No Deal Breakers (15 page)

A knock at the bedroom door startled her,
Brian was in the shower and she was picking over her clothes trying
to figure out what to wear.

"Hey, It's me, are you decent." It was Julia,
Aria flushed, of course they were decent, they were always
decent…but Julia didn't know that.

"Yeah, come in," Julia didn't need to be told
twice, the door swung open and she walked in, carrying a
cream-colored lace dress and a thick brown belt.

"I thought it would be fun if we coordinated
our outfits—but, not too macthy. Do you know what Brian plans on
wearing? Never mind, cargo shorts and a polo." With an exasperated
sigh and an eye roll she dropped the dress and belt on the bed and
disappeared into Brian's closet. Aria chuckled, she knew her
brother well, that's exactly what he had planned on wearing.

"Here, take this in to him, and tell him I
said to wear them, or else." She gave a mock glare and handed Aria
the pile of clothes she had collected. "The dress is for you, I
assume you have boots and a hat?" Aria nodded. "It might be a
little big, I didn't realize how tiny you are!" She beamed at her
and breezed back out of the room.

Just like her mother Julia was a force to be
reckoned with. Aria tentatively knocked on the bathroom door, she
could hear that the shower was still on, so she cracked open the
door the slightest bit so she could hear him.

"Aria, is that you? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, um, Julia picked out a
different outfit for you—for both of us—we have to wear them or
else." She was actually relieved that Julia had told her what to
wear, she was no good at deciding what to wear to anything, in her
old life clothes were handed to her, and she wore them. No
questions, no choices. She hated it, and was glad to have choices
now, but she still wasn't good at navigating social situations like
this, she was used to being told what to wear and how to act.

"Ha! Of course she did! Just bring them in,
and set them on the sink."

Taking a deep breathe she pushed the door the
rest of the way open and walked in. the steam from the shower was
warm and thick, the mirrors and the doors to the shower were
clouded from it. As she made her way to the sink and saw the
clothes Brian had been wearing in the hamper her face flushed when
she realized that she was currently in the same room as a naked
man, a naked man that she was married to. She dropped the clothes
on the counter next to the sink, on top of the ones he had planned
to wear, and got out of the bathroom as quickly as possible, she
slammed the door shut behind her and plopped onto the bed, trying
to decipher her own reactions.

She had been in the same room with naked men
before, so many she'd lost count. This was different. This felt
more intimate, even though she didn't see him and they didn't
touch, the feelings she got in that warm, steamy bathroom were far
different from any other she'd had. In the past when she was in the
same room with a man, naked or otherwise, she felt sick and scared,
she would spend the time counting down the minutes until she'd be
free of him.

Not with Brian, with Brian she felt safe and
cared for. She had already been trying to come to terms with that.
And now this, being alone with him in the bathroom didn't scare or
disgust her, it made her feel things she didn't really have names
for. These were new and confusing feelings, they made her stomach
stir, and for the briefest of moments she entertained the idea of
joining him.

She shook her head, what was wrong with her?
This wasn't what she wanted. But taking his clothes to him while he
was showering just felt right and natural, as if she'd been doing
it for years. It felt as normal as making his coffee for him in the
mornings did now.

She was still running through the
implications of this, and what these feelings were and what they
meant when the bathroom door opened. She couldn't face him right
now, not when she had just been thinking about him in the shower,
and why that didn't make her want to run screaming. She picked up
the dress and underclothes she had laid out on the bed and ran to
the bathroom, again, slamming the door, once they were on opposite
sides of it.

She spent as much time in the bathroom as
possible, drying and curling her hair, and even putting on a little
makeup, which she rarely did. Time had run out, she couldn't avoid
him forever, and she couldn't think of anything else she could do
in there. She looked in the mirror and liked what she saw, she
looked healthy. Her skin was lightly tanned from all of her time
outside, her hair had lightened slightly in the sun as well, and
she now had natural highlights. The cream-colored lace dress
contrasted nicely with her newly darkened skin, though the dress
was strapless, she hadn't wore anything that showed this much skin
since she got here.

