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“If you’re going to be a true Philadelphian, you can’t call it abeach house. You have to call it ashore house. Theshoreis the area. You now own ashore house. You can only saybeachwhen you refer to the actual sand and ocean.” We both smile. “What made you buy down here?”
He looks at me without a single moment of hesitation. “Because you said you like it here. I bought it for us. When you change your mind about us, and you will change your mind, we’ll have somewhere to come and relax when we’re not at the hospital.”
“I asked you to stop talking like that.”
“You asked me why I bought theshorehouse. Would you rather I lie?”
I pause for a moment. “Let’s move on. Tell me about Sweden.”
We talk for the next few hours. He fills me in on his time in Sweden. The new surgical techniques he’s learned. When I do my neuro rotation, I’ll get to see him in action. I’m excited to see what he’s learned.
He also tells me that for the past few months, since he’s been back in the United States, he’s been in California working on building a rehabilitation center that’s being named for his mother. He’s really proud of the work they’ll be doing there.
I tell him about my last two years of medical school. I leave out the bad parts, which include desperately missing him, and dodging the near-constant advances of Dr. Waters. At least I haven’t seen him much at the hospital, but that’ll change now that we’re moving to the surgical floor. It also means I’ll see Brody almost every day.
Our conversation flows easy as if no time has passed. My feelings for him are as fresh as they were the day he left.
I need to be honest with myself. Despite the silent promise I made only hours ago, I don’t see a realistic chance of me ever moving on from Brody Cooper. I know I’ll never feel the same way about another man.
At the end of the night, he walks me back to Megan’s house. It’s almost midnight, so we sit outside on the front deck with blankets. He has his arm around me. It feels right.
The clock is just striking midnight, and we can see fireworks blazing through the sky in all of the various Jersey shore towns, just as they do on the fourth of July.
I turn to him. “Happy New Year, Brody.” I give him a hug. I then grab his face to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he quickly turns his head and softly kisses my lips. A bit more than a peck, but nothing crazy.
He slides both of his arms around my body, pulling me close, while my hands remain on his face. We stare into each other’s eyes, locked in the embrace.
We slowly move our lips back toward one another. His lips take mine in a kiss. It’s not just any kiss. We both pour all of our pent-up emotions and years of longing into that kiss. Our mouths are open, and tongues embracing.
It’s genuinely as if no time has passed. He picks me up and pulls me back down so that I’m straddling his thighs. I wrap my arms around his neck.
I feel him in every part of my body. My long-dormant libido is awakened all at once. I don’t know if I have the power to continue to deny myself this.
I tighten my legs, pulling him closer. He reaches a hand between us and grabs one of my breasts. My body is reacting in a way that it hasn’t since the night with him in the alley behind the club. I’m totally lost in the moment, just as I’ve always been with him.
All of a sudden, I feel the vibration of my cell phone buzzing in my pocket. It brings me back to earth. I pull off the kiss and gently push his chest away. “Stop. We can’t.” He sighs in frustration. “I’m sorry Brody. Find someone who can give you what you need.”
“That someone is you. You’re theonlywoman who can give me what I need. Theonlywoman I want. Theonlywoman who can possibly quench the insatiable thirst I have for you.”
“I’m not the woman for you.”
He stands up and places me back on the couch. He takes my hand and kisses it. I look down, but he grabs me roughly by the hair. He jerks my head so that my eyes meet his.
“Look at me.” I do. “Hear me. I need you toreallyhear me. The next time we kiss, we won’t be interrupted. The next time we touch, we won’t stop. This is the year of Harley and Brody. It’s going to happen for us. We will never spend another New Year’s Eve, or any other holiday, apart. It would be a lot easier, and a lot more fun, if you just accepted that. Make no mistake, you and I are happening. I came back for you. You’ve never seen this side of me, but I’m a determined man. You’re going to be mine, Harley Lawrence.” He kisses me hard, releases his grip on my hair, turns, and leaves.
I’m trembling at his words and actions. Part of me wants him and was really turned on by what he just did, and the other part of me is simply scared.
I eventually look down at my phone. It’s our family chat, and the interrupting text was Mom wishing us all a happy New Year. She’s in Colorado with Jackson, so it’s only 10:00 there, but she’s wishing us well for our New Year.
I put my face in my hands and start crying. What the hell am I going to do? I cry for another minute, but soon realize that it’s extremely cold out here without Brody holding me. I mean that in every sense possible.
I stand up to go inside, but I see both of my sisters standing there on the sidewalk, with their hands on their hips. I’m in total shock that they’re here. Reagan moves her arms and crosses them. “Clearly we need to talk.”
I’m completely overwhelmed with emotion right now. Emotion that I saw Brody after all this time. Emotion that he came back for me. Emotion at his declaration. And emotion that my sisters canceled their New Year’s Eve plans because they knew I needed them.
I walk up to both of them and wrap my arms around them. I put my head down and start sobbing. “Thank you for coming.”
They hold me tight and let me cry for a few minutes.
