Deceived

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter 25: Boiling point

Time: Fall 2008

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Now on with our next chapter-

Reba knocked on the basement door.

Brock flashed his pearly whites at her. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I feel like we’re making it back to being friends, especially since our movie fest two days ago. You seemed so sad and lonely today for some reason.”

“Not exactly sad...” Brock followed Reba into the living room.

“Well, it looks like all the kids are out tonight. Cheyenne and Van took their kids to the Montgomery’s. Jake and Maggie are staying the night at their friends’ houses. Wanna spend the night with me?”

He smirked. “Are you propositioning me?”

“I guess I am,” she replied slyly. She saw the conflicting emotions in his eyes. “Relax, I just meant that if you were gonna spend the night watching TV, then maybe you’d want to watch TV with me. There’s a Horror Fest on cable.”

“I don’t remember you being a horror fan. You used to jump in my lap while watching scary movies.”

“Everybody grows up, Brock. I love them now.”

“Well, turn on the TV and I’ll get the popcorn.” Brock went into the kitchen eagerly because he was a horror movie fan.

***

Reba covered her eyes while the blood thirsty maniac on the screen attacked his prey. “Just tell me when it’s over.”

“I thought you liked horror movies now?”

“I do. I like thrills and chills, not gore. I can watch babysitter killers and killer dolls with no problem, but this is just too disgusting.”

“I knew you couldn’t take it.”

“Whatever, you happened to pick a bad movie.”

Brock turned the TV off and Reba pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“So, if we’re gonna talk as friends. Why don’t you catch me up? What’s your love life been like?”

“Mostly I’ve dated guys who have left me or hurt me.”

“And then there’s Mike.”

Reba chuckled. “I somehow knew you’d get back to that one. I like him. He’s a great guy. He treats me really well, better than any other man that I’ve dated.”

“Ouch! So, what happened to Mr. Perfect?”

“It’s tough because so much of our feelings are tied into a shared past, a past that includes you. He always wondered if I was over you and couldn’t move forward until he was sure. Finally, we decided that I would never be totally sure.”

Brock sat there with a smug, satisfied expression.

“Don’t look so happy about it. Alex twisted everything up until I couldn’t think straight. For reasons that aren’t clear to me, he made it difficult for me to try to move on.”

“I’d like to think that my brother did what he had to in order to keep me in your heart. He knew that I was out there somewhere. He made sure that I could come home and step back into my life.”

Reba rolled her eyes. “I’m not so sure about that. Who says that you’re any good for me?”

He folded his arms. “Really?”