I may talk a strong game, but I don’t know how I’d ever come back from having Brandon for a few beautiful, wonderful days, only for him to walk away from me. He’d ruin me. I’ve got myself good and mad in a matter of moments, and I don’t feel much like hanging out anymore. I take my almost empty plate and stand up. This isn’t a game to me. Maybe I was playing a game when I got here, but I’ve clearly bitten off more than I can chew.
“Thanks for a great dinner, guys, but I’ve got an early start tomorrow,” I say to the table.
Brandon stands up beside me with his own plate. He takes mine and stacks it. “Dinner was great, MJ. Thank you.”
Everyone says goodbye as Brandon grabs my elbow and leads me back into the house. I don’t want to cause a scene, so I let him, but as soon as we are in the kitchen, I jerk free of his hold. He slowly places the dishes in the sink, and I back away from him. There is a tightness in his shoulders, at the big muscle that connects to his neck. It’s the place I want to taste the most. I want to bite down on it as he takes me.
I shake that thought out of my head and take another step back as he turns to look at me through hooded eyes.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you later,” I say, trying to act like I’m not afraid and turned on by what he could do next. Trying to play it cool.
“Dolly.” The way he says my name, it’s like a warning. “You’re not going anywhere but with me.”
His words piss me off, and I find myself getting mad all over again.
“What makes you think I want to go with you? I’ve been after you like a lost puppy dog since I was sixteen. Now you decide you want a piece of my pussy and you think I’ll just go along with it? You know, I always thought you had a big dick, but you must have a set of balls the size of Texas to assume I’d be so desperate for attention. That I’d just give in and take the scraps you threw my way.”
He’s on me before I can take a breath, throwing me over his shoulder and storming out of the house. I scream and start hitting his back, but he keeps going, stomping across the yard. When he stops, I hear a truck door open, and he puts me inside before slamming it shut. I go to grab the handle, but he takes his keys out and clicks the locks. I watch as he walks away, and I beat on the glass, yelling at his back. After a second I see him disappear into the shadows and I’m left alone.
“What in the fuck just happened?” I ask myself as I blow a red curl out of my face.
7
Brandon
Storming back into the house, I go straight for the bag I brought over tonight. I wasn’t real sure how things would go. Mary-Jane is standing off to the side of the living room, just staring at me, and I know she wants to say something. It’s written all over her face. Not that I blame her. I probably look like I’m about to lose it, something I never do. I’m always calm and in control, but Dolly knows how to shatter that.
“Dolly can run her mouth like one of the boys,” she finally says, and a smile pulls at my lips, knowing how true that is. Dolly grew up surrounded by men—her smart mouth is evidence of that. It’s something I’ve always loved about my little lamb. She says what she’s thinking and goes for what she wants.
There is no reading between the lines with her. You piss her off and you know it, along with anyone within a mile of her.
“That said, she’s all woman at heart. She cares about everyone and everything. People who care like that have soft hearts. You hear what I’m saying?” Mary-Jane adds.
I more than hear what she’s saying. I need to take care not to hurt her heart. She’d shatter a whole lot easier than most would think. I’ve always known that Dolly is all heart. It’s apparent in everything she does.
“I’m going to spend the rest of my life making up the past few years to her. Fixing any hurt I might have caused her if I made her think that I didn’t want her, even for one moment.”
“Good. I’d like to have a little niece or nephew soon.” With that, she turns and leaves me standing in the living room. Images of my little lamb swollen with our child flash through my mind and almost bring me to my knees. My feelings are too frayed right now to be thinking about that. To think about having a family. I’ve never had before. One like Dolly grew up with, where everyone cares about and loves each other. The only thing I’ve ever known of a family was a drunken father who’d been a better father to me dead than he was alive. I know with Dolly, I’d have it all. The kind of family a man like me can only dream about. The kind I never in my life thought I could have.