You're his friend (Bradga)

1. It's been a while

Stefani stood in front of the mirror, heart pounding, excitement tingling through her veins. She had planned this seduction the whole day, wanting to surprise her man to reignite the spark between them a little. Lately, they hadn't had as much time for each other and had completely lost the focus which was actually on their family planning. Just this morning, when she actually wanted to spend some time with him, he had to quickly get up, heading to the set for his new project. She had been able to persuade him to at least take the afternoon off and cancel his plans, which he had promised her he'd do.
Now she was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, putting on her lipstick and looking forward to him finally coming home.
She took a deep breath when she heard the doorbell, fluffed her hair, and swung the door open with a sultry smile on her lips.
But to her surprise, it wasn't her boyfriend standing there. Instead, a tall guy with shaggy, brown hair and piercing blue eyes, stood right in front of her. Stefani's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, her carefully prepared seduction suddenly feeling awkward and misplaced.

Oh my god!

She stammered, didn't really now what to say.

Hey- Stefani?

I... I'm sorry, I thought you were Taylor. What are you doing here? Where is he?

His incredible blue eyes met hers, and for a moment, she was captivated. His presence was magnetic, and it took her a moment to gather her thoughts.

He's just getting something from his car. Should be here in a second. Actually he invited me, I'm sorry if- you know.

The man said, breaking the awkward silence. He eyed her, triggering goosebumps inside her as she noticed his gaze. Quickly she tried to cover her almost bare chest, which was visible under the see through fabric of her black dress.
Stefani nodded, grateful for the brief reprieve.

Ehm, yes. I'll be- I'll be right back. Come in?

She quickly retreated into the bedroom, her heart still racing, but didn't notice the look he had on his face as he saw the red lace panties, while she made her way upstairs.
As she changed into something more appropriate, she couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed. Her cheeks had the same color as a red tomato, spreading an uncomfortable heat through her body. He looked so familiar and suddenly she remembered why.
She was relieved that Taylor hadn't seen the whole scene she caused, because that would have been even more embarrassing for her. She just hoped that he wouldn't make a comment on all that in front of Taylor.
As soon as she came back downstairs, she found both men on their porch and went outside.

Hey honey.

Taylor got up and gave her a kiss before going into the house to get some drinks.

Babe, that's Bradley. Bradley that's Stefani. I'll get us a drink, you want one too?

Oh, thanks. A water would be nice.

She knew that Bradley was a friend of Taylor, but not that it was her Bradley. Actually he wasn't hers, not anymore.
She sat down on the bench across from him. It was silent for a short moment.

Bradley?

Yes. It's been a while, right.

You've changed a little since the last time we met.

I've been living in Europe for a while, doing new projects and stuff.

Sounds exciting. The beard suits you.

In fact, a few years had passed (two and a few months to be exact). They had seen each other from time to time at events, film premieres or parties and talked briefly. Memories suddenly spilled back into her head. The Oscar night, when she had performed just before his category was introduced. They had met backstage and he had complimented her on her performance, back then when she didn't even know her boyfriend. And after that, they spent one, two nights together, not in public, just the two of them (actually there were definitely more than just one or two but nobody really knew about that).