Big Tex (5 page)

            "Will, are you ok?"  She asked.

            "Yeah, I am.  Unbelievably ok.  I got us some food on the way home, I figured you'd be hungry."  Willow said and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

            "How did it go?  Did he take it bad and that's why you're crying?"

            "Huh?  Oh, no!  Actually, I have been laughing so hard since I left his place that my eyes have been watering.  I must have looked like some loon at the restaurant when I was getting the food.  People were probably pointing to me saying 'Look at that psycho laughing so hard all by herself.  I bet it's the voices in her head making her laugh!'  But really, I'm perfectly fine.  I think he took it well, but there was really no choice in the matter for him."  Willow said, still chuckling.

            "Ok, so are you going to let me in on this little joke?"  Sierra asked.

            Willow proceeded to tell Sierra what happened at Joshua's apartment.  By the time she was done, Sierra was laughing too.  The girls were laughing so hard they thought the food would come out their noses.

            "So, I talked to Brody tonight.  It might be nice for you to call him and say hi.  He sounds like he's really missing you.  I guess he's a little stressed about tomorrow too, so a friendly voice might be nice for him to hear."  Sierra said.

            Willow knew she was right, so she went to the phone and called Brody.  A woman answered the phone and threw Willow off guard.  "Um, hi.  Is this Lisa?"  She asked the woman.

            "Yes it is, who may I ask is calling?"  Lisa said rather shortly.

            "Oh, hi Lisa, this is Willow.  Is Brody there by chance?"  She asked nervously.

            "Yup, he's right here."  Lisa said.  Willow could hear her tell Brody in a whisper that the phone was for him and who it was.  It sounded like they were really close together for Lisa to be able to tell him that quietly and that quickly that the phone was for him.

            "Hello, Willow?"  Brody asked as he got on the phone.

            "Hey Country Boy.  Just wanted to call and say hey and tell you we were home.  Am I interrupting something?"  She asked.

            "Um…n-not really.  What's up?"  Brody stammered.

            "I was just talking to Sierra and she said you were a little stressed about tomorrow, what's up?"

            "Oh, just meeting a new boss.  Not a big deal.  Listen, I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be rude, but can I talk to ya'll some other time?"  He asked.

            "Oh!  Sure, sure. That's fine.  Sorry if I caught you at a bad time."  Willow said and hung up the phone, not giving him time to say goodbye.  She was mad at herself for thinking that Brody had actually taken an interest in her, but from the sounds of it, she couldn't have been more wrong.

            Willow went back into the kitchen to get the rest of her food.  "Great idea Sierra.  Remind me not to listen to you again!"  Willow yelled.

            "Holy shit, what did I do?"  Sierra asked.

            "Oh, you just had me call Brody and make a fool of myself when he was obviously in the middle of something with Lisa.  What, is it just me, or am I interrupting everyone from having sex today?"  Willow yelled and left the room.

            "Will, it’s not like you to act like this.  You never get mad and you never yell.  What's up?  You're kind of scaring me."

            "I just feel like such a fool.  I thought Brody actually liked me and I thought that we had a connection.  Now I know he could care less and is more interested in Lisa.  What's the point anyways.  I'm not going to Texas, he would never come here.  Looks like the decision is already made for me.  Whatever. Sorry I yelled.  I'm going to bed and hopefully when I wake up in the morning, things will be better.  Good night!"  Willow said and went to her bedroom and locked the door leaving a confused Sierra in the living room.  'Lisa?  What happened there?  He was just pouring his heart out to me about Willow, and now he sleeps with Lisa?  I just don't get it, there has to be an explanation here.'  Sierra thought as she went to her own bedroom for the night.

Chapter 6 Sadness and Surprises

            The next morning Sierra and Willow headed to work.  "Will, you look like shit honey.  Did you even get any sleep?"  Sierra asked her looking at her bloodshot puffy eyes with dark circles underneath.

            "Not much.  I tried, but I kept replaying the time we spent with the guys in my head to see if I perceived his feelings in the wrong way.  Maybe he really didn't like me and was just giving me a dose of that "Southern Hospitality" and I misunderstood his feelings.  I just feel like such a fool for believing it!"  Willow said.

