To Be Loved By You - A Bradley Bradshaw Story

No Strings Attached

Author's Note: Hey guys! I want to start by saying I'm sorry for not updating this past week. I have been sick and took the time to rest. But I and To Be Loved By You are back! I am going to start a weekly upload schedule-I may post more than once a week but I am promising to post at least once a week from now on. 

As always, I want to say thank you to everyone who has read, voted for,  and added To Be Loved By You to a reading list. 

Lastly, I feel like this chapter is a little shorter than the others and there's no Rooster. But I wanted to get a little more in Thea's head where it comes to her deal with Rooster. Don't worry, though, Rooster will be back next chapter!

---

The clanging of weights and whirring of machines filled the air as she walked through the gym. This was her favorite part of running Charlie's. She could do without the bills and upkeep of equipment, but getting to spend time on the floor with the soldiers that came in was something she wouldn't give up for the world.

Waving at a group of regulars, Thea made her way to a cleaning station to refill cleaner and paper towels. When she turned to move on to the next one, she was surprised to see Stef coming toward her.

"Hey, Thea." The other woman stopped in front of her, a bag of food in one hand and a drink carrier in the other. "Got time for lunch?"

She looked at the cart of cleaner and towels beside her. "I sure do. Just got a couple more stations to go." She nodded in the direction of the stairs against the back wall. "Meet you in my office?"

Stef hummed her agreement and set off for the back of the gym. Thea made quick work of stocking the remaining stations, wanting to get to her office as quickly as possible. She had to admit she was hungry since she'd only had a small breakfast this morning; she had spent the morning on the phone with Rooster and was far too distracted to make herself a proper meal.

She was also a little apprehensive about Stef's visit. Stef's Saturdays were usually reserved for Logan since it was one of the only days off the couple shared.

Parking the cart in the laundry room, Thea made her way through the gym and up the stairs. When she got to her office, Stef had already laid the food on her desk.

"So where's Logan," she asked as she sat behind the desk.

"Hmm?" Stef took a drink from her soda. "Oh, I think he was going to see if Rooster wanted to hang out." She shrugged. "That's what he said when I talked to him earlier."

Swallowing a bite from her burger, Thea asked, "Well why isn't he with you? You guys always spend the weekend together." It had been that way from the start. Even when Stef was just the new girl in town that Thea was trying to befriend, Logan had always spent the weekend with the two girls.

"Well, I told him I needed to see you today." At Thea's questioning look, Stef elaborated. "We have things to talk about."

"And what are these things that are so urgent you ditched your boyfriend?" Thea had a feeling she already knew the answer to that question.

"You and Rooster!" Stef beamed at her from across the desk.

Thea swallowed again, but this time it was guilt she was forcing down her throat. "What about me and Rooster." She felt bad that she hadn't called her best friend to tell her what had happened over the past couple of days. The combination of terror and excitement she felt was overwhelming and if she was honest she hadn't thought of anything but the month ahead of her.

Except when the washing machine had broken. She smiled at the memory of Rooster's lips on her cheek the night before.

"Well for one thing," Stef started," I think he has something to do with that smile on your face right now."

Thea felt heat pool in her cheeks.

"I also happen to know that he was here with Logan a couple of days ago and even though you paid no attention to him he left in a very good mood." She tapped her finger on her chin. "And I know that when I came to bug you last night Jim told me you were being escorted to the laundry mat by a handsome mustached man."

Thea hadn't realized Jim had seen Brad pick her up or that he would share that information should anyone ask. "Those things may be true."

"May be true," Stef scoffed. "They totally are. My sources are reliable."

"Okay. Okay." Thea held her hands up in mock defeat. "They are true."

"Well spill, Thea!"

Thea recounted the conversation she and Rooster had shared in her office two nights before. She shared the details of the deal they had made and Stef seemed fascinated.

"And you actually agreed to this?" She sounded shocked.

Smiling, Thea answered, "I did." She still really couldn't believe it herself. It went against a rule she had lived by religiously for years and had never had any intention of breaking. But she couldn't deny the way she felt when she was with him, couldn't deny that she'd been heartbroken when they had said goodbye and she'd left him on the beach that night.

She couldn't deny that she wanted to spend the next month with him.

"Okay. And what are you during this month?" Stef leaned forward in her seat, elbows resting on the desk.

"Um, I don't really know what you would call us?" They hadn't put a name on what this was and Thea didn't feel like they needed to. "We're just getting to know each other." She shrugged.

"So you rejected him because of a rule that quite frankly is kind of stupid." Thea chuckled. Stef had never approved of her unwillingness to date a soldier. "And instead of taking that rejection at face value, like most people would, he got you to agree to a no-strings-attached month of fun in the hopes of changing your mind." Stef's eyes met hers. "Therefore, bypassing your rejection."

"Um," Thea laughed gently at the no-nonsense summary of events Stef had just laid in front of her. One of the things she loved about her friend was her ability to put things in a nutshell. "Basically."

Stef threw her hands up in the air and shook her head as she fell back in her seat. "The man's a genius." The two girls fell into a fit of giggles. When their laughter died down, however, Stef leaned forward again. She was serious as she asked, "Have you thought about how this is going to end though?"

"Well," Thea began, not wanting to think about the end of her month with Brad. "He said that if I wanted our relationship to end when the month does that would be okay." Believing she knew the intention behind her friend's question, Thea added, "And I believe him."

The other woman nodded, a sad look in her eyes. "That's not what I meant, Thea." She paused, almost as if she was afraid to continue. "Have you thought about what happens if you don't want it to end?"

—

She and Stef had finished lunch hours ago, and yet Stef's question lingered in her mind. She hadn't allowed herself the time to think about what might happen at the end of the month because she didn't want to. Fear waited for her at the end of her month with Brad. If she told him to leave she'd break both of their hearts. But if she asked him to stay...

"You're getting ahead of yourself, girl," she muttered as she made her way through the empty gym, closing up for the night.

She knew that wasn't true, however. A month was not a long time and would probably be over before she knew it. And then she would have to make a decision that would not only affect her life but Brad's as well.

Thea cursed herself for not thinking about this before agreeing to Brad's proposition. She should have and in the silence of her office that day she'd had the chance to. She just hadn't taken it. She had let herself think only of the night they'd met and how easily they'd talked, how right his lips had felt against hers. She had wanted more but was too scared to admit that, even to herself.

So Brad's proposal seemed perfect. No-strings-attached is what Stef had called it. That promise allowed her to admit she wanted more without having to face her fear.

But a new fear sank into the pit of her stomach. What if she still wanted more when the month was over?

---

Author's Note: Well there it is! I hope you guys enjoyed getting in Thea's head a little.