Turning A New Leaf

Seven

Saturday morning came quickly for Brad. He had stayed over at Holly's place since Brooke was in Southern Oregon visiting her Nana. He'd been up since Thursday but had made sure to stay hydrated and forced himself to get some food into him.

Holly had picked up an 8-ball the night before, it was more than enough dope to last them into the week. Brad had to make the conscious decision to stop smoking that morning so he could try to come down overnight and sleep some before Brooke came home.

Holly was stretched out on a red velvet chaise lounge, wearing nothing but a matching vintage-styled bra and panty set in sheer baby blue material, her blond hair done up in victory rolls with a flower pin in her ear. He couldn't get enough of her, she was the type of woman he never would have imagined he would have to himself.

Brad loved Brooke to an extent and enjoyed their upper-middle-class lifestyle, he just couldn't fathom leaving that behind. He rationalized that the way his marriage was going and how little time he spent at home outside of his work hours, Brooke had to be semi-aware of his infidelity. She knew he was unhappy with their sex life, or lack thereof. He wasn't sure how she could expect him not to get his needs met elsewhere.

Holly understood Brad was married, she didn't like it but accepted it. He saw her nearly daily at that point, he helped with her bills, bought her lavish gifts, and kept her spoiled.

"I can't believe you haven't told your wife that you were suspended yet," Holly told him, swinging her legs off the lounge and sitting upright. "Why don't you just tell her and do the drug treatment?"

"I don't want to do treatment," he told her.

"I get that but you don't think financially, it's smarter to suck it up, take the verbal lashing from your wife, and go to rehab?" Holly asked.

"I could always do family medicine," Brad pointed out.

"You could but that's half the salary. At least. And how are you going to explain to Brooke that you decided to randomly give up neurosurgery for that?" She asked, straddling him.

Brad stroked her thighs, "I'll tell her that it's simply too stressful and I can't handle it," he replied.

"I know you don't want to give up on your dreams just like that," Holly said, lightly kissing his neck. "Besides, how are you going to continue having me as a kept woman on a general practitioner salary?"

Brad groaned, "Stop."

She kissed down his chest, "Tell her you have been burnt out from all the hours you've been putting in," Holly's lips moved lower, "And that someone else offered you a pick-me-up." She paused right above the waistline of his boxers, her eyes meeting his, "Then things got out of hand and you need help. Give her some tears and tell her you've been so," She slipped her hand into his boxer shorts, pulling out his hard member, "Ashamed of what you've been doing. She is a sucker. She will fall for it."

Brad's pulse quickened, "You really think that's the best option?"

Holly licked the underside of his cock, "I know it's the best option."

****

"If I end up going to rehab, are you going to be here when I get out?" Brad asked, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"I'm not going nowhere," she assured him.

"Can you promise me you won't be with any other men?" he asked, already knowing what her answer would be.

"For three months?" She asked, a smile teasing her full red lips. "You're lucky I like you."

"Is that a yes then?"

"Yes, Bradley," Holly assured him, "Only because I like you. You better buy me something nice when you get your cushy neurosurgeon job."

"Anything for you," he kissed her softly.

Although he knew he had zero right to demand she not be with any other men, the idea of her sleeping with someone else, another man anyway, lit him up with jealousy. Brad wanted her as his and his only. He didn't even feel that way for Brooke, he honestly wished she would sleep with someone else, not that the prude would.

Holly was right about him agreeing to go to rehab and continuing his residency. He didn't believe he needed it, he was able to live a day-to-day life without issue and bringing attention to anyone. He wasn't like his loser brother who couldn't take breaks from crystal and fucked his entire life up. Unlike Krist, he could go to work, pay bills, not terrorize his family, beat up his significant other, or steal. That was addict behaviour and Brad was not an addict. The only reason he'd gotten caught was because everyone was given random drug tests. He failed.

Krist, the oh-so-high and mighty addict in recovery, had tried to lecture him about how he was ruining his life by getting high on Christmas Eve. The fact that Krist felt he was entitled to lecture him like he was some teenager was laughable. Krist had zero to show for himself as an adult.

And then to text him some bogus crap about "if you ever want to go to a meeting" as if Krist cared about anyone other than himself. He hadn't responded to the text because first off-it would be written acknowledgment that he was using. Secondly, he didn't need his brother pretending he gave a crap about him.

****

After a final romp with Holly in the afternoon, Brad kissed her goodbye. Leaving Holly was always hard, he was addicted to her and everything about her.

He stopped at a little pho restaurant and ordered himself two bowls of pho, one chicken and one beef. He ate the beef there and brought the chicken home.

Brad made it a routine to have a few bowls of pho when he'd come down. The sodium was great for replacing lost electrolytes, it was full of protein and vitamins. On top of the pho, he made sure to take a daily multivitamin and keep up on the water. After a good night's rest, he woke up feeling pretty much as good as new. No joint aches, no weakness.

As he ate, he texted Brooke "Miss you" and scrolled through his Facebook feed. His mom had posted photos of Krist and Atira, announcing their upcoming wedding. The comments were filled with praise about the "beautiful couple" and congratulations.