Just Friends

The party continued into the morning. As some couples left, others sat and watched and the rest laid down and went to sleep in various places in the house. Brandon and Sara woke up late into the afternoon to discover that they were resting by themselves in each others arms on the giant white bed. Liz was showing out the last guest for the night in her own special way; giving him a quick blow job by the door. The happy couple lay quietly and watched, laughing softly with each other. They shared an embrace and kissed each other as they stated their love for one another under the white comforter. Eventually, Brandon left while Liz and Sara were left to the clean up of the apartment. They now had a new saying for when it was now time to say good bye.

"Another day?" Sara stated to him.

"Soon," he replied.

4 MONTHS LATER

Brandon has been sitting down in front of the dressing rooms in the back of Fredericks of Hollywood for about three minutes in high anticipation. His foot has been tapping wildly, waiting for Sara to step out of the booth in some lingerie she just picked out minutes ago. Suddenly the door opened and took Brandon by surprise. Sara stood in the doorway wearing only crotch-less red panties and a matching bra that exposed her nipples slightly.

"Hey babe," she started, "Does this fit okay to you?"

Brandon was already hard from the moment she appeared. "The front looks great," he replied, "turn around so I can see the full view." On her bare feet, she spun slowly to let Brandon take in the sight of her full body barely contained in her garments. "I think it looks perfect babe."

"Well, it feels a little loose to me... like, here in the back. Could you come here and help me adjust it? I don't want to do it out there in front of everyone."

He surveyed the area and noticed that no one else was occupying the two other dressing rooms and the only other person in store was the clerk who was standing outside talking to the woman running the jewelry booth in front. "I understand, you need your privacy," he said walking slowly inside.

"Who's out there?" Sara whispered.

"No one. It's noon and a school day. The place is empty."

"Good. Then no one will mind if we take up this dressing room for a little longer than normal." She grabbed his shirt with both hands and began to kiss him fiercely, his hands pulling her close, feeling every curve and line. Without hesitation he pushed her towards the back wall, untied her panties and placed in dick inside of her. She wrapped her arms and legs around his body in hopes of only having one pair of legs showing under the door. In midair, she pressed close to his body, gyrating her hips to get the full fill of Brandon inside her.

Adrenaline rushed throughout Brandon as he watched himself fucking Sara in the mirror in front of him while simultaneously thinking about getting caught... and looking at her ass moving. He moved his hands down to hold her ample bottom tightly, relishing in the fact that it couldn't all fit inside both of his palms.

"You like holding me up that way, baby?" she asked, quiet and short of breath.

"You have no idea. Every part of you is amazing."

She arched her back to sit more upright, then slid down an inch, shooting a wave a pleasure out to the both of them, moaning almost loud enough to make the store clerk notice. "You aren't bad yourself," she told him. Brandon then fell to the floor slowly, no longer caring about being caught. Sara took advantage by riding him, feet flat on the ground and still holding his shirt tight.

"Oh god baby, I'm coming!"

"Shit, so am I."

Both tried to contain themselves as Brandon filled Sara with his heat and she began to writhe from sensation. What felt like an eternity culminated in a minute long orgasm between two best friends. Once it was over, they thought quickly about their location and started to gather themselves, dressing hastily and walking out one at a time, first Brandon, then Sara. The store clerk hadn't noticed as she was still talking to the person running the jewelry booth until they stood at the register waiting to be checked out. She purchased the clothes, both of them laughing like kids at their inside joke. The clerk noticed the pair and stated, "You two sure are a happy couple."

"Oh," they both started before deciding to let Sara finish. "We're just friends."

"Ah...okay," the clerk said in disbelief, "Well, you two at least look cute together. Hope this stuff gets used for the right reasons."

"It's already done wonders."

Outside of the mall, they made their way to their respective cars, sharing a long embrace before taking off. Before long, Sara received the first text.

"I'm already wanting more of you."

"One day, soon =)"

"How about tomorrow?"

"Same time, different place?"

"Yep yep! We'll work out the details then."

"I can't wait. <3"

"Me either. God I love lunch breaks."

