Out Of The Friend Zone Read online

  "Take your time. He's going to have to live with that name for a long time!"

  Barrett picked the dog up out of the box and cuddled him. Then he put the puppy down, and ran over to his mother and gave her a big hug and kiss. "Thank you so much! You're the best mom in the world!" Barrett didn't care if his friends teased him for the hug or kiss; he was just so happy.

  Brynn smiled and returned the hug and kiss. "Hey, how about some birthday cake?"

  All the kids shouted that they wanted cake, so Brynn lit the candles and they all sang to Barrett. After that, she cut the cake and handed it out to all the kids. She took pieces for her, Nyla, and Chandler, then went to sit with them.

  Chandler smiled at her. "That was such a cool thing you did for him. You're a really generous mother,"

  "Then why do I feel like I'm trying to buy his happiness?" Brynn wondered. "Am I just trying to over-compensate for the divorce?"

  "I don't think so. Why did you buy him the dog?"

  "Well, he's always wanted one, but Nico hated animals. I could have gotten Barrett a little dog, but since it's just me and him living here, I wanted a bigger dog to feel a little more protected," Brynn explained.

  "See, nowhere in there did you say that you bought the dog to help him get over the divorce. You said he's always wanted one, and you want to feel more protected. I would say that doesn't qualify as buying his happiness." "I have to agree with Chandler. Besides, what's wrong with spoiling him a little bit right now? I'm sure if his dad wasn't such a deadbeat, you wouldn't have to worry about spoiling him to make up for his dad's lack of attention," Nyla agreed.

  "I guess you're both right. I'm just worried about trying to be both Mommy and Daddy to him. I don't want it to seem as though I'm trying too hard, you know?" Brynn sighed. "Well, I better get these plates cleaned up before the puppy decides to clean them himself," she said, looking at all the empty plates on the ground. The kids were now running around and playing again.

  "I'll help," Nyla said, as she got up from the picnic table.

  "I'm going to organize a little game or something. Maybe it will quiet them down a little," Chandler said, then headed over to the group of kids.

  Nyla watched him walk away. She turned back to Brynn with an eyebrow raised in appreciation. "So, he's really hot. Is there something going on between the two of you?"

  "He's just my friend. I think he's still mourning the loss of his wife, and there is no way in hell I am near ready to get back into another relationship after the way Nico constantly screwed me over!" Brynn told her.

  "Just asking...relax! But seriously though, you can't tell me you don't think he's hot."

  Brynn looked at Chandler, standing in the middle of a group of kids. He was smiling as he talked to the kids, and every single one had their attention focused on him. "Yeah, I guess he's somewhat good looking," Brynn admitted.

  Nyla laughed. "Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes.

  They finished cleaning the plates and watched as Chandler ran around with the kids. After a little while, Chandler came walking back to Brynn and Nyla. He dropped to his knees just before he reached them and moaned dramatically: "Please...need...adult...contact!"

  Brynn laughed, and pulled up a chair for him. "Ah, did the kids get to you?"

  "Nah, but it's still nice to get away from them, and talk to someone my own age," he said.

  "And how old would that be?" Nyla asked, clearly flirting with him.

  "Well, I could lie and tell you twenty, but in truth, I'm twenty-seven," he told her.

  "Someone your own age? Bite your tongue! I'll have you know I am only twenty-four and Brynn here is twenty-five," Nyla said in mock anger.

  "Close enough," Chandler said with a smile.

  "Maybe for a man, but not for a woman. Each year is dreaded for us as we get older," Nyla pointed out.

  "Speak for yourself," Brynn said. "As long as I feel young, I couldn't care less how old I actually am. I'm actually happy to be getting older."

  "Well, I better run. It's been fun, but I have a ton of things to do before my date tonight," Nyla told them.

  "Thanks for coming, and thanks for storing the puppy at your house until the party. Hope you get lucky tonight," Brynn teased.

  "Yeah, but have mercy on the poor guy," Chandler added.

  "Thanks, I think," Nyla said, and then she was gone.

