Big Tex Page 4

  "Um…n-not really. What's up?" Brody stammered.

  "I was just talking to Sierra and she said you were a little stressed about tomorrow, what's up?"

  "Oh, just meeting a new boss. Not a big deal. Listen, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be rude, but can I talk to ya'll some other time?" He asked.

  "Oh! Sure, sure. That's fine. Sorry if I caught you at a bad time." Willow said and hung up the phone, not giving him time to say goodbye. She was mad at herself for thinking that Brody had actually taken an interest in her, but from the sounds of it, she couldn't have been more wrong.

  Willow went back into the kitchen to get the rest of her food. "Great idea Sierra. Remind me not to listen to you again!" Willow yelled.

  "Holy shit, what did I do?" Sierra asked.

  "Oh, you just had me call Brody and make a fool of myself when he was obviously in the middle of something with Lisa. What, is it just me, or am I interrupting everyone from having sex today?" Willow yelled and left the room.

  "Will, it’s not like you to act like this. You never get mad and you never yell. What's up? You're kind of scaring me."

  "I just feel like such a fool. I thought Brody actually liked me and I thought that we had a connection. Now I know he could care less and is more interested in Lisa. What's the point anyways. I'm not going to Texas, he would never come here. Looks like the decision is already made for me. Whatever. Sorry I yelled. I'm going to bed and hopefully when I wake up in the morning, things will be better. Good night!" Willow said and went to her bedroom and locked the door leaving a confused Sierra in the living room. 'Lisa? What happened there? He was just pouring his heart out to me about Willow, and now he sleeps with Lisa? I just don't get it, there has to be an explanation here.' Sierra thought as she went to her own bedroom for the night.

  Chapter 6 Sadness and Surprises

  The next morning Sierra and Willow headed to work. "Will, you look like shit honey. Did you even get any sleep?" Sierra asked her looking at her bloodshot puffy eyes with dark circles underneath.

  "Not much. I tried, but I kept replaying the time we spent with the guys in my head to see if I perceived his feelings in the wrong way. Maybe he really didn't like me and was just giving me a dose of that "Southern Hospitality" and I misunderstood his feelings. I just feel like such a fool for believing it!" Willow said.

  "I don't think you twisted any of his feelings up. I know for sure that he liked you. I think there had to be some sort of misunderstanding about what happened last night." Sierra said, determined to get to the bottom of it tonight when she talked to Micah. She would just have to talk to Brody too to find out what went on with him and Lisa. "But, listen, put it all out of your head for now. We have a full day of work ahead of us, then we have tickets to the Knicks game tonight that we got from that client. No worries?"

  "I'm sorry, I'll try to focus." Willow told her worried friend.

  The work day went pretty fast for Sierra and Willow. They had a lot to catch up on since they had taken some vacation days the previous week and it was their first day back. Willow was the senior architect and Sierra was partnered with Willow as the lead Interior Designer. By the end of the day, the girls were both ready to go to the game and blow off a little stress.

  Willow was a sports fanatic. She loved basketball most of all, but would sit down and watch pretty much anything, except golf and bowling. It was the one thing that she was ever able to bond with her father over. She wasn't very close with him, not nearly as close as she was to her mother and grandmother, but when sports were involved, the two had been very compatible.

  The girls managed to enjoy themselves immensely at the game, even though the Knicks lost, again. Willow had a few too many beers, and was pretty drunk by the time the game ended. Sierra saw how much Willow was drinking so she decided to stay sober to help her friend out. Sierra knew that the past couple of days had been rough for Willow, so she was more than happy to be the sober one and let her friend forget her problems for the night.

  *****

  After the game, the girls headed home. In front of their door were a dozen long-stem white roses. Willow nearly stepped on them since she couldn't walk straight. Sierra saved them just in time, then walked Willow over to the couch and sat her down. "Who are they for?" Willow slurred.

  "Um, they're for you, but I'll save the card for you until tomorrow when you sober up." Sierra said.

