An Unexpected Love by Amber Riel (dar e dil novel online reading .TXT) 📕

          “You mean bras?”

          “Yea…. Um…. What’s the….?” Brandon held up his hands to show Cassie what he was trying to say.  “The…. Um…. Size of your…. Um….”

          “Thirty-four A…. Okay?”

          “Okay.”

          Cassie followed Brandon out of his room and down the staircase.  Brandon opened the front door.  “Oh yea…. Can you also get me a toothbrush, a hairbrush, and a raiser, not the disposable one either because they cut my legs when I shave please?”

          Brandon looked down at Cassie’s legs.

          “Um…. Look up at me and not at my legs, you….”

          “Don’t worry.  I wasn’t trying to be a perv….” Brandon smiled because he was the one having the fun now.  “Bye, babe.  I’ll see ya later.”  He kissed her cheek and left, closing the door behind him and laughing.

          Cassie’s mouth dropped.  She couldn’t believe what he had done.  Her feelings for him were mixed and he was driving her crazy.

          Brandon had everything but the bras.  He hadn’t thought he’d have to buy any bras in a million years and had an uncomfortable feeling knowing what people would think when he bought them.

          Melinda was working the shift, folding up shirts and placing them on the shelves in the sections the belonged.

          Brandon searched for the bras, unsure where to find them when he noticed the girl working.  “Excuse me…. Can you help me?” he asked, walking over to her.

          Melinda rolled her eyes.  She didn’t want to have to stop what she was doing but knew she would get in trouble if she didn’t offer help to a costumer.  “What?”

          “I’m looking for the…. The….” Brandon looked around to make sure that no one else was around.  “The bras,” he whispered as if he were asking for drugs.

          Melinda kind of laughed.  He was the first guy she had met who seemed to be embarrassed just to speak of bras.  The guys she knew would take a bra and make a joke out of it.  She stopped what she was doing and stood up.  She didn’t bother to look at the man and had no clue that he was the one who had kidnapped one of her best friends.  “Follow me, sir.”

          “Okay.”

          Brandon and Melinda walked to the female department and found the bras.  “So why are you looking for the…. Bras?” Melinda asked, whispering the last word to mock Brandon.

          “They’re for my girlfriend,” he replied.

          “Okay.  What sizes?”

          “Come again?”

          “You know…. The sizes…. Are you looking for a thirty-six B?  Thirty-seven C?  What?”

          “Oh…. Thirty-four A.”

          “Okay…. This way.”

          Melinda had Brandon follow her to a section filled with nothing but bras which made the man feel a thousand times more uncomfortable than he already was.  “Well here you are.  I have to get back to work.”

          “Ok-ay.”

          Melinda left Brandon alone.  Before Brandon grabbed any, he checked to make sure that no one was watching.

          Brandon placed the clothes on the counter. Once he set the bras down, the teenage boy who stood behind him began cracking up from laughter.

          Brandon looked over at the kid.  “Hey, there for my girlfriend…. I hope that your girlfriend makes you buy something even more embarrassing than bras.”

          “Hey, man…. Don’t wish that luck on me…. And besides, she buys that stuff because I’ll lose my cool…. I mean I’ll feel sick.”

          “Okay.”

          Cassie sat on the couch.  She had the TV on but didn’t really pay much attention to it.  She let it play for the noise because the silence was bugging her.  She waited for Brandon while the kiss from the night before continued to play in her mind, confusing her.  She stood up and walked over to the window.  The shade was down so she took her finger and moved it to look out of the window.  She noticed a few little girls playing hopscotch.  A group of teenage boys played basketball while a little boy tried to play along with them.  She wished she was able to be outside but she was stuck.

          Brandon wanted her to stay in the house.  It was the only way he knew she couldn’t tell anyone to call the police and luckily for him she wasn’t one to break her word.  As she thought about the robbery it had seem that Brandon wasn’t organized.  Something had gone wrong and in a way she was kind of starting to believe that Brandon was a victim himself but didn’t understand why.

          She watched as Brandon’s truck pulled up into the drive way.  Brandon walked around the vehicle after he had climbed out and she noticed he was carrying a few bags of clothes.  “Oh good.  He’s back and he’s got the outfits,” she thought to herself.

          The door opened and Brandon walked in.  Cassie walked into the room, followed by Buck.  She held out her hands to take the bags.

          “Here you can take your female things,” Brandon told Cassie as he handed her the bag.

          “Thank you.”  She checked the bags and grew wide-eyed.  “Um…. You’re going to be mad but can you go back to the store and get me some deodorant…. I really need some.”  Cassie kind of smiled, sweetly.  She didn’t know why she’d forgotten to tell him to buy some deodorant.

