Chapter Nineteen

(Back to Brady & Chloe)

Chloe smiled out of habit at the place that Brady had chosen. They had only been to this gazebo once together, but it would always hold special meaning to her. One of their many wonderful days last summer had ended in this same place, with impromptu singing from the Sound of Music.

She chuckled softly as Brady led her by the hand up the steps of the gazebo. He let go of her and reached over the railing to turn on the lights.

"Brady... Not that I'm complaining... I love this place. But, why exactly did you want to come here tonight?"

Brady stood in front of her and shrugged. "Does there have to be a reason? I just like this place."

Chloe smiled and nodded. "Alright, that's fine."

"Was the walk from the car too far for you? I know it's not exactly the kind of trek you want to make in those kind of shoes."

Chloe lifted the bottom of her dress and pointed towards her strappy high-heeled shoes. She cringed in slight pain, and replied. "I'd like to be brave and say that I'm fine... But, I'm not. The shoes are beautiful, but they weren't made for hiking through the park in the middle of the night."

Brady nodded and gently laid his hands on her waist, pushing her towards the railing of the gazebo. "Here... Lean against the railing..."

Chloe nodded and did as instructed. Brady dropped to one knee and gently picked her right foot up. He let his fingers linger gently on her ankles as he undid the strap and let the shoe fall to the floor. As his index finger trailed down the smooth skin on her heel, Chloe giggled childishly.

Brady looked up at her with raised eyebrows as he picked up her other foot. "That's something I don't think I've ever heard you do."

"What's that?"

"Giggle like an eight year old girl."

Chloe laughed and nodded in understanding. "It just so happens you found one of my few truly ticklish spots."

Brady held out his torturous index finger and Chloe shook her head scoldingly. "Tickle me again, and you'll get my foot in the middle of your face. I promise you that."

Brady laughed and undid the strap on her other shoe without incident. He stood back up and looked at Chloe suspiciously. "You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

"Oh yes, I would. I'd feel really bad about it later after I have to take you to the hospital with your broken nose. But, yeah, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Brady rubbed his nose at the mention of it and frowned at her. "Sometimes you scare me, Chloe Lane."

Chloe grinned and nodded proudly. "I know. And that's why I'm so much fun."

Chloe winked at him and turned around, placing her hands on the railing. She stared out into the darkness around them and looked towards the sky.

"Wow..." She sighed softly. "It's such a beautiful night out. Absolutely perfect."

Brady moved behind her and stood closer to her. "That's why I insisted that we come out for just a little while."

"I'm glad you did. I've always loved when it's clear at night and you can see all of the stars in the sky. It's so beautiful. When my adoptive parents died, I used to look out the window wherever I was and find all of the constellations and everything. I know it sounds silly, but I used to talk to the stars and tell them all of my dreams and wishes. I thought it was the best way to talk to God, so that maybe they would come true."

Brady nodded and gently laid one of his hands on one of hers. "It doesn't sound silly at all. Actually... When my mother found out she was dying, my dad bought her a present. He had a star named after her so that even when she was gone, he and I could find it and know that she would always be with us. So, I kind of used to do the same. I'd stand on the balcony and find my mom's star, and I would tell her all of my dreams, and wishes and every other little detail of my life."

Chloe turned her head slightly to smile at him. "And what did the young Brady Black dream and wish for?"

"Same thing every kid wishes for. To be a major league baseball player."

Chloe laughed softly and rephrased her question. "Right... So, what does the grown up Brady Black wish for when he looks into the sky at night?"

Brady shrugged slightly. "Love, happiness, good health... But, not for me. For the people I love. I wished once that my best friend in the whole world would be accepted to Juilliard, and she was. I think it's starting to work."

"Well, if you're wishing had anything to do with my acceptance to Juilliard, I have to thank you."

"No, it really had nothing to do with me. You did it all on your own, Chloe. You'll fly high and go far in your life, and you don't need to wish on stars to do it."

Chloe nodded slightly. "But it doesn't hurt to do it anyway."

