Wrecking Ball (2 page)

“I always will be
, Tia.” I hugged her and we drifted off to sleep.

When I left for c
ollege she was eight and more devastated than my mother, which was saying something. I emailed her every day the first two months checking on her. To say we were close is an understatement.

“Where are we going?” I huff in de
feat. How could I say no to her begging me when I really don’t have any reason not to go other than I want to stay home and wallow in my own self-pity?

Tia lets out a squeal and hugs me tighter. “Lots of places.”

“Then I should help you pack.”

“No, I got this. You go get some coffee. You’re so fucking cranky in the morning.” With that she traipses in
to my closet and gone is the teary-eyed Bambi I saw only moments before. My sister: the master of manipulation.

Damn, she’s good.

Brandon

It’s been two days
since I left Sophia and brought the girls to my parents’ place for the summer. We’ve barely spoken except when she calls daily to speak with our daughters, and even then the conversations have been limited to discussing the girls.

My mind is a wreck.

I really fucked up and I have no idea if Sophia will forgive me. We agreed time apart would help us clear our heads—or rather she demanded and I obliged—and decide if our marriage is something we both wanted to keep, but I’m starting to wonder if that was the wrong move. Maybe time apart will only widen the divide that has slowly separated us through the years. Maybe time apart will only make her angrier with me.

It wasn’t always like this. We were so fucking happy and in love it was disgusting. But something shifted at s
ome point and the girl that used to gaze at me with want and need in her eyes disappeared. We became more like roommates, both of us with our set responsibilities. Sophia did everything for the girls while I worked long hours at the University lab. She did the shopping and cleaning, I always took the trash out. She’d bathe the girls, I’d read them bedtime stories. Things had gotten comfortable, but
too
comfortable. By the end of each day, we were tired and slowly, over time, the
us
time began to disappear. I’d hunker down in my study grading papers and she’d hide away in our bedroom. Sure, we’d still make love and eat dinner together as a family and so on, but the spontaneity had died.

I still do
n’t know how we got here. I’ve never wanted anything as badly as I wanted her. I knew the day I met her, she was the one. Even the moment I laid eyes on her for the very first time, I knew I had to have her. I just had that feeling, an epiphany that lit up inside of me. This woman will be mine.

***

It was the last semester of my senior year in college. I couldn’t wait for graduation. Majoring in Biology made for long semesters, and I was eager to get on to my masters. It was April, and Alabama had hit a week of unexpected high temperatures. On one of those oddly warm days, I went down to the lake with some friends and a cooler of beer, a couple bags of chips, and a stack of beefy jerky. The way I ate and drank back then, I’m lucky I haven’t keeled over from a coronary.

“Damn,
look at all the tail out today,” my best friend Ryan mumbled as he eye-raped a group of girls down the shore. “This was the best idea you’ve had all year, Brandon.”

“Yeah, well
, I had a feeling we’d see some interesting sights,” I jested. And Ryan wasn’t exaggerating. There were lots of bombshells out in bikinis, soaking up the rays, working on their tans. And
apparently I wasn’t the only one with the brilliant idea to go to the lake. There were at least twenty other guys standing in small groups next to their coolers, holding beers and staring at the sea of half-naked women. “See anything you might bite at?” I asked him as I stared at a girl in a black string bikini with huge tits.

“When you two ladies are done gossiping, throw me a beer
,” our fraternity brother, Jake, grumbled from his towel on the ground. Jake had been extra irritable lately. The only serious girlfriend he’d ever had, Tiffany, had dumped him a week ago and last night we’d seen her out at a bar with her tongue down another guy’s throat. Ryan and I had to drag Jake out of there before he punched the guy in the face.

“
Aw, what’s wrong, Jake? Did someone get their period today?” Ryan made a pouty face at him as he reached in the cooler and grabbed a can. “Or are you still crying over Tiffany dumping your ass?” Ryan, our friend,
the dick
, had no
reservations
about giving Jake a hard time; Ryan didn’t believe in relationships.

