Almost Pt. 03.1

Alone in the kitchen Brian took another sip of coffee and thought to himself, this was like watching a car wreck about to happen. You knew it a going to be bad, but there wasn't anything to do but watch it happen. He took another sip and smiled to himself. Welcome to the real world, Dan.

The next moment Brian heard the front door, and then Cheryl walked in holding her key to the apartment. She looked over at Brian, "Good afternoon sleepy head! How's my favorite boyfriend?"

Brian put down his coffee, walked over to Cheryl, and took her in his arms to kiss her. Cheryl put both hands on his chest, went up on her toes to kiss him but smelled his breath. "Brian, you have doggy breath, haven't you brushed your teeth yet?"

Cheryl knew the breaking in process wouldn't be easy. A puppy must be house broken with care.

Pushing back she commanded, "Stop! I'm not kissing you until you do!" Brian leaned in and kissed her briefly on the cheek anyway. "OMG Brian your breath is horrible!"

"Baby, that's what love is all about. You gotta take the good with the bad."

"I take enough of the good with the bad when I touch your underwear to put them in the wash."

Feeling a bit guilty but not much, "Cheryl, honestly I've told you time and time again, I WILL still have sex with you whether you clean my clothes or not."

Looking up to Brian and punching him as hard as she could in the chest, "YOUUUU are SUCH a DORK sometimes! I don't know why I even like you!"

"Maybe it's all the good loving you're getting honey?", Brian smiled

Fine Cheryl thought. Two can play this game. "I only am with you for your money!"

That cut to the bone. Brian was struggling with student loans. His parents (Dad) told him they would pay his way thru law school, but Brian was going to prove himself to the old man he could blaze his on trail. But blazing that trail had a price. He was already more than $42,976.42 in the hole. By the time he finished Law School that price tag would top 65,000.00 plus. That kind of money was nothing to his father who thought Brian was foolish for not accepting. But he understood Brian's pride. The old man had a lot himself. Still, he wasn't impressed. His father thought it was a poor judgment in decision-making. His motto was, "A man has got to learn by his mistakes in this world or he would never be successful."

And Brian wasn't just hurting financially. He was bleeding. He loved Cheryl more than anything in the world, and he wanted to buy her the world.

Cheryl gave meaning to his life. It pushed him into academic success he would never have attain without her. Cheryl knew Brian's financial situation. And he knew she knew. Goddamn, that little witch who had put him under her spell! She was hitting below the belt.

But Brian wasn't stupid. Pick and choose your battles and all that. Time to be humble.

Brian was happy to delude himself if didn't hurt, but it did. The whole tone of the banter became as serious as a match within the International Wing Tsun Association. Wing Tsun(WT) is system for self-defense, deadly, and one of the most fascinating martial arts. He was top ranked (6th Level) in his class and was a student of Sifu Lau the highest ranked WT master (7th level) on this continent and an excellent teacher who gives seminars all over North America.

That didn't mean shit to Cheryl. Brian had met his match. Time to back down and accept defeat. No wonder a man's love for a woman could kill him.

"Cheryl" clearing his voice a bit, "You're right of course, but I'm still half asleep. Sorry. But, It's your fault partly for keeping me out so late last night. Honey bunny, go to my room and turn on the big screen and watch something. I'm going to take a shower and clean up. When I'm finished, I am going to take you out for the best brunch of your life!" "K!"

KA-POW! Cheryl kept a straight face but accepted Brian's defeat with entire knowledge of her victory. Men are so silly to think women are the weaker sex. Even the most unsophisticated woman can manipulate the man she wants.

"Well...ok...but still...Brian Honey, all I'm asking is that you brush your teeth in the morning before you kiss me...ok sweety?"

Brian now felt full fledged guilt. For what??!!!! He didn't brush his teeth before he kissed the love of his life on the cheek??? He turned and walked to shower before he made things worst. If this were a man, he would have broken that motherfuckers neck. But this...what the hell???

At this point, Brian had become officially welcomed into the club of men who would never understand women for the rest of his life.

Dan had gone over the listing of events for the week and tonight. Fuck hell yea! Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were playing downtown tonight. That was the ticket. He would text Samantha and ask her to go. He didn't care how much it cost. He just wanted to see her again. To be with her. To be in her presence. But at that same moment, there was a knock on the door.

WTF?? For sure that wasn't Brian. Brian would come in like a swinging dick after a shower without knocking to say something.

"Yeah?"

The door opened. There was Cheryl. She who must be obeyed.

"Hi Danny, can we talk a minute?"

Dan turned around. There she was looking thru the door. Cheryl was a sweetie. A kind soul. A good heart. A caring individual. Cut from the same fabric as his own family. Brian's girlfriend who gave him his first REAL date ever.... he would kill anyone who ever did anything to hurt her. Dan loved her like he loved his sister Deb. At least he'd like to think himself badass enough to do so.

"Cheryl! Come in! I cannot thank you enough for last night."

Cheryl blushed. And she didn't blush for just anyone. Dan was so easy to read. She saw what others would interpret as a dumbass. What she saw was an innocent soul. A good man with a good soul who deserved a good woman with a good soul. A good soul like Samantha's.