Older and Wiser

~Chapter Two~(Lightening The Mood)

The week passed by quickly and soon it was the night of Belle and Shawn’s date. Chloe sat in her small run-down house, grading papers and eating Ramen Noodles. The house was sparsely furnished and was extremely small for even one person to live in. But Chloe made due.

She glanced up at the clock. Beside it was a picture Chloe had taken of Brady and Belle two years ago. Belle was sitting primly in a lavender skirt set with Brady standing behind her. He was dressed in a black suit with a lavender tie. It was endearing to Chloe that he would complement his sister’s attire with his own. It was a simple thing, but it meant everything to Chloe.

Sighing, she realized that it was well past 6:30 and she was to arrive at the penthouse by 7:30. She put up the papers for the night and took a long, warm shower.

By 7:15, she was twirling in front of her vanity mirror in the bathroom, fully clad in a long, black dress. She had bought it for Philip’s funeral, but she hadn’t gone, so the dress had sat in the back of her meager closet, gathering dust. The dress had a slit that went up to her mid-thigh and it dipped low in the front. She fastened a scarf around her neck, so she wouldn’t show off too much cleavage. The straps were thin and the back was low; all in all, she didn’t look too bad. The dress was three years out of style, but she couldn’t afford a new one. So, piling her hair atop her head, she finished getting ready.

When she arrived at the penthouse, she pressed the button on the intercom.

“Hello?” Brady’s voice buzzed across the speaker.

“It’s me,” she said meekly. She still felt awkward speaking to a box in the wall.

“Be right down.”

A few moments later, Brady appeared wearing a black-on-black ensemble. His blonde hair and electric blue eyes seemed to stand out against the suit’s background. In fact, he looked almost her age now. He smelled remarkable, too. Chloe took a deep breath as he approached.

“Hi!” she exclaimed, feeling giddy from his cologne.

“Where’d you get that hideous thing?” he asked, obviously playing around.

She twisted around, so he could see every angle. “Oh, this? I just bought it. I thought that you kept up on the fashion world!” she kidded.

He laughed. His eyes fell upon the slit in the skirt and her neckline. “I am, I am, little lady. But that, my dear, is not from the fashion world. That is from some very sexy planet. I must admit that I think you are showing a little too much cleavage for my taste. And too much leg.”

She gave him a look of contempt. “What are you talking about? I happen to think that this amount of leg and breast is just the right amount. In fact, I can prove it.”

His eyes grew wide as she danced around him provocatively. on’ton’t want Shawn to think you dressed up on account of him. That’s all,” he replied, trying to be casual. His body was beginning to think she was right about the amount of skin she was showing.

“Shawn isn’t interested. In fact, not many men are interested.”

“I don’t think so, little lady. Actually, right now you are making me ache.”

She stood there, quietly. She had nog tog to say. Her skin tingled. “W-w-what?” she stammered.
“No comeback? It’s once in a great while I catch Chloe Lane without a comeback.”

“I just wasn’t prepared. Try me again. Anything…I bet I can come up with a comeback for anything,” she demanded, angry that she had been caught off guard.

He lowered his eyes, thinking. Without glancing up, he repeated his reply. “Right now you are making me ache.” He chose the moment after to look up into her eyes.

Chloe melted into putty. He was too good at this. She blushed, mumbled to herself, and finally sent him a look of inspiration.

“Doesn’t Mimi make you ache?”

He felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. “No,” he answered dryly. “She doesn’t.”

In an effort to get away from the situation, he glanced at his watch. “Uh, we’ve got to be going now. The movie starts at 9:30, so if we want to eat…”

She smiled. Her plan had worked. She began following him into the penthouse and into the elevator. But somewhere, his mind had changed. In between the 32nd and 33rd floors he pressed the stop button. Then, he turned sharply, causing her to bump into him. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into him. Grinding his hips into hers, he let her feel the ache in his slacks.

“Brady Victor Black! What are you doing?” she whispered harshly, trying not to sound scared.

“Are you surprised that you do this to me?”

She withdrew from him a little, but he only succeeded in drawing her closer to him. His hands became gentle on her back, kneading and massaging the muscles there. “I’ve never let you touch me like this before, Chloe. But I think it’s time I started letting you.”

She drew a shaky breath. She was dreaming. She had to be. This would never happen. But it was happening. She shifted a little, and felt him shudder with pleasure. Being so close to him made her shudder as well. He rested his forehead against hers, letting her gaze into his eyes closely. She could smell his cologne strongly now, and it was driving her mad.

“Chloe,” he moaned softly, allowing his hips to move softly against hers.

“Brady,” she whispered. The tingles she felt moments ago were replaced by tremors of desire. She felt herself shaking with every breath.

He slid his hands up over her body to just under her breasts. He looked deeply into her eyes, seeing the hazy look of pleapleasure. She gasped as he began rubbing her breasts from outside her dress.