Jake made a snort. “Dude, you’re a dick.”

“Alright, ladies. You two put the claws away. We’re here to have fun,” I scolded as I noticed the group of hotties Ryan had been staring at was staring at us. The big-chested girl in the string bikini was part of that group, too. It was going to be an excellent day and we we’re going to have a blast.

And that’s exactly what we did. Four beers down, the group of girls Ryan honed in on when we arrived,
came to join us at our spot and knock back a few with us. By the third hour, I was fighting a boner as the one in the tiny black bikini sat on my lap, wiggling her ass to tease me. I never had a hard time with the ladies. I’d dated a few girls seriously, but none where the big
I love you
bomb had ever been dropped. I was young and free. What did I need with a potential wife? I was always upfront with the girls I hooked up with. I never made promises I wouldn’t keep, and I never hooked up with them more than a few times.

As
what’s her name
sat in my lap and whispered in my ear that she’d like to go somewhere more private, something smacked the back of my head.

“What the…” My lap dog s
lid off me as I stood and spun around to see what hit me. And that’s when I laid eyes on the audacious Sophia Marie Campbell.

“Oh
, my God! I’m so sorry!” she groaned as she bent down and picked up the ball.

I was speechless.
She was a wet dream in a red bikini with long blonde hair and legs that went for miles. My eyes immediately fell to her chest when she stood back up, ball tucked under one slim, but toned arm.

“A
re you okay?” She gazed at me, concern in her eyes.

Everything was stunning about her. Her eyes, her body, her boobs. Her boobs.
“Uh, yeah. I—”

“That hit to your head must’ve messed with your vision. My eyes are up here
,” she interrupted me, bending down slightly trying to meet my gaze with hers.

“Busted!” Ryan laughed from behind me.

My gaze snapped to hers and I mumbled some sort of excuse, but was saved by Jake.

“Y
ou’ve got quite the arm,” Jake noted as he approached us, and I could tell he was scanning her body from behind his sunglasses. My teeth clenched at the thought.

“Yeah, just poor aim
,” she laughed.

“Sophia!” One of her friends called from the volleyball net and she turned.

“Be right there,” she yelled back before returning her focus to me. “Seriously, I’m really sorry.”

“No worries.” I rubbed the back of my head and shrugged. My mind fumbled for something witty and clever to say to make he
r laugh again, but her presence overwhelmed
me. Most girls went into flirt mode when they were around me, batting eye lashes, biting their lower lips, twirling their hair. Not this girl. With that she gave a slight nod and spun around to head back towards her friends. I couldn’t let her go. I had to think of some way to speak with her. There were guys playing with her. Could one of them be her boyfriend? Did I care?

“
Aw, shit.” I shook my head and took off after her.

“Where you going
, Brandon?” Ryan shouted, but I didn’t answer. Every one of my bodily senses honed in on the beautiful bronzed blonde running away from me.

“Hey,” I yelled catching her off guard as she spun
around.

“Yeah?” Her eyes we
re big and brown, almost exotic-looking when paired with her blonde hair.

“Um, I was wondering if…” I hesitated. When I was chasing her, asking her out didn’t seem like a big deal, but facing her, staring into those beautiful eyes
, I wasn’t ready to take the chance she’d say no. “Do you guys need another player?”

She bounced on her feet
for a moment and spun the volleyball between her hands, running her eyes up and down my body as if sizing me up. “You sure you can hang with us?” she challenged with one eyebrow quirked.

“
Yeah. I’m pretty good,” I lied.
What the hell am I saying? I suck at volleyball!
Truth was, I’d maybe played five times my entire life, but those games went pretty well so I convinced myself I could easily play with a bunch of girls and a few guys.

