When we got back to the apartment, I carried my duffel bag into the bedroom and laid it on the bed. Eden pointed to 2 empty drawers in her dresser that I could use for my underclothes. While I started filling the drawers with my socks and underwear, Eden began moving things around in her closet so I could hang up the rest of my stuff. She threw some hangers on the bed and got to work. I watched as she unfolded my clothes and started hanging them on the hangers as she hummed a tune. It was the most comforting sight….it felt normal and that was something I desperately craved. I shook my head in disbelief as I took my toiletries to the bathroom and lined them up on her counter next to hers. It was hard to believe that this would be my home from now on; living with the most amazing woman I had ever met.
I left the bathroom to see that Eden had all the clothes on hangers and was now hanging them in the spot she had made for me.
"Bucky, can you bring me that pile?" she said, looking back at me from the closet.
I picked up the pile she had looked at and carried it over to her…leaning back against the door frame to watch her hang them. She noticed me staring at her as she worked and I saw her shake her head and smile at me. When her cell phone suddenly beeped she asked, "Can you check that for me please?"
I strolled over to the dresser and picked up her cell phone to read the text.
Brooke: Brandon is going to be in town tomorrow and Sunday. I'm going to let him stay with me. He wants us to hang out while he is here…so I was thinking we could go to the karaoke bar again tomorrow night.
"Who's Brandon" I asked after reading the message.
It was fleeting, but I saw her hesitate just a little before she answered, "Brooke's older brother, why?"
"He's going to be staying with Brooke this weekend and she wants us all to go to the karaoke bar again tomorrow night", I told her, watching her reaction. She didn't say anything for several moments and seemed to be deep in thought.
When she didn't say anything else, I called her name, "Eden"
Her body suddenly tensed up, "I don't know, I think I'm still recovering from last week"
The phone beeped in my hand again and a new message popped up on the display screen.
Brooke: I promise I'll tell him to try and keep his hands to himself and you'll have Bucky there to protect you…lol.
He better fucking keep his hands to himself.
"Why exactly would I need to protect you from him?" I asked, looking to her, raising my eyebrow.
She reached or the phone and texted a response back to Brooke…the way she was acting bothered me. She seemed almost uncomfortable at the thought of seeing this guy and it made me wonder what she was thinking.
I wonder if something happened between her and this guy. No, she said Michael was the only guy she had ever gotten serious with.
She sighed, "Brandon likes to make friends wherever he goes…woman friends. Brooke calls him a man whore. He likes to flirt with anything that has tits"
I raised my eyebrows when I heard the last part. "Well, I promise I won't let him touch you or flirt with you…if he tries I'll break his damn hand" I said, pulling her close to me to lay a kiss on her forehead. She laid there with her head on my chest, her arms wrapped around my waist as her fingers rubbed up and down my back slowly.
She finally looked up at me, biting her lip, "I'd rather just stay home with you"
Her phone beeped again and whatever she read must have convinced her to go because she looked up at me and said, "I guess we can go for a little while, just to be polite. Is that okay?" She looked upset at the thought of having to go and see this guy and it put me on edge. Something had to have happened between her and this guy at some point.
I don't give a damn if he is Brooke's brother, he better watch himself.
"Sure, we can stay as long as you want" I said. She sighed and laid her phone back down on the dresser before turning back around to face me.
She stared at me for a moment before she laid her hands on my chest, tilting her face to mine for a kiss, "I love you" she whispered before our lips met. I let my arm slide around to her back, pushing her body against mine and deepening the kiss. When I pulled away, she was panting and I leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Didn't you say something about having plans tonight that involved me?"
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When Bucky asked me, "Who's Brandon?" my heart stopped for just a moment.
Shit!
"Brooke's older brother, why?" I asked, attempting to sound casual, trying not to let any feelings show whatsoever.
"He's going to be staying with Brooke this weekend and she wants us all to go to the karaoke bar again tomorrow night" he said.
Oh God, what do I do? I don't want to see him!
