Brandon awoke to the sound of his buzzing cell phone.
He glanced over at the brunette next to him—out cold and partially covered by the bed sheet—and then checked his caller ID.
He almost shot right up when he saw the name, but controlled the urge, slowly slipping from the bed to make sure he didn’t disturb his sleeping companion.
“Give me a sec,” he whispered into the phone as he made his way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, joy swelling in him.
As soon as he figured he was in the clear, he said, “Erica! What a crazy surprise! Long time, no talk.”
“That’s on you,” Erica said. “I’m shocked you still have my name and number in your phone, and I’m not sure if I should be more offended you didn’t lose it like I figured. Anyway, this was my last attempt to reach you and let you know I’ll be coming to your neck of the woods soon—if you’re still in SoCal, that is. I’m moving to L.A., so if you have the time, and it’s okay with your current squeeze, maybe we can do lunch.”
“Hell yeah. I haven’t seen you in…what is it?”
“Three years,” she answered. “But who’s counting? Anyway, maybe we can do a double date.”
“What makes you so sure I’m seeing someone?”
“Come on, Brandon. After high school, it’s been like clockwork—you ignore me whenever you’re in a relationship. I figure you’ve been in a hell of a long one, or you’ve been hopping around with no breaks in between since I haven’t heard from you in so long; in fact, how come you’re answering my call now? Did the latest one just end?”
Brandon wasn’t sure what to make of Erica’s tone or her words. She’d said everything somewhat lightly, but he had the distinct impression he was being berated.
He didn’t blame her, but she had to understand, right? Girls were so untrustworthy of each other—surely she, too, didn’t like when the guy she was dating had a close female friend?
“How about you and I meet first, catch up a bit, and then do the double date thing?” Brandon suggested.
“Aha! I knew it. You’re with someone. Anyway, let’s nail down the details tomorrow. I look forward to it.”
“Same here,” he said, hanging up just as his companion made her way down the stairs to join him, wearing nothing but one of his shirts.
“Who was that, babe?” she asked, looking at him with dopey brown eyes, still foggy with sleep. Her brown hair cascaded in a beautifully messy way, making her look more attractive than she was.
“An old friend of mine. Man, it was good to hear from her—I’ve known her since we were kids and she’ll be in town soon. Wants to do lunch.”
Brandon watched Jennifer’s face and thought he saw it tighten at the news, but she cheerfully said, “Oh, how cool! You guys get to catch up. When last did you see her?”
Brandon wondered if Jennifer would think it was so cool if she knew what Erica looked like. On a basic level, women had issues with the idea of female friends; they nearly lost their minds if it was a cute one.
“It’s been a few years,” he said. “We grew up together, but she went off to college in New York. We still stayed in touch, though—we were pretty close back in the day, so we caught up on her school breaks. Last time I saw her was at her graduation. Three years ago.”
“Aw. It’s always a shame when friendships like that get taken away by adulthood, huh?”
All of a sudden, Brandon felt defensive. Who said anything about his friendship with Erica being taken away?
“I mean, it’s been a while, but we’re still good friends,” he said. “Not like we used to be, but I think she’ll always be a part of my life.”
Brandon again thought he caught a flash of hardness on Jennifer’s face, but her words belied his eyes once more.
“Oh, good. I’ve pretty much stayed in this area since birth, so I have most of the same people around. Good for you guys being able to hold on like that, especially after…you know, everything. Anyway, I’m gonna take a shower. Love you.” She kissed him on the cheek and took off.
Brandon felt terrible as the weight of the terms of the latest challenge with his brothers descended upon him.
Here’s the twist, Alec had said after laying out the terms. You must wait two weeks before sleeping with her. And whoever gets her to say, ‘I love you’ first, and still stays with her at least three months after, wins the title to this beach house.
Boy, did he want that beach house!
The two-week wait seemed to torture Jennifer more than him, but once they fell into bed together, everything else was a breeze. Less than a month later, she was telling him she loved him.
The wait made her want him more, she later told him. And she loved how respectful he was of her, and how he didn’t take intimacy casually like practically everyone else she had ever met. It made her respect him more and probably helped her fall for him faster; he was just so different.
Brandon struggled to keep a straight face and look sincere as she spoke to him. If only she knew what he was up to!
He eventually realized Jennifer was too nice a girl to be used like this. He’d been unable to repeat her amorous words to her since she said them some weeks ago, although she let him off the hook pretty easily.
I know you probably don’t feel the same way just yet, but I have to tell you how I feel—I’ve been bursting with it. I love you, Brandon. These six weeks with you have been magical.
Brandon let out a breath.
All he had to do was be nice to her for the next two months, then let her down gently at the end. And then Alec’s kick-ass Hawaiian beach house would be his!
He just hoped Jennifer never found out she was only part of a dare.
The next day…
“God, you look beautiful. Come here,” Brandon said as he saw Erica sitting, waiting in the diner they’d agreed on.
She was dressed casually, but her face was so pretty, and her smile so warm, that she sparkled in a way that her clothes did not matter. She had the skin of a sun-kissed California girl, her hazel eyes still warm and open. And was she thinner, too?
“Always the charmer,” she said, coming up to him, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly for a moment, feeling the depth of how much he had missed everything about her—from those beautiful eyes to that seemingly reluctant smile. He resisted putting his hand in her thick, curly brown hair and cupping her head, holding her to him.
