Dark and Dangerous Desires

Chapter 3: More Than Friends

Abby's POV

My feet are killing me since finishing my shift. I really wish I didn't decide to take advantage of the warm morning and walk. I get my bag and start making my way out. I never thought I'd work in a hospital after the death of my parents. There are times when the sanitation smell and bright lights makes my breath hitch and mind scramble for something in the present to hold onto, before the memory of losing them floods my senses like it only happened yesterday. It was hard. I was only fifteen, I got lucky with the foster home I was placed in. This sweet elderly couple Loyd and Iris took me in and saw me through high-school. My first year of college Iris got sick and deteriorated quickly. Loyd followed his wife in suit. I'm assuming depression took him more than any ailment could have. I was devastated when I got the call from the hospital. Just a few days earlier we were planning Thanksgiving dinner. A stray tear leaves my eye as I remember them and all they had done for me.

When I reach the door to leave the hospital I am greeted by a warm smiling face.

"Braxton." I say as kindly as possible but exhaustion dripped off my voice. He frowned for a moment.

"Do you need a ride home?" he asked happily.

"Would you mind?" I ask.

"Not at all, I actually noticed you walked today. I thought I'd wait and ask, before leaving." he answered.

"I really appreciate it." I say genuinely. He takes my bag from me and opens the passenger door to his car. As I get in I'm hit with a comforting lavender and vanilla scent. I compliment it as he gets in. "I like your air freshener, what is it?"

"It's called 'Peace of Mind'. I'm glad you like it. Most people just give me grief for not having a man's man scent in my car." he says with a chuckle.

"It's nice!" I say reassuringly.

The drive takes thirty minutes thanks to the classic New York traffic. When we pull into the driveway, we don't say anything as we get out of the car. He gathers my bag for me and walks me to the door.

"Abby." he says softly, pulling my focus away from getting the door unlocked.

"Yeah?" I answer.

"Tomorrow?" he asks. I pause, staying quiet for maybe a moment too long before I begin to mutter out my response. "Braxton, I think you're really sweet, but." he quickly interrupts me.

"Don't finish that." he said sweetly. I noted the disappointment on his face.

"I'm sorry." I say honestly. He offers me a small smile before I turn and leave inside.

I walk past the living room and go straight to my room, after seeing Mel and Sage sucking each other's faces off in a deep kiss. They've been seeing one another off and on for so long. I always wonder why they don't make it exclusive. She swears there are zero feelings on either side. I don't understand how feelings can be platonic when you give so much time and energy to another.

After I shower, sleep struggles to consume me. So much has happened between these last few days. My breakup with Landon, losing my virginity, now Braxton asking me out. In the back of mind, I can't tell if my decision to turn him down was hasty. He's a good person, he is cute. His ashy blonde hair and bright green eyes. He's tall, relatively fit, I wouldn't say he is super muscular. It would be a lie to deny him being attractive. I just don't think I am ready to jump back into the dating pool. I don't want to lead anyone on or be the cause of someone else's broken heart. I shut my eyes and will myself to sleep.

I wake up as the sun begins peeking through my window, and the purr from the engine on Sage's car is my wake-up call. I sigh heavily as I check the time. Six fifty in the morning. I hear Mel rush out the door and the engine revving as they drive off.

"Ugh." I sound out as I get out of bed. I spend all morning and afternoon cleaning the house and doing laundry. I'm interrupted at five o'clock by a knock on the door. It's probably Mel, she must not have found her key.

I go to the door and open it, finding Braxton there with a bouquet of sunflowers and roses. I look at him, confusion flooding my features.

"What are you doing here?" I say my puzzlement laced through every word.

"Taking you out." he said sweetly as he handed the flowers over.

"But." I start.

"No buts. Get dressed." He says sweetly.

"I don't have anything to wear." I say trying to discourage him.

"Dress casually." He says kindly. Sighing in defeat I welcome him in, while I go find something to wear. I find a yellow sundress in the back of my closet and slip it on. I put on a little red lipstick and mascara, before brushing my hair and putting it in a low messy bun. I put on beaded sandals and walk out to the living room.

"You look stunning." Braxton says wholeheartedly as he walks over to me. I offer a small smile. I can feel the blush creeping up my cheeks. He takes my hand in his own, guiding me to the door. I grab my purse and lock up. We got into his car.

"So, where are we going?" I ask.

"It's a surprise." he said nicely.

"Okay, well lead me away, Prince Charming." I joke. He makes small talk about my classes and the weather while we drive. Hunger pains my stomach. I hope wherever we're going involves eating. After a while the car stopped in the parking garage for Grand Central Park. I look around confused. He gets out and opens my door.

"What are we doing here?" I ask. He walks around to the trunk and pulls out a cooler.

