The Forbidden Fruit Always Tastes Sweeter

I smiled as I drove as I drove down the PCH in my Jeep. Thankfully the traffic was on the other side at this time. And, since it had been so beautiful lately, the top was down and the doors were officially taken off of the Jeep.

I finally had my house back, free of any teenagers. They weren't terrible house-guests, but it's hard to adjust to when you're used to living alone. I smiled as the wind whipped my hair around like crazy.

I pulled up the large house that I was slowly becoming familiar with. I jumped down from the Jeep and walked up to his door nervous about taking Brian out.

I rang the door bell and bounced on my feet, chewing on my lip as I waited for him to answer.

Brian pulled the front door open and grinned seeing me. Though, he slowly frowned in his white button down shirt and a nice pair of jeans. “I feel overly dressed.”

“That’s because you are.” I laughed, rolling my eyes. “Where did you think I was taking you?”

“I figured just out to a late lunch or something.” He shrugged opening the door further for me to come inside.

“Well, then, I hope I don’t disappoint you.” I chuckled at the place I had in mind. “And, I would change if I were you.” I teased.

“Fine,” he huffed. “I get all sexy only to be put down.”

I sat at the chair at the island. “Hey, I told you to dress casually, not all sexy.”

He peaked his head in the kitchen with a big grin on his face. “I do look sexy, don’t I.”

I bit my lip. “Not bad Haner, not bad. Just watch the hair when you switch shirts it looks like you spent a while primping. Wouldn’t want to disturb your masterpiece.”

“Bitch,” he muttered under his breath, pulling me inside.

“Now is that any way to treat your date?” I laughed as he jogged up stairs. I went into the kitchen and just leaned on the counter, tapping my nails on top of the marble.

Brian chuckled seeing the bra straps peaking out behind the racerback shirt , surprised that I was actually wearing one. “So, where are we going?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” I grinned, turning around and leaning back. I bit my lip. “We don’t have any time constraints to consider, do we?”

“Nope, I’m all yours.” He smirked.

“Let’s hit it, then.” I pushed myself upward and led him to the front door.

“Nice,” he commented seeing the doors taken down.

I giggled and started the car. “You should have seen me when I first drove this thing with the doors off. I was a mess, freaking everyone out, thinking that I was going to fall out on a turn. It was a bit nerve wracking seeing the road when you look down.”

Brian shook his head, “But, motorcycles are not a problem?”

I quickly backed out and took off towards the PCH. “What can I say, I’m a big girl now.”

“Can I ask the general vicinity we will be in?” Brian rested his arms lazily behind his head. “You know just in case this is really a kidnapping.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself,” I chuckled, putting in the jazz CD he was letting me barrow. He smiled softly hearing the familiar notes of Stormy Weather. “El Monte though if you must know.” I looked over to see him nod and slide on his sunglasses to protect him from the glare reflecting off the pale road. “So, have you guys been in the studio yet?”

I smiled at the large grin that appeared on his lips. “Unofficially we have. More or less just messing around, brainstorming, that sort of thing. It won’t be long now though.” He filled the car with simple chatter and kept me laughing.

I saw his lips purse as he stared out the doorless frame. “What?” I took the next exit and carefully merged onto the boulevard, knowing that we would be there within a few minutes.

He lulled his head toward me and grinned sheepishly. “I’m trying to figure out what’s in El Monte.”

I giggled. “You know, I think it’s safe to say that I am really going to surprise you on this one.”

“Watch I’m letting you take me out to the middle of no where so you can put a few in me and leave my body for someone to fine.” He said sarcastically. I smirked, but didn’t answer as I made the u-turn and entered through the open chain linked fence that lead us down a dirt road. Brian jumped when he heard gun shots in the near distance. “I was just kidding you know. I really didn’t take you for a serial killer.” He laughed nervously, not sure if he should have opened his mouth.

I just smile as he squirmed in his seat, parking next to another car. Brian sighed in relief several other cars. At least he would have several witnesses around.

I looked over at him and saw that he was really anxious. “I’m glad you think so highly of me.” I rolled my eyes, getting out of the car without waiting for him. I walked up the short path and made my way to front desk. The large sign of the area read Triple B Clays. It was a shotgun sports park. I smiled at the familiar face. “Hey Ron.”

“Lucy?” He squinted his eyes, rubbing them as he teased me. “Let me guess you finally shot Ricky’s foot and that’s why I haven’t seen you in forever.”

I laughed. “You wish.”

“What can I do for you, sweetheart?” He chuckled.

“I’ll take two 100 targets for sporting clays if you would my good man.” I took my debit out of my wristlet and handed it over as he wrung me up. I signed the small printed receipt and slid it across the counter.

“You’re all set.” Ron smiled, looking over my shoulder.

I turned to see Brian with an embarrassed smile and his hands shoved into the pockets of his shorts. “He’s with me.”

“You need an instructor?” He asked Brian.

“He’s good, Ron. Besides he has me for pointers,” I grinned.

Ron looked skeptically between Brian and I and smirked. “Just watch your feet.”

“One time,” I pushed Brian out the side door. “And, no one let’s me forget about it.”

Brian looked at me funny, “Did you shoot Rick’s foot?”

