Big Tex Page 2

  "What's to tell about Joshua, and what difference does it make. It’s not like I will see this guy after tomorrow anyways. You're making this out to be a bigger deal than it is." Willow said. She finished what she was saying just in time to be joined by Brody and another guy.

  "Sierra, this is my long lost best friend, Micah. He just moved back here from Connecticut." Brody said as Sierra and Micah shook hands.

  "How rude! I'm Willow by the way." Willow said and gave a dirty look to Brody.

  "Sorry, I just knew that if I introduced ya to Micah then he'd have his sights set on you all night." Brody teased. When he said this, Sierra shot her "Told you so" look at Willow, and the four of them laughed.

  After quite a few drinks, all four seemed to loosen up. Micah took Sierra out on the dance floor to try to teach her how to two-step. Brody asked Willow to dance, but she requested to wait for a slow song. As luck would have it, the next song was slow, and Brody pulled a reluctant Willow out onto the floor, where Micah and Sierra were already dancing close together.

  When Brody pulled Willow against him, she felt as if an electric shock went through her body. She breathed in his scent and felt his muscles rippling underneath his clothing. She knew she wasn't supposed to feel so comfortable being this close to Brody, but she couldn't help it. She felt so safe in his arms, like nothing bad could go wrong in the world. 'What am I thinking? I know nothing about this guy, and he knows nothing about me. Besides, I will be gone the day after tomorrow and I won't ever see him again.' Willow thought.

  "Well, don't they look cute." Micah said to Sierra, pointing out Willow and Brody. "You know, as soon as I walked in here, Brody told me about these amazing girls that I had to meet, but to stay away from Willow." He laughed. "I'm glad you're not Willow."

  Sierra looked into his eyes and said "I'm glad I'm not Willow either." She started to lay her head on Micah's shoulder, then looked back up at him instead. "We're leaving soon though to go back to New York."

  "Oh, they don't have telephones in New York, or e-mail?" Micah asked.

  "Ha-ha smart ass. I just don't want to start something we can't finish." Sierra said. "Man, listen to me. I sounds like a helpless little girl. You'd never believe how independent both Willow and I are. Ok, let’s see where things take us. I mean, Willows mom would love for us to come and visit her all the time." She laughed. "I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, sorry. I tend to ramble when I get drinking."

  Micah laughed, then put his hand under Sierra's chin and tilted it up so that he was looking in her eyes. "Like I said, I'm glad you're not Willow." And then he leaned down and touched his lips to hers, softly. He pulled back and smiled, and Sierra laid her head on his shoulder.

  After the song ended, the lights came on in the bar telling everyone to go home. Micah and Brody escorted the girls outside of the bar where they stood trying to make plans for the next day.

  "Ok, how about lunch? Do you think we could see ya'll outside a bar?" Brody asked.

  "Sure Country Boy, that's fine." Willow said. "Where do you want to go for lunch, we'll meet you there."

  "How 'bout ya'll meet us at my house, we'll go from there. Dress casually, if you have bathing suits, bring them." Brody decided.

  "I guess so." Willow agreed, then got Brody's address and headed home with Sierra in a cab.

  The next day, Willow and Sierra drove to Brody's house. Willow had to admit that the house looked like nothing she had ever seen, or had even imagined. 'He must live with his parents' Willow thought. The property value alone must have cost a ton, let alone an architecturally perfect house!

  Brody and Micah met the girls out in the driveway. When Sierra got out of the car, Micah took her hand and kissed her cheek lightly.

  Willow gave Brody a hug and said "You still live with your parents Country Boy?"

  "Um, nope. It’s all mine. Sorry to disappoint you. But if ya'll really want to meet my parents, I can arrange that." Brody teased and Willow's face got beet red.

  "Come on, let’s head out back." Micah spoke up and led the girls to the back yard and down a path.

  When then got to the end of the path, the girls both gasped. In front of them was a beautiful, crystal clear lake. Off to the side was a table, all set up for a picnic. On the other side of where the table was, there was a dock, with a boat and two jet skis tethered to it.

  "This is all your Country Boy? Did you win the lottery or something?" Willow asked.

