Mending by J. B. McGee

escape them . 

    Bradley
    He had worried about getting stopped in Atlanta traffic, which would have made him late.  He was thankful he had been abl e to cancel his last appointment .  He made it there before her and was anxiously awaiting her arrival.  He had worked on his cell the entire trip and now while he waited for her in his car.  When he saw her car pull in to the parking lot, he felt a sense of relief .  For one, at knowing she had made it safely, and two, that she had not decided to stand him up.
    She pulled into the space beside him giving him a playful smile.  He quickly climbed out and was waiting on her leaning on the side of his car smiling .  The sleeves of his light pink shirt were rolled up to just below his elbows.  His arms were crossed causing his chest to almost bulge.  He was trying very hard to look cool and not show just how excited he was to see her.  He carefully watched her every move, which only turned him on even more .   He shifted his stance and crossed his legs.
    She tossed several things into her purse and bounced out of the car .  It was just a moment before she was standing inches front of him .  This was because there wasn’t a lot of space between cars.  Bradley had purposely not moved to make her come around to him.  He knew that he had to be careful to not cross the boundaries of the friendsh ip, but he yearned for her close proximity . 
    He reached out and gently put his finger around a tendril of hair that was framing the side of her face, the little piece of hair that was usually fairly straight.  He pulled it a little closer, “I like your hair like this.”
    She blushed causing him to grin.  He hoped that if things continued to go this well that it wouldn’t be long before she would give into the whole ‘ let’s be friends ’ first thing.  He was willing to play along, but he wanted her, only her, so badly he could barely stand it.  He pushed himself up off the car and put hi s hand in the small of her back. “C’mon, let’s eat.  I’m starving.”
    She looked up and smiled at him as she softly spoke, “Okay, me too.”
    The hostess seated them in a booth towards the back of the restaurant.  It wasn’t too busy since it was a weeknight.  Because of the timing, they had luckily missed the dinner rush .
    Bradley waited for her to pick a side and he climbed in to the opposite side so he could drink in her beauty for as long as he could.  “How was your drive?”
    “It was nice.  Have you ever been to Aiken?”
    “I have.  It’s beautiful.”
    She smiled as she recalled her memories with Sam .  “Yeah, I stopped there to take a quick bathroom break.  Sam and I went to Hopeland Gardens to see the Christmas lights last year.” 
    “ Oh yeah?” He had never been to Christmas at Hopeland Gardens, but he had been to a wedding at The Rye Patch, which was an adjoining winter colony home adjacent to the gardens.  It was a beautiful place with ponds, old hardwoods, ducks, and flowers.
    Gabby responded, “ Mhmm .”
    “D id you like it?” He leaned onto the table dying to be closer to her. 
    “I did.  I was thinking it might be ni ce for us to meet there one day . ”   Gab by all of the sudden looked sad. “ That is, i f it’s not too far for you?”
    “ Not too far.”  He winked at her.  “ I would like that very much .”   Oh , she had no idea how much he would like that.  He could imagine the sun glistening through the canopy of trees causing those gold speckles in her eyes to twinkle.  He curled his finger over his lips. “But let’s not wait until Christmas.”
    Gabby’ s eyebrows arched.  He couldn’t help but grin at how adorable she w as when she got excited.  “Okay,” s he replied quietly. 
    The waitress walked up to the table asking what she could get them.  They had not even looked at the menus.  He got the same thing every time he ate at Steak and Shake, so he didn’t need to look.  But, he wasn’t