  "Whatever, just throw them out. I don't want any flowers from anyone right now. I'm going to bed." A drunken Willow said and stumbled to her bedroom to pass out.

  'Willow, I miss you already. Call me so we can talk. Love, Country Boy' the card in the flowers said. Sierra had half a mind to throw the card out, along with the flowers like Willow said to do, but instead chose to call Micah to see if there was an explanation.

  "Hello?" Micah greeted as he picked up the ringing phone.

  "Hey you! What's up? How was the first day with the new boss?" Sierra asked him.

  "Hey Sierra! I'm so glad you called. Ugh, the first day was hell. Everyone is worried sick wondering if we are all going to keep our jobs or not. You know how things are when someone new takes over a company. There's bound to be some downsizing of sorts. At least I know that if it happened to me, there are other places I could go, I just don't want to leave here."

  "I hear ya. So, listen, I have a question for you. What's going on between Lisa and Brody?" Sierra asked.

  "What do you mean?" Micah was confused.

  "Well, Willow called him last night and seems to think that they were in the middle of having sex or something. Is that true?"

  "What!? That's ridiculous. Why would she think that?" Micah sounded shocked.

  Sierra told Micah the story about the phone call last night and how Willow was really upset about it.

  "Sorry Sierra, I have no clue. I don't think there is anything going on between them. Do you want to talk to him?" He replied after he heard the story.

  "Yeah, because at this point, I don't think she will have the guts to call him and ask him herself." Sierra said.

  A minute later, Brody got on the phone. "Hey Sierra, Micah told me ya'll wanted to talk to me?" He asked nervously.

  "Yeah, just wondering what's up with you and Lisa. Are you with her or do you like Willow? You kind of have her confused."

  "What? Nothing's up with me and Lisa, why? She works for me, end of story." Brody shouted.

  "Hey, don't take it out on me. Willow's the one that thinks you were in the middle of having sex with her when she called last night!" Sierra yelled.

  "Oh man! I had no idea. It probably seemed that way, didn't it? Can I talk to her?" He asked.

  "Um, not at the moment. She's passed out cold in her bed. We went to the Knicks game tonight and she tied one on pretty good because she was a little upset about you and Lisa. Besides, even if she was sober, I don't think she'd want to talk to you much right now. She was pretty hurt." Sierra explained.

  "Well, first of all, she is the one that claims she only wants to be friends, so I don't know why I am even bothering to explain myself here, but I also don't want her to think something happened that didn't. Last night Lisa's boyfriend broke up with her, and she came over here to talk. Her and I started drinking because we were both upset, her over her boyfriend and me over Willow. She told me that she had feelings for me and I told her I was her employer and nothing more. She felt bad about the whole thing and started crying. I was giving her a hug when Willow called and she gave me the phone. She started crying harder so I let Willow go and told her I'd talk to her later. I was pretty drunk anyways, so I'm sure I would have ended up saying something stupid. Nothing happened. Lisa spent the night in one of the guest bedrooms and I slept in mine. Trust me, if Willow even cares, she has nothing to worry about. She needs to talk to me before jumping to conclusions." Brody said a little annoyed.

  "I agree, and I'm sorry to spring this all on you. Willow is fighting her feelings for you, but she definitely likes you. Just give h
er a little time to figure everything out. Oh, hey, I have a great idea! Why don't you guys come and visit us this weekend, surprise Willow?" Sierra suggested.

  "That sounds like a perfect idea. I'll give you back to Micah and you can work the details out. I'll see you Friday!" Brody said and called for Micah to pick up the phone.

  Sierra and Micah worked out the details for the trip and hung up the phone. Sierra couldn't wait to see the guys this weekend, and hoped that everything would work out for Willow and Brody. She wasn't sure if she should tell Willow about their conversation tonight or let her find out on her own. She didn't want Willow to be mad at her for sticking her nose in Willow's business, but this whole mess really needed to be straightened out. She decided to go to bed and figure something out tomorrow.

