Candy Crush (15 page)

“Keep that in mind next time you consider
having sex with me. Maybe it will be the deciding factor.”

“I’ve noticed you’ve stopped abiding by rule
number two,” Gabriella said, because she really needed him to
behave. She was having a far too difficult time doing so.

“No I haven’t. I’m making sexual innuendos,
not making moves on you. Making moves on you is what keeps
happening in my laundry room. Which, by the way, I think we should
visit after breakfast.”

Gabriella tried to scowl but she couldn’t
contain her giggle long enough to make it stick. “You’re
incorrigible,” she said between bites of egg. When had she started
liking incorrigible men so much?

“Damn, you’re half insulting me and it
sounds sexy. How is that possible?”

Gabriella shrugged and continued eating.

“So what do you want to do today, now that
we have the whole day free?”

“Actually, tomorrow I was going to ask you
to drive me around town and show me where various necessary places
are, like the grocery store and such.”

“Okay, so we’ll do that tomorrow. We can do
it on the way to my parents’ house. Today I was thinking along the
lines of something else, but I’m not sure if you can handle it with
your knee messed up.”

“It doesn’t hurt quite so bad anymore. I
took some more ibuprofen. What are you thinking?”

“A ride in the country, checking out the
colors and visiting an apple orchard. There is nothing quite like
fresh cider and donuts at this time of year.”

“I’m intrigued. I’ve never visited an apple
orchard before.”

“Seriously?” Brandon sounded utterly
shocked.

“Really. I lived in Dallas, remember? Not
exactly apple country.”

“Okay, pack your ibuprofen because we are
definitely going now. You have no idea what you have been missing.
Come on, let me show you how we’re getting there.”

He stood up and took her hand, tugging her
to her feet. They walked into the laundry room and he turned and
arched his eyebrows. He continued to the back door when Gabriella
rolled her eyes.

“I’m not wearing shoes,” Gabriella protested
as Brandon tugged her through the back door.

“Me neither. We’re just walking to the
garage.”

They walked the short distance to the
garage, with Butter trotting along at their heels. Brandon used the
key he grabbed on his way out the door to open the side door
leading into the garage. He stepped inside and flipped on a switch.
Gabriella saw all of her earthly possessions, save her clothes and
personal items, carefully piled in a corner. And she saw something
with two wheels, covered with a black cloth. Brandon grinned like a
boy as he walked over and with a flourish, pulled off the
cloth.

“It’s a motorcycle.” Gabriella said without
the enthusiasm Brandon had obviously been hoping for.

“It’s a
Harley
,” he said, as if that
explained his excitement. And, Gabriella supposed, it probably did.
She was not a motorcycle girl, although a past boyfriend had been
into motorcycles, so she’d ridden before. And because of that past
boyfriend, she also understood the excitement, the American pride
over owning and riding a Harley.

***

“This is going to be interesting,” she said
with a laugh, and because he couldn’t help himself, Brandon picked
her up and swung her in a circle before setting her gently back on
her feet.

She angled her face up and he decided to
assume she wanted a kiss. He leaned back onto the Harley’s seat and
pulled her close, opening his knees so she could shift closer. She
wrapped her arms around his waist and rubbed herself against him.
Brandon groaned and slipped his hands underneath her shirt. One
hand cupped her breast. Gabriella arched into him. She shifted her
weight and then let out a startled gasp as her knee buckled.

Brandon caught her and pulled her tightly
against him. Gabriella broke the kiss and tried to step back.
“Sorry,” she said, panting a little and sounding breathless. “I
guess I still can’t stand for very long.”

“I’ll be happy to carry you up to the
bedroom,” Brandon suggested, but he could tell she’d gotten her
senses back, damn it.

“I think we should go to the apple orchard
instead.”

“Of course you do,” Brandon snapped, not
bothering to hide his irritation.

“Hey, I’m keeping my best interests at heart
right now. I need a place to stay, indefinitely for the moment. And
the best way to ensure I can stay here is by not sleeping with
you.”

“That is a load of shit, and you know it. I
would not kick you out just because we finally sleep together.”