“Okay.” She grinned, a playfulness lurking in her eyes. “Let’s see what you
got.” When we reached the sandpit where everyone was waiting for her to return with the ball she motioned to me. “Guys, this is…” Her last word trailed off and she turned to me, biting her lip. “I’m so rude. I didn’t even ask your name and I hit you in the head with a ball.”

“Brandon.”

“Everyone this is Brandon,” she yelled and ran across the pit to her spot, kicking up sand. “Can you play setter?”

“Uh, sure.” I shrugged and took the only empty spot I saw, hoping it was where I needed to be. I was glad asking to play didn’t backfire and she included me, but I was disappoint
ed when we weren’t beside each other.

The game pressed on and the other side immediately gained five points on us. No one on our team outright blamed me, but I could
tell the general consensus was—
it was my fault
. I had a hard time staying in the game because I was too busy trying to catch glimpses of her. I finally snapped to as the ball was flying over the net, and I lunged towards it only to collide head on with Sophia. We both crashed to the ground, mingled with one another, the ball landing right beside us.

“Game!”
one of the girls from the other side squealed and everyone on our side groaned.

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry
,” I apologized frantically.
Nice move dumbass, you just physically crushed the girl you have the hots for.

Rubbing her head where it hit mine, she asked, “So, you don’t really play, do you?” She laughed as she pushed up with her hands.
Sand coated most of her, like sugar against her tan skin, and it looked sexy as hell.

“That
obvious?” I questioned shaking my head, humiliation surging through me.

“I’m Sophia, by the way.” She grinned as she hopped up and reached a hand down for me.

“That’s a pretty name.” I took her hand and let her help me up.

“We should go rinse off.” She held on to my hand and pulled me towards the water with her. “I guess now were even, huh?”

“Even?” I questioned unsure of what she was talking about.

“Yeah. I hit you with a ball and you nailed me to the ground. We’re even.”

The douchebag in me wanted to say something like,
do you like to be nailed to the ground
, but I refrained. This girl was different. I had no idea what it was about her I found so alluring, but I was hooked.

“Yeah
, I guess so.” We waded into the freezing cold lake, until we were waist deep when we both started splashing water, rinsing our skin. My mind wondered to devious places as I imagined her naked and wet, moaning my name as I thrust inside her. I sank into the water planting my ass to the mushy bottom, to hide the hard on I was getting.

“I think your girlfriend is waiting on you.” She nodded to the shoreline where
what’s her name
stood with one of her friends, trying not to look obvious as she casually glanced our way while they spoke.

“That’s not my girlfriend
,” I clarified a little too enthusiastically.

“Oh. Guess you just let anybody sit on your lap, huh?” She smirked at me and I cursed to myself. Of course she would think I was just some player after seeing me with a random girl on my lap.

I had to change the subject and fast. “Do you go to Alabama?”

“Yeah. Business. It’s my last year.
You?” She pulled a hair tie off her wrist and began pulling her hair up, extending her torso which only exemplified her tiny defined body. Damn, I was a goner.

“Biology. It’s my last year
, too. I’ll go for my masters after this.”

“Oh
, wow. You’re smart.” Her eyebrows rose as if she was surprised. She wasn’t the first person I ever told my major to
that seemed shocked. I didn’t exactly fit the nerdy scientist bill.

“Not what you expected?” I smirked.

“You don’t quite strike me as
a biologist, but what do I know?” She shrugged and began wading out of the water toward the shore. Panic flooded me. I had to keep her here. Here, we were away from everyone and I could speak with her, but up there she would surely go her way and I’d be forced to go mine. This could be my only chance to ask her out.

“What do you do besides school?” I blurted. Lame question, I know, but I was desperate.

Sophia stopped and turned slowly, facing me, squinting as if she were trying to determine something about me. With a sly grin, she said, “Go on then. Do it.” She gave me a pointed look and crossed her arms.

“Do what?” I stammered wondering if I had been that obvious.
Did she know I wanted to ask her out?

“You’re going to ask me out, right? Or at least you want to.”