Damn Dress: A Love Story Ch. 10

Sienna pushed his arms away and turned around to glare at him. "BT I was just hanging these decorations."

"Well let me do that, short stack, before you fall," he said, pulling the box of Christmas decorations out of her hands and hanging them across the door. "And besides, we have enough up, jeez, this place looks like it was tagged with red and green graffiti."

"I know, but since people are coming over tonight, I wanted to add more to what we already have. Make it look festive."

"Or tacky."

"Festive!" Sienna said, pulling the box away from him. They only had a few more minutes before guests started to show. She was so excited to see everyone together again. She and Lori had been spending a lot of time together since Lori had come back for Christmas break. She hated being away from her for so long. Sure, they talked almost every day on the phone, but she could tell that Lori was miserable, and that she really didn't want to be at Clark-Atlanta any longer. Sienna knew they needed to talk about that when she arrived tonight.

Sienna rushed to the bathroom to fix her hair just as the doorbell rang. When she walked out, she noticed Brandon standing in front of the door, and Ian was on the other side of it. It looked as though Brandon wasn't making much of an effort to move out of the way so Ian could enter, so Sienna walked over to them and stepped in front of Brandon.

"Hey, Ian! I'm glad you were able to make it," Sienna said, reaching out to hug him. Ian tentatively accepted her hug, but his eyes were wide and on Brandon the whole time.

"Um, sure, thanks. I wouldn't miss it. Hi Brandon."

"Ian."

Sienna scooted backwards, pushing Brandon out of the way as Ian entered. When he walked in, he had to smile at all of the decorations. He figured this wasn't Brandon's doing, but pretty much all Sienna. He turned and grinned at her. She looked beautiful.

"Do you like?" Sienna asked, beaming ear to ear. Ian nodded. He really did. Along with Thanksgiving, his family also didn't really believe in celebrating Christmas. But this was pretty cool. Sappy music, but it did make him feel all warm inside. "Nice tree," he said to Brandon.

"Thanks," Brandon replied back flatly.

Ian laughed on the inside. One day he would get Brandon to like him. Ian thought of himself as a pretty open-minded, nice guy. He'd win him over eventually.

A few minutes later, more and more people started to pile in the house for the party. Lori ran in and grabbed Sienna and the two fell backwards onto the couch.

"Hey, hey! Careful, my daughter's in there, Lori...fucking hurricane," Brandon muttered as he walked over to give her a hug.

"Sorry, sorry! Just happy to be away from the parental units. They are driving me crazy," Lori laughed. She reached down to rub Sienna's stomach. "Hi there, little Brie. I'm your auntie slash godmother, Lori. I'll be meeting you really soon."

John eventually arrived, followed closely by Darren and Tasha, with Michael passed out in Darren's arms.

"Hey, Sienna. Can I put little man in the bedroom?" Darren asked.

"Of course," Sienna said, as she led Darren to the back. "He's so cute," she whispered, as Darren laid him on the bed.

"Yeah," Darren said, as he quickly kissed the top of Michael's head. The two walked out and closed the door. Sienna always knew that Darren would be a great father. Tasha was lucky. And then Sienna thought of her own man. She was DEFINITELY lucky. She started grinning. She couldn't help it, when she thought of Brandon, she had to smile.

When she made it back down to the living room, she sat down in between Lori and Tasha on the couch.

"So, how's life?" Sienna asked Lori.

"I need a man," Lori blurted out. Sienna giggled and hugged her friend. She had missed her so much. Tasha laughed and shook her head. "Honey, they aren't all what they are cracked up to be...unless you get a good one." Tasha turned to look toward the kitchen where Brandon and Darren stood talking. "Trust me, I'm thirty-six, and I've been looking since I was sixteen. I JUST now found one....even if he is younger than me. Even my own son's father was no good. I'd never tell Michael that, but he wasn't. Besides, there's no rush, right? You're young, you'll find the right guy."

"I know, but I'm ready to have something real, you know. Like how you and Sienna have. Someone who loves me. Not just wants to fuck me. Excuse my language," Lori said, glancing around making sure Michael wasn't in hearing distance.

Sienna hugged her friend even tighter. Deep down, Lori was an amazing woman. She was kind, smart and a loyal friend. But she let her need for constant attention overshadow her better assets. And as beautiful as she was, she tended to throw herself at men...which just cheapened her in their eyes. Sienna had wanted to tell her that for years, but Lori's feelings were easily hurt, so Sienna had kept that analysis to herself.

