My Brother's Best Friend (10 page)

“Sure. See you later,” I said then pulled out my phone.

Thanks for the flowers, Dev

No problem, CJ.

I just wish I could have seen you.

—————————————————-

Sent from the iPhone of Devin Malone

Yeah, right. You knew I had a meeting.

You purposely came when someone else

would have to accept them so they would

tell everyone.

Did it work?

—————————————————-

Sent from Mr. Curious

Yes, it worked Mr. Curious.

She even opened the card.

Hmm. I didn’t expect that.

Okay maybe I thought she might.

Either way I got the message across.

—————————————————-

Sent from Mr. Sneaky

Yeah, real sneaky.

Why did they even have to know anyway?

Word’s going to spread, and Mitch will probably hear.

Don’t worry too much about it.

Besides, this is what I’m doing for you.

It was supposed to be a romantic gesture.

—————————————————-

Sent from a sinking a ship

You aren’t capsized yet. It’s okay. I really do

like the flowers, they’re my favorite.

I know.

—————————————————-

Sent from the expert on all things CJ

Really? An expert? We’ll see about that.

Fine, ask me any question,

and I’m sure I could answer it.

—————————————————-

Sent from a millionaire if this were a game show

Oooh, we’re raising the stakes.

All right, for every right answer

I will give you five minutes.

Five minutes? Of what?

—————————————————-

Sent from an intrigued and slightly turned

on sound technician.

Turned on? No comment.

I was talking about a massage you perv.

Get your mind out of the gutter.

Well, I’ll take a massage from you

any time. Just start asking.

—————————————————-

Sent from a man ready for anything.

Okay, if you miss, I get the five minutes.

And no cheating. Now, I used to have

an imaginary friend, who was it?

Trick question: you had two imaginary friends.

The first was Wilbur and he was a little pig

you pretended to carry in your baby carriage.

The second was Wilmore and he was a black

stallion. And he started coming around after

you watched Black Beauty.

—————————————————-

Sent from a winner

Psh, whatever. That was easy.

How about this:

there is a scar on my left ankle,

how did it get there?

Mitch took the fire poker and

asked if he could touch you with it.

Of course he had just been poking

the hot logs so when he touched

you he basically branded you.

—————————————————-

Sent from someone who now has 10 minutes

Okay Mr. Smarty Pants,

what was the very first tooth I lost?

The tooth next to your front right tooth,

so your incisor on the right side.

You went around showing the hole to everyone.

—————————————————-

Sent from Mr. Smarty Pants

How much money did I get for it?

None. Your parents forgot and you

were so mad at the tooth fairy you

never put any more teeth under your pillow.

—————————————————-

Sent from Mr. Super Smarty Pants

Last question, because I’m not going longer

than 25 minutes.

Where is my favorite place to shop?

I actually don’t know that one.

How about Banana Republic?

—————————————————-

Sent from a guesser

No!!!!!! Haha. One for me.

Okay I’ll ask another:

what is my favorite kind of chocolate?

Hmm, Hershey’s?

—————————————————

Sent from a clueless person

Wrong again.

Ten minutes for me and twenty for you.

I can live with that.

So what are the answers?

—————————————————

Sent from the iPhone of Devin Malone

I’m not telling you because

this way there is are least two

things you don’t know about me.

Cute, Christy.

Now about the card I sent, can you make it?

—————————————————

Sent from the iPhone of Devin Malone

Yes. I’d love to do dinner, especially if it

keeps me from having to do dishes tonight.

So where are we going? I will probably have

to meet you there can you text me the address?

Sure. I’ll look it up and send it to you.

I actually have to go now—work stuff—

I’ll text you later. Bye CJ.

—————————————————-

Sent from a busy man hard at work

Bye, Dev. See you later tonight.

After work, I drove to the restaurant and parked. Devin was waiting for me out front. He smiled as I walked up and took my hand as we walked inside. It was a place I’ve always wanted to go to but appetizers alone cost up to forty dollars.

Of course he had a reservation, so we didn’t have to wait. The waitress sat us down in a quiet corner and asked for our drink order.

“Water for me,” I told her.

“Same,” Devin echoed.

She walked off and Devin turned and smiled at me. That smile completely caught me off guard. “How was your day?”

“It went by pretty fast. I was texting you for a majority of the afternoon and the staff meeting took up most of the morning. And the rest was spent answering questions about the flowers on my desk. Thank you, again. I love them.”

“Good,” he said warmly. “I’m glad you love them.”

“It makes everything so bright and happy.” I laughed and picked up one of the menus, but before I could open it Devin took it out of my hands.

“I know you,” Devin said. “You’re going to take one look at the prices and pick the cheapest thing, even if it’s something you don’t like.”

I blushed at his correct judgment. “You know me? I thought we established there were a few things you didn’t know.”

“Okay, I know you fairly well, so I’ve already picked out what we are having and I’m fairly certain you will enjoy it,” he said. “You can trust me.”

I smiled. “You don’t realize that I already do. I trust you with my life.”

The waitress arrived shortly after and Devin pointed out the things he wanted without saying a word. The waitress smiled and walked off with the menus.