  Chandler gave a questioning look to Brynn after Nyla had left. Brynn gave him a wide grin. "From the way she was looking at you, I think Nyla has a little crush on you!"

  "Too bad for her. I'm not looking for anyone to have a crush on me, or anything else for that matter. I'm perfectly content the way things are now."

  "I agree. Just because I don't think I'm ever going to date again after what Nico did to me, Nyla makes it sound like I'm committing a serious crime. As much as I love the girl, you'd be wise to stay away from her. She's a great friend, but bad news for any guy in her sights," Brynn warned.

  "Thanks for the warning." He looked at his watch, noticing that the sun was starting to set. "The kids' parents should be starting to pick them up soon."

  "Yeah, then a few of them will be spending the night. Hopefully they'll get tired at some point, and with any luck I'll get at least a little sleep tonight."She paused, thinking. "Oh, then there's the matter of the puppy. It's his first night away from his mommy. I'm sure he'll cry all night. Oh boy, I'm really in for it tonight, huh?"

  "Lucky you! Sounds like loads of fun!" Chandler joked.

  "Hey, thanks for all your help with this party. I really appreciate it. You've been a great friend to me since we moved here."

  "Well, you've helped me a lot too. Not only with Willow, but I'm not quite in that funk that I used to be in," Chandler smiled at her.

  "Good," she said sincerely, smiling at him. "I'm very, very glad."

  Parents finally started showing up, and Barrett thanked each kid before they left. Four little boys, Willow and Barrett were the only ones left at the party. The four boys were staying with Barrett for the night, and their parents were going to pick them up in the morning.

  As darkness fell, Chandler and Willow headed home, and the five boys and Brynn headed into the house. The kids went to Barrett's room to play on his Gamecube while Brynn got the dog situated in the living room, with its cage and a small bed. She sat down on the couch to watch TV for a while.

  At eleven, when she could no longer keep her eyes open, Brynn went to Barrett's room and told the boys it was time for bed, then headed to her room. She fell fast asleep.

  The next morning, Brynn was up early taking care of the puppy. She had even gotten up a few times in the middle of the night to take him out. After the dog was taken care of, she began making a big batch of chocolate chip pancakes for the boys. When they were all cooked, Brynn went and woke the boys up.

  After breakfast, the boys were all picked up, leaving Brynn and Barrett alone. "So, did you have fun?" she asked him.

  "Yeah, it was so cool. Thank you for the party and for my puppy!"

  "So, do you have a name for him yet?"

  "Well, I was thinking, can I name him Jeter after my favorite Yankee?"

  "If that's what you want to name him, then that's his name."

  "Cool," he said, and went to find the puppy in the living room. "Come here, Jeter! Let's go outside," Barrett called out.

  The puppy sat on the floor looking up at him and cocked his head to the side. Barrett ran outside and Jeter followed him.

  Finally, Brynn had a little peace and quiet, at least for now.

  Chapter 5

  A few months later, Brynn sat on her back deck after getting home from a long week at work. She was watching Barrett and Willow play catch and enjoying the nice July weather. When the phone rang, Brynn looked at the caller ID.

  Before answering the phone, Brynn yelled for Barrett and Willow to go to Barrett's room and play his Gamecube. She didn't want them to be around for this phone call. As soon as the kids were inside,
Brynn answered the phone.

  "Hi, Brynn?" Nico asked.

  The simple fact that he questioned whether it was her put her up in arms.

  "You should know the sound of my voice. We were married for a while," Brynn answered him coldly. "But then, with all the sluts you went around with, I'm not surprised if you can't remember me that well."

  "You know, I didn't call to be harassed by you," Nico told her.

  "Well then, enlighten me. Why did you call?"

  "I was just calling to see how you were doing. To see how everything has been for you. I miss you," Nico said, trying to turn on the charm.

  "Maybe you should forget how I am, and ask about your son. You haven't called to talk to him, or ask to see him since I kicked your sorry ass out. You didn't even call him on his birthday." "Oh, I missed his birthday? It was last week, right?"