  "Actually, my grandparents left me a little bit of money when they died, and I've been working my ass off since I was 19 for the rest of it." Brody explained.

  "Pretty impressive!" Sierra said.

  "Yeah, and generous too. Brody is letting me move in with him since I sold my house when I left for Connecticut." Micah said.

  "Ah, dang, that ain't nothing. Ya'll would be here all the time anyway, might as well let ya'll move in!" Brody teased, humbly. "Anyways, let’s eat. I can't wait to see what I cooked!"

  "You mean what Lisa cooked?" Micah asked.

  "Who's Lisa?" Willow asked, pretending not to care. Sierra looked at her with knowing eyes, seeing right through Willow's act to see that she was actually jealous.

  "Um, Lisa's my cook and my maid." Brody blushed. "It’s not like I try to show that I have money, I just can't cook for shit and I'm pretty bad about cleaning up after myself.

  The four of them laughed and sat down to eat. Lunch consisted of salad, mushroom chicken over yellow rice, and some kind of French dessert with angel food cake, pudding and strawberries.

  "Wow, that was awesome Brody, thanks!" Sierra said.

  "It was really good Country Boy. Thanks! I'm stuffed!" Willow said.

  "I don't know where you put all that food in such a small body Willow." Brody laughed.

  "Yeah, Willow sure can shovel it in. When I first met her, I used to follow her to the bathroom to see if she puked it up after she ate since she always ate so much and never gained weight." Sierra confessed.

  "Yeah, nice after lunch comment there Sierra!" Willow punched her arm.

  "Sorry!" Sierra apologized.

  "Anyways. It was good, I'll have to tell Lisa ya'll enjoyed it." Brody said. "Hey, how 'bout a ride in the boat?"

  "I don't know if you'll want to see me in my bathing suit after I consumed so much damn food!" Willow teased.

  "Hell yeah I do!" Brody blurted out. "I mean…um…I uh…"

  "Ok, let’s go boating!" Micah yelled and ran towards the boat. The girls laughed and followed him to the dock. Brody hung back for a minute, slapped his forehead for being stupid, then joined the others at the boat.

  'Man alive, please let me get through the rest of this day without saying anything else stupid like that!' Brody thought as he got into the boat and headed out to the middle of the lake.

  Chapter 4 Close But So Far Away

  Brody and Micah spent the next hour showing Willow and Sierra different sites along the lake by boat. Willow couldn't help but think how absolutely beautiful it was on the lake, and how lucky Brody was to be able to live right beside it.

  The foursome headed back to Brody's dock and decided to take the jet skis for a spin. They decided that Sierra and Micah would take the two jet skis out first, leaving Brody and Willow on the shore.

  Willow took off her t-shirt and shorts to get some sun, and when she did this, Brody's jaw dropped. Willow laughed and said "Told you I shouldn't have eaten so much. Do I look like a beached whale or something?"

  "NO! Not at all. I just didn't realize ya'll were in such good shape." Brody managed to stammer out.

  "Well, thanks, I think." Willow laughed.

  After Willow laid down on the beach towel to get some sun, Brody took his shirt off to join her. Willow snuck a look when his head was turned and was definitely impressed by what she saw. He was so different from Joshua. Brody looked good without even trying, whereas Joshua couldn't try harder but still didn't pull off the look that Brody easily did. 'UGH! Stop thinking of Brody like that. No n
eed to compare them, you'll be gone tomorrow idiot!' Willow thought to herself.

  A few minutes later, Sierra and Micah came roaring back to the beach. "That was so cool! It is so much fun to ride these things." Sierra said to the group.

  Willow and Brody got up to take their turn on the jet skis. "Have ya'll ever ridden one of these?" Brody asked Willow.

  "Yeah, but it was a while ago. I also had someone on the back with me, showing me what to do." Willow answered.

  "Well, we can either go separate, or I could ride with ya and help you out." Brody offered.

  "Ok, hop on. I think I need a little help. I'm not sure a quick refresher course would help me with this thing." Willow said as she got on the jet ski. Brody hopped on behind her and showed her what all the controls were for, where the gas was and where the brake was. After his mini-lesson, they turned and waved to Micah and Sierra on the shore and took off to the middle of the lake.