"Surprise." he says with a big smile. He links my arm on his and we walk through the park until we get to the base of a big oak tree. He pulls a blanket from the cooler and spreads it out on the ground before helping me sit. I look around in awe. The effort he's made for me has me feeling shocked and wanted, which is something I'm not exactly used to.

"Are you hungry?" he asks as he pulls sandwiches out of the cooler along with thermos.

"Starving actually." I giggle out.

"You did all this?" I say in awe.

"Yeah." he said shyly as he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. I see an emotion I can't quite place beginning to cover his face. I quickly grab his hand.

"It's perfect." I say reassuringly as I run my thumb along the top of his hand. His face lifts and his eyes meet mine.

"You're beautiful, Abby." he says softly. Butterflies let loose inside of me. Landon never took time to make me feel special. My mind instantly shifts to Killian, how he called me perfect and how he worshipped my body. I feel guilty consuming my mind with him, while Braxton is here, trying hard to make me feel special.

"What'd you make for us?" I ask, making an effort to drift my mind out and far away from the Killian folder.

"I remembered you like BLT's and hot chocolate, I know it's seventy degrees, but I wanted to." He was rambling on, and boy was it adorable.

"I love it." I say as I stop him. I offer a sweet smile and I give a gentle squeeze to his hand.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so nervous. I've liked you for so long. I never said anything because of Landon. I was always on the sideline, third-wheeling dates, wishing it was my hand you were holding instead. I know you're probably not ready for all things considering, just know I will wait until you are." he said softly as he brought my hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss.

"Braxton, I'm only wanting a friend right now." I say lightly, not wanting to upset him.

"I'm willing to be that, until you're ready." he said optimistically.

"Should we eat?" he asks.

"Yes, please." I say quickly, almost a little too quickly.

"I didn't know what kind of bacon to use or what kind of cocoa to get and make so the lady at the grocery store helped me decide. So hopefully it's up to par." he said nervously.

"I'm sure I'll love it!" I say confirming his words. He smiled so brightly.

His blonde hair reflected the skies as they changed to hues of pink and orange with the sunset threatening to close in. I never noticed before how good looking he actually was. His green eyes shine like emeralds. He truly is captivating and I hold my gaze over him. A smile so warm I’m sure it could melt ice. I wonder how I missed it for three years. He gets a sandwich and hands it to me then pours me a cup of cocoa.

“Thank you.” I say with a smile, while he gets him a sandwich and cup of cocoa.

“Let’s dig in.” A playful voice coming out and replacing his previously nervous one. I take a bite and a hum of delight sounds from my throat as the greasy bacon, juicy tomatoes, and crisp lettuce hits my tongue.

“This is the best BLT I’ve ever had.” I groan out. He lets loose a chuckle before saying “I’m glad.”

We enjoy our food as we watch the sunset. He tells me jokes and stories of growing up. My heart saddens a few times at the mention of his family. All of my family is dead. I don’t let it affect me too much as I momentarily think of how things could be if they were here still. As we finished the sandwiches and cocoa, he decided we should get to know each other better.

“Twenty questions?” He suggests, I nod before adding “Okay, but me first.” I say. He chuckles out an “Okay.”

“Favorite pastime?” He pauses a moment before answering. His gaze meets mine and he says sweetly “I think I’ve only just found it.” Blush creeping up on my face and neck, the butterflies are back again with his confession. I don’t know if it’s my doubt that anyone could enjoy time with me. I ask “And what’s that?”. A simple answer left his mouth. “You.”

A small smile takes over my mouth as I silently watch over his face.

"What's one superpower that you'd want to have?" he asks for his turn.

"That's a hard one, probably flying." I say genuinely.

"Flying? Invisibility seems like the superior power." he says seriously while maintaining his playful tone.

"If you say so." I laugh out loud.

"Your turn, Princess." he says playfully.

"Princess?" I laugh out.

"It just seems fitting since I'm Prince Charming." he chuckled out.

"I guess so, hmm. Favorite place?" I ask.

"Call me cliché, but definitely Hawaii. I love the heat, sunshine, and the hot sand. My grandmother lived there and we used to visit all the time. I really fell in love with the land and the culture." he says happily.

As we continue our game, I can't help but admire his passion in everything he does. His work, his goals, his family, and his wants. Everything he does, he does with passion. He puts his soul into everything and wears his heart on his sleeve at the same time. Time was passing quickly as we spoke. Soon enough the sun had completely set. We started to pack everything up to make our way back to the car.

"I'm glad we did this." I say happily.

"Me too, but now it's onto the second part of our date." He says sweetly.

"Oh yeah?" I giggle out. I can really see us being more than friends, someday. Not today or any time soon, but someday I could see it. He's the man every woman dreams of settling down with, putting up the white picket fence with, and starting a family with.

