“What’s wrong,” he whispered.
“Leg’s asleep,” I groaned. “This is going to suck!”
Brian laughed as he slid to the edge of the couch and gently pulled me off of him, flipping me over so that I landed softly on my back with my legs propped on the couch. “It won’t be too bad,” he reassured me. “Just stay there until the circulation returns and you can stand up.”
“I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to stand again in my life,” I said softly.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll recover very nicely,” he chuckled.
“You’re not me,” I pouted playfully. “You have no idea.”
“Oh, I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of what it feels like,” he grinned as he turned and headed toward the bathroom, looking over his shoulder to add, “Now if you’ll excuse me for a moment.”
*****
As I was waiting for my leg to wake up, I heard my phone signal an incoming text. I reached over my head and grabbed the phone off of the side table and checked the screen to find a message from Lara. “Parteeeeeee at Fiji house! R U coming? Pleeeeeeze!!” I laughed at the silly little emoji she attached and thought about it for a moment. As I was thinking, a second text arrived. This one was from Jessie. “We never have fun N E MORE! Come to party. U no U wanna! Bring the hottie!” I laughed out loud at this one and quickly texted back, “On my way in a bit. Hottie in tow!”
“Brian!” I called into the bathroom as I tested my leg and winced as the pins and needles started. “Brian? Did you fall in?”
“Ha ha, very funny,” he said as he exited the bathroom with a big wet spot on the front of his jeans. “No, I did not fall in. I was just cleaning up a bit.”
“What happened?” I asked genuinely perplexed. “Do you not know how to use a sink?”
“Yes, Miss Smart Ass,” he replied drily. “I know how to use a sink, but apparently you know how to let loose with some moisture of your own, so I needed to clean up a bit.”
I blushed deeply as I dropped my eyes to the floor and mumbled, “Oh, sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” he moved around in front of me and put a hand under my chin and lifted it so that I was staring up into his beautiful blue eyes. “Don’t ever be sorry for enjoying sex — or for having it with me.”
I laughed as he playfully brushed a finger down my nose and then bent over to kiss me. My legs were both awake and ready to go, so I popped up off the couch and announced, “We’re going to a party!”
“We’re what?” he asked.
“We’re going to a party!” I said in an excited voice. “I’m taking you out with me. Jessie and Lara are over at the Fiji house and they want me to bring you along. See?” I held up my phone for him to see the messages. He looked at them, then back at me and shrugged.
“Fine.” His suddenly morose response took me by surprise. What just happened? I wondered.
“You don’t want to go?” I asked, genuinely concerned about his lack of enthusiasm.
“It’s not up to me, now is it?” he replied. “I’m the bodyguard, I go where you go. End of discussion.”
“Brian? What’s wrong?” I reached out to touch his arm, but he pulled away.
“There is nothing wrong, Ava!” he shouted. “Go get ready and I’ll drive you to the party!”
I turned and walked to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. I had no idea what had just happened, but if he was going to act like a jerk, then it wasn’t my problem. His moodiness wasn’t going to ruin a night of fun with my best friends. I quickly decided on a short skirt and a midriff-baring top in two soft shades of blue and, having been to the Fiji house before, I chose a pair of flat silver Gladiator sandals that would stay on my feet no matter how much dancing I did. I dressed quickly, and then grabbed a crossbody bag off of the dresser and put my ID, lipstick, and room key in it, along with some cash in case I needed it. I checked myself in the mirror one more time, and then headed out to the front room.
“You ready?” I asked as I stood by the door. Brian was lounging on the couch watching the rest of our forgotten movie.
“Yeah, whatever,” he said without looking up.
“Then let’s get a move on, sailor!” I chirped half-heartedly. Not having him on board with this plan was taking some of the fun out of it.
“Oh, wow,” he breathed as he stood up and caught a glimpse of me.
“What? Is something wrong?” I asked as I ran a hand through my hair, hoping to tame any flyaway ends.
“No, nothing’s wrong at all,” he muttered as he grabbed his keys and stalked to the door. “Let’s go get this over with.”