            "I don't think you twisted any of his feelings up.  I know for sure that he liked you.  I think there had to be some sort of misunderstanding about what happened last night."  Sierra said, determined to get to the bottom of it tonight when she talked to Micah.  She would just have to talk to Brody too to find out what went on with him and Lisa.  "But, listen, put it all out of your head for now.  We have a full day of work ahead of us, then we have tickets to the Knicks game tonight that we got from that client.  No worries?"

            "I'm sorry, I'll try to focus."  Willow told her worried friend.

            The work day went pretty fast for Sierra and Willow.  They had a lot to catch up on since they had taken some vacation days the previous week and it was their first day back.  Willow was the senior architect and Sierra was partnered with Willow as the lead Interior Designer.  By the end of the day, the girls were both ready to go to the game and blow off a little stress.

            Willow was a sports fanatic.  She loved basketball most of all, but would sit down and watch pretty much anything, except golf and bowling.  It was the one thing that she was ever able to bond with her father over.  She wasn't very close with him, not nearly as close as she was to her mother and grandmother, but when sports were involved, the two had been very compatible.

            The girls managed to enjoy themselves immensely at the game, even though the Knicks lost, again.  Willow had a few too many beers, and was pretty drunk by the time the game ended.  Sierra saw how much Willow was drinking so she decided to stay sober to help her friend out.  Sierra knew that the past couple of days had been rough for Willow, so she was more than happy to be the sober one and let her friend forget her problems for the night.

*****

            After the game, the girls headed home.  In front of their door were a dozen long-stem white roses.  Willow nearly stepped on them since she couldn't walk straight.  Sierra saved them just in time, then walked Willow over to the couch and sat her down.  "Who are they for?"  Willow slurred.

            "Um, they're for you, but I'll save the card for you until tomorrow when you sober up."  Sierra said.

            "Whatever, just throw them out.  I don't want any flowers from anyone right now.  I'm going to bed."  A drunken Willow said and stumbled to her bedroom to pass out.

            'Willow, I miss you already.  Call me so we can talk.  Love, Country Boy' the card in the flowers said.  Sierra had half a mind to throw the card out, along with the flowers like Willow said to do, but instead chose to call Micah to see if there was an explanation.

            "Hello?"  Micah greeted as he picked up the ringing phone.

            "Hey you!  What's up?  How was the first day with the new boss?"  Sierra asked him.

            "Hey Sierra!  I'm so glad you called.  Ugh, the first day was hell.  Everyone is worried sick wondering if we are all going to keep our jobs or not.  You know how things are when someone new takes over a company.  There's bound to be some downsizing of sorts.  At least I know that if it happened to me, there are other places I could go, I just don't want to leave here."

            "I hear ya.  So, listen, I have a question for you.  What's going on between Lisa and Brody?"  Sierra asked.

            "What do you mean?"  Micah was confused.

            "Well, Willow called him last night and seems to think that they were in the middle of having sex or something. Is that true?"

            "What!?  That's ridiculous.  Why would she think that?"  Micah sounded shocked.

            Sierra told Micah the story about the phone call last night and how Willow was really upset about it.

            "Sorry Sierra, I have no clue.  I don't think there is anything going on between them.  Do you want to talk to him?"  He replied after he heard the story.

            "Yeah, because at this point, I don't think she will have the guts to call him and ask him herself."  Sierra said.

            A minute later, Brody got on the phone.  "Hey Sierra, Micah told me ya'll wanted to talk to me?"  He asked nervously.

            "Yeah, just wondering what's up with you and Lisa.  Are you with her or do you like Willow?  You kind of have her confused."

            "What?  Nothing's up with me and Lisa, why?  She works for me, end of story."  Brody shouted.

            "Hey, don't take it out on me.  Willow's the one that thinks you were in the middle of having sex with her when she called last night!"  Sierra yelled.

            "Oh man!  I had no idea.  It probably seemed that way, didn't it?  Can I talk to her?"  He asked.