This was the new norm. After the party at Liz's 4 months ago, a simple long-brewing history of sexual tension turned into a full-blown affair. "Another day...soon" turned into the very next day, hooking up in an O'Charley's restaurant. Next was their first time in the mall at New York and Company, then a hotel for a weekend, to various places in and around the city. They had realized that once they got the first time out of the way, it became increasingly easy to get together on a regular basis. Apparently they were just nervous before.

The issue of their "true" significant others was still a problem.

Sara returned home to an empty house. With Jake being in the military this was okay for around this time, especially since she smelled faintly of sex and had brand new lingerie that smelled the same. Instead of lengthy explanations, Sara had the luxury of not having to say a word or arouse suspicion. She simply came home, started a load of laundry and took a hot shower. Jake wasn't due home for another 4 ½ hours and when he arrived he would be none the wiser.

Brandon returned to work at his clothing store, Vocal Emotion. Being the owner meant that changing from one sex-soaked outfit to one less pungent was a breeze but questions from employees were always abound...even if not spoken directly. In the past four months Brandon had created a routine of dipping out on his lunch break, coming back clutching lunch and then changing before he exited his office. He kept insisting that he was spilling ketchup on himself but in the two years that the store had been open he had never accomplished this feat before. Truth be told, Brandon was a neat freak, especially when it came to his clothes. Still, he would rather be seen as abruptly clumsy than stepping out on Alicia.

Sara had it a little easier when it came to her status. Despite being engaged for close to eight months, most weren't even aware of her relationship status at all. Men wouldn't ask and she had only a few female colleagues who knew of her history with Brandon and wouldn't think that anything could be happening between them. Plus Jake was more into his video games than outside affairs and had never seen Brandon as a threat.

Alicia on the other hand was different. As much as she loved Brandon she could never fully trust any man and couldn't understand how members of the opposite sex were best friends with no sort of sexual tension between them. She routinely questioned Brandon regarding Sara from small tidbits about their time spent together to any future plans. In their time together she never had a real reason to suspect any foul play but still kept a close watch.

On this day she arrived at the store only minutes after Brandon had returned from his lunch break finding him dressed in another unfamiliar outfit. He wasted no time walking over to embrace her, keeping up appearances by trying to kiss her with a mouth full of food so that he knew she would refuse.

"Ew," she shot at him, tilting her head away from his. "I love you, baby, but I don't love what you're eating."

"My fault," he mumbled before chewing quickly and swallowing. "How's my love doing?"

"Okay. Just stopping through to see you for a moment before I hit the gym."

"Sounds lovely and tiring all at once...but I can never argue with the results."

"No, you c-"

Conversation was interrupted by the sound of Brandy's "Best Friend" humming out of Brandon's phone. They both knew it was Sara and were curious. Pulling it out of his pocket he wondered if it was a text or a call. A call was easier to divert attention away from, simply by just announcing that Alicia was present and therefore all mushy talk would have to wait. A text, especially an explicit one, was always harder to justify.

And as luck would have it, a text was in his inbox. He placed his phone back in his pocket trying not to arouse suspicion. "Why don't you respond?" Alicia questioned.

"I'm with you right now. That would be a little rude for me to take up my time writing someone else while you're visiting me."

This had the opposite desired effect. "Oh no," she started, "Go right ahead, I'm okay with it. Hell, I'll do it for you." As she often did, she reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, opening the unread message that only read, More.

"More, huh? Oh...yeah...baby...I'll...give...you...more...," she said slowly as she keyed in the letters.

"Baby, what the hell are you doing?"

"Well, since you don't wanna reply, I can do it for you. I know how you two talk to each other when I'm not around." The phone went off again a second later to the familiar tune. "And there's the response." She rapidly studied the message and with a disappointed look on her face, handed the phone back to Brandon. "She wants another burger with McDonald's sweet and sour sauce on it. She also wants you not to call her baby."

"Thanks," he said sarcastically, "I could have told you both of those things already. Why do you think I didn't jump at responding?" Alicia shrugged her shoulders and started towards the door. "What, no kiss before you go?" She walked back to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips before turning away and heading towards the door again. "I love you!" Brandon shouted at the closing door. "You hateful ass," he finished.