I had always had a crush on Brandon when I was growing up. He was two years older than us and was so much fun to be around. He was popular at school and always had a gaggle of girls following him around. Of course, he never looked twice at me…I was just his little sister's best friend. After I went off to college, I saw him once when I went home for the holidays. It was during my sophomore year and I went by his and Brooke's parent's house to visit them while I was on break from school. He was a senior in college at that point and somehow he had gotten even more handsome since I last saw him. He had spent the day flirting with me but Brooke had already told me he had a girlfriend so I didn't think much of it…that was just the way Brandon acted.
I was shocked to hear from him a year and a half ago. I had never told Brooke that I had met up with him. It was about a month after my break up with Michael that I got the phone call from Brandon. Brooke had told him what had happened and he just happened to be in DC that weekend and wanted to get together to catch up. I remember how nervous I was that night when I met him at the restaurant. He had wined and dined me, being his usual charming self. We had talked and laughed for almost 2 hours…In that time, he made me forget how shitty I felt and it was refreshing.
After dinner, he had invited me back up to his hotel room for drinks and like a fool, I had agreed. I think I knew exactly what would happen when we got there but I hadn't figured out yet if I wanted to let it happen. The cocky bastard had a bottle of wine already waiting in the room when we got there. I remember the way he had rubbed his hand up and down my arm as we drank the chilled wine and the way his eyes watched me as I told him about my break up with Michael. Later, when he leaned forward to kiss me, I let him. I had spent my early teenage years fantasizing what it would be like to kiss him and now I knew. I had kissed him back, unsure if it was out of enjoyment or pure desperation to be wanted by someone again. When his hand found its way under my skirt, I had come to my senses and pushed it away. He had pulled back, a smile on his face, my lipstick smeared across his lips, "What's wrong Ede?" I remember how I had scowled at the sound of the old nickname he had always called me. When I was younger, I had never minded him dropping the N from my name. As a grown woman, it just seemed ridiculous to shorten an already short name. Ede-N…was it so complicated?
"I'm not going to be your latest conquest Brandon. I don't do one night stands."
"Come on Ede, that's not how I see you. I'll tell you a secret; you've been on my mind a lot lately...ever since Brooke told me you and that douche broke up."
"Really?"
"Absolutely…that's why I called you. Let's just see where this goes, okay?"
He had reached over and kissed me again and even thought it didn't feel quite right, I fervently returned them. My brain screamed at me to stop. This niggling feeling In the back of my mind wouldn't let it go and I once again pushed him away. The look of shock on his face made me laugh and he had smiled coyly at me. He did seem sincere as he spent the next few minutes telling me how much he had always liked me when we were in high school. He was so charming but I had already made up my mind. If he really did feel that way, then he wouldn't mind going slow to prove it.
"If you're serious about this Brandon, then you won't mind if we take things slow. I think the best thing to do is say goodnight and head home. If you do really mean what you said, then you can call me….okay?"
"Okay Ede. I'll call you when I get back home…we can work something out"
He had reluctantly walked me to the elevator, leaning over and kissing me when the doors open.
"You sure you want to leave? It's not too late to come back to my room."
"Yes I'm sure….goodnight Brandon"
He had smiled at me as the elevator closed. I remembered as I walked to my car feeling like the whole night had been a mistake. Once I was alone again and had my wits about me, I realized I had made the right decision to not take things further. Brandon, although handsome and insanely charming, was not the guy for me…he was self-centered and his womanizing ways were not appealing. I was looking for someone special…a person that I could feel complete with. I knew at that time I hadn't met that man yet and I was positive Brandon wasn't him.
Even though I had come to the conclusion that I didn't want to start anything up with Brandon, it still hurt when he never called me. No phone call. No text message. Nothing. I remembered that Brooke called me about two weeks later. I knew Brandon hadn't told her about our "date" because she would have mentioned it. When I casually inquired how he was doing she had laughed and told me about how he had met this girl two weeks ago and he was already introducing her to their parents. I wasn't that surprised, but I'll admit it, my feelings were hurt.
"Eden" Bucky said, trying to get my attention, snapping me out of the memory.
Make up an excuse, you don't want to see him…what if he brings the whole incident up?
"I don't know, I think I'm still recovering from last week" I said quietly, hoping it didn't sound too lame.