“No,” I chuckled. “First off it was a near miss and a bow and arrow.” I grabbed the belt with the two bags full of shells and wrapped it around his waist. I smirked at how he tensed feeling me so close as I fastened the clip. “But, speaking of not letting go. I’m never going to let you forget how you were afraid that I, me of all people, was going to murder you.”

“Well, it was just too weird when I joke about it, I hear guns going off.” He tried to defend himself.

“Just wait ‘til everyone finds out.” I teased putting on my headset, and handing him his.

“You wouldn’t,” Brian glared.

I pointed to the earmuffs and giggled. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

“You’ll see. There will be consequences for your actions.” He threatened lamely.

“So,” I slid off the headset letting them rest around my neck and handed him a double-barrel shotgun, grabbing one for myself off the wall. “There are 14 stations with different ranges of the targets. You don’t need an instructor, do you? I mean I just assumed that since you were a gun enthusiast that you new how to handle a shot gun. I can go grab Ron though.”

Brian tugged on the loop of my shorts and grinned, leaning down capturing me in a short, sweet kiss. “I’m good. Besides, you offered to be my instructor if I needed one.”

“Alright, tough guy. Let’s see what you’ve got.” I patted his chest.

We walked down the trail in the woods to the first station. “I can let you know that you for sure surprised me with this place.” He bumped his hip with mine a we waited for the guy in front of us to finish up.

“I’ll say, you thought I was going to kill you.” I teased. I motioned for him to move ahead once the station was free.

Brian shook his head, “Ladies first. I want to see if you should have asked for an instructor for yourself.”

I shrugged grabbing two shells from the pouch hanging off his belt and loaded the gun. I stood up to the stand and waited for the trap to go off. I quickly hit the first target, narrowly missing the second.

Brian swallowed, never feeling more turned on. “That was hot, Lucy.” He took out his Cannon from his left pocket and called my name.

I turned around only to met by a shutter going off. “Hey!” I laughed as he continued to take a few more pictures. I stuck my tongue out and grabbed two more shells.

“I got that.” He grinned proudly.

We went through the stations messing around with the camera and doing well to get the targets going off from all the different angles.

“I wanted to ask you something about this weekend.” Brian started out.

“You mean tomorrow?” I corrected him, taking out the next to clay disk.

He glared, teasingly, at me. “Well, Matt’s having a cook out and I wanted you to come. Small thing, just us guys and their girls with a few other things.”

“Yeah, sure.” I looked over to see him scratch his jaw. “What else?”

“Well, it’s been a week. And, I was wondering if you wanted to go out and show me what you’ve got.” Brian asked shyly, knowing it was a sore subject.

“Okay,” I shrugged. Brian seemed to have been bringing out the best of me lately and I figured what do I have to lose.

“Really?” He asked skeptically, wanting to make sure that this was something that I wanted to do and not something that I felt like I had to do.

“Despite spraining my neck, it felt good, you know?” I smiled sadly. “I missed the water.”

“How did you end up in Vegas? It’s like the exact opposite of your world.” He said in a moment of word vomit. He had let his curiosity get the best of him and saw that this was a much more sensitive subject that getting me to surf again. “Does it have to do with your grandfather?” He added remembering what Rick had mentioned.

I sighed leaning on the tree, twirling the unloaded gun in my hands. “I told you how my grandparents raised me.” He nodded, surprised that I was actually going to answer him. “I lost them both that year.”

“Oh, Lucy.” He said softly, rubbing my arm for comfort.

“My nana, had a heart attack. She was young; only 73. It took me a months to accept that. I took a break for a month then too. We, my Tutu kane and me, stayed in Hawaii with family. It was too hard for him to be in that house right away.”

“I can only imagine,” he murmured, regretting asking when they had been having so much fun.

“But, we got through it together and with family. I got back into the swing of competing and finished my associates degree. It was going great.” I took a deep breath watching the two guys in front of us taking their shots. “One of those too good things.” I smiled softly before looking into Brian’s sad brown eyes. “He was in a car accident, coming to see me in a competition. That was it for me. I didn’t know how to get over that one. On top of that I had to deal with my parents and seeing them with their children. I had to get out so I just left.”

He rubbed my cheek. There were no tears though. I had three years to accept what had happened. “I’m sorry.”

I chuckled. “I hurt a lot more people leaving, though. It was selfish.”

“But, you’re back now, getting into the swing of things again. You needed that break. No one should have to go through that.” He shook his head.

I gave him a small shove. “Now, you’ve gone and killed the fun mood we had going on.”

Brian smiled and pulled me into a hug before wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “Well, it’s early so lets finish up the last few stations and then we’ll go get some B and J’s and some beer and relax at my house.”

“B and J’s?” I asked raising my eyebrows.

“Ben and Jerry’s, babe.” He chuckled, going up to the stand showing off his perfect aim.

I shook my head, sneaking the camera out of his pocket, having my own turn of some embarrassing photos and tried to salvage the rest of the evening from the depressing atmosphere I had created. But, now everything was out there. He now knows the worse of me and is still around, trying to cheer me up even.

He looked over at me and grinned, having not missed a single target this station. “I’m just that damn good.”