"Well, let's see. What about John?" Sienna asked. All three of them turned their head in John's direction. He was over in the corner sipping on a Corona. Sienna had never really paid much attention, seeing as though her world revolved around Brandon Temple, but noticing John now, she realized he was a very attractive man. He had dark dirty blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. He had a small scar that was visible along the left side of his jaw line. The scar, along with his quiet demeanor and icy blue eyes made him appear mysterious.

All three of them were quietly observing him, as if noticing him for the first time. He glanced over at them, and they quickly turned away.

"Damn," Lori laughed. "How the hell did I miss his fine ass during Thanksgiving?"

"Probably because you were so far up Chris's butt," Sienna said.

"You're right. Oh my God, he's hot. What do you know about him?"

"I don't know anything. Tasha?" Sienna asked.

Tasha shook her head. John had hung out with them a few times, but she didn't know anything about him. And she was so preoccupied with Darren, Sienna and her son most of the time, that she hadn't really noticed anything about him. He slid under the radar.

Brandon walked over to the couch and leaned over Sienna. He gently pulled her head back by her hair and kissed her.

"Mmm...thank you, BT," Sienna said, licking her lips.

"My pleasure, baby. So, you three look like trouble sitting here all quiet. What's up?" Brandon asked, kneeling by them.

Lori slapped Brandon's arm. "Hey, what can you tell us about John?"

"Why do you want to know?" Brandon slowly asked, looking skeptically at Lori.

"Well, do you think he and Lori would be a good match?" Sienna asked.

"Oh, hell no! Lori, stay away from my friend," Brandon said, about to get up.

Sienna pulled him back. "Brandon! Seriously, what's he like?"

Brandon sighed. "I don't know, he's quiet all of the time. All I know is that he's from Maine, he's twenty-two and he's definitely one of the better SEALs in our group."

"What kind of music does he like? Does he have a girlfriend?" Lori asked.

"I don't know, sheesh, leave him alone," Brandon muttered, as he walked off.

"Fuck, am I that bad?" Lori asked, turning to look at Sienna. Sienna knew that Lori was hurt by Brandon's reaction. She didn't really know what to tell her.

"No, you're not that bad. Why don't you go over there and talk to him. Find out who he is," Sienna suggested.

"You're right. I'm about to blow his fucking mind," Lori said, as she got up and pushed her breasts together to make sure just enough cleavage was showing.

"That's not what I mean," Sienna whispered, but Lori was already halfway across the floor. Sienna just shook her head while Tasha laughed at the situation.

Lori sauntered over to John, swinging her hips a little more than normal. She leaned against the wall, less than a foot away from John. She knew when he looked down at her, that he'd have a straight shot down her shirt.

"Hi, I'm Lori," she whispered in a seductive voice while extending her hand to him.

John stared down at her. "Yeah, I know. I'm John," he said, offering his handshake back.

"Yeah, I know. I always liked that name. John."

He smiled at her then turned to survey the room again while slowly sipping his drink.

Lori looked over to Sienna. Sienna rolled her hand as if to tell her to 'keep going'. Lori turned back to John, and stared up at the scar. She wanted to lick it from top to bottom. She was starting to get wet already, just staring at his profile. Down girl!

"So, do you have a girlfriend?" Lori said, not really waiting to beat around the bush anymore. She believed in being blunt.

John chuckled and shook his head. "Nope."

"Are you really as quiet as they say?"

"No."

Lori laughed. "Do you always answer every question with one word?"

John thought for a moment, then said, "No."

He had Lori completely shaken. None of her cute little tricks were working. If she had something in her hand, she would drop it and give him a nice view of her ass, but something told her he probably wouldn't even look. This was going to be harder than she thought.

She was thinking of her next move when John leaned down to the side of her face. "Maybe you're just not asking the right questions, love" he whispered in her ear. "When you think of them, come find me. I'll be waiting."

Lori immediately felt a rush of heat to her lower half. For once, she really didn't know what the hell to say. She didn't even have a cute, provocative comeback. Her mind went blank and her eyes closed as she felt his warm breath on the side of her cheek. Suddenly the room was scorching. She felt as though she were burning up, just from his words. Damn!!

John looked up and saw Darren waving at him to come join their card game. He raised up and winked at Lori before he left her standing against the wall...legs shaking.

Lori slowly walked over to Sienna and Tasha. She sat down on the couch with a confused look on her face. "So?" Sienna asked, trying to decipher her friend's dazed look.

