Why Are We Still Friends
By: Rachel
Copyright 2015

Chapter 50

“Brian tonight was wonderful.” I said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ve missed being with you.”

Brian moved closer to me. His lips grazed my neck. “Mmm, Lexi. I missed you, too. You’re so beautiful.” He murmured between kisses. His hand slid the strap of my nightgown down off my shoulder. “I want you so much Tiger Lilly.”

“Brian, not tonight.” I said softly.

“Baby, it’s been a while. I’ve missed making love to you.” Brian crooned as he attempted to remove my nightgown.

I pushed him away. “Stop Brian!” He gave me a dirty look as he backed away. “I’m tired and my back hurts.”

Without a word Brian removed himself from the bed. I watched helplessly as he found his jeans and started to put them on. Things were not turning out the way I expected. We had a nice dinner with great conversation. It was almost as if our relationship was back to normal. I guess I was wrong.

“Brian, where are you going?” I placed my feet on the ground and slowly stood up.

He put his t-shirt on and looked at me. Clearly, he was frustrated. “I thought you wanted me here, but I guess I was wrong.”

“I do want you here. Just because I don’t want to have sex doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you. This pregnancy is causing me to feel out of whack. I want to spend time with you, Brian.” I waited for him to respond. Instead he stared at me with dark eyes. “It’s seems like the only time you want to be with me is when we are in bed. I just want to spend the night cuddling with you.”

I got back into bed and waited to see what Brian was going to do.  My fear was Brian walking out the door and out of my life. I turned off the light and pulled the blanket up to my chin. Tears were threatening to fall, but I wasn’t going to cry. He wasn’t worth it.

Brian crawled onto the bed and wrapped his arms around me. “Tiger Lilly, I’m sorry.  It seems like no matter what I do, I end up being an ass.”

“You’re not an ass. It’s just going to take time to get things back the way they were.” I turned so I was facing him.

He kissed me gently on the cheek, as he brushed my hair off my face. “I just missed being with you.”

“I miss being with you, Brian. Is there more to our relationship then sex? Before we started dating, we would spend hours just talking.”

“Of course, it’s about more than sex.” He kissed me gently. “Can I…is…it okay if I stay?”

I sat up and looked at him. “I want you to stay.”

I stretched to get the kink of out my back, I noticed Brian was missing. I figured he was in the bathroom or making coffee. I fluffed my pillow and settled back into a comfortable position. The alarm wouldn’t be going off for another hour. I stared at the clock, after ten minutes Brian didn’t return.

“Brian.” I called out loudly. Then I waited for him to respond. I got nothing. Something wasn’t right.

Quickly, I got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen. No coffee was perking. The kitchen was immaculate. I padded into the living room and opened the curtain slightly; Brian’s car wasn’t in the driveway. Anger coursed through my body.

I couldn’t believe that he just left and didn’t tell me. I stomped back into my bedroom. I picked up my phone and dialed his number.

“Hello Tiger Lilly. Why are you up so early?” Brian said sweetly. That only made me madder.

“Where the hell are you?” I yelled.

“I forgot I had an appointment this morning.” Brian continued to be overly sweet. I didn’t like his syrupy attitude. It was rubbing me the wrong way.

I sat down on the bed. “And you didn’t have the decency to tell me or write a note. I was worried sick about you.”

“Baby, I’m sorry. It was never my intention. You looked so peaceful.  I didn’t have the heart to wake you. We were up late last night. You and the baby need the rest.”

I sighed, knowing he was right. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. Please don’t be mad at me.”

“I could never be mad at you, Tiger Lilly. Blame me. I should have left a note.”  He said tenderly.

“Well, I bet let you go. I don’t want you to miss your appointment.” I lie down. “Will…are…you still going to come to the doctor’s with me this afternoon?”

“Of course I am. It’s at three, right?” Brian asked.

“Yes it’s at three. Maybe we can do some baby shopping afterward.” I suggested.

“Sure. I’ll pick you up around two thirty. Love ya Tiger Lilly.”

“Love you, too.” I turned off my phone and decided to go back to sleep. Just as I was dozing off, the doorbell rang. I got up and made my way to the door.

Bella was standing on the porch. I was surprised to see her. We hadn’t talked since our fight. I wondered why she was here.

“Umm…hi Bella. Come in.” I said quietly, moving so she could come inside.

“Lexi. How are you?” Bella asked and we went into the living room.

I flopped onto the couch. Thinking about how I should answer her question. I wasn’t sure what she wanted me to say. I didn’t want to be attacked for what came out of my mouth.

“I’m okay.” I replied. There was no way, Bella could find fault in that answer.

“I wanted to apologize for what happened. I shouldn’t have said what I did.” She apologized.

I sat there looking at my sister-in-law. I was shocked she was apologizing. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion.”

“Geesh, Lexi. I’m trying to make peace here and you don’t seem like you care.”

“It’s not that Bella.” I situated myself in a more comfortable position. “Things haven’t been easy for me lately. Maybe you were right. I need to start thinking about my boyfriend more. I love Brian a lot. I guess I was just as much to blame as him.”

“And I wasn’t being very supportive. Alex, says I tend to judge before I know all the facts. I should have been a better listener.” Bella walked over and gave me a hug. “Let’s have a girl day. We’ll go to the spa and gets massages. When I was pregnant with Ian massages were the only thing that helped with the back pain.”

“That sounds like an awesome idea.” I replied genuinely. Maybe things were starting to look up in my life. “I’ve had the worse back pain this past week.”

“Let me know when your next day off is, and I’ll make us an appointment. You look exhausted. Go get some sleep. Love ya Lexi.”

“Love ya Bella.” I watched her walk out and went back to bed.