He opened his phone to type another text to Sara, this time written with an asterisk in front of the first word. This was a code they developed after it became evident that Alicia liked to look through his phone. This let her know that past messages weren't from him and that the coast was clear to say whatever she wanted.

"More?"

"Tomorrow. Meet tonight."

"After work?"

"Yeah. Shroomers."

"Be there at 10. Have the pizza ready."

"Always."

10 P.M. – SHROOMERS PIZZA

She didn't know why she got there a full half hour early, she just knew she had been there and that he was coming. The pizza had already been ordered and was sitting in the middle of the table for two, cooled off with a fresh Tahitian Treat soda (no ice) on the way. She didn't know if it was appropriate to wear her little black slip dress and heels out to late night pizza, especially when she would only wear jeans and sweats out with her fiancée, but she knew that no matter what, Brandon would think she was beautiful anyway. She didn't know...until she saw him walk through the door, not a minute late, and her stomach began to take flight. Rufus' "Everlasting Love" played as he moved closer to the table and with a brightly lit smile, he bent down to hug and kiss the seated Sara on the cheek before telling her "hello." She blushed and all of a sudden knew...everything.

"Stuffed crust pizza with pepperoni and sausage," he started, "always a good way to begin the end to a good day."

"Well, I'm glad you like it babe, you know I do what I can."

"And you do it well."

The pair began to eat slowly, smiling and staring at each other in between bites of food. Eventually it became evident that there were words to be said and that this wasn't just a meeting of good company.

"So," he began again, "we're meeting up before tomorrow and by the looks of things you showed up to talk about something important."

"Mmmm...in a way, yes. Um- I'm really not sure where to begin or end but... Brandon, the last 4 months have been... the best 4 months that I have ever lived so far and..."

"Excuse me," the waiter said, interrupting her statement. "Would the happy couple like to look at the desert menu?"

"Oh, we're just friends," Brandon blurted out as Sara bowed her head. "But yeah, we can take a peek. Thanks."

"That," she said as the waiter walked off. "I don't want that anymore. I don't want to be just friends anymore."

He sat silent for a moment before replying, "I'm listening."

"Our entire relationship over this last decade has been made up of missing out because of coincidences. If you were with someone, I was single and vice versa. Any opportunity we have ever had has been foiled... until 4 months ago.

"For the first time all of the walls were broken down and we have finally been able to do what was on each other's mind for years. 'One day' finally came and now the only problem is that we're both in 2 relationships instead of just one or the other. I just want one now."

Brandon sat back in chair a little further, mentally preparing himself for his next statement. "Why did you agree to get married?"

"I don't-"

"Because you knew that this would eventually happen."

Now she was the one who sat in silence.

"It was easy as hell for me to not become attached to any woman I was involved with. All I had to do was think about the fact that you and I would be together at some point or another in the future. I dropped off girls one by one, knowing that I couldn't let them get too close to me because sooner or later you would figure out that we were what's real. Then..."

"...there was Jake."

"Yes, Sara. There was Jake. You put what we had on the back burner for him. The dynamic of our friendship changed because of you agreeing to marry him."

"Yeah, you're right. I fucked that up. I'm trying to atone for that now by..."

"By breaking his heart because you took it to a level it shouldn't have reached?"

"No. By taking what's mine. You have been mine for a long time. You have always been the man in my life for as long as we've known each other. You were the man in my life in high school, you were the man who helped me shed my sheltered past, you've always been the closest man to me and you were my man way before you were ever Alicia's boyfriend."

Brandon's phone rang just then. Alicia was calling to find out where he was. He let her know he was at Shroomers but told her he was with several friends from work. The conversation only lasted a minute before they said exchanged 'I love you's" and hung up. He looked at the phone and then back up at Sara's lagoon-like blue eyes that were close to tears. "Come on babe, let's step outside," he told her.

In the parking lot, Brandon and Sara leaned on the drivers' side of his white Mercedes Benz, almost not wanting to talk, but knowing that what was brewing wouldn't let them not say anything. Best friends for years, it was hard to find a time or subject that was hard for them to discuss. Now as it seemed they were heading for more, it felt as though there wasn't much to say. He looked over to her after a moment of heavy breathing and said to her, "This would be the perfect time for one of us to have taken up smoking. Then maybe we could be doing something right now."