The phone in Bucky's hand beeped again and I saw him raise his eyebrows when he read it, "Why exactly would I need to protect you from him?"
Dammit Brooke!
I took the phone from Bucky's hand and texted her back.
Eden: I don't know Brooke, the last time we went I drank way too much. Besides, I was kind of hoping to spend some alone time with Bucky this weekend.
I sighed and noticed the suspicious look on his face, "Brandon likes to make friends wherever he goes…woman friends. Brooke calls him a man whore. He likes to flirt with anything that has tits"
"Well, I promise I won't let him touch you or flirt with you…if he tries I'll break his damn hand" he said gruffly. He reached out and pulled me to his chest…I felt him kiss me softly on the forehead and a warm feeling spread throughout my body. I closed my eyes and thought back to that night again after I had left Brandon's hotel room.
I was looking for someone special. Someone who would make me feel complete.
Wrapped in Bucky's arms, I realized that he was the exactly the one I had been looking for. Bucky was the one for me…the only one for me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and let my fingers wander, enjoying the feel of his muscled back.
God I'm glad I didn't let things go too far that night.
I pulled my head away from Bucky's chest, "I'd rather just stay home with you" I felt sick to my stomach when the phone beeped again and I looked at the message.
Brooke: I promise I won't make you drink anything this time. I don't want to go out with just Steve and my brother, it will be awkward. Please, please, please! Besides, Bucky lives with you now...you can have alone time with him whenever you want.
Damn Brooke, she's going to owe me for this one
"I guess we can go for a little while, just to be polite. Is that okay?" I said, trying to not sound too unhappy. It would only be for one night…I could grin and bear it. Surely Brandon wouldn't bring it up or anything. He would know how angry it would make Brooke, she would be pissed he said all those things and then didn't call me. I wasn't really worried about her being angry with me…she knew how her brother was and she knew both Jill and I had a crush on him when we were growing up.
"Sure, we can stay as long as you want"
Should I tell him? What if Brandon does bring it up…then Bucky would be mad I didn't tell him. But if I tell him now, he might feel awkward meeting him. Tell him! It's the right thing to do.
I laid my phone down on my dresser and then turned to look at Bucky. I placed my hands on his chest, and raised my face to his, needing to feel those pouty lips on mine. "I love you" I said softly. To my delight, Bucky pulled me to him and kissed me passionately. I was gasping for air when he pulled away, noticing the naughty look in his eyes. He leaned down and whispered, "Didn't you say something about having plans tonight that involved me?" A shiver ran down my back when I felt his breathe on my neck and I grinned and nodded at him.
I'll tell him about Brandon tomorrow.
Bucky made love to me that night so tenderly that it nearly brought tears to my eyes when it was over.
He went so slowly and each time he removed an article of clothing, he would lay the lightest kisses across whatever skin he had just exposed. Once I was completely undressed, he leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips, "I love you" he whispered before standing up from the bed to undress himself.
I never let my eyes leave his body as he removed his clothes. He unbuttoned his shirt painfully slow and I propped myself up on my elbow to watch. When he finally slid it from his body I smiled at him…he was beautiful, every muscle, every scar…absolutely beautiful. He unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down his legs along with his boxers. He stood completely nude in front of me and I let my eyes roam his body, up and down, taking him all in. I moaned in anticipation as he crawled back on to the bed. He kneeled between my legs, parting them slowly. I closed my eyes as he guided himself between my thighs and I heard him groan when he entered me, I felt myself tighten around him. I opened my eyes once he was completely inside of me but he didn't move. I could see he had his own eyes tightly shut and I reached my hand out to caress his face. He opened his eyes when he felt my touch and leaned down to kiss me.
Each thrust, each kiss, each touch….I wanted it to go on forever. I knew I would never get my fill of Bucky, I would never tire of him.
Afterwards, I laid in Bucky's arms, exhausted from our lovemaking and heard him whisper, "Eden, I want live the rest of my life feeling exactly how I do at this moment"
I kissed his chest, "And how exactly do you feel at this moment Bucky?"
He tightened his arm around me, "Like the happiest man in the world"
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Hope you guys are enjoying. Please review and thanks for reading.
-Ecorley