28

"Hi," I greeted when I opened the door. Brady's eyes scanned my body, a grin on his face.

"You look amazing. I mean, hi." He didn't look so bad himself. His brown hair was neatly combed to the side and he looked freshly shaved. He wore a navy blue polo with dark fitted jeans and his signature Converse. I stepped toward him and he pulled me into a firm hug. "If I kiss you right now, will it smear your lipstick?"

"Well, it's supposed to be smudge proof. Want to test it?"

"Fuck yeah." His lips were on mine as soon as the words were out. Our tongues sought out the inside of each other's mouths. One of his arms wrapped around my waist while his other hand ran up my back. My hands gripped his polo and I moved my hips closer to him. We finally came up for a breath and I checked his mouth for any trace of lipstick. "What's the verdict?" he asked. I swiped my thumb over his lips and he sucked it into his mouth, causing heat to bloom between my legs.

"We'll never know if this is your color." Brady chuckled, allowing my thumb to slip from between his teeth and started to lower his head again when his phone chirped. Swearing, he reached into his back pocket. I took the opportunity to untangle myself and grab my jean jacket and purse, double checking to make sure I put my phone in it. Brady tapped out something on his screen and then shoved the phone back into his pocket.

"Ready?" I nodded and locked the door behind us, then followed him down the stairs to his truck. He opened the door for me and I tried to slide in gracefully. I failed. My skirt somehow got tangled around my legs and I ended up almost flashing Brady. His eyes followed my skirt up to my hip, his tongue running over his bottom lip. "Sorry!" I apologized, quickly rearranging myself. My face felt like it was on fire. Brady shook his head.

"No sorries necessary. I should be the one apologizing for staring."

"Like what you saw?" I teased.

"Absolutely." I giggled and reached out to close my door. He came around to the driver's side and after he got in, turned to me. "I just realized that I sound like a perverted horn dog. I completely understand if you feel uncomfortable and don't want to go through with this." The center armrest folded up, so I tucked it back and slid over next to him, so our thighs were touching.

"Takes one to know one." I kissed him again, making him groan. His hand came up to cup my jaw and I placed my hand on his thigh to steady myself.

"If we keep doing this, I'm not going to be able to drive," he said when we pulled apart. I scooted back to my side of the truck and put the armrest back down. He shook his head at me, starting the truck.

The next hour we chatted easily. He told me more about his sister and I talked about my life in California. It was weird to talk about things that had been such a big part of my life in the past tense. I wouldn't be going to the Malibu boardwalk again any time soon. I wouldn't be pursuing my quest for the best fish tacos on the west coast or driving the 101 in the summer from San Francisco the Oregon Coast to escape the brutal LA heat.

When we got to Hollis, we went to Manuela's. I had spent a lot of cliched Taco Tuesdays in college partaking of their all you can eat tacos. Then on Fridays I held back the hair of my roommates while they emptied Manuela's margaritas into the toilet after we went dancing. The hostess led us to a table for two in the center of the restaurant where a mariachi band was playing.

"Did Hannah tell you this is my favorite restaurant in town?" I teased when we sat down. Brady's face turned a cute shade of pink.

"Maybe," he said with a shrug, trying to sound nonchalant. I raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

"Well it's true. Their enchiladas are out of this world." Brady visibly relaxed. It was cute how stressed he was over this date. The last person to put this much effort into time with me was Kade and…no. No Kade thoughts. Still unfair to Brady, I reminded myself, especially since Kade had several distinct advantages over Brady, including having spent one on one time with me before we dated. STOP. NO. KADE.

"Uh Sara?" Brady's voice caught my attention.

"Sorry, what was that? The band is kind of loud," I lied. Apparently not as loud as the presence of Kade in my mind.

"Would you like something to drink besides water?" the waiter asked. When did he appear? Was he trying to take my order this whole time? Damn.

"Yes, please. A margarita."

"I'll have a Corona," Brady added. The waiter nodded and went off to put in our drinks. Silence fell over our table as we perused our menus. "So do you have any recommendations besides the enchiladas?"

"Their tacos are pretty good," I replied lamely. Why was I suddenly so bad at this? We had been fine in the truck; the banter and the flirting just flowed. Now it just felt weird. Thankfully, the waiter came back quickly and we placed our orders.

"So, tell me about the band we're seeing," I suggested, desperate to get us back on track.

"They're pretty good," he said, starting on the chips and salsa the waiter had brought back with our drinks. "My buddy Joey and I worked at the same camp every summer. He and some guys from his high school formed the band and on the weekends when we didn't have campers, he'd play gigs and I tagged along to help with their equipment. Hannah and Dean came with me a few times after high school to hear them play. I don't know if they're ever going to go mainstream or whatever, but they've got a good sound and plenty of groupies."

"Groupies, huh? Do they have a cute nickname like the Beliebers?" I asked as I loaded a chip with salsa.

"Yep. The Bankers." I inhaled a chip as I started to laugh, causing me to choke. Brady looked concerned but I held up my hand and took a large drink of water.

"The Bankers huh?" I finally managed to get out.

"I know, right? Joey thinks it's hella cheesy but his bandmates love it."

"I'm sure they do." Back to awkward silence. The munching of chips sounded loud in my ears.

"You went to Warner right?" Brady questioned. I nodded. More silence. "Do you mind if I ask you for an honest answer to a question?" I took a long sip of my margarita.

"Go for it," I answered, fortified with liquid courage. He leaned forward with his forearms on the table.

"Are you just going out with me because Hannah asked you to?"

"What? No. Hannah never asked me to go out with you. Why do you think that?" It was my turn to lean forward.

"I just thought that maybe she had asked you to since she knew about the crush I had on you and how my last relationship turned out," he explained. "Sometimes I feel like the little brother she never had."

"Brady, I'm here because I want to be with the very nice, very good looking guy who asked me out," I assured him, reaching across the table to squeeze his arm. "You may be the little brother Hannah never had but that is not how I see you at all."

"Oh thank gawd," he breathed out and I couldn't help but giggle. He seemed to be as insecure as me.

"Now, can I ask you a question?" I pulled my hand away and let it drop to the base of my margarita glass.

"Of course."

"Did you ask me out as a favor to my sister?" Brady's eyes widened. "It's just I don't have the best track record in the last couple of years and I can't help wondering if one of us isn't being set up."

"No, but if she had asked I would've said yes. Seriously, I've been kicking myself for years for never taking a chance and asking you out, especially after you moved to California. The second I saw you again I knew I had to say something before…" his voice trailed off.

"Before?" I prompted. He reached across the table and took my hand.

"Before you got back with Kade." Brady intertwined our fingers as he spoke softly. Now was as good a time as any to address the two hundred pound blond haired grey eyed elephant in the room.