  The next day Willow woke up with a hangover worse than ever before. She thought about calling in sick to work, but that would just leave her plenty of time to sit at home and think about everything that's been going on. If she kept busy, then there was less time to think. Willow got up and went to the bathroom for some aspirin and a shower.

  After Willow finished getting ready for the day, she walked into the kitchen to have breakfast with Sierra. Sitting on the table was the vase of white roses. "Those came last night, didn't they?" Willow asked.

  "Yup, they're from you. The card is still in there. I think you should call him." Sierra said.

  Willow read the card. If she hadn't called and heard him with Lisa, the card would have been so touching. She loved that he signed it 'Country Boy' and not Brody, just showed his humorous side. But now, all of that was ruined by him having sex with Lisa.

  "Yeah, right. Like I'm going to call him. I don't want to ruin anymore of his sex sessions with his maid." Willow said bitterly.

  "Wow Willow. Nothing like giving him the benefit of the doubt, huh? I'm telling you that there was a big, HUGE misunderstanding. You really need to call him and talk to him about it. You never act like this, and definitely not over a guy. Think about it, you saw your current boyfriend in bed with two other people, and that didn't even affect you nearly as much as thinking that Brody was sleeping with Lisa, when it didn't even happen. Call him!" Sierra tried to reason with Willow.

  "Yeah, thanks. Keep reminding me how I always play the fool." Willow replied. "Oh shit, Sierra. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to take this all out on you. I really apologize. I am so hung over and so confused about everything. I'm not trying to bite your head off." Willow said, near being in tears.

  "It’s ok, just promise me you'll talk to him before you keep thinking he slept with Lisa." Sierra told her.

  "I'll talk to him, but I'm just not ready yet." Willow said and finished her bagel. "Come on, we're going to be late for work!"

  The next few days went by rather slow for Sierra. She was counting the minutes until the guys got there that Friday. Willow tried to keep busy by working out and shopping after work, but during the rare moments she was at home, she would mope around the apartment and sulk. She still hadn't called Brody, and every time Sierra would get on the phone with Micah, Willow would disappear into her room and blast her music.

  Friday morning came and Willow still hadn't snapped out of her funk. "What do you say we stay in tonight? We could order pizza, watch some movies, you know, have a girl's night?" Sierra asked.

  "That sounds good. I don't feel much like going out tonight anyways." Willow answered.

  "Ok, well I have some running around to do after work, so I'll get some movies. We'll meet back here at around 7:30? Will that work for you?"

  "That's great. Gives me some time to go to the gym after work." Willow said. "Well, work beckons. You ready?" She asked and the two headed out the door.

  Willow had just had one of the most intense workouts of her life. She pushed every single muscle in her body to their limit, and now they were screaming at her. All she wanted to do when she got home was take a nice hot shower and relax. She couldn't wait for the relaxing night that Sierra had planned. Willow walked into the apartment, and seeing that Sierra hadn't made it home yet, she made a bee line for the shower.

  Willow stood in the shower for what seemed like an eternity. The water cascaded around her and soothed her aching muscles. The hot water slowly turned cold, signaling Willow that it was time to get out of the shower. She turned off the water and wrapped a towel around her body. As she finished combing out her hair, she heard voices in the living room so she went out to see if Sierra was home watching television.

  Willow walked through her bedroom towards the living room and stopped dead in her tracks at the door to the living room when she saw Sierra, Micah and Brody standing in the living room.

  "Surprise!" All three yelled at once.

  Willow didn't know whether to be happy or pissed, and instead of either of those feelings, she stood there shocked. When she realized what was happening, she felt embarrassed more than anything at standing there in only a towel.

  "Say something Will. Don't just stand there with your jaw on the floor!" Sierra said, laughing.

  "Um, excuse me." Willow said and turned back to her room, shutting the door.

  Willow hurried up and got dressed, then sat on her bed, not quite sure what to do or say. She was so happy to have Brody standing in her living room, but she was still hurt and not quite sure of his feelings. She didn't know whether she should go out in the living room and pretend like nothing happened, or stay in her room, and be mad about everything that happened.