Brady leaned closer to her and picked up her hand. He lifted her arm in front of her and pointed it towards the sky. "You see that cluster over there?"

Chloe nodded, his warm breath on her face giving her goosebumps. "Uh-huh..."

"You can't really find it without a telescope, but my mother's star is right in the middle of it."

Chloe sighed softly and closed her eyes. "I wish..."

She could not finish her sentence out loud, but she knew that Brady's mother heard it anyway. Chloe had wished for Brady to have all of the happiness that he deserved, and she knew that Brady's mother would have appreciated that kind of wish. Especially knowing that Brady had spent all of his own wishes on other people's happiness.

Brady shifted behind her and then laid a small box on the railing in front of her. "Chloe... I wanted to get you something to congratulate you for everything that you've achieved this year."

Chloe laid her hand over the small velvet box and turned her head to look at Brady in surprise. "Brady... You didn't need to get me anything."

"But, I wanted to. It's nothing big... I figured you'd be getting a lot of graduation presents next week, but I wanted to give you something unique... Something that would always remind you of me."

Chloe smiled and turned back to the box in her hand. She opened the top and saw a gold chain with a small gold charm hanging from it. The charm was of a tiny bowling ball and pin, and Chloe involuntarily giggled at the sight of it. Brady had introduced her to bowling for the first time, and it was a memory they would always share together.

"Brady, I love it... Thank you so much."

"You really like it? It's not too silly"

Chloe nodded enthusiastically and took the necklace out of the box. "I really do. It's not silly at all, it's perfect... Help me put it on."

Brady gingerly took the chain from her fingers and fixed the clasp at the back of her neck. Chloe straightened the charm on the chain and smiled happily. "Thank you, Brady."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you don't think I'm an idiot."

"Of course I don't. I'd never think that of you."

Brady smiled proudly and hugged her gently from behind. "So, tell me what YOU wish for on those stars... Since I told you mine."

Chloe nodded slightly and felt herself melt into his arms. "When I was a kid, I wished for someone... anyone... to love me."

"Well, that wish came true."

"I know... I finally have a family, as dysfunctional as we may be, and friends who care about me. People that I love just as much as they love me."

Brady nodded in agreement. "So, what do you wish for now that you have all of that?"

Chloe sighed softly and looked downward. "The same things that you wish for... And, one other thing."

Chloe turned her whole body to look Brady in the eyes. Brady raised one eyebrow curiously and prodded her for more. "One other thing? What is that thing?"

"I want to tell you, I do. But, I can't. If I tell you it might not come true."

Brady nodded and grinned at her. "I understand. It's like a birthday wish. You're not allowed to tell anybody."

Chloe smiled uneasily and continued. "It's not just that. I need to ask you something very important before I can tell you what the wish is."

"Alright... You can ask me anything, Chloe... You know that."

Chloe nodded and sighed deeply. Brady took a step back from her as she took a deep breath in. She motioned towards the gazebo as if her hand motion was the punctuation at the end of her sentence. "What is all of this?"

Brady raised both eyebrows this time, still a bit lost. "What is all of what?"

"This, Brady, all of this. This is not the kind of night that you and I usually have together. You surprised me, you bought me a new dress, and shoes... You decorated your apartment like it was the prom, and got my favorite food and my favorite ice cream. We danced together. Then you brought me here, and gave me this necklace... What does it all mean?"

"I told you. We're celebrating your achievements. I wanted to do something special for my best friend. I don't see what the problem is."

Chloe sighed again and scrunched up her forehead in frustration. "The problem is... this isn't the kind of celebration one of my other best friends might plan for me. This is special, very special. I appreciate it, I really do... But, I can't help but wonder if there are some sort of romantic intentions here."

Brady shook his head and looked away from her. "Chloe, I never intended for you to think that way..."

Chloe interrupted him and threw hands up in frustration. "Then I must be a complete idiot or I'm seeing something that's just not there."

"What? What are you seeing?"