It suddenly occurred to him how well she fit in his arms against him—her tall, slim frame matching his.
She pulled away and slid back into her booth seat.
“So, you’re still tall,” she said as he slid opposite her.
He laughed. “Thanks,” he said. “You always knew how to make a guy feel special. So what brings you to town? Have you been in New York all this time, or…?”
“Yup. Tried to work the scene there for a bit—got in a few plays. But, of course, L.A. is where the major stuff is when it comes to acting—at least for the big screen. Or the silver one.”
“So you’re seriously pursuing acting now, huh?”
She looked at him like his nose was falling off. “Well, I majored in Theater for a reason. What about you? Still into moviemaking yourself? Working on becoming some hotshot director?”
He grinned, feeling a bit sheepish. “I haven’t quite followed that through. Ever since…” He stopped.
“Ever since you got filthy rich, you just threw all that aside, huh? Can’t say I blame you. Why do anything when you don’t have to? Must be nice not having a real passion for anything.”
“Ouch. Well, that almost hurt. You know very well I have a passion for at least one thing. Listen, I thought I detected a bit of hostility from you earlier, and now this. What’s up, Erica?”
There was no ignoring or mistaking the storm beneath her face.
“What the hell happened to us?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, although he knew exactly what she meant. He had known it was coming; there was no way they could dance around it for long.
“We were so close!” she said. “You even made sure to be there for me at my graduation and then poof! You’re gone. How could you abandon me like that? What did I do?”
He wasn’t sure if he was ready to tackle the topic just yet, but now seemed as good a time as any. Best to just get it out of the way.
“Okay, first of all, you didn’t do anything. My life changed is all. Next thing you know I’m in a relationship, and the girl’s all jealous of you…”
“I didn’t realize you were that weak. But I guess everything adds up.”
“Meaning?”
She paused. It seemed as if she had reconsidered what she was going to say. “Just that…well, if I hadn’t decided to try to call you one more time, you never would have checked up on me again. You’re really not attached to anything but that surfboard of yours.”
He gave a half-smile. “You know that’s not true. And see? You do remember my one passion; in fact, I’ve been working on this surfing documentary, so I guess I haven’t completely abandoned filmmaking. Something like The Endless Summer—you know that doc I made you watch a billion years ago? Anyway, that’s what life’s been like for me since…you know.”
“Sounds nice. And then what are you going to do?”
“What do you mean? What do you think I absolutely need to do with my life, Erica? Do you know how many people spend their entire lives wishing and hoping and working their ass off for a partial percentage of what I have, just to do pretty much exactly what I’m doing? I’ll ride this wave as long as I can; there’s nothing left for me to do.”
She looked away briefly. “Congratulations,” she said when she looked back at him. “I just thought I meant more to you, that’s all. I didn’t expect you to just disappear.”
“You do mean a lot to me, Erica, but you understand, right? You girls are crazy. But after that girl and I broke up, I guess I had the chance to call you up, and I didn’t. I’m sorry. Can we please be friends again?”
“You mean, this time, you found a girl who’ll allow it?”
Brandon shrugged. “This time, I won’t let her stop it. I want to show you I value our friendship, despite what you think now.”
She studied him for a moment. Then she said, “Well, if we’re going to be friends again, Stanley will definitely want to meet you.”
Brandon bristled. “Stanley? Who’s Stanley, and why do we have to meet?”
Erica giggled, her entire demeanor changing and softening, reminding him much more of the girl he knew a decade ago. Her face flushed, and her smile had no sign of the tension that had tightened her face for the past few minutes.
But Brandon found himself tightening at the way just this guy’s name seemed to reduce her to a schoolgirl again.
“Stanley’s my boyfriend—the one I’d be joining you for a double date with. He’s my significant other. My…”
“I get it. How long have you guys been going out? Where did you meet?”
“We’ve been together about two-and-a-half years. I met him when I shot a small part for an indie movie. He was the cinematographer. We’re moving out here together in about a month—I just came ahead to check out some of our living options and put the deposit down.”
“Well, if you guys don’t find the right place, you can stay with me until you’ve sorted it out. I mean, not with me, but in a condo I don’t use much. I own one in Newport Beach.”
“Thanks for the offer, but we’ve got this. Anyway, let’s plan on that double date when we’re all settled in. I’m heading back to New York in two days, but he and I will be back soon.”
“Can’t wait to meet him,” Brandon said, hoping the words didn’t sound as dry to Erica as they sounded to him as they made their way through his teeth, which suddenly seemed locked together. He cleared his throat as if it would help clear the bile building in his belly at the thought of this Stanley and what he meant to Erica. “Anyway, glad you’ll be near me again. We can totally hang out; it’ll be like old times. I’ll catch you up on the latest surf docs, you can see mine…”
“What, are you nuts? Yeah, Stan’ll love that. Let’s not get confused—I’ll do lunch again with you sometime, but don’t start thinking we’ll be besties again. Friends in a very general way, yes—I didn’t do all of this to never talk to you again, but we’re not kids anymore. I won’t cut you off completely for him like you did me, but let’s be real, here; there’s a line.”
“Is Stanley that insecure and jealous? Come on, why would he be jealous of me? We’ve known each other since we were kids. We’re practically brother and sister, for Christ’s sake.”
She gave him a look, not bothering to answer verbally. But with such a look, she didn’t have to.