Modesty had never been something she paid
attention to before—she didn't have that choice—but now she found
that she just naturally preferred to be more covered, it was
probably because all of the women she was friends with placed such
a high value on it, and talked about it frequently. She took a deep
breath, enough stalling, Aria.

Brian looked up when she closed the bathroom
door behind her, and her cheeks were immediately hot, she could
even feel the heat in her ears. The look he gave her was one she
recognized, one she'd seen thousands of times, but her reaction to
that look was new, and completely unwelcome. Though Brian often
told her she was beautiful, and she would occasionally catch a
glimmer of hope and desire in his eyes he normally looked away or
hid it.

Not this time. This time he just sat there
staring at her, worshipping her with his eyes, like she was the
most beautiful person on the planet. Normally this look and
anything close to it set her on edge, the hair on the back of her
neck would stand up, she'd break out in a cold sweat, and fight to
keep the contents of her stomach in place. Now, she liked it, she
felt beautiful, adored, cherished, and strangely, safe.

Brian broke the silence first; "I haven't
seen that dress before, is it new? It looks amazing on you." If it
were possible her face grew even hotter yet.

"Julia told me to wear it. I like it, but I
feel a little, um, exposed." He smiled and looked almost relieved
before hopping off the bed and going to her closet.

"I think I have the solution, it's the top
that bothers you, right?" he asked from inside the closet, "yes"
she responded, the bottom was fine, it went just below her knees
and she felt comfortable with that.

"Okay, I'm no fashion guru, but with the
dress and the belt and what she wants me to wear, I assume we're
going with a country theme, Julia loves her themes. Just wait until
we go to one of her parties. I think this will go quite nicely." He
held out her short denim jacket to her, she put it on and
immediately felt more comfortable. She thanked him and went back to
her closet for her hat and boots.

He was sitting on the bed pulling on his
cowboy boots when she re-entered the room, and she finally took in
what he was wearing; Wranglers, and a Western style shirt, with his
nice, clean, off white Stetson on the bed next to him. She'd seen
him dressed similarly whenever they went riding or he went to help
on the farm, but then he wore his old, worn clothes, boots, and
hat. These were all crisp and new looking, this time it was her
turn to look appreciatively. He looked fine in his suits and
business casual attire, but something about the cowboy look on him
just fit, he even looked more comfortable like this.

"Are you ready?" He asked, thankfully ending
her dangerous thoughts, she had donned her own boots while watching
him.

"Yeah…Oh, no, wait, I wanted to wear this
too." She went to the dresser and picked up the jewelry box that
he'd made her from in front of the line of photographs, and pulled
out the first necklace he'd ever gotten her. She had a few more
pieces in the box now, but this was always her favorite.

"Will you put it on me?" She asked, looking
at him through the mirror, surprise registered on his face, but he
came to stand behind her and held out his hand.

She watched as he carefully brushed aside her
hair, avoiding any contact with her skin. She was shocked to feel
herself disappointed that he hadn't touched her. That feeling
didn't last long, as if reading her mind his fingers lingered on
the back of her neck after clasping the necklace. The contact sent
jolts of electricity through her body.

After six long months of avoiding his touch,
she was now craving it, his fingers had just left her skin and she
already wanted to feel them there again. Brian cleared his throat
and asked in a husky voice if she was ready. She nodded and tried
to keep her blush under control.

She could feel the dynamic of their
relationship shifting. This was going to be a long two weeks.

*~*~*

"Hey, Bri, I know we've only been here about
an hour and a half, but this pregnancy has me completely wiped
out…sorry, we should have brought two cars." He swallowed his
disappointment; Aria was being more open tonight than she had in
the entire six months of their marriage. He'd taken a huge risk in
letting his fingers brush the back of her neck earlier, but he just
couldn't resist the temptation. To his great relief, Aria had
actually leaned into his touch, instead of freezing. He thought it
must have been his imagination, but three times already tonight
she'd "accidentally" brushed her hand against his…that was three
more accidents than she'd made in half a year.