  "No you jackass, it was in March. God, you are such a fucking moron. Barrett is so much better off without you in his life, don't even bother asking to see him."

  Nico sighed. "Well, that's what I was calling about. I don't really want to see him," he said with a business-like tone. "He's really more of a bother than anything, and I'm giving up all of my parental rights to him. Because of that, I believe that child support will no longer be needed for him."

  Brynn's jaw dropped. She sat there for a long moment, uncomprehending. It slowly sank in. "What makes you think you don't have any obligation to your child? I didn't make him alone, Nico! I think you know that. He is your son and your responsibility, even though you don't want him! You try to stop paying child support, and I'll have your ass back in court so fast your head will spin."

  Nico groaned. When he spoke next, he sounded as though he was trying to reason with a stubborn two-year-old, and that made her even madder. "Why do you have to be such a bitch about everything, Brynn? You have plenty of money without getting the child support."She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "Yes, I have plenty of money, but that's beside the point. All of that money you send, it goes right into an account for Barrett for when he turns eighteen. He has a right to that money, so don't even think about taking it away from him."

  "Well darling, we'll just see then, won't we?"

  Brynn hung up on him.

  "Argh!" Brynn growled. She sat there for a moment, not moving, staring off into space. Then she closed her eyes and decided that she would not cry, no matter how much she wanted to.

  She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to find Chandler standing there with a concerned look on his face. He kneeled down beside her.

  "Sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation," Chandler told her. "Is there anything I can help with?"

  Brynn suddenly felt the tears. She dashed them away with her hand. "No, it was just that bastard. He didn't even have a clue that he missed Barrett's birthday. Now he wants to take away his child support? He said we don't need it anyway because I have plenty of money. Doesn't he understand that's not the point? How can he be so insensitive and heartless? This is his own flesh and blood that we're talking about!"

  "It's beyond me how he can act that way about his own son," Chandler told her.

  "What a perfect end to a perfect week!" Brynn said, as she finally gave into the tears and began to sob. "This was the worst week at work. Everything that could go wrong did. Now I have to deal with Nico's bullshit!" She threw her head back and looked at the sky. "I'm losing my mind!"

  "You have the whole weekend off, so don't even think about work. And Nico? Well, I wouldn't worry much about him. He can't take the support away without a court saying he can, and until he does something legal, I'd just push it out of your mind. Don't worry about what may happen. Just concentrate on what's happening right now," Chandler said.

  He reached up and wiped the tears from her face. Brynn blushed hard. She wasn't one to cry, and she told him so. "This is not like me," she admitted.

  "Everybody cries. I do it too."

  She tried to smile through the tears and failed miserably.

  "Hey, I've got a great idea," he said. "Some of my friends are going out tonight, and asked me if I wanted to go, but I turned them down. How about you and I take them up on the offer, and spend a night out on the town? We can go out, have a nice dinner, a few drinks, and tons of dancing?"

  Brynn sighed. "I don't know. I haven't been out in forever. It sounds good, but I don't want to be bad company for you."

  "I'm not taking no for an answer. Besides, with my friends, they won't let you have a bad time," Chandler said with a smile. "I'll call a babysitter and my friends, and I'll be back in an hour. Is that enough time for you to get ready?"

  "Chandler, you really don't want to be around me right now. I will be a downer, I promise you."

  "I don't believe you. And anyway, we'll see." He smiled. "An hour?"

  "Fine. An hour sounds like enough time." They both headed toward their respective houses, but Brynn turned around before she went in and said, "Hey, Chandler?"

  He turned around and looked at her.

  "Thanks."

  "Anytime!" he smiled, then finished his walk back to his house and disappeared inside.

  Brynn ran into her house, and headed right for Barrett's bedroom. "Hey guys, Willow's dad and I are going to go out for a little while, so you're going to have a babysitter tonight. Be on your best behavior, and if you're really good, we'll go to the arcade tomorrow. Sound good?"

  Both kids got excited and jumped up and down, chanting, "Ar-cade! Ar-cade!"

