Sexual Healin': A BWWM Billionaire Romance (16 page)

"No, I really think I better head back to my mother's house."

He sighed and let her go, looking closely at her as she headed for the door. "So you're going to play hard to get, then? Well, I can do that. I've been waiting a long time for you, Brandy, I can wait just a little longer and win you over."

Brandy was disappointed to hear the sound of an accepted challenge in his voice. She had known him for as long as she could remember, and she knew that when he had a challenge made up in his mind or even if it was actually presented to him, he didn't give up on it until he got it. She'd have a hard time getting him to give up if he had made his mind up that getting her was a challenge and he had to succeed.

Riley took her home and she climbed out of his truck and raced to the front porch in the rain, waving at him from the door and then closing it quietly behind her. She sighed heavily and was just walking up the stairs when her mother emerged from the kitchen and looked at her expectantly.

"Well?" She smiled bright at Brandy. "How was the date? Did you have fun?"

Brandy nodded. "It was fine, Mom. Thanks." She yawned loudly. "I've got to get going to bed now. I'm really tired."

Her mother nodded at her and waved as she made her way up the stairs. "Goodnight, honey!" she called up after Brandy.

Brandy collapsed in her bed and groaned as she closed her eyes. The path of her life was becoming more and more plain to her, and it was clear that if she stayed for very long at all, she would wind up in a little humdrum life, just like her parents and Riley and his parents, and it just wasn't what she wanted at all.

It was an easy out, and it was something that she knew she could have at the flick of a switch; Riley would marry her in a minute, and very likely adopt her baby, raise it just like it was his, and buy her a house.  He would get her talked into bowling leagues on Wednesdays, and believing that he was her own personal love god, when in fact kissing him was more like giving CPR to a dead fish.

Her alternatives were dim, and out her line of sight just then. She had no idea where she could go from where she was, she just knew that she had no way to go back to New York and she had no desire to stay in her parents' house, or in Riley's.

The next morning dawned brightly; the storm had passed in the night and the sun had found its way out. Brandy woke up and checked her phone and was delighted to see a text message from Alice on it.

“Missing you terribly. Hope you aren't busy today because I'm already on the train on my way to Boston.”

Brandy squealed with excitement and found the energy to get out of bed and get ready for her visitor. She helped her mother spruce up the guest room and her mother even grew excited at the prospect of meeting one of her friends.

"You know, I don't think anyone has used this room since your Aunt Rose came in from Florida three Christmases ago. Remember that?" Mary asked brightly as she fluffed pillows and smiled at Brandy.

Brandy nodded. "Yes, I remember. That was the year I tried to make your fruit salad and failed at it miserably."

Her mother laughed. "It wasn't that bad."

Brandy stopped in the middle of gathering up the old sheets from the bed. "Yes, Mom, it was that bad."

Mary laughed again and nodded subtly. "Well... perhaps it was a little... ah... yes. So what time is your friend coming in?" she asked, changing the subject quickly.

Brandy looked at her watch. "Oh! In about half an hour. I'm going to go down to the station and pick her up."

"Okay, honey. I'll have dinner ready at six tonight, in case you two want to spend some time downtown, okay?" 

"Thank you Mom, I love you," Brandy said and hurried out of the door.

A short while later, she was hugging Alice on the sidewalk in front of the train station.

Alice grinned at her. "God it's good to see you, I know you just left, but it feels like it's been ages! I can't believe I'm here."

Brandy grinned back at her. "I can't believe you're here. You're like a breath of fresh air from the real world. I feel like I might suffocate here. Seriously."

Alice hugged her again, and Brandy looked at her and asked her, "Are you hungry?"

Alice laughed and said, "Have you met me? I'm Puerto Rican. I'm always hungry."

The two of them headed off into the heart of Boston and went to Hanover Street for some excellent Italian in the Little Italy neighborhood. They stopped at Mike's Pastry shop and each of them picked out a cannoli, and once those were gone, they stopped in for some gelato as they strolled through the old borough and took in the sights and people.

Alice tilted her head and looked at the people who were walking around them. "You know, you can really tell the difference between the tourists and the locals here." They sat on a bench for a few minutes, guessing about people as they strolled by, and then they walked around the neighborhood and eventually went back to the car.

"My mother is making dinner for us. She'll have that ready at six, so we have until then to look around. Do you want to take the train over to some of the museums and check them out?"

Alice nodded. "I do. That sounds like fun."

They wound up at the MMA and as they were walking through it looking at all the masters’ works of art, Alice looked sidelong at Brandy and asked her, "So how are you really doing?"

Brandy shrugged. "I'm good, I guess. I'm not thrilled with where I am right now, but it's not bad. I'm close enough to central Boston that I can get here in a short amount of time, so I'm not completely removed from civilization, but it just feels like I'm so far from it when I'm at my parents’ house."

"Well, maybe you could move to Boston when you get on your feet. You don't have to come back to New York. You have other options," Alice said with a half-smile. "I'd prefer that you come back to New York, but that doesn't mean that you have to. What else is going on here?"

