of
that,” Stephanie said with a smile on her lips.
Chapter 12
Brian left and hopped
on a shuttle that would take him within 4 blocks of Aaron’s house. He rode the
short ride in a car full of tourists and got off at his stop. From there he
walked to Aaron’s historical home that was passed down to him by a great aunt.
It wasn’t as big as the houses on Bay Street but it was a nice size for his
growing family. The only problem was that it needed a lot of work. Aaron and
Brian had done most of the renovations themselves. Now that most of the inside
was complete, they were working on the outside.
“You are a sorry sack
of shit!” Aaron yelled as Brian came up into the backyard from a side door in
the gate that surrounded the lot. “Where in the hell have you been?”
“I told you on the
phone I was sorry. I’m here now. What else do you want me to say?” Brian
picked up a hammer and squatted down beside Aaron to start hammering nails into
the new decking boards.
“I know man. I’ve just
been busy here and at the station so I feel stretched thin.” Aaron got up to
get another board to place down on the deck.
They worked in silence
for about 30 minutes and got the flooring down. Kara brought out some iced tea
for both of them.
“Congrats Kara. Aaron
told me you were having another boy.” Brian said as he looked up at her from
where he was sitting.
“I’m seriously
outnumbered now,” Kara said as she rubbed her rounded belly.
“Yeah and Aaron now has
a small baseball team,” Brian laughed.
Kara turned and went
back inside when she heard two little voices fighting over something.
“I tried to call you at
home this morning and didn’t get an answer.” Aaron said in between drinks of
tea.
“I stayed with someone
else last night,” Brian explained as he wiped the condensation off his glass.
“I don’t think I’ve
ever known you to spend the night with another woman. I’m assuming it was with
a woman?”
“You assume correctly
and it was a first for me.” Brian leaned his head back against the house. He
began thinking about Stephanie and her beautiful face.
“So is she someone I
know?” Aaron asked.
“No, you don’t know her
but you’ve seen her. Do you remember the woman you were giving me a hard time
about yesterday? The one you said I let get away from the beach?” Brian
quizzed.
“No way!” Aaron had a
look of disbelief on his face.
“Her shoe got stuck in
that stupid grate in front of the station. I went out to help her and then we
went out for drinks.” Brian smiled a little when he thought about her tattoo
on her back.
“When is she leaving?”
Aaron began to rise and make his way down the steps to the lawn.
Brian followed. “She’s
leaving tomorrow. We’re going out again later today.”
“I’ve never known you
to go out with the same woman two nights in a row. Maybe two weekends in a row
but this is a first.” Aaron took a long level and placed it on the floor of
the new deck to make sure it was even.
“She’s just different
from anyone I’ve ever met. She’s got a great personality, she’s smart, and
I’ll leave the other wonderful things about her to your imagination.” Brian
laughed.
After they had
finished, Brian went back to his 2 bedroom apartment and took a shower. He
would call Stephanie after he grabbed a bite to eat.
Chapter 13
Stephanie made her way
into her third store along a beautiful Oak lined street. All the Oak Trees
were draped in southern moss that hung down like dreary arms. She had bought a
brightly colored dress in the first store she visited. Now she was looking for
some shoes to match the bold print colors.
She couldn’t help but
think of Brian as she browsed the clothes on the racks and the lingerie on
display shelves. She found the shoes she was looking for and also picked up a
teddy that was black lace with hot pink ribbon