  "I'm guessing this is an agreeable situation, then! Now, I have to go get ready. The babysitter will be here in less than an hour," she told them. "In bed by 9:30. Willow, you can spend the night if you want, or your dad can come get you and bring you home when we get home."

  Brynn turned and ran to her own room. She scoured her closet looking for an appropriate outfit to wear, not quite sure what would be best for the night. She settled on a pair of tight black hip-hugger dress pants, and a wine colored satin tank top with spaghetti straps.

  After choosing her outfit, she took a quick shower, then started on her hair. Instead of wearing it in her normal waves, Brynn took out a straightening iron and worked all the waves out. As soon as her hair was straight and sleek, Brynn worked on her makeup, putting on a little more than her normal eyeliner and mascara. She applied some dark eye shadow and a soft colored lipstick.

  Just as she was finishing, the doorbell rang. She heard Barrett and Willow running to answer it, which gave her just enough time to put on her perfume and black strappy dress sandals. She gave one last look in the full-length mirror and headed out of her bedroom.

  When she got downstairs, she saw that the babysitter was the one who had arrived. She gave the girl all the instructions, and wrote down her and Chandler's cell numbers, and put them near the phone. Brynn ordered a pizza for them, and gave the babysitter the money to pay the delivery guy when he got there.

  When there was another knock at the door, Brynn went over to answer it. Chandler stood there in shock when the door opened.

  "Hi, I'm looking for my friend, Brynn? We're going out tonight. Have you seen her?" he asked, when he finally was able to speak.

  "Ha-ha! You're funny," she replied, and pulled him in. Brynn had to admit, he looked so hot tonight, wearing a royal blue button down shirt and nice black pants. He even smelled great.

  "Wow, you definitely don't look like you're the mother of an eight year old boy. You look really hot tonight!" Chandler said, still shocked at her appearance. "I never would have guessed that body was hidden under all those clothes you usually wear!"

  Brynn blushed, and gave a small laugh. "Thanks, I think. You look pretty hot yourself!"

  They went over and said goodbye to their kids, and headed next door to Chandler's car. Chandler opened her door for her, like a perfect gentleman, and helped her into the seat.

  "I can see where Willow gets her manners," Brynn smiled.
>
  Chandler walked to the driver's side and got in the SUV. "Thanks. So, we're going to meet everyone at this Italian restaurant. Is that fine with you?"

  "Mmm, sounds great! Good thing I'm not kissing anyone tonight...I can eat all the garlic I want!" Brynn said.

  "Yeah, but don't forget, I have to share a ride with you. You're going to kill me with that breath, aren't you?" he teased.

  "Ok, I guess I'll go easy on the garlic for you. So, how many people are going to be there?"

  "Well, probably between five and ten of my friends. Only two of them have girlfriends, and the rest are always on the prowl, so let me know if any of them bother you," Chandler told her.

  "Ah, how sweet, you'll be my protector... my body guard. I feel so honored," Brynn teased.

  "And you should!" he laughed.

  They talked about a wide variety of things on the way to the restaurant, and the night was already a victory of sorts, because she didn't once think about Nico.

  When they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, Brynn started to get nervous. For some reason, she began to get worried about what Chandler's friends might think of her. Logically, she knew that their opinions shouldn't matter, but for some reason they did.

  Chandler opened her door and helped her out of the vehicle, then offered her his arm. Brynn put her hand on the crook of his elbow, and the two made their way inside. When his friends saw them, they all stopped talking and just stared, making Brynn even more nervous. Chandler guided her to an empty seat and sat her down, then took the seat right next to her.

  "Hey guys, this is my friend Brynn. She moved next door a few months ago." Chandler introduced everyone at the table and they all said hello to her.

  "So, why is everyone so quiet?" he finally asked.

  All the friends looked at each other. "Well, when you said you were bringing a friend, no one expected it to be a female friend. I think we were a little shocked," Zaiden said. "It's just been a while since we've seen any woman on your arm."

  "We're just friends, very platonic and everything," Brynn rushed to say, to clear up any misgivings that his friends might have had.