“Maybe not, because you really are a nice
guy, but you certainly wouldn’t want me around afterward.”

“Why do you say things like that,
Gabriella?” He didn’t bother to hide his exasperation.

“Brandon, you’re the one who told me all
about your reputation, and you made it clear that it is
well-deserved. I’m not interested in becoming a notch on your
bedpost.”

“I don’t keep notches on my bedpost.”

“It’s a figure out speech.”

“Whatever. I don’t… Keep track of how many
women I sleep with. I just” – He struggled to find the right words,
and he realized whatever he said would not help his cause with
Gabriella.

The fact of the matter was, she knew exactly
what kind of man he was, and she was not willing to play his game.
She wanted much more than a one-night stand, and if he wasn’t
willing to give it to her, he wasn’t going to get
her
. His
frustration mounted. “If I said you were different, would you
believe me?”

“No.”

“Well, shit. What the hell am I supposed to
do?”

“I don’t know,” Gabriella admitted. She
sighed. “Let’s just go to the apple orchard. What should I
wear?”

Brandon gave her the once over and, still
smarting, said, “You look fine. Wear tennis shoes. I have an extra
leather jacket and helmet you can wear.” Then he sighed, because
despite it all, he still wanted to spend the day hanging out with
her. “When do you want to go?”

“Just give me a few minutes, and I’m ready
whenever you are.”

Twenty minutes later, they stood in the
driveway next to the Harley. Brandon helped her into his second
leather jacket and helped her secure the helmet on her head.
“Ready?” he asked, and she nodded.

He climbed onto the bike and with a
practiced kick, it roared to life. Gabriella climbed on behind him
and wrapped her legs around his hips. The engine purred loudly
between their legs. She wrapped her arms around his waist and
pulled her legs tighter around his hips, and Brandon spared a
moment to revel in the feel, to imagine what it would be like if he
turned around and she wrapped her legs around his waist, with no
clothing as a barrier between them…

He revved the engine and twisted the
throttle and the bike gave a jerk as it rolled down the
driveway.

In no time at all, they were out in the
country, roaring down a two-lane road. They passed field after
field of corn, the stalks dried, brown and rustling in the light
breeze. They passed fields of soy beans, the leaves just starting
to yellow, and fields of freshly tilled soil, prepared and ready
for the long winter wait before something would be planted again in
the spring.

Periodically, they passed clumps of trees
and he heard Gabriella exclaim over the vivid colors: red, orange
and yellow, set against a backdrop of green pines and evergreens
and those late-turning trees that were still clinging to the hope
of summer.

Farm houses dotted the landscape here and
there, and every once in a while they would pass a lake or stream,
the water sparkling and blue in the early fall sunshine.
Eventually, they turned down a dirt road, and were almost totally
enveloped in huge trees, oak and maple and cottonwood, draping
their multicolored leaves over the road. It was a welcome respite
from the sun baking down on them earlier.

The canopy of trees abruptly gave way and
they were surrounded on both sides by rows and rows of stout apple
trees, branches heavy with the fruit of summer. Brandon guided the
bike onto a long, winding driveway and finally pulled it into a
parking space in the far corner of a dirt-packed parking lot, which
was already more than half full of other vehicles. Gabriella fairly
leapt off the bike and struggled to get her helmet off. Brandon
laughed and helped.

“This is spectacular,” she enthused once she
was free of the helmet. She ran her fingers through her hair, which
had come loose of its braid, and tried to look everywhere at once,
while he stared at
her
.

She’s beautiful. No matter what the
circumstances, she’s always beautiful
.

He recognized that these were dangerous
thoughts, but he dismissed the concern. Today was a day for fun,
just plain, simple fun, without any strings, without any worries or
dead bodies or annoyance at the fact that the woman clearly wanted
him but steadily refused to do anything about it.

