I shook my head. “Sorry. I hope you’re not mad?”
He shrugged. “Nah, not mad. You didn’t ask me to take it upon myself to kiss you unexpectedly, you know? I mean, yeah, I want something a little more than a friendly relationship with you, TK, but we do have that. I’m not so much of an asshole I can’t take getting turned down in stride. Hell, you’ve been doing it for years, I’m used to it. I’m still your friend.”
“I appreciate that, B,” I said, dropping my head onto Brandon’s shoulder.
“Alright now, don’t get too close. My hand might slip and grab a little something, sin—”
“If you don’t get your hands off my ass, I’m gonna—”
“Oh, shit, look at time.” Brandon chuckled as he pulled away from me to glance at his watch. “On a serious note…why have we never gotten together? You know you want me, girl.”
I turned to him to make sure he saw my exaggerated eye roll before I answered. “Well, there’s the little matter of distance, but the biggest thing is that I know you like to keep several women in rotation, and I’m not trying to get my ass kicked by whoever I replace. You remember the time I went bowling with you, Renee, and Eric, and the girl at the shoe rental counter threatened to kill me over you?”
“Why are you always bringing up the past, damn! Besides, that girl asked me what was up with you the next night.”
“What was up with me?”
“You know… what was up with you.”
I gasped. “Brandon! See, this is why I never went there with you!”
“I’m a changed man! Maybe we’ll catch each other again next year?”
“Maybe so, B.”
“And perhaps…” he leaned down, “You’ll be over your something by then.”
Smiling, I gave him another little nod. “Perhaps.”
“So then… possibly… you’ll take me up on that offer I made in the bulk bins that day.”
I grinned, then winked. “Possibly.”
His eyes went wide. “TK…. don’t be surprised now when I’m waiting for you at Ren and Eric’s house next year, and I’m gonna ask you one question, ‘are you over it?’. If the answer is yes, that ass is mine, right there in the doorway. As a matter of fact, wear a dress, no panties.”
“B, ugh! I’ll be coming from the airport, fresh off a flight! That’s nasty!”
He shrugged. “I like it nasty.”
We both froze, with horrified expressions as soon as those words passed his lips.
“Brandon Jensen, that was just—”
“Too far in the name of a joke, I know. I’m disgusted with my damn self,” he admitted, barely finishing before he broke into laughter, and I followed suit.
A few seconds later, I was wiping tears of laughter from my yes. “I can’t believe you said that, that was so gross.”
He shook his head, still trying to catch his breath. “Yeah… now, I’ll admit to liking some pretty nasty stuff, but everything needs to be clean.”
“Mmhmm. So you say now.”
“Don’t do me like that,” he laughed, pulling me into another hug. “It’s good seeing you, Tori.”
“You too, Brandon.”
I relaxed against him as the fireworks ended, and stayed that way long after they were done, talking, laughing, and flirting, just as we always did. At the end of the night, before I climbed into the car, he pulled me aside to place a soft, lingering kiss at the corner of my mouth.
“I’m serious,” he said, catching my eyes with his. “Same time next year, I’m gonna ask you. And I’m not talking about what I asked you in the bins, I mean… for real.”
“B, I don’t wanna give you any false hope. I don’t know what’s gonna happen between now and then.”
“Neither do I. It wouldn’t be giving me false hope, either. You do your thing, I’ll do mine, and if it lines up next time… we’re going for it. Okay?”
I laughed, then wrapped my arms around him for a last hug. “Okay, Brandon. Next time.”
— Avery —