“Keeping it a secret?”

“For now,” Devin smirked. “Just enjoy the secrecy.”

And I did enjoy it. We started with a sampler appetizer with choices ranging from spinach-artichoke dip to fried calamari. Everything was delicious. The main course Devin had picked out was amazing.

We tried each other’s plates like a real couple would and enjoyed each other’s company. It would have been perfect if we had just stopped after dessert, but Devin insisted on walking me to my car, hand in hand, I might add.

“Did you have a good time?” Devin asked.

“Yeah, it was perfect. Thanks for this. I’ve always wanted to come here.”

“Anything for you, CJ,” he said, leaning toward me.

I stared into his mesmerizing hazel eyes and felt completely at a loss. He leaned in closer and as I realized what was about to happen, several things raced through my head.

Devin Malone was about to kiss me

I knew I couldn’t kiss, I mean I had been publicly humiliated for my horrible kissing skills

Devin was going to realize I couldn’t kiss and for some reason I didn’t want him to think I was a loser and horrible kisser.

I had to get out of there.

And that’s exactly what I did. Before he could kiss me, I sidestepped and quickly walked to the other side of the car. “I have to go,” I said before opening my door and climbing in. I sped out of the parking lot, trying to get away from the fear that gripped me.

When I got home, I waited in an agony of anticipation for him to return. I obviously hadn’t thought this out very well. I heard him open the front door and slam it. His angry footsteps climbed the stairs, stopping right in front of my door. He knocked, or maybe pounded, on my door and then opened it without waiting for an answer.

I was facing away from the door, leaning against my bed so all he saw when he came in was the back of my head, which was probably good because by that point I had started crying.

And before I knew it he was right by my side, sitting on the ground, wrapping me in his arms. “I’m sorry, Chris. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He was apologizing, when I was the one who should have said I was sorry. That just made me cry harder.

“Talk to me, CJ,” he said, smoothing my hair and gently rocking me.

“Don’t apologize, Dev. You didn’t do anything wrong,” I said, trying to slow my breathing. “I freaked out. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Chris. Remember, I told you to tell me if you were scared? I’m not angry.”

“You sure sounded angry earlier.”

Devin chuckled slightly and tilted my chin to look him in the eyes. “I was worried. I wanted to make sure you were all right. And I would have been back sooner if some family hadn’t blocked me in.”

“Thanks for caring, Dev,” I sniffled.

“So what freaked you out? Was it the fact that it was me or was it—”

“It’s not you. I’m sure I wouldn’t mind kissing you, but that’s not the problem,” I blabbed.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I…I can't kiss. I mean, I don’t really know how. What I mean is, of course I’ve kissed someone before—”

“But that person told you that you couldn’t kiss?”

I looked him in the eyes again. “Yes. I mean he did a whole web episode on my poor kissing skills. You caught me off guard, and I started thinking about Eric and my lack of skills. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run off. I should’ve just explained it.”

Devin smiled and stroked my cheek. “You don’t ever have to apologize for anything that mongrel said to you. He was a liar and a manipulator. He probably lied about some of the things he said about you. Remind me to tell Mitch he needs to investigate suing this guy for the defaming things he’s said on that website. I've gotten his website de-registered, but it's important we don't let him get away with it.”

“You are not going to tell Mitch. If anyone tells him it will be me, not you, okay?”

Devin nodded his head. I could tell he was proud of the way I took control. He liked it when I took a stand for myself.

“Though I do like the idea of suing the pants off him. Figuratively of course.” I smiled and Devin laughed, causing my body to shake with his, since he was still holding me.

“So we’re good?” Devin asked.

“Yes, but I would like for you to teach me a few things about how to kiss sometime,” I told him as my cheeks reddened.

“Well, you know what they say, practice makes perfect.” He smiled.

“I’m sure you’re almost perfect then. So don’t be such a hard judge with me, okay?”

Devin’s lips were pursed again, and I knew something I said had upset him, but I decided not to press him. He would tell me if I had really upset him.

“Okay,” he said. “The first thing you need to know is a simple kiss can say a whole lot. You don’t always need a full on attack to get a guy’s attention.”

“And by simple you mean?”

Devin didn’t respond with words, no, he tilted my head and leaned down slowly, waiting to see if I would run again. I closed my eyes and sensed his nearness and waited to feel his lips on mine. The wait was excruciatingly painful, though why I was anticipating his kiss so much is a mystery to me. Finally, his lips touched mine with not too much pressure but also not limp, like the kisses Eric would give me. I was lost in his touch before I realized he had pulled away.

I opened my eyes and saw Devin smiling. “See, you want more. Simple yet effective.”

“Shut up. I so don’t want more,” I said, whacking his arm softly.

Devin didn’t respond to that, he just went on with the lesson. “The wait is what makes it so effective.”

“So what if the guy gives me a kiss on the cheek after the first date?”

“It means he respects you or is a little nervous about how far to go.”

“So were you going to give me a simple kiss or a peck on the cheek?”

“You forget we’ve been dating for a few months.” Devin smiled. “But tonight, I was only going to give you a simple kiss.”