“Yes, but now that I do, I promise not to do that again,” I vowed.
“It’s not a crisis. I just don’t want to be tempted and find out that I’m not strong enough to resist temptation.” He smiled a little as he turned and walked toward the door. “Now, don’t you think you’ve stayed in bed long enough for one day? Get up and let’s get going!”
“Yes, sir!” I laughed as I saluted.
“Klein, your salute still sucks,” he threw over his shoulder as he walked out the door and left me to get dressed.
“Hey, do you want to grab some breakfast and go take it out by the lake?” I yelled as I pulled on my clothes.
“Up to you,” came the response.
“No, I’m giving you a choice!” I laughed.
“I’m serious, it’s up to you, Ava,” he replied. “But it’s pretty nice outside today.”
“Then all you had to do was say yes!” I shot back as I continued laughing. “You’re so frustrating sometimes!”
“Yes. Yes I am,” he yelled back. “But then so are you, Ms. Klein. So. Are. You.”
I laughed harder as I finished lacing up my shoes, then pulled my hair into a ponytail and grabbed my wallet and sunglasses. I looked around the room to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, and then, feeling guilty, I walked over and quickly made the bed. I rolled my eyes as I realized that Brian’s orderly ways were rubbing off on me, but then I smiled because it felt kind of nice to have a made bed for a change. As I walked out into the front room, Brian quickly put down his phone and stood up.
“Who was that?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s nothing, just work,” he replied as he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. “Ready to go? Um, you might want to take a jacket, it’s a little chilly out there.”
“Uh, okay, Mom,” I laughed as I grabbed my jacket and exited through the door he held open.
“Hey! I’m just trying to be thoughtful!” he protested.
“Yeah, I know, and it’s all sarcasm anyway. My mother would never remind me to take a jacket,” I said. “In fact, she would be more likely to tell me to leave it behind because it ruined the line of my dress or something.”
Brian nodded as he closed the door and headed down the hallway. It was moments like these when I wasn’t sure if he wanted to comfort me or mock me, so I followed behind him and headed out into the sunshine. My head was still aching from all the alcohol, but the warm sun helped ease some of the pain while simply being able to move helped my queasy stomach. When I suggested we stop by the corner fruit market and pick up something for our breakfast picnic, Brian nodded and led the way.
We wandered the aisles of the market choosing bread, cheese, fruit, and two huge cups of coffee to top it off. At the register, I swiped my card and smiled at the cashier as Brian grabbed the bag, and for a moment, it felt like my life was entirely normal. I was a normal college girl here at the store with her normal boyfriend getting some food for a normal picnic on a normal Saturday morning, but as the reality set in, I felt deflated. My life was anything but normal, and Brian wasn’t my boyfriend. He was only here to protect me from my psychotic ex-boyfriend who wanted me back. I shook my head to try and rid myself of the thoughts that were spinning in my mind.
“You okay?” Brian asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine, just…” I trailed off as we walked toward the river looking for a nice spot to lay out our meal.
“Just what?” he asked curiously.
“I’m just thinking about how normal this all looks and how not normal it is,” I replied.
“Ah, yes. Psychological dissonance, a good friend of mine,” he smiled as he reached up and patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’ll all be okay in the end, and if it’s not okay, then it’s not the end!”
“Oh my God, you did not just say that,” I blurted.
“Yep, I sure did!” he chuckled. “I thought you might appreciate the humor.”
“I appreciate your attempt at humor,” I said dryly as I raised an eyebrow behind my sunglasses.
“Oooh, harsh! You’re a tough audience!” he laughed harder at my feeble attempt to maintain a straight face, and soon I, too, was laughing as we walked.
As we walked along the river in silence, I thought about how much had changed in the past several days, and how grateful I was to have Brian around to help me through it. I’d been really angry at my father for going behind my back and hiring Brian, but I had to grudgingly admit that it had been a good choice, and not just because he and I had chemistry. I actually found myself enjoying being around him. There was a comfortable sense of familiarity in our pairing, and I liked the fact that even though I enjoyed talking with him, I didn’t feel like I had to always be talking.
I snuck a peek at him in my peripheral sight and thought about how handsome he was. Tall and broad-shouldered, he walked like a man who had a clear sense of purpose and didn’t seem to be afraid of anything – not even talking about the difficult parts of his recovery process. Although, there was more to that, I knew, and I wanted to hear about the whole thing, but right now didn’t seem like the time to continue the conversation. Plus, I was enjoying the companionable silence.
“You’re quiet,” I said softly as we walked.