“Jesus Carter,” I sighed and swung the door open, “you scared the crap out o–.” my words and breath rushed out when he squeezed me tightly.
“Thank God you’re okay.”
I tapped his shoulder until he let me go with an awkward grin, “I’m fine. What are you doing here? What time is it?” It wasn’t fully dark outside, but that didn’t help much.
“Almost eight?” He looked at me like I should know this.
“Brandon and I were sleeping, your knocking woke me up.”
“Is he still asleep?”
“Mhmm.” Which reminds me…I’m standing in a darkened house with Carter in nothing but a shirt. No bra, no underwear. Just a shirt that grazes the top of my thighs. Folding my arms somewhat under, but still over my chest, I looked down to make sure the rest of me was still covered and asked again, “What are you doing here Carter?”
“I wanted to talk to you, alone if that’s okay.”
Mashing my lips together, I stepped out of the way and waved him in. I led him to the living room, turning on a few lamps on the way and sat on the chair opposite the sofa he was seated on. “So let’s talk.”
“Are you okay?”
“Carter, I told you I’m fine.”
“Okay, I know. But you were really upset Saturday night, and then you just disappear? Obviously this fight was something Brandon shouldn’t have done if you’d leave, so I was surprised when Konrad said you were back.”
“Leaving was a really immature thing to do.”
“But you did it Blaze. And that’s why I need to talk to you.”
Oh no.
“Look,” he began again and rested his elbows on his knees, “I know I said I wouldn’t do anything since you’re married, but if you feel like you need to get out Blaze, I’ll help you with that. If you’re afraid of Brandon, all you have to do is tell me and I’ll do everything I can to get you away from here.”
“Oh my God. Carter. You have taken this way out of proportion. I do not want to get out of my marriage and I definitely don’t want to leave Brandon.”
“You left. People don’t just leave their husbands unless something is wrong Blaze.”
I wanted to tell him he should know, but I kept that back, “I didn’t leave Brandon, I just needed a minute to think.”
“About how bad he is for you? He hurt you, that was extremely apparent Saturday night. And did you see him throw his brother into the wall? I know we’ve talked about this before, but he’s dangerous Harper. He’s a f**king bomb just waiting to explode.”
“You’re wrong.” I whispered and shook my head, “You’re so wrong Carter. The few times you’ve hung out with him haven’t been the best times, but even you should see how wrong you are. That night at the party, he didn’t hit you when he had every right to. He let you become a member at his gym and invited you to our home for a barbecue. I have the sweetest, most caring and selfless husband in the world. Yes, he likes to fight, and yes he’s extremely protective of his family. But I love that he is.”
“Blaze, the way he is with you –”
I held up my hand to stop him, “Don’t finish that. Do you not remember me telling you I cheated on him and got pregnant with his friend and housemate? He didn’t even yell at me when he found out Carter. He was devastated, but he didn’t raise his voice or call me a million things that I was already calling myself. Then he took care of me when I wouldn’t take care of myself, and despite everything I did to him, he’s still here with me.”
“So that’s it. You’re with him out of guilt? You feel like you owe him something?”
“Of course not!” I hissed and narrowed my eyes at him, “I love him more than anything. He is everything to me. When we broke up, I felt so lost. I tried moving on with my life the way I knew I should, and I would have happily, had Chase not died. But no matter what, being happy with Chase or not, a few months without Brandon by my side was painful and incomplete. I couldn’t even imagine a life without him.”
“Alright, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that. But that doesn’t change the way he is with you. He doesn’t let a guy even come near you without threatening to beat him to a pulp.”
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics, “Not true, only you and Chase. You know how I am Carter, I need to be surrounded by guys. And not in a slutty way. Growing up with hundreds of brothers, it was only natural for me to find all that here. Other than Bree and the girls in her and Brandon’s families, I don’t have female friends. They are all male, and Brandon doesn’t have a problem with that because he knows that’s home for me. There have even been a few that have flirted, and Brandon didn’t do anything other than laugh about it. But you? Well you openly admitted to everyone that you followed me across the country and that you were in love with me. Even if you lied about it, and I bought it, he knew from the beginning what was going on. And to make it worse, he and Chase were already constantly fighting over me. Which I also had no idea about. I found that out not long ago by accident.” Taking a deep breath, I sank into the cushions and covered myself with a blanket, “So he tried to keep the two guys that also loved me away from me, what boyfriend wouldn’t?”
“He’s possessive. That can be dangerous.”
I made a pfft sound and smirked at him, “Possessive? Hardly. He knew I didn’t like you in that way, so he made sure to keep you the hell off me, which I really appreciated. If you want to take that as possessive, be my guest. But he had every right to at least punch you that night, and he didn’t do anything other than keep you away. And you know what? He knew I was in love with Chase too, and without even confronting Chase, he quietly stepped back so we could be together. I’m pretty sure that’s the exact opposite of a possessive man.”