Fairytale Love - Becca & Brian(15)

Chapter Seven





The sun shone brightly through the windshield of the Jeep as Brian  pulled into The Diner's parking lot. His eyes turned to the beauty  sitting next to him. The rays of light beaming through the glass caused  Becca's dark hair to shimmer.

God, she was beautiful. His eyes drank in her profile. Her long, dark  lashes, button nose, and ruby-red lips were so perfect that it actually  caused an ache in his chest. How had he gone so many years and not seen,  really seen, what was right in front of his face? He'd always known  that she was attractive, but heartbreakingly stunning was a new  discovery for him.

Nerves were pinging through his entire body as he took the key out of  the ignition. This was it. He was going to tell Becca what he'd been  feeling over breakfast. It was the right thing to do. He knew it. He  also knew that he felt like he was about to come out of his skin.

He heard a loud click as Becca said in a forced, too-happy tone, "Got it on the first try."

Looking over, Brian realized that she was talking about her seatbelt.  The memory of the two of them sitting beside each other in a blanket of  darkness, nothing existing in the entire world except the two of them,  their lips centimeters apart, rushed back to him.

When Brian's eyes met hers, he saw a faint blush appear on her  china-doll cheeks. The light tint did what he would have sworn was  impossible-it made her even more beautiful.

Letting out a small puff of a laugh, Becca grabbed her purse and was out  the door in a flash. Literally, all he saw was a flash of dark hair as  she exited the vehicle, which he immediately attributed to the fact that  she was probably picking up on the weird vibes he was putting off.

Smooth. Real smooth, Casanova.

After opening the door, Brian stepped onto the pavement of the parking  lot and sighed. He hoped that, once he came clean, these awkward moments  between them would stop happening. They were killing him.

He and Becca had never even gotten into a real fight. Not because they  hadn't disagreed before. They had. But they'd always just talked it out.

Like when Brian had started ditching school, smoking weed, and drinking  after his mom's surgery had left her wheelchair-bound during their  freshman year of high school. Becca had shown up at the park he'd been  hanging out at with the rest of the stoners and given him a piece of her  mind. He hadn't been happy that she'd called him out, especially in  front of his new ‘friends,' but he hadn't yelled at her or even argued  with her. He listened.

She'd said her piece and left. Then, even though it took a few days, her  words finally sank in and he stopped doing all that stupid shit. He  started going to school again, stopped getting high and drunk, and  actually dealt with the feelings he was having about his mom being in a  wheelchair.

He'd dealt with those feelings the same way he was going to deal with  the feelings he was having for Becca-by talking to his best friend.

The small bell over the glass door dinged as Brian pushed opened the  door. Becca stepped inside in front of him, and even without permission  from his brain, his eyes zeroed in on her round, firm backside. His  blood started pumping at the way the denim of her shorts was distressed  in all the right places, showcasing her curves like the work of art that  they were. He tightened his hands in fists, trying to ignore his  overwhelming desire to reach out and touch her. His eyes continued down  her toned, shapely thighs and his mouth watered at the sight.

"How many?"

The voice snapped him out of his inappropriate visual journey. Brian  looked up and saw the hostess waiting for an answer expectantly.

"Two," he said, taking in a deep breath to try to get his body's  response to Becca under control. The smell of coffee, bacon, and syrup  immediately hit his senses as he inhaled deeply. "And if the booth in  the back is open, we'd like to take it."                       
       
           



       

"You got it." The young brunette smiled as she grabbed two menus and showed them back to ‘their' booth.

On the way, Brian's stomach once again let him, and everyone in his  general area, know just how hungry he was. As they slid into the booth  Becca's brows rose, her blue eyes looking up at him as she grinned.

"A little hungry?"

"Yeah." Brian nodded.

Becca's brows furrowed as worry filled her expression. "I noticed you  didn't eat much last night. And I know you love burrito night."

It was true. Burrito night at the Sloan's had always been a crowd  pleaser, but no one enjoyed it quite as much as Brian had. He held the  Sloan family record for most burritos consumed on burrito night with a  remarkable eight burritos. Surprisingly, he'd stripped the title not  from one of Becca's huge, male cousins. Nope. Eleven-year-old Brian had  beat out tiny, petite, fifteen-year-old Krista, who'd been the reigning  record holder for years, coming in at an impressive six burritos. Brian  still couldn't believe how much food Becca's sister could consume and  not gain an ounce. It was crazy.

Last night, he'd barely finished one. "I just had a lot on my mind last night."

Becca's head tilted to the side. "Is everything okay with your dad?"

The waitress interrupted their conversation, and Brian was happy for the  short reprieve. As they placed their orders, he decided that, even  though he'd planned on saving his family stuff until after the ‘big'  talk, it might be better to lead with that, especially since he had no  idea where the other conversation was going to take them.

"Dad's fine," Brian began. "As long as he takes it easy. The problem is  Brit didn't qualify for financial assistance, and after Brenden hurt his  ankle, he lost his scholarship. So dad's decided that he needs to go  back to work …  full time."

Becca's eyes widened. "He can't do that. I thought Dr. Corbin said that he needed to retire."

Love for the girl sitting across from him welled in Brian's chest. Becca  wasn't just beautiful. She had the biggest heart. She cared about  people so deeply.

"Yeah. That was Dr. Corbin's recommendation. Which is why it looks like I'm not going to be headed back to NYU."

This morning, Brian had talked to his parents about his plans not to go  back to school. His dad had not been happy about it. His mom had looked  equally relieved and sad. Brian knew that both of his parents wanted him  to be able to continue his education, but under the circumstances, it  just wasn't possible. His mom understood that. His dad? Not so much. But  Brian was sure that he would come around. He always did.

"Oh, Brian." Becca looked pained as she reached across the table and covered his hand with hers.

At the soft touch of her fingers, his body became electrified with  awareness. It was like the moment he'd pulled her into his arms on that  dance floor, a switch had been flipped in him and now all it took was  one look, one word, one touch and arousal spread through him like a  wildfire.

"It's fine." He heard the huskiness in his voice and hoped that she  would just read it as emotion, not lust, which was what it really was.  After clearing his throat, Brian assured her, "There are worse things in  this world than being able to take care of your family."

He saw tears pool in Becca's shockingly blue eyes as she slowly shook  her head from side to side, breathing out in whisper of awe, "Do you  have any idea how amazing you are?"

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" Brian responded with the same reverence Becca had spoken with.

Turning his hand beneath hers, Brian began running his thumb up and down  the soft skin below her thumb on her palm. He heard Becca suck in a  short gasp as he looked into her brilliant, sapphire eyes. Something  shifted in the air between the two of them as they sat staring at each  other across the table. The dark, black circles that sat in the middle  of her ocean-blue irises, dilated as her lips parted.

"Brian," her voice came softly, nervously. She looked as if she were trying to find the courage to speak.

His heart thumped heavily in his chest as he waited for her to find the  right words. Before that happened, his phone buzzed loudly in his  pocket. He would've ignored it, but his dad was getting a checkup this  morning, so Brian needed to make sure that this call wasn't something  that needed his attention.

Reluctantly, he pulled his hand from Becca's grasp and retrieved his  phone. He didn't recognize the number. Since his mom's phone was always  dying because she never remembered to charge it, it wasn't unheard of  for her to use a stranger's phone or call directly from the hospital.                       
       
           



       

"I should get this," he explained to Becca. "It might be my mom."