  "Hmm, interesting!" Sierra said.

  "So, what's her story?" Micah asked about Willow.

  "Well, not much of a story. She is a hard worker and super-nice, though you wouldn't know it by the way she has been acting down here. Her mom is her best friend, and it hurts that she's moved all the way down here. I think she is kind of trying to build this wall around her. I know that she likes it here, but she loves New York, and she is trying to find reasons to hate it here." Sierra explained.

  "What's she think of my boy?" Micah asked.

  "Well, that's not as much a mystery to me as it is to her. I can tell she really likes him, but she's trying to push him away. She doesn't want to get attached to anything here in Texas. She won't even admit to herself that she likes him, but I can tell. I've been her best friend for too long."

  "Yeah, I can tell Brody really likes her too, but he doesn't really know how to act around her. It’s almost like he's nervous, and he's never been nervous around a girl before. He's been burned before, some girl basically wanted him for his money, he thought she really loved him." Micah said.

  "Well, Willow has money of her own. Her dad died a couple of years ago and left her a bunch, her mom is really successful, and she just started running a new business too. Besides, Willow has been making a bunch of money on her own lately. She is so talented and people are finally recognizing her for that."

  "So, what about you? How do you feel about Texas?" Micah asked.

  "Well, it’s definitely different from New York. It's really pretty, but so slow. I like all the people I've met so far, but we'll be heading home tomorrow." Sierra looked sad as she said that. "I don't know, I guess the place grows on you pretty quick. So why did you leave here to go to Connecticut?"

  "Work. But I realized how much I hated it there. People tended to be really snobby. All of the clients I had were loaded, and they never let us forget it. So I came back here. I was pretty homesick too. I missed everyone, and I just wasn't happy there." Micah turned to her and smiled. "Hey, let’s go swimming!" He pulled Sierra to her feet and dragged her to the lake.

  "Um, I don't think so." Sierra said and tried to go back to their towels.

  Micah grabbed her waist and picked her up off the ground. He ran into the water and threw her in, with Sierra kicking and yelling the whole way. His strength was no match for her though. After she had resurfaced from being underwater, she ran and jumped on Micah's shoulders, pushing him underwater. They played around in the water until they heard the jet ski pull back up. They looked at each other, both knowing the plan as they raced to grab Brody and Willow to throw them in the water.

  Willow was a little less than thrilled about being thrown in the water, or at least she acted that way. It actually felt really good to cool off from the heat, but she was worried that her makeup was running and her hair was matted. She was trying not to be self-conscious around Brody, but she couldn't help it.

  Brody, on the other hand, looked at Willow and thought how he had never seen anyone look more beautiful after being thrown in the lake. He wanted to sweep her into his arms and kiss her like he had never kissed another woman. But he also knew that was impossible. She had another life that she was going back to tomorrow, and he didn't have any place in that life. He just had to make the best of the last few hours that they had together.

  "Hey, what are ya'll doing tonight?" Brody asked the girls.

  "Nothing that we know of, maybe spending some time with my mom since we leave her tomorrow. Why, what's up?" Willow answered.

  "Well, I know of this place that has karaoke tonight, and I thought it would be fun if we all went." Brody said.

  "We love karaoke!" Sierra shouted.

  "Let me call my mom and see what she has planned and I'll let you know." Willow went and got her cell phone and called her mom.

  "Well, looks like my mom has a date tonight. She's actually leaving in a few minutes. So, I guess we're all yours tonight guys, do with us what you will!" Willow said dramatically.

  "Ok, how does this sound…let's go up to the house so me and Micah can get ready, then we'll head to your mom's so you girls can get ready?" Brody asked.

  "I guess. Mom won't be home anyways." Willow said as they picked up their stuff and cleaned up the beach before heading up to the house.

  Brody led Micah and the girls to the house and they entered the back door that led to the kitchen. Brody put the picnic basket on the counter and called for Lisa. A few minutes later, a woman in her mid-30s walked into the kitchen wearing a small tank top, jean shorts, and bare feet. She had long brown hair that was pulled up into a high pony tail on top of her head. Her brown eyes sparkled when she saw the four people standing in front of her.

