Tempt Me

Chapter Three

   

After dinner, Mom and Dad went over to get Brooke and the kids for s'mores. I decided, against my better judgement, to hang around here with the fam and Brooke until it was time for the little ones to go to bed since my friends didn't typically start partying until about nine anyway. Luckily, Kevin and his family were stuck in gridlock traffic and their new ETA wasn't until later.

I cleaned up the remnants of dinner and sat in my favorite oversized camp chair, contemplating the mental position I've fallen too deep into to climb out of. The fire was warm against my shins and helped kick the pre-nightfall chill on my feet. As I tried to find a resting place for them without melting the flesh off of my toes, the sound of little ones giggling got louder and louder and my stomach fluttered. I turned around. Mom, Dad and Brooke were laughing about something while her kids followed behind them holding onto their chairs in their little hands. Brooke, of course, looked drop-dead gorgeous with her hair in a ponytail, tight faded jeans that fit her like a pair of satin gloves, an over-sized Bob Marley T-shirt, and white flip flops. She belonged on a Miami beach. With me.

"Hey," I stood to greet them.

"Hello there, Hercules." Brooke casually returned the gesture and helped her kids place their chairs a safe distance from the fire. Then she walked over to my mom and teasingly jabbed her thumb at me. "What the heck do you feed this guy anyway?"

"Meat. Lots of meat. Oh, and everything else. Lots of all the foods basically. I work to feed him."

She laughed, "You mean you work to feed those muscles."

"Yes, that seems about right." They took a seat around the crackling fire still giggling at my expense. Mom and Dad sat immediately to my left with the little ones to my right. Brooke took the seat directly across from me. I couldn't help but look at her. The way the fire reflected off her cheeks and nose effortlessly set me into a trance as I watched the flames dance across her eyes. I forced myself to blink away my sudden hypnosis and adjusted my vision back to reality. I sat back and listened to the banter around me in the hopes of it distracting me from the tempting piece of candy sitting on the other side of the fire.

"Youwah fire spaht is totawy diffewent dan ouwahs," Calian informed my mom with his, barely decipherable, toddler lingo.

"Oh yeah, how so buddy?" Mom replied with a big grin as she ripped open a bag of marshmallows.

"D'ere rocks on yours. We have a wing." He answered.

"It's rrrrrrring, Calian," Harper corrected. "Birds have wings."

"I knew what you meant," I fist pumped the little dude.

"He doesn't talk right," Harper interjected.

"Ouch," I said. "Well, I don't walk right so, we all have our quirks. Right, Calian?"

He laughed and nodded without talking. Brooke smiled at me. Holding my eyes with hers.

Is the tension between us visible to anyone else? I wondered...

"Who wants to roast one?" Dad asked the group.

"Me!" Both kids screamed in unison.

"How about a roast off, Harper," I engaged with the feisty tyke, hoping to win her over.

"I'll crush you. I'm a pro." She held out her hand as my Dad walked over with a prepared stick and flashed me a 'good luck' look.

"Okay, okay, consider me warned."

She bounced between eyeing me and her task as we turned and moved our white nuggets. of sugar around the hot flames to avoid sudden combustion. Calian lifted his when it caught on fire and Brooke casually took the stick out of his tiny hand and blew it out.