Brandy sighed and rubbed her hands over her arms. "Well, my mother's best friend has this son; his name is Riley. He and I grew up together and he's always kind of had this thing for me. Well, now that I'm back, he just seems to have jumped right in and he's so interested in getting together with me. I went out bowling with him last night and he was talking about buying a house and getting married." She groaned at the thought.

Alice stared at her. "You're kidding! Does he know about the baby?" she asked curiously.

"No, I haven't told him yet. His mother knows, though, so I'm surprised that she hasn't said anything to him about it yet."

Alice lowered one eyebrow and tilted her head. "How does his mother know?"

Brandy smiled and waved her hand. "Well, my mother told her two best friends, and his mother is one of those two best friends. I'm just hoping that his mother doesn't tell him. I feel like I should be the one to tell him when I’m ready.”

"Do you think he'll still want to marry you when he finds out your pregnant with another man's kid?" Alice asked suspiciously.

Brandy nodded and pushed her hands down into her pockets. "Yeah, I do think he'll still want to marry me. Another man's baby is not going to deter him from his present course which is set on me. In fact, I could see him turning it into a crusade to save me and make a family with me. He's a good guy, but there is just no chemistry on my side, just... zero. I've never liked him like that and he's always liked me like that. We're kind of in a weird spot."

Alice sighed. "I don't envy you any of the craziness, but I am glad that you had somewhere to go, and I'm glad that you're with your parents. At least they can help you with all the changes going on in your life. That's a huge benefit to you. Imagine those girls that have nowhere to go. Your situation could have been a lot worse."

Brandy agreed. "It's true, I really don't have it as bad as it could be. Still, it would be nice to be out of here."

Alice stopped and looked at her. "You haven't heard from what's-his-name, have you?"

Brandy hadn't thought about what's-his-name in at least half an hour, and it had been a peaceful half an hour, and now Alice wanted to talk about him.

"No, I haven't heard anything," she said. "I won't. He's gone. He's long gone with his wife, and I'm here in Boston with my parents and my baby."

A wistful look came into Brandy's eyes and Alice looked at her carefully. "You still haven't told him you're having his baby, have you?" she accused her friend.

"No," sighed Brandy in resignation. "I haven't. I will, I just had to get out of the city first. Everything kind of happened all at once and I had to handle it, and now I'm here and I'm trying to get settled. It's a crazy time for me and I am trying to get a hold on it and make it calm down before I add any more drama.. Besides, this kid isn't going anywhere for at least the next six months, so I have a little time to tell him before things get real."

Alice laughed a little. "Yeah, you do. You have some time. What have your parents said about the baby?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

Brandy smiled and rubbed her stomach. "My dad hasn't said much; he never does, but my mom is so happy and excited. She's ready for the next step in her own life, which is to be a grandma, so she doesn't care whether I'm married or not or whether the dad is around or not, although I know she would prefer I'd done this the traditional way like she did, marriage first and then babies. But she's not judging me at all, and it's nice to have the support and love from her. I'm really lucky with that."

"And you're sure that you don't want to shack up with this Riley guy?" Alice asked, teasing her friend a little.

Brandy made a face. "Well, not really, no. I mean, I don't want to be alone forever either, but I don't want to be with someone just for the sake of having someone around. If I hadn't been with what's-his-name, then I wouldn't know what real love feels like, and I might be more satisfied with Riley, but I have had love, and I know what it feels like, what passion and romance and excitement feels like, and that's not Riley at all.

“He's very safe and secure. Whoever he winds up with is going to be a lucky lady. He'll marry her and spend the rest of his life doting on her, spoiling her, and loving her. Riley would never cheat on her or hurt her, but he's just not the best one for me. To be honest, I think I'd rather end up alone than end up with the wrong guy, I mean, wouldn't you?"

Alice thought about it and slowly began to nod her head. "Yeah, I guess you're right. There is so much pressure in our society to wind up with someone, but when you get right down to it, if the only choices were to either be alone or be with someone you shouldn't be with, I guess I would want to be alone.

“It would suck to be with someone who wasn't right for you. You'd feel trapped all of the time and with no options. At least if you are alone, then you can leave your slippers and your coffee cup wherever the hell you want to leave them and no one is going to yell at you for it."

"See? Independence. That's what I'm thinking for myself, too. I can watch whatever I want to watch on television, I can eat breakfast cereal for dinner or pizza for breakfast if I want, I can take off out of town on a whim if I want, or sleep like a starfish in the bed and take up the whole thing. There are definite perks to being alone."   

"Except you won't be totally alone, there will be a baby along for the ride as well."

"Then it will be more fun with the baby,” Brandy said, making her mind up to be glad about it.

Alice nodded. "That's right. It will be more fun, and you and that baby will have a great time no matter where you go and no matter what you do."

They smiled and hugged, and wandered through the museum, looking at all of the exhibitions and paintings, stopping for coffee and a late lunch in the cafe.

By the time dinner rolled around, they had left the museum and were on their way back to the house. Mary and Oscar welcomed Alice into their home with wide-open arms and hearts, and told her that they were glad to have her there.