The Forbidden Fruit Always Tastes Sweeter

I woke up to the buzzing of my blackberry in my wristlet that laid on the end table. I looked up and smiled at Brian passed out on top of the covers. I rolled over and grabbed the yellow bag and pulled my phone out.

"Good morning." I was greeted as soon as I answered it.

"Morning Leo." I said softly.

"How's your neck, sweetheart?" He asked.

"And, how did you find out about that?" I shook my head, quickly cutting him off before he could answer. "Never mind, you're not going to tell anyway."

"You were always the brightest." Leo chuckled. "I also know that you have not been to Irvine yet."

"No, I haven't been to Irvine yet." I sighed. "I'm working on it, Leo. It's too early for this." I sat up, pushing the pillows back as I leaned comfortably against the headboard. I looked over at Brian and smiled, lazily combing my fingers through his long hair.

"Alright," he said gently. "What time do you want me to send those darling girls?"

I chuckled, playing with the strap of the wristlet. "Just give me enough time to wake up."

"So, this afternoon." I heard him mumble, the clicking of a keyboard in the background. "It's all settled. You may want to leave around eleven to get there for one." Leo advised.

"Yeah, sounds good." I rubbed my face.

"I emailed you the information."

No sooner than he said that, my phone beeped letting me know of the incoming message. "Got it."

"You sure, you'll be able to handle them?" He questioned skeptically.

I chuckled. "A couple of teenage girls? They'll be fine."

"Irvine's waiting." Leo got in before disconnecting the phone call.

"Asshole." I grumbled, looking at the phone. I released my fingers from Brian's hair to open the email, checking over the time and gate number.

"Why'd you stop?" He groaned, nuzzling his head into my arm.

I chuckled, scrolling down the email scanning over the basic information. "Morning."

"You need to leave?" He rubbed his hands over his eyes trying to rub the sleep out of them, silently hoping that I wouldn't.

"Not yet." I smiled down at him. "Why, you ready to kick me out?"

His eyes snapped to mine, before rolling them teasingly. "Too lazy to, I'm sure you know where the door is."

I raised my eyebrows, going back to my home screen before placing my stuff back on his end table. "So, welcoming in the morning, are we?"

"Always," Brian grinned sleepily. He watched as I rolled my neck carefully from side to side. "How's it feeling?"

"A bit stiff, but so much better with the brace off." I yawned stretching my arms above my head, hearing my back crack in several places. "You snore, you know." I turned on my side to face him. "It's cute. A little white noise to go to sleep too."

Brian laughed sarcastically. "You're just a bundle of joy in the morning." He reached up gently, tracing my jaw with his fingertips. "Want to go out for breakfast?"

"Nah, lets just chill. I don't want to be in a car longer than I have to."

"Fine with me." He mumbled.

"I'm going to grab some clothes from my car." I got up stretching.

Brian watched as the dress rise up my legs, his eyes trailing slowly up to my face. "You planned on crashing here didn't you."

"You know it." I winked. "I'll be back." Brian mumbled a response and let out an obnoxiously loud yawn. I dug through the back of my Jeep finding various articles of clothing that I had left behind from other occasions. Grabbing the shorts and tank top. I contemplated just changing next to the car, but decided better on it and went in the bathroom I saw downstairs.

I folded the dress and sat it on the counter, going into the kitchen where I heard the cabinets slamming shut. "Making something?" I leaned on the counter.

He turned around with a bashful smile and eyed the clothes I had changed into. He watched as I threw my hair up into a mess bun and swallowed. "Do you make it a habit of not wearing a bra?"

"I like to be free." I laughed and resumed leaning on the counter. "So…"

"Pancakes?" He grinned. I scrunched up my nose causing his smile to fall. "You don't like pancakes."

I bit my lip. "It's just that waffles are just so much better."

"No way, after you taste mine, you'll never go back." He boasted.

I shrugged. "I'm not going to lie. I'll be pretty hard to convince. I am the waffle queen." I walked over to where he was mixing the batter and hoped onto the counter.

"What plans are you making with the girls?" He asked as he whisked out the dry clumps.

"Eh, sun bathing and shopping. Girly stuff I guess." I shrugged, kicking my feet.

Brian poured out some of the batter onto the warmed skillet. He looked at me with a hopeful smile. "Any chance, there will be room for me and a second date?"

I blushed and smiled. "We'll see. I don't want to be a rude hostess and ditch them." I saw his smile fade slightly. "But, you are more than welcome to come over and keep me sane. Teenage girls can be a handful."

"Why, were you a handful?" He chuckled, adding some blueberries before flipping the pancake when it was nicely browned on one side.

"Nah, I was too busy to cause too much trouble. I was on the surfing team in the fall, then water polo in the winter, and swimming in the spring." I grinned cheekily. "I was a good apple."

Brian laughed. "Not me. I could've been worse, but my parents have plenty of stories on me." He scooped off the pancakes and put them on the white plate next to the stove. "Syrup?"

"Brian, babe, now that is a stupid question. Sugar and me are buddies, like this." I crossed my index and middle finger over together.

"Syrup for the sweet tooth it is then." He covered the pancakes. Picking up the fork he cut a small piece off. "Alright, judgment time."

"Don't be upset if they don't meet my standards." I warned him leaning over to the fork. Taking the bite, I tasted the all the blueberries.

"Well?" He took a bite for himself. "I think they're pretty damn good myself."

"That's because you're biased." I laughed.

"So, you don't like them?" He pouted.

"They're not waffles." I commented making him frown. "But, they have to be the best pancakes I've ever had. Now, you'll just have to try my waffles some time."

He rolled his eyes, pouring more batter onto the hot pan, sizzling as it came in contact. "They have to be pretty amazing waffles to beat my super, awesome pancakes."

"They will be." I grinned cheekily, grabbing the fork to take another bite.

As he waited for the new batch to brown, he rubbed my bare legs. "What's in Irvine? I heard you mention it this morning."

"Oh," I dropped my gaze momentarily. "One office of Billabong is stationed there. That was one of the big sponsors I had. It'll probably be just a matter of time before I go to ask for a spot again."

My muscles relaxed as his rough hands gently rubbed my knees. "What's holding you back?" He asked curiously.

I sighed and shrugged. "Fear. Getting back on the bike ain't as easy as it sounds. I mean look at me," I laughed. "I get back on once and I killed my neck. I just wish I could be as good as I was."

Brian tilted his head to the side slightly. "Nah, I think you'll be fine. You just did that to shut Rick up."

"True," I giggled.

"But, I want to see what you've got." He grinned, playing with the hem of my tank top, pulling me closer.

I smiled easily bringing my lips to his before pulling back. "You're burning."

"Oh, yeah." He groaned softly, trying to kiss me again.

I laughed. "No, you're pancakes are burning."

"Shit," he grabbed the spatula prying the charcoal pancakes, if you could even identify them as such, off of the skillet.

"I wouldn't have done that to my waffles." I grinned before jumping off the counter as he ran to get me.