            "Um, not at the moment.  She's passed out cold in her bed.  We went to the Knicks game tonight and she tied one on pretty good because she was a little upset about you and Lisa.  Besides, even if she was sober, I don't think she'd want to talk to you much right now.  She was pretty hurt."  Sierra explained.

            "Well, first of all, she is the one that claims she only wants to be friends, so I don't know why I am even bothering to explain myself here, but I also don't want her to think something happened that didn't.  Last night Lisa's boyfriend broke up with her, and she came over here to talk.  Her and I started drinking because we were both upset, her over her boyfriend and me over Willow.  She told me that she had feelings for me and I told her I was her employer and nothing more.  She felt bad about the whole thing and started crying.  I was giving her a hug when Willow called and she gave me the phone.  She started crying harder so I let Willow go and told her I'd talk to her later.  I was pretty drunk anyways, so I'm sure I would have ended up saying something stupid.  Nothing happened.  Lisa spent the night in one of the guest bedrooms and I slept in mine.  Trust me, if Willow even cares, she has nothing to worry about.  She needs to talk to me before jumping to conclusions."  Brody said a little annoyed.

            "I agree, and I'm sorry to spring this all on you.  Willow is fighting her feelings for you, but she definitely likes you.  Just give her a little time to figure everything out.  Oh, hey, I have a great idea!  Why don't you guys come and visit us this weekend, surprise Willow?"  Sierra suggested.

            "That sounds like a perfect idea.  I'll give you back to Micah and you can work the details out.  I'll see you Friday!"  Brody said and called for Micah to pick up the phone.

            Sierra and Micah worked out the details for the trip and hung up the phone.  Sierra couldn't wait to see the guys this weekend, and hoped that everything would work out for Willow and Brody.  She wasn't sure if she should tell Willow about their conversation tonight or let her find out on her own.  She didn't want Willow to be mad at her for sticking her nose in Willow's business, but this whole mess really needed to be straightened out.  She decided to go to bed and figure something out tomorrow.

            The next day Willow woke up with a hangover worse than ever before.  She thought about calling in sick to work, but that would just leave her plenty of time to sit at home and think about everything that's been going on.  If she kept busy, then there was less time to think.  Willow got up and went to the bathroom for some aspirin and a shower.

            After Willow finished getting ready for the day, she walked into the kitchen to have breakfast with Sierra.  Sitting on the table was the vase of white roses.  "Those came last night, didn't they?"  Willow asked.

            "Yup, they're from you.  The card is still in there.  I think you should call him."  Sierra said.

            Willow read the card.  If she hadn't called and heard him with Lisa, the card would have been so touching.  She loved that he signed it 'Country Boy' and not Brody, just showed his humorous side.  But now, all of that was ruined by him having sex with Lisa.

             "Yeah, right.  Like I'm going to call him.  I don't want to ruin anymore of his sex sessions with his maid."  Willow said bitterly.

            "Wow Willow.  Nothing like giving him the benefit of the doubt, huh?  I'm telling you that there was a big, HUGE misunderstanding.  You really need to call him and talk to him about it.  You never act like this, and definitely not over a guy.  Think about it, you saw your current boyfriend in bed with two other people, and that didn't even affect you nearly as much as thinking that Brody was sleeping with Lisa, when it didn't even happen.  Call him!"  Sierra tried to reason with Willow.

            "Yeah, thanks.  Keep reminding me how I always play the fool."  Willow replied.  "Oh shit, Sierra.  I'm sorry.  I'm not trying to take this all out on you.  I really apologize.  I am so hung over and so confused about everything.  I'm not trying to bite your head off."  Willow said, near being in tears.

            "It’s ok, just promise me you'll talk to him before you keep thinking he slept with Lisa."  Sierra told her.

            "I'll talk to him, but I'm just not ready yet."  Willow said and finished her bagel.  "Come on, we're going to be late for work!"

            The next few days went by rather slow for Sierra.  She was counting the minutes until the guys got there that Friday.  Willow tried to keep busy by working out and shopping after work, but during the rare moments she was at home, she would mope around the apartment and sulk.  She still hadn't called Brody, and every time Sierra would get on the phone with Micah, Willow would disappear into her room and blast her music.