Older and Wiser

~Chapter Six~(Beginnings and Endings)

The night was dark and stormy, matching Chloeood ood on what was supposed to be one of the happiest days in a girl’s life. She looked out the foggy window of her bedroom onto the slick road below.

Philip had died on a road just like that, only three hours earlier - on her seventeenth birthday. Tears streamed down Chloe’s face when the police officer had told her the news. Phil had been drinking with a bunch of guys from the football team. Thinking he could make it to Chloe’s with her gift, he had decided to drive his father’s red Ferrari to her house. Unfortunately, with the thunderstorm pouring down, he had lost control and drove the car into a guardrail, forcing it to roll right off the bridge.

Philip Kiriakis, captain of the football team and all-American high school student, was dead at the young age of eighteen. In fact, he had celebrated his birthday a few weeks earlier. Chloe had been draped over his arm the entire evening, grinning and giggling like a seventh-grader. That was the night he had told her he loved her. And she, too shy to say it back, finally accepted his ring.

She looked down at the thick silver ring on her necklace. It glittered in the lamplight, showing the stone. It was as ice blue as his eyes, and shown just as brightly. She could feel the tears welling up inside her once again. If only I had told him I loved him, too, she thought. The tears spilled over her cheeks.

It was at that moment that he had knocked on her door. Wiping away her tears and putting a robe over her white satin nightgown, she opened it. Brady stood in a wrinkled three-piece suit, water dripping off his hair and onto his concerned face. He had heard the news and came straight from work. “Belle told me about…Philip,” he said softly.

Her eyes began to water once more, but before either of them could say a word, she crumpled to the ground in misery. He moved and plucked her from the ground instantly, holding her in his arms. She sobbed violently, allowing Brady to carry her to her daybed. He placed her lovingly on his lap, holding her so tightly that she could barely breathe. They stayed that way for a long time.

Finally, she fell silent. Brady looked down to see her staring into the distance, fingers fiddling with the chain around her neck. Upon further inspection, he could see Philip’s chunky class ring in her small hand. It crushed his heart to see her like this.

“I didn’t even get to say goodbye, Brady. Why couldn’t I say goodbye?” she wailed. But no tears came. She had cried all that she could for one evening. She pressed her wet face into his white shirt and breathed in. His smell was comforting, and his body was warm and gentle. “Why didn’t Belle come?” she asked.

“You remember when I got shot in the back a few years ago?” She nodded. “Well, Belle doesn’t remember any of it because she didn’t even come near me for that whole year. In fact, she was so scared; sometimes she couldn’t even talk to me on the telephone. She didn’t think that she could handle seeing you like this. It would break her heart,” he explained, warm breath on her hair.

“And it doesn’t break yours?” she inquired curiously. She shifted so she could get more comfortable in his lap, causing her robe to part at the top. Her legs moved slightly, sliding silkily along his thighs. He took in a deep breath, body tensing at the pleasure.

“Yes, it does, Chloe,” he choked out after the wave of desire left him.

“Thank you for coming,” she cooed. Her body felt warm, swollen. Feeling his eyes on her made her want to hold him tighter than she’d ever held anyone before. She shifted again to push the feeling away, embarrassed, only to allow the robe to open fully.

The thin silk gown she wore left nothing to Brady’s imagination. She was as beautiful as he had always suspected. In fact, she was probably more beautiful. Get a grip, Brady. This is your little sister’s best friend! She just turned seventeen today! Jail isn’t where you’d like to spend the rest of your teenage years, he thought, tearing his eyes away from her body.
Watching his eyes, she followed his gaze to the top of her gown. One of the straps had slid down her arm, allowing him to get an innocent peek at her breast. Gasping at his mischievous glance, she moved to cover herself. Unfortunately, moving caused the satin to slide completely off that breast. Before she knew what she was doing, she arched her back to the pleasure the feeling gave her.

He inhaled raggedly, blood pulsing throughout his body. Chloe looked up at him, watched his desire build in his eyes. She closed the gap between them, excitement taking over. His hands were in her hair, lips softly whispering in her ear. They moved so Chloe could straddle him, pulling her nightclothes down to her waist.

He felt her breasts rake across his chest as they rocked back and forth together. She hadn’t sat all the way down, for which Brady was thankful. He could feel himself struggling to be free, but fought the urge to take her then and there. Moans of pleasure escaped her lips as his hands moved down the soft skin of her back. Nothing had ever felt so good, so right before.

But Brady was fighting for control. She’s too young, man. Pull yourself together! She’s too innocent, too frail. You can’t do this to her-to Belle. If any control remains, Brady, hold on to it now. Stop this NOW!

The thought rang in his mind. He shot off the daybed, taking her with him. She stood, staggering, with her nightgown sagging at her hips. It threatened to fall at any moment. “What happened, Brady? What’s wrong?” she breathed.

His eyes darted around the room, looking for an excuse not to look at her. Finding nothing, he reached for her nightgown. Before he could pull it back to its rightful place, he glanced at the white lacy wisp of underwear she was wearing. It seemed to be a thong. And while he never wanted to forget that very moment, he certainly never wanted anything to happen that would jeopardize Chloe’s life.

“Didn’t they teach you sex education in health class?” he gasped.

Her eyes widened in pure innocence. “Yes.”

“Well, I can’t take care of you and a baby right now. So this is a bad idea, get it?”

She blushed. “You must think I’m incredibly stupid and naïve.”

He turned away from her, the anxiety of pleasure still holding him captive to need. “No, Chloe. I think you’re just a little mixed up right now, that’s all. You just found out that your boyfriend is dead, and here I am messing with your emotions instead of comforting you. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. I liked it. I’m not mixed up and yo not not messing with my emotions! I never liked this with Philip. In fact, whenever he tried it, I got mad and…”

“I don’t need to know right now. I think your brain is going haywire right now, that’s all. Too many hormones cause a young innocent like you to become very mixed up.”

“Weren’t you mixed up at this age?” she demanded, upset that he founr tor to be too innocent to be with.

“At your age, Chloe, I had already had my first woman. She was older than me and taught me many different things…if you catch my drift,” he shot back.

He took a small box out of his pocket anssedssed it to her. “Your birthday present,” he explained.

She looked down at the small white box, tied shut with silver ribbon. She carefully untied the bow and opened the lid. Nestled inside was a thin silver chain that carried a tiny diamond charm. Her head snapped up to Brady’s face, searching. “Did Belle pick it out?”

“No,” he whispered. “She doesn’t even know I got it for you. This is from me and me alone.”

The tears that sprang to her eyes now were of afereferent nature. They glittered like the diamond that she placed around her neck and removed the silly class ring that still hung in its place. “Thank you, Brady. I’ll never forget it.”

Turning to leave, he felt a tension in his body that he’d never felt before. I’m in love with her, he thought solemnly. No one can ever know about this - no one. He glanced back at her. She was holding Philip’s ring in one hand, her present in the other. He watched as she deposited the ring onto her vanity.

“Someday, little lady, I’ll teach you about a woman and a man.”

“W-w-what?” she stammered confused and shocked.

“When you’re old enough, I’ll teach you,” he murmured.