  The decision was made for her when someone knocked on her bedroom door. Thinking that it would be Sierra, she yelled to come in. When Brody walked through the door, Willow groaned quietly, and laid back on her bed.

  "Hey, I guess ya'll aren't as happy to see me as I am to see you. I think we need to talk." He said as he came over to sit on her bed next to her.

  "What's there to talk about? You screwing your maid? It's none of my business, you're a big boy and you can do what you want." Willow said, trying to stop her tears from falling.

  "If that's what ya'll think, then you're sorely mistaken. Willow, there is nothing going on between me and Lisa. You really need to believe that. She is my employee, and at the most she may be my friend, but nothing beyond that. I don't have any feelings for her romantic or sexual. She's not the one I think about all day long. She's not the one I dream about every night. There's only one girl who monopolizes my thoughts, and that's you." Brody said with such tenderness.

  "Well, that's not exactly how it sounded when I called the other night." Willow said, still looking for an explanation.

  Brody told her what had happened when she called him the other night, just like he had told Sierra the night after it happened. Then he said "But I'm still not sure why I have to defend myself. You are the one who just wanted to be friends. So, now just because I'm friends with you I can't see other people?"

  "No, that's not what I'm saying. I thought you liked me, and even though it will never work, I was starting to like you too. I know I'm just going to end up getting hurt in the end, but I can't stop thinking about you either." Willow said as the tears rolled down her face.

  Brody reached over and wiped her tears away. "Let's not think of that now. Let's just have fun this weekend and not worry about what happens in the future, ok?"

  Willow smiled and nodded. Brody got up from the bed and took her hand and pulled her up too. He gave her a big bear hug and then started walking to the door to go back to the living room.

  "Wait a minute Country Boy! You don't get away that easily!" Willow said and walked up to Brody and kissed him, long and hard. When she broke the kiss, she looked up into his eyes and said "Hi, welcome to New York!"

  Brody laughed and kissed her again. "Wow, now that's the kind of welcome I like. Is that how ya'll welcome everyone to New York?"

  "Nope, only the ones I like." She giggled.

  "That's how Micah got welcomed at the airport, I thought it was a New York thing?" He said as he pulled her into another hug and
kiss. "Now, when we go into the living room, Micah isn't going to get the same welcome from you, is he?" Brody teased.

  "We'll have to see, won't we?" Willow said as she pulled him towards the door to go back to the living room. It was turning out to be a great weekend after all!

  Chapter 7 City Nights

  Author's Note: This chapter contains a sex scene. Don't read if you're too young or if it offends you.

  "So, looks like you two worked things out." Sierra said and smiled at Brody and Willow when they walked out of her bedroom.

  "Yeah, you were right, it was a big misunderstanding." Willow said.

  "I know, I asked him about it the other night, but I thought you guys should work it out for yourselves." Sierra told her with a wink.

  "I'm still a little worried that your maid wants you though Country Boy." Willow said to Brody.

  "Well, all that matters is that I don't want her." Brody told her and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Now, wasn't I promised some famous New York pizza?" He asked as his stomach growled.

  "It'll be here in about 10 minutes. Here's a beer to tide you over." Sierra said and threw a beer at him and one at Willow.

  "Well, after you feed us, we need to go to the hotel and get settled. Then we are free for the rest of the night." Brody said.

  "Huh? Don't even think about staying in a hotel. You guys are staying right here! Are you crazy or something? We're not letting you out of our sight this weekend!" Sierra yelled.

  Brody looked at Willow, wondering if she wanted them to stay there. "Don't even think about heading to a hotel Country Boy or else I'll beat you up or something." Willow told him.

  "That might be kind of interesting! Well then, let's head to the hotel now if I'm going to get beat." He replied laughing. "Are ya'll sure that its ok for us to stay here?"

  "Yup!" Both girls yelled in unison.

  "How could we resist then?" Micah asked. "Do we get mints on our pillows here too though?"