Family Is All It Takes

Mac didn’t know what was happening. Brandon was kissing her. And she was liking it.

‘What the hell?’ she thought.

Realizing that it was utter insanity to let it go any longer, she attempted to push him away. He didn’t budge.

His right hand cupped her face and his left hand travelled down to her waist, pulling her close. Mac found herself getting dizzy and knew she was physically swaying. Brandon held her on her feet but just to make it worse, his tongue poked at her bottom lip.

Before she could stop herself, Mac let him in, his tongue exploring new territory. Soon, his right hand travelled down to her waist and she put her arms around his neck.

‘Stop this!’ she screamed to herself. ‘Stop this right now!’

But her head and her heart and all her limbs didn’t seem to agree. She wouldn’t break the kiss, as much as she thought she wanted to.

*****

In fact, it was Brandon who backed broke away first. Stepping back, he stared breathlessly at Mac.

“Get in here!” she gasped before tugging him by his collar into her apartment.

“What?” he smirked. Was she getting at something?

“What,” she began with a big breath. “Was that? What was that just now?”

“A kiss?” he said playing the innocent card. All of a sudden, his nervousness was gone and his play-boy attitude was out.

“Don’t act like you’re not at fault!” she glared. “You are.”

“Don’t act like you didn’t like it,” Brandon teased. “I know you did.”

“Shut up! Just shut the hell up!” Mac ranted. “I opened up to you, Sutter! And now, after I thought I could trust you, you go and pull this shit. What the hell’s it all about?”

Brandon was at a loss for words. Once again, Mac was leaving him speechless. She was dressed in anything special. In fact, this was the most dressed down he had seen her since that day she had gone running with them. She wore a Staal player shirt and a pair of yoga pants that made Brandon feel very uncomfortable when he looked at them.

“Brandon!” she exclaimed. “Answer me!”

“I-I don’t know,” he said forming each word carefully. “But I liked it.”

“Oh, you would,” Mac scowled. “Did you ever consider that fact that maybe I didn’t want to kiss you?”

Brandon frowned. No, he hadn’t considered that.

“But your tweet today,” he protested.

“Maybe it wasn’t about you!” she said. “And why would you assume something like that?”

Again, he didn’t know what to say. They stared at each other from across the room.

*****

Mac had to admit; maybe she hadn’t been very considerate with the things she had said. Brandon had only kissed her, after all. But it was a huge violation of personal space. But she had liked it.

Staring at him from her spot across the room, Mac couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if she kissed him. Would he call her a hypocrite? Probably not.

She smiled to herself. Brandon was staring at her legs. Maybe the yoga pants were a little old and a little shrunk from the dryer. She had always liked her legs. Jordan had hated it when she would wear a pair of shorts, a skirt, or skinny jeans when she would be out with the team. Most of the time, she did it to annoy him. But other times, it was just fun to see the guys try not to stare at her.

“You got an answer for me yet, Sutter?” she asked.

“I know it’s about me,” he said quietly.

She faltered. Despite the volume of his voice, there was a confidence that surprised her.

“I know it was about me,” he said again. Approaching her, Brandon grabbed Mac by the shoulders and held her firmly. Staring right into her eyes, he continued. “I’m sorry if I confused you. But I was a little confused myself. I’ve never had feelings like this for a girl before.”

“Feelings like what?” she asked almost hesitantly.

He took her hand and placed it over his heart. “You feel that?”

His heart was beating a million miles a minute. She nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off of her hand.

“Every time I see you, I get like that. Whether you’re writing or standing with the guys or with Jake-especially when you’re with Jake- I get that way. You do this to me, Mac. And I don’t know whether to be terrified you won’t feel the same way or hopeful that you will,” he said. Tipping her chin up towards his face, he looked at her with honesty in his eyes. “I think I’m more terrified than anything else.”

*****

He waited for her response patiently, and when it came, he didn’t like it.

She didn’t either. “We-we can’t be doing this, Brandon. It’s not… it’s not professional.”

“Screw what’s right,” he said throwing his hands in the air.

“It’s not that simple for me!” she said trying to explain. “I have a son that needs looking after. I live pretty much paycheck-to-paycheck. I’m not you!”

“Then quit!” he said pulling her close. “I’ll give you anything and everything you’ll ever need.”

Mac shook her head. “No. I’m not giving up my career.”

Brandon frowned down at her.

“We wouldn’t work, Brandon. You know that,” she sighed. “I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone.”

“Why?”

“My career! Meeting a guy while I’m working on an article for the team he plays for would be so unprofessional,” she said. “Hell, this is unprofessional.”

“I’m good at keeping secrets,” he persisted.

“You just won’t give up, will you?” Mac sighed again. Burying her face into his chest, he could feel the heat of her breath through his thin t-shirt.

“Not until you agree to give me a chance at having a real family,” Brandon nodded.

She looked up at him in shock.

“Not in that way,” he assured her. “But I want to be a part of yours and Jake’s lives. Just give me a chance, please.”

Mac looked up at him for a long and painful second.

Breathing in deeply, she felt a smile creep across her face.

“Yes!” Brandon whooped. “Yes!”

“Hold your horses there, buddy,” Mac said stifling her laugh. “We’ve got some ground rules here. We keep this a secret until I say it’s okay. And when I say we keep it a secret, I mean the only people that will find out about it are Jordan and Heather. And that’s only because they know me well enough to find it out on their own. We keep the mushy stuff to a minimum around Jake; he’ll blab it to the team unknowingly. And we take this at my pace. Got it?”

Brandon nodded before pulling her close again. “Every word.”