The place was teeming with people. There was
a small store to the left, where they could buy fresh produce,
apple cider and fresh, hot donuts almost the moment they were
pulled out of the fryer. To the right a sign directed them to a
hayride, which they could ride out to the pumpkin patch and select
their very own pumpkin for Halloween. Other signs told them they
could pick their own apples, as well as raspberries, strawberries
and blueberries, when they were in season. There was even a
playground for kids.

Brandon laughed again and said, “You haven’t
even left the parking lot yet.”

She grinned up at him, unabashedly joyful.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s amazing.”

“Well, I’m glad you like it,” he said, and
he meant it. He wanted her to be happy. “Come on, let’s go have a
look around. We can ride the hayride if you want, but I don’t think
we can manage to bring a pumpkin home with us on the bike.”

“Let’s go on it anyway.”

“Anything you want, Sweet Pea.” He realized
the words were true. If he could, he really would give her anything
she wanted. Despite the fact that she kept rebuffing his attempts
to get her into his bed. With him.

He grabbed her hand and led her toward the
line of people waiting for the hayride. They sat on the back of the
wagon with their legs dangled off the edge, laughing and joking
like school children. Gabriella was thoroughly enjoying her new
experience and Brandon was thoroughly enjoying her excitement. He
tried to recall the last time he had so much fun, and he honestly
couldn’t. Certainly not in his adult life.

When they reached the pumpkin patch,
Gabriella leapt off the end of the wagon and hobbled across the
grassy margin between the two-track trail for the hay wagon and the
expansive pumpkin patch. He figured her knee was probably killing
her, but she was having too much fun to acknowledge it.

“We have to take one home,” she said, and
began wandering amongst the pumpkins, searching for just the
perfect one.

“We rode a motorcycle, Gabriella. Not
particularly conducive to taking pumpkins home,” Brandon reminded
her, and then he was momentarily distracted when she bent over in
front of him. She straightened and turned around, holding a bright
orange pumpkin that fit perfectly in the palm of her hand.

“What about this one?” she asked, her voice
teasing and her eyes sparkling behind her sunglasses.

***

She grinned impishly and Brandon rolled his
eyes as he grabbed the front of her jacket and pulled her into his
arms. They stood like that, hugging, and Gabriella could feel the
rumble of his chest as he chuckled. She closed her eyes and
pretended, just for a moment, that they were a couple, and this was
a tradition they had created. Afterward, they would go home and
drink cider and make love in front of a roaring fire, on the living
room rug…

Brandon pushed her away and the fantasy
shattered.

“I think we can manage that one,” he said.
“Let’s get back on the wagon so I can introduce you to the reason
for fall: cider and donuts.”

“Sounds yummy,” Gabriella said and as
naturally as if they really were a couple, she slipped her hand
into his as they walked back to the wagon.

They paid for the pumpkin, then made their
way past the playground to the small wood-frame store situated next
to it. Inside the store, the donut counter was manned by a blond
teenager who dropped small white bags with steam seeping out of
them onto the counter just as fast as customers walked by and
snatched them up.

Brandon snagged one of the bags and a
half-gallon of apple cider and led her out of the store to a small
picnic area that overlooked a huge corn maze.

“All the tables are full,” he commented as
he scanned the area. “Come on. Let’s go sit by the bike.”

Gabriella followed him to the parking lot.
They sat down on a patch of grass between the bike and an old
wooden fence. Brandon poured two glasses of cider and offered
Gabriella the bag of donuts. She took a drink of cider, smacked her
lips loudly, and then bit into a steaming hot cinnamon donut.

“Oh God,” she groaned, and Brandon’s eyes
widened as he stared at her face.

“If you say that donut is as good as sex I
will be forced to demonstrate how very untrue that is,” he
warned.

“But it
is
,” Gabriella protested with
her eyes closed and her tongue flicking out to catch every last
crumb off of her lips.

“Okay, I can’t take this anymore,” Brandon
said, and he abruptly stood.

Gabriella’s eyes flew open as he pulled her
to her feet and dragged her over to the bike. He placed his hands
on her waist and lifted her and dropped her onto the seat of the
bike, so that she was sitting sideways. Before she could grasp his
intention, he pushed her knees open and stepped between her
legs.