The Ride Home

BROOKE

We finally pull into the long driveway, and I’m nervously picking at my nails when Colin puts the car in park.

“It will be all right,” he says, grabbing my hand and looking at me reassuringly.

“Don’t let him see you,” I stutter.

“He can’t see in the tinted windows. And I’m an Uber driver, remember?” He grins and I nod, opening the door and stepping out.

I don’t even have to ring the doorbell before John opens the door, already holding Sydney’s backpack and Luna on a leash. Without even a hello, he hands me everything.

“Why are you all dressed up?” John asks, looking me up and down questioningly.

“I was on a date, if you insist on knowing my business,” I bite back at him. He just throws his head back, laughing.

“You? On a date?” he repeats, still laughing, until he spots the fancy SUV parked in his driveway. He gulps down his last laugh as the smile drops from his face.

“Your date drove you here? Is that his car?” he asks, stepping out as if he’s going to approach the car.

“No!” I answer, loudly and nervously “I-it’s just an Uber. I came right from the city.”

John steps back toward the house and shouts inside, “SYDNEY! Your mother’s here!”

Sydney comes out, walking slowly and looking discouraged. My heart breaks, and I slouch down to embrace her.

“Do I have to go, Dad?” Syd says, but her puppy dog eyes don’t even faze John.

“Yeah, kiddo. Look, I’ll take you to a game or something soon, okay?”

Syd’s eyes light up, and an excited smile grows on her face. “REALLY? Can we go see the Bucs when they come into town? Please?”

“Yeah, sure.” John shrugs, looking at his phone when it starts buzzing.

“Thank you, Daddy!” Sydney interrupts him responding to the texts as she wraps her arms around his stomach in a bear hug.

John looks down and pats Syd on the head before glaring back at me. I can tell what’s coming. He’s not done yelling at me about Colin.

“Syd, why don’t you go wait in the car, sweetie?” I say, caressing Sydney’s head before she runs off with Luna.

Then I turn back to John, who still has his glaring dark eyes glued to mine. “What?” I snap at him.

“I don’t want you working with Scholtz anymore!” he demands.

I laugh. As if he has any control over my life! Then I turn to walk away. John grabs my wrist aggressively, forcing me back toward him to look him in the eyes. He leans his face right up close to mine, enraged.

“I MEAN IT!” he shouts, spit flying from his mouth.

“Or what?” I counter. “I don’t take orders from you!” I fling my arm back, breaking his tight grip and free my wrist. I don’t wait for him to say anything else before walking back to the car, rubbing at the pain.

I hop in the car and immediately sense Colin’s blazing eyes on me, but I avoid his gaze.

“Brooke…” Colin starts.

“What?” I bite back, still stirred up from my conversation with John.

“You know what!” He looked at me, upset, but I refused to look at him or say anything.

“If you’re going to make me say it then I will.” Colin glances back at a wide-eyed Sydney in the backseat, who can hear everything.

“Then don’t.” I glare back at him, trying to silently communicate that this is none of his business.

“Brooke…” he says again, his tone beseeching now.

“Can we just go?” I say, running my hands through my hair and over my face as I look out the window in silence.

Finally, he starts driving in a huff. The car ride to my house is filled with complete silence as Colin runs his hands through his hair aggressively, trying to hold his tongue.

By the time he pulls into my driveway, Sydney is fast asleep in the backseat. I hop out and make my way to her side of the car, but Colin meets me there, blocking me from opening the door.

“Brooke, he looked like he was going to hit you!” Colin blurts out, unable to hold his tongue any longer.

“He wouldn’t do that. Plus, I can handle myself.”

I open Syd’s door and Colin grabs my hand, stopping me again. “I’ll carry her up.”

“No you won’t!” I push him aside. “You can’t put any weight on your foot, remember?” I say, pointing down at his boot.

“Fine. I’ll take Luna for a walk, then.” Colin stomps off, seeming irritated.

I can’t understand what his problem is. Why does he care? I carry Sydney up to bed, tuck her in, and kiss her forehead.

By the time I get back downstairs, Colin is waiting outside the door, clutching Luna’s leash.

I feel a little bad for getting annoyed with him earlier, when all he’s done tonight has been to help me. “You can come in if you want,” I say kindly, opening the door.

He stands in the doorway for a moment, contemplating as Luna stays by his side. “It’s, umm…late. You should get some rest,” he says, handing me Luna’s leash. But Luna doesn’t budge.

“Right,” I whisper, embarrassed. “Come on, girl,” I say, slapping my thigh, trying to entice Luna into the house.

“Go on in, Luna,” Colin commands after a quick head rub. Luna runs inside, turning back like she expects Colin to follow.

As he turns to leave he stops. “Brooke.” I look back at him. He brushes his hands through his hair like he’s contemplating whether or not to say it. “No one should ever treat you like that. You deserve so much better.”

“Wh-what?” I mutter, getting lost in his sincere eyes. He turns his whole body back toward me and moves in closer.

“You’re so beautiful and so kind. You care about everyone and don’t expect anything in return. You’ve been hurt more times than you ever should have been, and your judgment is jaded because of it.”

Colin steps even closer to me, shoving his hands in his pockets. “You’re trying to protect yourself, but you deserve to have someone who respects you and showers you with love… Sydney too.”

His words cause my breath to catch in my throat, and I choke back the tears that are making it hard to breathe. “Wh… why did you pay for Luna’s surgery?” I speak in a hushed tone.

“I thought you would have figured it out by now.” He looks down at the ground, forcing his eyes off mine.

“You’re not what I expected.” My thoughts pour out in a quiet whisper. I barely notice my body moving closer to his until there’s hardly any space left between us.

I get lost in his eyes again, then finally lean all the way into him and press my lips to his. I spend a long, luxurious moment just relishing the tingling warmth of his lips against mine, the taste of him.

It’s been so long since I’ve been touched, even longer since I kissed a man. My whole body is shaking, exploding, and melting at the same time in his embrace.

His tongue lingers along the crease of my lips until I let him in, and I moan as the kiss deepens. His hands caress my bare arms before they make their way over my dress, down my back.

I want more, need more. Stepping closer, I press myself fully against him, sliding my hands up his broad arms to his back. Then I dig my nails into the back of his neck. He tenses up and bites my lip as we both moan low in our throats.

He cups my cheeks and breaks our lips apart as he catches his breath. I’m lost in him, lost in the aftermath of the kiss. “God, Brooke,” he says.

It’s like I was asleep, and the sound of his voice wakes me up.

I open my eyes, and my hands fly to my mouth in shock and embarrassment at what just happened. “I… Oh my god! I… I’m sorry,” I utter frantically. I turn and push myself into the house, slamming the door shut and throwing my body against it.

“Brooke!” Colin calls from outside, but I stay silent, hiding in shock.

What did I do? “Oh my god,” I whisper to myself, and slam my head against the door.