  "Hey Lisa, meet our new friends Willow and Sierra. Willow's mom just moved here from New York, and Willow and Sierra are here to help her move in. They leave tomorrow to go back home." Brody said as the girls shook hands with Lisa.

  "Nice to meet you Lisa. Thank you for lunch, it was excellent." Willow said. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Lisa. She was expecting some 60 year old lady, not the pretty and fairly young woman standing before her.

  "Oh, you're welcome, it was nothing. You'll have to come sometime when I cook an actual sit down meal. Much better than chicken and rice!" Lisa said and smiled.

  "It was wonderful Lisa, thanks!" Sierra thanked her.

  "Ok, we're going to go shower now. Lisa, why don't you show the girls to the game room. Have fun, we'll be back in about half an hour." Brody said as he was walking up the stairs. Micah started to follow him, but turned around quick and gave Sierra a quick kiss on the cheek. He then turned and ran up the stairs, leaving Sierra standing with the other two girls blushing.

  Lisa led the girls to the game room and showed them how to work the television. When Lisa turned to leave, Willow called out to her and told her to come and sit with them. "So, how long have you worked for Brody?" Willow asked her.

  "Um, it's been about a year now. He's a great boss. He was really uncomfortable having me work for him at first, but he's finally getting used to it. He hates giving orders, so I have to basically do things on my own. I'm finally getting a routine going so that he doesn't really have to tell me what to do. It makes it easier on both of us." Lisa said.

  "So, you must have gotten pretty close to him over the past year?" Sierra asked.

  "Yeah, I mean we have a pretty good relationship. I had the biggest crush on him when I first got here. He is probably the nicest and most genuine person I have ever met." Lisa replied. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to get some stuff done before I can get out of here for the night. It was nice meeting both of you, I hope to see you again."

  "Nice meeting you too Lisa." Sierra said.

  "Bye!" Willow said as Lisa walked out the door.

  Sierra turned to Willow. "So, tell me how your jet ski ride was. I bet it was nice to have Brody's arms around you, holding you tight."

  Willow blushed. "He definitely made me feel safe, but it doesn't really matter anyways. We leave tomorrow
or have you forgotten? Why bother getting attached?" Willow asked.

  "Are you asking about me getting attached to Micah or about how you're attached to Brody even though you don't want to admit it?" Sierra asked. Before Willow could answer the guys walked in looking clean and smelling great.

  "Ya'll ready to head out?" Brody asked.

  "Yeah, let’s go. I could really use a shower right now." Willow said.

  "Yeah, a cold shower." Sierra muttered under her breath. Micah looked at her and laughed. Thankfully Willow and Brody hadn't heard her.

  After Willow and Sierra had showered and changed at her mother's house, they rejoined the guys and headed out the house. They all got into Brody's SUV and headed to a small bar for karaoke night.

  "So, Country Boy. What's with the 'Big Tex' tattoo that I saw earlier?" Willow asked during the drive.

  "What do ya mean? It’s just a tattoo. Not a big deal. 'Big Tex' is pretty common here in Texas, and a lot of guys called me that because I've always been bigger than them. Since I'm 6'4", I kind of tower over a lot of people. So they call me 'Big Tex' and the other part of the tattoo is my college mascot. I was pretty drunk when I got it." He blushed a little. "What's with your tattoo?"

  "Which one?" Willow asked.

  "You have more than one?" Brody asked and Willow nodded. "Um, the ladybug?"

  "Ah, that one. Makes sense. I don't think you saw the other one, or will ever see the other one." She said with a mischievous look. "Anyways, it symbolizes my grandmother. When she was in the hospital dying, there were a ton of ladybugs on her window sill. Just before she died, she commented that they were for good luck. After she died, whenever I thought about her, a ladybug would fly by me. Then on the first Thanksgiving and the first Christmas without her, we had ladybugs sitting on the ceiling fan over our dining room table, like she was there with us. So I had a ladybug tattooed on my shoulder as if to say that she is always on my shoulder looking out for me. She will always be with me. We were really close, almost as close as my mother and I are." Willow explained. Just thinking about how she lost her grandmother brought tears to her eyes.