Lori sat there a moment before she said, "Um, I think I'm in love."

Both Tasha and Sienna laughed. "Oh my goodness! What the hell did he do to you in forty-five seconds?" Sienna questioned.

"I honestly don't know, but he had some strange power over me. Oh, this is going to be so much fun," Lori said, finally shaking herself from her stupor.

"Hey, gentlemen...mind if I join?" Ian asked, staring around the poker table.

"Sure, pull a chair up," Brandon said, glaring at Ian. He liked making that kid squirm. But he had to admit that Ian was okay. Damn sure better than that bitch Chris, who had the nerve to show up today.

"So John, we saw you talking to Lori. I'd stay away from that one. She has fangs," Darren said, as he dealt out a hand around the table.

John chuckled and shoved a chip into his mouth. "She seems nice enough."

Brandon shook his head and shuffled his cards, "Well, from what I've gathered from Sienna, her fangs aren't located in her mouth." Darren burst out laughing. Ian tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help it.

John nodded and laughed quietly. "Duly noted." But he knew how to handle a girl like Lori. Life had sent him on some strange paths. He knew before he could seriously start a relationship, he'd have to clear up a few things, but hell...who knew what path he was about to start now.

"So BT, I was thinking...having a girl is going to be a lot of trouble," Darren stated.

"Yeah," Brandon said, staring at his cards.

"I mean, she'll probably look just like Sienna. Just a taller version of her mother."

Brandon stared at Darren, "Don't remind me."

"She'll probably even have Sienna's spirit...I mean, she went after you wholeheartedly," Darren grinned, loving the uncomfortable look on Brandon's face. Payback is a bitch!

"You know what Darren, shut the fuck up."

"I'm just saying, she's gonna be hot and you are going to have a time keeping her under wraps."

"Jesus, man, you're killing me! Please, shut the fuck up! I'm twenty-eight, it's too early for the heart attacks, okay," Brandon said, glaring at Darren, who was laughing his ass off. Fucker.

After the card game, the guys piled out of the house to play touch football before the sun went down. Michael had finally woken up and was in the front yard, tossing the ball back and forth with Darren.

Tasha, Sienna and Lori followed them out and sat down on the steps. Ian came out with his sound equipment.

"Hey Brandon, mind if I plug this into your sound system and play some music?" Ian asked.

"Sure, whatever. Just don't play any of that whiny emo punk shit," Brandon said.

Ian laughed. His first song would be just for Brandon, he thought as he smiled to himself. He plugged his iPod into the massive stereo system and blasted System of a Down's 'Toxicity'.

Both Brandon and Darren looked toward the loud racket with a 'what the fuck' expression. Ian just shrugged and yelled out, "It's not Emo!"

"Little prick," Brandon muttered, but then smiled. The kid did have balls at least.

"Okay, Michael's on my team, and we're about to whip your as—butt!" Darren yelled across the field at Brandon and John.

"Bring it, little man!" Brandon yelled back towards Michael.

Darren tossed the ball to Michael, and his little short legs took off running with absolute determination on his face. Brandon and John pretended to run as hard as they could after him, but both coincidentally fell right before they reached him, letting Michael make it into the makeshift end zone.

"Yay, that's my baby!" Tasha yelled from the front porch. Michael turned and did a little dance. He then ran over to his mom and gave her a big hug. Then he turned to Sienna and hugged her. Sienna laughed. He was so cute!

"Hey, watch those hands, Mikey. That's MY girl. Don't forget, I know where you live!" Brandon joked. Michael laughed and yelled through his snaggle-toothed mouth, "If you could score a touchdown, then maybe YOU could get a hug!" Sienna, Lori and Tasha cracked up.

That shut Brandon up. He just shook his head.

"Well this sucks. We need a fourth," Darren said, looking between the three of them.

"How about that Ian kid," John suggested. Both Darren and Brandon laughed.

"Nah, he's fine right there on the steps. Wouldn't want to break any of his fragile bones," Brandon said.

"What about Chris?" Darren asked, staring back at the steps where Chris had just sat down beside Sienna.

"Are you kidding? I'd kill that little bitch," Brandon said, glaring over at Chris.

"Exactly," Darren said, smiling at Brandon.

A smile broke out across Brandon's face too.

"Hey Chris, we need a fourth man to be on John's team. Wanna play?" Darren slyly asked.

Chris looked over at the three men. Two who were smirking at him, the other looked like he felt sorry for him. 'Shit,' Chris thought. If he backed out, he'd look weak, but if he accepted, he was pretty sure that he'd be hurt.