"I don't know exactly. But you look at me sometimes, and I see something in your eyes that I have never seen before. You don't look at any other person the way that you look at me. At least that's what I thought, but obviously, I don't know you as well as I thought."

Brady looked back into her eyes, and Chloe could see the emotion behind his blue eyes. "That's not true..."

Chloe wouldn't let him finish. She knew exactly what she was seeing and she was tired of Brady keeping those feelings locked inside. "You're right. It's not true. I can see it right now. You are lying to me, Brady."

"Chloe, I have never lied to you, not since the day I met you."

"Maybe so, but you are keeping something from me. I can tell. It may not be an actual lie, but it's definitely not honesty. You're not being honest with me, with yourself or with anyone else, and I'm sick of it. I'm so tired of you not saying the things to me that you want to say. And, I'm just as sick of not telling you all of the things that I need you to know. You have to promise me that you will be one hundred percent honest with me tonight, and I will be too."

Brady nodded stoically and she could tell he was in shock that Chloe had figured him out so well. "Of course... I promise."

Chloe nodded and took a deep breath in. "Good... Because I have a question for you, and a statement of my own. And, if you lie to me when you respond, I will figure it out."

"Alright... Go ahead." Brady tried to look downward so he didn't have to feel those big blue eyes of Chloe's boring into him.

Chloe watched him and hesitated. Brady had always been the more aggressive personality of the two of them, and she had always figured him as the type of guy to make the first move in any situation. But not this time. Chloe had figured it out, and it had left him stunned. And, at this moment, he looked more vulnerable than she had ever seen him. It was as if his heart was finally open and all of the love he kept locked inside was ready to come spilling out.

For almost two years, there had been a brick wall between them. A wall that had kept them for realizing their feelings at first, and kept them from admitting them later. Chloe knew how scared he must have been feeling at that moment, because she felt it too. She was about to smash down that wall like a wrecking ball, and as she opened her mouth to speak she felt the words freeze in her throat again. Chloe exhaled and her lips began to form the words she wanted to say, but the words did not come out.

Brady looked at her nervously, waiting for her words to come. Chloe tried again, this time clearing her throat first. She took a deep breath in, and did something that she would have never expected herself to do.

She laid her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face close to hers. Chloe laid her lips on his and their mouths melted together as if they were always meant to be that way. Brady wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even closer to him. He did not back away from her kiss at all, and Chloe moved her hands away from his face to hold on to him tightly. Brady ran a hand through her hair and gently explored her mouth with his own.

Chloe was grateful that his strong arms were wrapped around her, otherwise she might have passed out. It was as if two years of tension and unspoken feelings between them were being compounded into this one kiss. Every hair on her body seemed to stand on end with excitement, and his kisses made all of her fears melt away.

It seemed to her that they stayed that way for a very long, wrapped up in each other's embrace. And, she would have gladly stayed that way forever, had she not felt the need for oxygen. Chloe broke the kiss off gently, and locked eyes with him. Brady's skin had turned much paler than usual, and he wore a look that was a mixture of shock and happiness.

"Chloe..." Brady breathed in a ragged breath and blinked his eyes rapidly, as if he was trying to snap himself out of a dream. "Oh my God... Was that your question or your statement?"

Chloe grinned at him mischievously. Someone had finally done something to stun the unflappable Brady Black, and she was extremely proud that it had been her.

"It was a little bit of both."

Brady nodded and ran a hand through his blonde hair nervously. He tried to regain his usual state of composure but Chloe could tell he was still a bit shaky. "Do you mind repeating the question? I'm not sure I heard the whole thing."

Chloe's grin turned into a large smile and she leaned up into him, planting another kiss on his lips. Brady accepted her just as before, and Chloe was amazed at how equal in passion this second kiss was.

She knew the words would have to come soon. The words that would tell Brady how much she loved him. But, she wasn't worried. She just held on to him tightly and savored this moment, knowing that her embrace and her kisses said much more than words ever could.

***

(I figured it was about time that Chloe took the upper hand in that relationship, since most of my stories and the stories of others have Brady making the first move. More to come!)