Seven mates for seven brothers

37- Do you drink coffee?

The next morning Sam was reluctant to go on another breakfast date with Brian, but he managed to get her to go with him somehow; and that is the pattern that formed over the next two weeks.  Sam would keep the conversation light and avoid any personal questions.  Eventually Brian did not know what to make of the situation; it was as if she was sending out two sets of signals.

He noticed the way her breathing caught when she found him staring at her; he noticed the way her heart would suddenly start racing when they were standing too close to each other. And then there was the time he had distinctly caught the smell of her arousal; but she had panicked and turned away from him before he could even think to do something about it.

Sam was of course totally unaware that he could easily read the body signals that she was doing her best to ignore.  There was something about him.  She felt drawn to him for some strange reason and if she had believed in reincarnation, she would have said that they had been together in a previous life.  But she didn’t; and there was no explanation that she could find for these strange feelings.  So; she chalked it up to animal attraction at first; but then later, had to be more honest with herself.  She liked Brian.  Too much; and she could not allow things to go any further.  She liked him too much and he deserved better.  She was going to have to end this before either one of them got hurt.  Life was so unfair!

Thursday morning Brian was in a foul mood.  He had been careful not to scare Sam with any of his actions, to take things slow with her.  But he was aching to hold her in his arms, to kiss those tempting lips, to run his hands through her hair.  And today he was going to make sure he got an opportunity to do just that!  He did not know how, but he sure as hell was going to do his best to make sure it happened.  It was time she understood that he wanted her; all of her; and that he was going to make it happen.

By the time he got down to breakfast he was feeling a bit better, but when breakfast was not ready like it normally was, he was irritated.  Now he was going to be late!  Opening his mind, he searched for first Alex, and when he could not ‘feel’ him; he looked for Cassy.  Immediately he regretted his impatience.  All his hunger disappeared in the flash of nausea he got from Cassy and he had the urge to run to the bathroom and stick his head in the basin.  He slammed the ‘door’ shut to the others in his mind and concentrated on breathing evenly.

When he felt better, he went back upstairs and knocked on their door.  A frightened looking Alex pulled the door open.

“What?”  He barked at Brian.

Brian suppressed the flare of irritation at Alex and stuck what he hopped was a supportive smile on his face.  “Anything I can get Cassy before I leave?”

All reply he got was some more heaving from Cassy.  Alex completely ignored him and ran to the bathroom, a harried look on his face.

“Uhm, I will let the guys know they are on their own this morning.”  Brian called into the room before going back downstairs to scrounge for something to eat.

After hunting around in the cupboards and coming up with some cereal, he sat at the table and gave the happy news to all his brothers as they came pilling in.  Ethan said he would find out from Lucy if she could find out from Lee if there was something that could help Cassy.

So, Brain left home more than half an hour later than normal and by the time he got to Stephen’s, Sam was already hiding in the tree.  He kept his eye on her the whole morning waiting for her to come down and organise herself some breakfast, but she never came down.  The same for lunch time, she clambered all over the tree, but never came down.  Brain was worried because he knew how much she ate for her breakfasts and lunches, so when he saw her pull out some kind of chocolate or energy bar he was relieved.  At least, one part of him was.  The other was livid.  It was clear as day to him that she had planned to keep out of his way today.  As if.  She had to come out of that tree at some time!  She normally left after two thirty every day, so he would wait until she did.