"You don't have to go, you know," Sienna whispered to him, while she was staring out at Brandon. Damn, even she knew what was about to happen.

Chris sighed, "Actually, I do." He got up and headed across the yard.

"Oh, this is going to be funny as hell," Lori said. Sienna playfully smacked her shoulder.

When Chris reached the small group, Brandon was glaring at him the whole time while Darren was explaining the rules. Chris looked back at the steps toward Sienna. She looked nervous for him.

"Okay, and last rule...it's touch football, but our definition of 'touch' is open for interpretation, if you know what I mean. You game?" Darren asked Chris.

"Yeah, I'm good," Chris said, taking a deep breath. Darren and John turned to leave when Brandon whispered to Chris. "You better hope you don't get the ball," Brandon said as he walked off.

Shit!

The first pass was from Darren to Brandon. Brandon took off down the field and was tackled by John just before he made it into the end zone. The next pass was an easy touchdown from Darren to Brandon. Chris wanted to tackle him, but he was a little afraid.

The next play, John tossed Chris the ball. Fuck! He could see Brandon down the yard shifting his position to tackle him. 'Might as well get it over with,' Chris thought as he took off full speed.

Darren started moving a few yards behind Brandon. If for some reason Brandon missed him, Darren was going to level his weasely ass.

Sienna cringed. It was like watching two freight trains about to collide. No matter how this ended, it wouldn't end pretty.

Chris saw a small opening and cut to the right sharply, but then he realized his mistake. Brandon was anticipating that. Chris braced himself as Brandon crashed into him. Chris felt all the air escape his lungs while his feet seemed to be above his head. He felt himself hit the ground, and any air that he had left in his lungs was now officially gone. And everything was extremely quiet. No one was talking or moving. Or at least he couldn't hear it. Then slowly, a low ringing started to penetrate his eardrums. Fuck.

Brandon stared down at Chris. He reached down and pulled the ball out of his hands and tossed it to Darren. John walked over and tried to help Chris up, but Chris told him to wait just a second.

"Does anything feel broken?" John asked. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Chris rolled over onto his side and spit out some blood. He slowly got up, but wobbled for a moment and John caught him.

John helped Chris to the steps, and Sienna grabbed him around the waist. She turned and shook her head in Brandon's direction, and then helped Chris into the house. Lori had to hold in a laugh, but that shit was funny. BT cracked her up.

Sienna led Chris to the bathroom. She wet a towel, and wiped the blood from his mouth. He stared down at her face, watching her carefully work over his wounds. Why wasn't she his girl?

"Are you okay?" Sienna asked, wetting the towel again.

"When the ringing in my ears stops, I think I'll be okay."

Sienna giggled. "You shouldn't have gone out there, Chris. You knew he was going to do that. He still hasn't forgiven you."

"Have you?"

Sienna looked up at him. "Yes, I think I have. In some weird way, I realize everything you said or did, was because you care about me. Even though it was sometimes hurtful."

"Yes, I'm sorry about revealing your pregnancy, before you did. I realize it kinda started your breakup with Brandon. Not that I object to you not being with him. But I didn't want you to end up in the hospital, that's the last thing I would ever want," Chris said. His head was starting to hurt now. Must have been a delayed reaction. He prayed he didn't have a concussion.

"I know, but that's not what I'm talking about. It's what you said to Brandon in the hospital. Lori told me. You have no idea how that hurt Brandon. He's a good guy. He has his problems, but you saying that hurt him more than you can know. He would never want anything to happen to me or Brienna, and for you to blame him...that was awful, Chris," Sienna stated, shaking her head. She held the towel underneath the faucet again, and brought the wet towel to Chris's face.

"I know. And thank you for not hating me," Chris said, as he placed his hand on top of hers.

Sienna smiled up at him. "You're welcome."

"You look really beautiful tonight. It was really nice seeing you. I mean, I know I just saw you at Thanksgiving, but to see you again tonight, has been really nice."

Sienna didn't say anything. She didn't want to encourage him, but she knew from the way he was looking at her right now, that he didn't need any encouraging. He was about to say it anyway.

"Sienna, I know that you're with Brandon. But I just wanted to let you know that if you and he don't work out, I mean, I just want you to know that I'm here for you. And I always will be. And if you'd ever want me to be more than friends, I would. In a heartbeat. I mean, I would raise his kid as my own, you know. I would do that for you."