SLOW HANDS

Her phone vibrated across the surface of her nightstand, and a groan slipped out of Chloe’s mouth. She ran her hand over her head, mussing her long dark hair.

The phone continued to vibrate, drawing her attention back to it and another groan from her throat. She knew that he would want to talk about their previous discussion and she wasn’t ready for it. She liked him all right, and he didn’t live too far away from her, so she wouldn’t even have to worry about distance being a problem in their relationship. She wasn’t dating or involved with anyone, so why the hell was she hesitating? She groaned again into the phone as she finally picked it up and swiped her hand across the screen.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Are you okay?” Matthew asked her, his voice gruff with concern.

Chloe instantly felt guilty. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said.

“But you’re groaning,” he said. “And you don’t sound fine. Is something bothering you?”

Chloe almost said ‘the only thing bothering me is someone interrupting my sleep’, but that would be unnecessarily rude, so she said. “Nothing is bothering me. I’m fine. What’s going on?”

“I need you to come home. I miss you.” Matthew said.

“I can’t do that right now” Chloe replied, “I’m busy”

“Don’t you miss me too?” he asked.

Chloe hesitated. She didn’t want to lie to him because honestly, she hadn’t thought much about him as her head had been filled with thoughts of someone else since she left. She felt like she was leading him on when she didn’t even know what she wanted and she felt terrible and hated herself for it, so she decided to change the topic.

“Hey, good news,” she said, “I got the Packard Enterprises account. Isn’t that great?”

“You did? That’s amazing” Matthew replied, although his voice held no real excitement. “I’m happy for you. So Packard’s son finally came through, huh? I’m not surprised though. From what I have heard about him, he doesn’t seem as tough as his father so it shouldn’t have been too hard to convince him. Anyways, you still got the account for your agency and I’m happy for you. Guess you are going to be back soon then? I’m really looking forward to seeing you again”

The fact that he had mentioned Timothy seemed to even make things worse for Chloe. “No, not yet,” she replied. “I’m supposed to meet with Bryce tomorrow. He said he will be at his dad’s place so I will just drive up and meet him there. I will let you know when I’m back.”

There was a pause before Matthew finally said: “You know, sometimes I’m envious of the way you are close to Bryce. I mean, I introduced you two to each other and you know him so well including his family. It makes me feel so left out, and sometimes I regret introducing you to him. Why can’t I have that kind of relationship with you? That closeness… Maybe even more….”

Chloe sighed, needing to end the call immediately she realized where the conversation was going.”You know it’s not like that. I’m just meeting up with him for work purposes. Look, let’s just talk some other time. It’s late, I’m tired and and I really need to get some sleep”

“Yeah sure” Matthew replied, his voice sounded gruff. “Good night, Chloe ”

Chloe hung up, placed her phone back on the nightstand and closed her eyes, but sleep didn’t come.

____________

When Chloe pulled into Bryce’s father’s driveway, she was relieved to see his Mercedes parked beside his dad’s pickup. She pulled her car on the other side of the truck and grinned at how the expensive car flanked the beat-up old piece of family history. According to Bryce, his father had refused to get rid of the truck even if he had gifted him a new one. The man couldn’t seem to let go of the old truck and Bryce was tired of trying to get him to do it.

As she got out, she heard the roar of another engine and turned to see his brother Edward pull in behind her. To her utter shock, Peter, his other brother, climbed out of the passenger seat.

“Peter!” she exclaimed, and ran straight for him.

He grinned just before she launched herself into his arms. She hit his chest and as she’d known he would, he caught her and whirled her around. Just like he always did whenever he saw her.

“How come I never get greetings like that?” Edward grumbled as he climbed from behind the wheel.

“I’m so glad to see you,” she whispered fiercely. His big arms surrounded her in a hug that nearly squeezed the breath out of her. Peter always gave the best hugs and Chloe loved it.

“It’s good to see you too, Chloe. I missed you. Took you long enough to come see us.” said Peter.

She slid down until her feet met the ground again, and she briefly looked away.

“Hey,” he chided as he nudged her chin until she looked at him again. “I’m just kidding. I know you are probably busy. You would have come if you weren’t. I know that for sure.”

“Hey, hello, I’m here, too,” Edward said, waving a hand between them.

She held Peter’s gaze for a moment longer and then smiled her thanks. Bryce’s brothers were overbearing. They were loud, protective and they certainly had their faults. But God love them, they were fierce in their loyalty to her, and she adored them for it. She was an only Child and didn’t have any brothers or siblings, and her parents divorce and hatred for each other didn’t help matters, but for the three years since she met them, they had made her feel like she finally had brothers. She felt like a part of their family… Like their little sister. Maybe it was that way because they didn’t have a sister either.

Finally she turned to Edward. “You I saw four weeks ago. Peter I haven’t seen in forever.” She glanced back at Peter. “Why is that anyway? What have you been up to?”

He grimaced. “Sorry. Busy time of the year.”

She nodded. Peter owned a successful landscaping business and spring was always a hectic time. They rarely saw him until the fall when business started to slow. Edward slung an arm over Chloe’s shoulders and planted an affectionate kiss on her cheek. “I see you are here because Mr. Baseball man is here. Must have caught a break before the season starts.”