“This is not a good idea,” he hoarsely whispered.

“I think it is,” she whispered back, allowing her body to take over. Her hips began undulating against his, and she moved upwards to meet his fingertips.

“Don’t.”

“Why not?”

“If I touch you any more, I won’t want to stop. In fact, I don’t really want to stop now. But if I get you this way, there won’t be any stopping until it’s too late.”

His fingers went upwards, feeling her soft breasts through the thin fabric. He was holding her now with his hands under her arms. His thumbs touched the low neckline on her dress. She gasped sharply.

“Do you want me to…”

“Oh, yes, Brady. Please!” she cried out.

A look of doubt crossed over his face. “It won’t be enough,” he said, sounding defeated.

“Yes, it will!” she begged.

“No, I don’t think so.” He bent down and gently kissed her nose. “I’d give anything in the world right now to give each one a kiss,” he told her, looking at her pert little breasts. She moaned his name, moving just enough to let each of his thumbs inside her dress. They brushed against her nipples, hardening them and making her cry out in ecstasy.

He pressed her into the corner of the elevator, moving his mouth down to her neck. It followed her neckline until he was inches away from his destination. She called out to him again, pressing his dow down to her breast. His tongue flicked out, letting him taste her sweet vanilla scented skin. She began moving her hips against him again, moaning softly. He tasted her with an undying hunger, moving his mouth from one breast to the other. She cried out again, her arms wrapping around his body.

Suddenly, he pushed himself away from her. He drew a ragged breath, panting and wiping his lips with the back of his hand. Chloe, being ripped from the passion they shared, stood with amazement. She was so shocked by his actions that she couldn’t even cover herself back up.

He looked at her, cowering in the corner of the elevator, shaking and wide-eyed. She was still half naked, making him turn away from her sharply. Control yourself, man. This is your little sister’s best friend. It’s no time to go into testosterone mode, he thought. She’s probably very confused, just like yourself, Brady. Help her out. NOW! He turned back to her.

“You can’t go out like this, now can you?” he asked, moving to cover her body.

She jerked involuntarily at his touch. Chuckling, he pulled her into a platonic hug. “Wouldn’t want to Shawn and Belle to get the wrong idea, now would we?” He had to keep his mind off of the last few minutes.

She stared at him as he withdrew from the embrace. “Do you always do that?”

“What?” he asked innocently.

Her eyes showed puzzlement. He wants to forget everything that just happened. Maybe I should drop it, she thought.

“This is just like that night. The night Phil died. You came to me and held me, but…”

“But you were too young to love, Chloe. You still don’t understand that. I cannot believe that you still can’t see why I stopped that night. You were seventeen; I was twenty! For God’s sake, Chloe. I didn’t want you to feel used,” he explained, turning from her again.

“Well, what you saved me from then, you certainly managed tonight,” she sputtered.

He sighed. He couldn’t get through to her the deep feelings behind his actions. He had loved her forever. But he didn’t know quite how to tell her yet. The night Philip died was supposed to be comforting, like a big brother. But he had let his body get ahead of him. Just like this evening. The only difference was that he had actually touched her, caressed her, kissed her…

He pressed the button on the wall, making the elevator hum to life once again. Chloe began straightening her hair and dress. She frowned. The top of the dress was now stretched out and wrinkled. Brady still looked clean and handsome in his suit. Except his neck had a small maroon smudge, just above the neckline.
She moved forward and touched his fevered skin with wet fingertips. He jumped, still high strung from the whole ordeal. “Shhhh…” she whispered. “I’m just eliminating the evidence.”

He smiled at her weakly, not knowing what to say. I’ve got to lighten this up. If we walk into the apartment looking like we just got caught with our hands in the cookie jar, Belle will catch on. He cleared his throat. “If you wouldn’t wear 10 coats of lipstick, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

She glanced up at him. He was grinning like an idiot while she dabbed away at his neck. “You know, it’s a good thing that you’re wearing all black. Otherwise, we’d have had a slight problem.”

“Next time, I’ll sur sure that there is one,” he smiled mischievously.

“Next time, you’ll keep your hands and all other body parts to yourself, Brady Black!” she giggled.

The mood was lightened, they both looked presentable, and all was well…for the moment.

Upon entering the apartment, Chloe could thatthat something was wrong. Shawn moved away from Belle quickly and approached her with growing interest. “Good evening, Chloe,” he said sensually. He lifted her hand to shake it, but let ges gesture linger a little too long.

Brady stepped up behind Chloe. “Why, hello, Shawn. May I ask what we are doing greeting Chloe with such interest?”

Shawn looked at Brady sharply, sensing Belle’s uneasiness. “I have no interest in her, really,” he stammered.

Brady smirked at him while Belle crossed her arms in a pout. This is going to be some fun, he thought. And the night proved to be just that.