he didn’t ask me that way, so the point is moot, isn’t it?”

“Is it, Terri?”

Fucking Freda, always answering questions with questions. She’d gone to her for answers this evening, not for more questions to deal with.

But what if Brandon had come to her correct? What if he had told her in a different way that he wanted to get with her? Would she have gone for it? Well, it would’ve been a better way to at least start things off. She’d still have to make him suffer for a while for having that naked cow in his house, but it would’ve been a start.

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a moot point.

Fuck you Freda, Miss Know-It-All.

Her dashboard clock read 8:42. It was still early, and she didn’t want to go home with all the extra questions Freda had given her to carry.

Too bad she couldn’t go to Brandon’s and just relax. She had to admit, she really missed that. When she was at his house it was like her real life didn’t even exist. Being with him was a pleasant escape from her reality.

So how hard would it be to swallow just a little bit of pride and go over there? Real hard, that’s how hard. If she went over there it would be like she was obeying his command. Now way in hell would she give him that satisfaction. Besides, he had a good cussing out coming before things could be smooth between them.

Terri decided to hell with it, she was going home.

Okay, probably.

(To be continued)

 

Platonic, Part 7 (Conclusion)