An eight ball to Bradley's unrequited love
I sit politely, listening to Mia enthuse about Ethan for the hundredth time. She finally managed to drag me out with her, taking me to one of the main parks in Escala. There's more people here than I would've imagined. Some jogging, some walking their dogs...or some just sitting and talking on a bench, like us. It's pretty nicely decorated for a park; fountains and neatly cut grass everywhere I look. I shake my head, realising even going to somewhere as normal as a park is a difficulty with one of the Greys.
" Huh? What did I say?" Mia's highly strung voice erupts from her usual tone. Crap, I'm meant to be listening. I think hard about the last couple of words I can remember her saying.
" Uhm, why don't you just ask Ethan?" I manage to scrabble from somewhere in my head. I'm really not an expert in this area. She sighs and leans her back against the bench, tilting her head back slightly.
" It's not that easy. You're lucky to have fell in love so quickly." She moans, rubbing her eyes in frustration. Her words make my heart leap, Christian's beautiful face appearing in my mind. I am lucky. Mia sits up, her voice becoming exited yet again.
" I mean, you never had to go through a break-up that kept you crying for months. Not really." She quickly added, both of us remembering the short - yet extremely painful - time me and Christian went our separate ways. My heart aches as I swiped the memory away. I felt a strong pang of sympathy for Mia in that moment. I imagine going through that same pain, but dragged out for months. I wince at the thought.
" I guess I could see if he's interested in you..." I wearily ask her, not too sure If I really want to get involved in this. Her eyes suddenly light up and her smile is blinding.
" Oh, really Ana? That'd be perfect!" She exclaims happily, sitting up with her wide eyes looking at me. I can see what Christian means when he says she's manipulating.
" But don't make it really obvious your doing it for me, okay?" She adds quickly, her voice becoming slightly more serious.
" Sure thing, Mia." I give in, accepting my fate. Her smile beams and she relaxes slightly. I quickly glance at her, and I can see the factory of thoughts processing through her head. Just looking at her made me feel exhausted. So much energy.
" Anastasia?" A male voice speaks and I turn my head to the general direction it's coming from. Me? A tall, muscular man in grey jogging bottoms and a matching jumper slows his jogging pace, stopping next to me. His face is slightly red as we swigs some water from his bottle into his mouth. I look into his green eyes, his brown hair damp, feeling a sudden familiarity. He pulls the water-bottle away and smiles wildly, and I instantly recognise him.
" Bradley?! Is that really you!?" I stand up in shock, my arms around his neck before I have time to think about it. I feel the large muscles of his arms wrap around me, returning the gesture. Wow, It really has been a long time.
" Wow Ana, you're looking...Wow." He says, scanning me as we pull away from each other. The look in his eyes suddenly makes me think of Christian. Was Christian right about the effect I have on men? I snort in an unwomanly fashion, batting the comment away with my hand. I can feel Sawyer's eyes from a distance, staring at me. Bradley greets Mia with a polite nod, in which she smiles shyly and and waves back. I can see the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes, and I realise I'm treading on dangerous territory. Shit!
" Look, I've gotta go." I say sympathetically, as Mia stands and is ready to leave by my side. Bradley smiles, and I remember him as a 15 year old boy. That smile. I snap back into reality where I am now Mrs. Grey.
" That's cool. We've gotta meet up Annie, it's been too long!" He says joyfully, handing me a card. He nods goodbye to me and Mia, and continues to jog past us. I look down at the card that's now in my hand.
074822692101
As I stare down at his mobile number, and I quickly realise I didn't tell him I'm married. Crap. Christian's going to be mad.