          Brandon sighed.  “Okay.”  He turned back toward the door.  “Anything else before I go?”

          Cassie took a moment but nothing else popped into her head.  “Nope.  That’s it.”

          “Okay.”  Brandon left.

          Cassie walked over to the door and stared out of the peep hole.  She watched the truck back out and leave.  She moved away from the door then went upstairs and brought the bags to Laura’s room.  She figured that Brandon was going to want his room back.

          Someone knocked on the door as Cassie worked her way out of Laura’s room.  She debated on if she should answer it or not.  There was another knock on the door.  She took a deep breath and worked her way over to the door.  When she standing next to the door, she squinted her closed one eye and looked out of the peep hole with the other.

          Chris and Laura were standing outside, waiting.

          Cassie felt relieved at the sight of the two.  She opened the door and Laura walked in without hesitation, followed by Chris.  “Cassie, right?” Chris asked, closing the door.

          “Yes.”  Cassie smiled.

          “Okay….” Chris turned to face the girl.  “Um…. Where is Brandon?  I didn’t see his truck outside.”

          “Oh…. He went to the store to get something.  He should be back soon though.”

          “Okay…. Laura wanted to come stay the night again…. She really looks up to Brandon.”

          “So I’ve heard.”

          “Look, Cassie, I don’t know you all that well and you really seem to be a nice girl but please don’t break my brother’s heart.  He’s had his heart broken too many times in the past and I don’t want that to happen to my younger brother.  He’s a good guy and he doesn’t deserve that.  Okay?”

          “I understand…. I would never do something like that.”

          “Okay.”

          Brandon pulled up and noticed Chris’s car was parked in the driveway.  He parked his truck next to the little car.  After he parked the truck and shut it off, he grabbed the keys and climbed out of the truck.  He grabbed the little bag then shut the door.

          “I was going to call but I de---” Chris began when Brandon walked into the house.  “Oh, Brandon…. I came by to drop Laura off…. I know its late notice but she wanted to stay the night again if you don’t mind…. Is that a problem?”

          “No.  She can stay.  I don’t care.”

          “Are you sure?”

          “Yea.  I enjoy having her over and besides,” he said with a smile, wrapping an arm around Cassie, “I want the two girls that I care about the most to get to know each other.  Right, babe?”

          Cassie kind of looked at Brandon and could tell that he was enjoying the little moment.  Well, if he could play that game then so would she.  “Right…. Um…. Honey, can I talk to you alone for a minute in the other room?”

          “Yea.”  Brandon followed Cassie into the kitchen, stopping at the door.  “She likes to chat.”  He held up his hand and started moving it.

          Cassie’s hand came out of the doorway and grabbed Brandon’s shirt, pulling him into the kitchen.

          Cassie turned to face Brandon, placing her right hand on the counter.  She was steaming red from anger.

          “What’s wrong?” Brandon asked.

          “You’re letting your brother believe that we’re dating.”

          Cassie’s response had confused Brandon.  “Wait a minute…. Aren’t you the one who started the lie?”

          Cassie dropped her mouth in disbelief.  She actually couldn’t say anything though because the lie came from her.  “That’s different…. I didn’t think that a six year old girl would want to hear that her uncle is a bank robber who forgot to get the money, a murderer, oh and my favorite, a kidnapper.”

          Brandon shook his head.  “Well, you have a point but still…. You could have just said that you were a friend.”

          “A friend?  Yea if this were like fifty years ago.  Everyone automatically assumes that just because a guy and a girl hang out that means they’re dating.”

          “Still…. You could have said something else…. And now thanks to you…. I have to tell my brother that you’re my girlfriend.”

          Cassie felt trapped, knowing that she couldn’t answer.  She had to get Brandon to shut up though.  How was she going to get him to stop?  What would she say?

          Brandon laughed at Cassie’s expression.  “Why don’t you admit it?  You like me.”

          Cassie’s expression changed fast.  He was purposely ticking her off.  “First of all, I don’t like you,” she denied.  “Second of all, I don’t know you that well…. And third of all, you kidnapped me.”

          Brandon smiled.  “You couldn’t stop thinking about me…. Especially after that kiss last night.”

          “That’s not true.  I actually like another guy anyways,” Cassie lied.

          “Oh yea…. Really?”

          “Yea.”

          “Okay.  What’s his name?  Oh…. And actors and musicians don’t count.”

          “He’s actually one of my guy friends and his name is Matthew.”

          Brandon nodded, figuring that she was lying.  “Matthew what?”

          “Matthew….” Cassie began, looking around the room.  “Matthew…. Matthew Table.”  She looked at the table which sat behind Brandon.