"I know what I would like to be doing, Brandon. I would like to be sitting in the passenger seat of this car, with you driving us somewhere to be together without having to duck around corners. We've been doing that for years with nothing to show for it and...now we have something-"

"You want it all."

"So do you. That's why you waited for me. You love me more than as a friend, and I love you just the same. So we need to either act like it or stop acting at all."

He couldn't help but smile at her words. She was absolutely right in more ways than one. They would always be best friends forever, but now was the time to become more alongside of the friendship. Without a word, he pulled her over to him and kissed her softly, letting her know that he would be sincere with whatever they decided to do from that point on.

"Ok," he said. "We'll do it, but slowly. I don't want to just drop this on them. Let's take a little time out and make this the best we can."

She shed a single tear and replied, "Alright. Does this mean we can still meet up tomorrow?"

"Hell yeah! Without a doubt."

"Good. We're meeting up at Danielle's."

"Your sister's house? Are you serious? Aren't there like a thousand people running through there at any given moment?"

"She's been out with this chick named Angel the past little bit. No one will be there when we arrive."

"So tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

They embraced once again, saving their next kiss for the next time they saw each other. It was like a gift to be received for showing up at their next rendezvous. They started their respective cars, just as they had done earlier, and drove off to separate houses, ecstatically waiting for the next days events.

NOON – DANIELLE'S APARTMENT

Brandon left the store early that day, saying that he would be back to open up in the morning. He had a feeling that he wouldn't have a need to return. All day he sat in anticipation of his tryst with Sara and his oncoming breakup with Alicia. Driving north towards Danielle's, he eyed houses he knew would be perfect for the two of them to live in. He and Sara had similar taste in most things and now it would only be a matter of time and opportunity before the rest of their lives could be spent together as a couple and not just friends. He even contemplated starting a women's line for his company to be headed by her. So much ran through his head that he barely realized that had reached the complex. He parked adjacent to Sara's maroon Altima, comforted by the fact that Danielle's triple black Charger was nowhere in sight.

He walked upstairs to the apartment door to find it unlocked and Sara sitting on the sofa, legs crossed, barefoot and eating from a purple bag of Hershey's Bliss.

As he closed the door behind him, he uttered, "Is that what I think it is?"

"What?" she questioned slyly.

"What you're wearing. Is that my high school basketball jersey?"

"Not only am I wearing it, but it's the only thing I'm wearing."

"How in the hell did you get it?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"You left it on your bed the last day that you played in it. On one of the few occasions I was able to come to your house, your mom let me into your room thinking you were home. Interestingly enough, you had left to go see me. Since I knew you would never play in it again, I didn't want it to be relegated to or forgotten in the back of a closet somewhere. This jersey signified something to me and to you. I knew that you were destined to do great things because of this."

"Yeah, that was a crazy year. I remember I didn't like the school colors or the uniform design, so I got on the team so the team would take me seriously about changing it. Next thing I know, they listened to me, took my design and rearranged the entire schools color scheme based on what I did. And honestly, I just wanted to wear a school jersey for casual reasons. Then they gave me that seed money to start my business based on what I did for them. I wanted to still wear that jersey but I also wanted to put it on display to show where it all started...but now I see that it has been displayed. And quite well may I add."

"Why thank you, Brandon. But I must say, I think it always looked better on you."

Sara pulled the jersey over her head to expose her voluptuous naked body. In the last 4 months, Brandon had seen her in various stages of undress but due to the circumstances of their encounters, he never really saw her completely nude, especially long enough to savor the fascinating sight in front of him. She pulled him close to her as they started a long, sensuous kiss, coupled with her stripping off his clothes. He started to kiss her neck, taking advantage of the fact that he now knew her body so well. She trembled in his arms, feeling the suction towards the nape of her neck. He forcefully grabbed her ass as well, knowing the comfort of his hands would make her back arch as she laid her head on the end of the couch.