He sighed, and stood, preparing to take them
home when he noticed Aria's crestfallen look; apparently, she was
having as good of a time as he was.

"Julia, Steven, I'm about ready to head home
myself, why don't you ride with me and let's leave these party
animals here, poor girl hasn't even talked Brian into a dance yet."
Brian silently willed Julia and Steven to accept Will's offer, he
knew it was selfish, but he wasn't ready to go home yet, and could
tell his wife wasn't either.

"That would be great, thank you, Mr. Majors.
We'll see you guys in the morning!" With a wave and a wink Julia
and Steven were off, leaving Brian alone at the picnic table with
Aria. They'd ditched their dinner plans for barbecue once they were
in town. Every year they had a street dance on July third, there
was a hog roast, and a few local vendors with drinks and snacks,
they also had several local bands lined up and a DJ later in the
evening.

"Brian! Are you just going to sit there and
watch everyone else have fun, like you always do, well, since you
brought her home? Or are you going to let a real woman show you a
good time." He ground his teeth together, that woman would never
take a hint, he and Aria had been sitting side by side at the table
watching their friends and neighbors dance, and, as usual, Tasha
had to ruin a perfectly good time. He had hoped that knowing he was
married would put a stop to her advances, but if anything, it made
her even more aggressive, especially when Aria was around. He
looked at Aria and noticed that the two women were engaged in a
sort of staring contest, both looked heated, then Aria's lips
curved up into a sugary-sweet smile.

"Tasha, it's so good to see you again, but if
you'll excuse us, my husband and I were just about to dance, we've
been waiting for a slow song, and they just started playing one."
Aria stood, and held her hand out to Brian, completely dumbfounded,
he took it, this was so unlike Aria, he wasn't sure what had gotten
into her, but he was going to savor every touch she shared.

"Whatever, enjoy your dance, but make sure to
save me one." Before he could even respond, Aria jumped in
again.

"Sorry, I made him promise earlier that he'd
save all his dances for me." With that, she tugged him out onto the
street. Once they were away from Tasha she turned towards him,
looking up under her lashes and nibbling on her lower lip she asked
in a voice so quiet he had to lean in to hear it; "Was that okay?
Did I overstep? I know I lied, but she just—"

"I know, you didn't do anything wrong,
sweetheart." He took a risk and brushed his thumb over the knuckles
of the hand he was still holding. She didn't stiffen, freeze, or
pull away. "You didn't lie, I've been dying to dance with you all
night, but, I didn't want to push you, dancing involves touching,
and you're the only woman I ever want to dance with again."

"I'd like to dance with you, if you want, I
mean, you don't have to, and I don't really know how, but, I want
to…" she had an adorable shy smile that sent his heart racing, he
wanted more than anything to take her in his arms and hold her
close while swaying to the music.

"Are you sure? You don't have to…"

"I know, I want to, but you'll have to teach
me."

"Okay, but let me know the second you feel
uncomfortable, okay?" She nodded, and he looked deep into her eyes.
"Promise me."

"I promise," she assured him. He took a deep
breath and readjusted their intertwined hands, and placed his free
hand on her waist; she glanced at the other couples and put her
free hand on his shoulder. He began swaying them side to side. He
couldn't believe it, they were touching—dancing—and Aria seemed
completely at ease. He said a prayer of thanksgiving, and hoped
this night would never end. He was relieved when the band started
playing another slow song when the first ended too soon.

"You've never danced before?" She shook her
head and bit her lip; she did that whenever she was nervous about
something.

"Never? You didn't go to prom or any
weddings?" He couldn't believe she'd made it twenty-four years
without ever dancing.