"Yeah, come on, Princess." he says playfully.

"Coming, your majesty." I joke. We get to the second part of our date. A cute little coffee shop and bookstore. It's open late for studying students. We sit down and a woman comes out to take our order. We talked about everything, my family, my goals, the future, and politics. I noticed that he's always listening to me so attentively. Never interrupting or looking at his phone or the time. It made me feel valued and appreciated.

After we finished our drinks we walked around looking for books. I decided on a romance novel. They've always been my favorite. I always loved that no matter what problems they face everything works out perfectly. I know real love doesn't work that way, but it is a nice way for me to step into my fantasies. He settled on a mystery, stating he likes to pretend he's the detective and he tries solving the cases before it reveals it to him in the book. We leave the store, it's a relatively quiet drive back to mine. My mind is racing back and forth. At the end of the dates people always kiss. I don't think I want that. He is nice, I can't deny that he's attractive too. At this moment though he just isn't what I want. A lot has happened, that has left me beyond confused. The closer we get to the house my stomach knots with anxiety at the uncertainty of what he's going to expect when we get there. The growing anxiety coursing through my entire being, is causing a nauseous feeling to overwhelm my other senses. Great, instead of embarrassing myself with fumble words, I'll embarrass myself by throwing up. I hold my breath trying to calm my nerves. I realize then that we've reached my house. I don't say anything but abruptly exit his car making my way to the door. He follows and it's like my senses are failing me. He's calling my name behind me but it sounds so faint and far away. I turn and glance at him uneasily.

"Whoa, are you feeling okay?" he asked with concern. I mutter out a short reply. "I think the coffee was a little too strong, I feel a little sick." I lied. Great, Abby, now we can add 'liar' to the resume. I've never been one to lie about my feelings, I'd rather lie about them, than hurt his feelings.

"Here, I'll help you in and get you in your bed." he said softly as he supported my body. He grabbed the keys from my fumbling hands and helped me unlock the door. He supported me all the way to my bedroom and helped me lay down. I look up at him.

"Thank you for today, Braxton." I said softly as I rested my head against the cool pillow.

"It was my pleasure." He said sweetly as he leaned down to kiss my forehead. He walked out of my room, and I listened carefully as the front door closed. I didn't realize it, but I'd been holding my breath the whole time. I finally released it when I heard his car drive off. As I lay in bed a sigh leaves my mouth. I slip off my clothes not bothering to get out of bed to undress. My mind is racing over my date with Braxton. How his green eyes sparkle but they don't sparkle like Killian's lust filled icy blue ones. My mind can't escape the hold he has on it. I don't know why.

I'm broken out of my thoughts when Mel gets home. She comes into my bedroom.

"Hey." I say lightly not bothering to look at her.

"What's wrong, babe?" she says sweetly.

I fill her in on Braxton taking me out on a date, then I fill her in on my inability to rid my mind of Killian's touch, his look, his scent. Everything about him was captivating and overloading my senses. His entire being was solely clouding my mind and pulling me away from my focus on anything else.

"Girl, it's because he's your first. You just need to get him out of your system." she says seriously.

"What do you mean?" I ask confused.

"p***y power, you need to go out and get a good lay from somewhere else." she says playfully.

"I don't know. I only just lost my virginity. Won't it look bad if I'm with another man so soon?" I ask.

"Girl, I'm pretty sure a man like him has already been with a handful of women, since hooking up with you a few days ago." she says seriously.

"I guess." I say slowly.

"What about that Braxton? You like him. He'd be perfect to get your head right." Mel says optimistically.

"I think he and I should take things slow. I don't know. I don't feel anything there except for friendship." I say honestly.

"You can take things slow later. You're young. Now is the time to enjoy life and take the things you want. Give me your phone." she says quickly. I pass her my phone and question why she wants it. She ignores me for a minute before she passes it back to me. I looked over the screen and saw she texted Braxton inviting him to the club tomorrow.

"Mel, are you insane?" I exclaim after I finish reading it. I look back and notice the bubble pop up on the screen as he types up his response. My nerves well up into my stomach as I wait for his message to come through. Mel is watching my anxieties unfold, with her knowing it all smirk plastered across her face. I love her but sometimes she makes me crazy. I admire how she lives though. She lives on the edge, truly living, and does everything to the fullest. I nearly lose grip on my phone when the vibration comes on when his message comes through. "It would be my honor, Princess." his message reads. I clutch my phone to my chest, and I breathe deeply in relief.

"Well, let me see." Mel says in excitement as she snatches my phone away. She reads the message and immediately lets out a squeal of excitement for me. I can't help but to roll my eyes in annoyance. I sighed deeply. I guess we'll be more than friends.