âI need to talk to you,â he said as the phone crackled in her ear and the noise around her swelled to an as-yet-unseen level.
âRight now?â she asked, trying her best to sound less pulled than she felt.
âAs soon as you can.â
âGive me a couple of hours to finish up here with the kids and Iâll head that way.â
As she hung up, something in Garretâs voice struck home with Sierra. The sad, flat tone he used along with the catch she heard in his plea caused an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of her stomach. Between family, work, and a very deep and personal battle with depression, she knew that heâd had problems in his life lately. However, Sierra assumed it was something he would have chosen to speak about to his male buddies; not her. Sure they were friends, but cowboys just donât do the emotional revelation thing to a female without some sort of provocation.
An hour and thirty minutes later, the kids were tucked into the car with grandparents, and her husband, and Sierra crawled into her big SUV and stopped again. Somehow, no matter how this visit looked to them she knew that without a doubt, she had to go to Garret and figure out the problem. She knew men were supposed to be the âproblem solversâ in life, but it seemed that this time she couldnât help but go to her friend and help him fix whatever she could. Resolutely, she started the engine and drove off in the direction of his house.
Halfway to his house, Sierra caught herself primping in the mirror and cursing the fact that she had only had a very few minutes to shower and get ready for the kiddosâ school function. âWhat am I thinking?â, she thought. âIâm just going out here tonight to help Garret figure out whatâs going on in his life, not on a first date.â The self-admonishment did little to settle the feeling in her gut. Maybe she should have eaten something before now, but it was too late, as the gate to his driveway came into view.
As she pulled up in front of Garretâs house, she looked toward the front door where he was standing in nothing but a well-worn pair of jeans and his bare feet. His broad well-tanned, muscular chest was captivating to say the least, but his eyes cut straight through to her heart. He looked so overwhelmingly sad. Suddenly the mommy instinct came out in full force and the only thing she could do was gather her things and walk to the door.
Before she even got in the door, Garret could tell this evening was going to be just what he needed. A good, solid, loving friend, who would listen to his ranting and not expect anything in return was just what the doctor ordered. His broken heart seemed to suddenly beat with a more steady rhythm. As she stepped inside the door, Garret enfolded her into his arms in a hug they both needed. They both knew things would be fine. After a few short minutes of taking and giving strength they both were lacking in, they both seemed to realize that the embrace was lasting longer than it should for proprietyâs sake and pulled away almost awkwardly. They each took seats on opposite ends of the short couch and began their conversation.
âMallory found someone else,â Garret stated in a totally flat voice.
âOh, sweety, Iâm so sorry.â Mallory had been Garretâs friend for a couple of years. Garret had hoped to give her enough time to realize that they could be more to each other, but it seemed that now she had taken that space and run with it. According to Garretâs account of it now, she had met and fallen for another man and they were serious. Mallory hadnât even bothered to let Garret know, he had to find out when he called her and the new man picked up her cell phone. Sierra could tell that Garret was heartbroken.
The conversation flowed from that topic and on to others. The topics they covered were varied and important to each of them. They listened and commiserated on the things that were bothering them, his job, her marriage, his failed relationships, her lack of a career, friends they both had, dreams they both wanted to attain. It was refreshing for both of them to have the opportunity to have their feelings validated and have someone seem to actually understand how these things made them feel. The only weird moments in the entire conversation were when their eyes met and held for what seemed like an eternity. Neither could quite decide what the looks meant and neither seemed interested in questioning the growing bond between them.
When the conversation settled into a lull and most of the major issues of the night were settled, Sierra stood and announced she needed to go home. It was well past dark and the drive to her house was a long one. Garret stood also to give her a hug good bye. When she slipped into his arms, they would have both sworn that there was an audible âclickâ like when you slide a puzzle piece in the right spot and it slides into place. There was no awkwardness about where arms go and where body parts would fit, just an almost overwhelming feeling of coming home and knowing youâre where you should be. Sierra leaned back in his embrace to say good bye, and was almost bowled over when Garret silenced her with the sweetest, most gentle kiss sheâd ever experienced. One of his hands rested gently on the curve of her behind while the other came up to tunnel into her hair and cup her cheek so he could maneuver her mouth for deeper exploration.
As soon as their mouths touched, Sierraâs brain went into immediate overload. The more sensible side of her brain kept repeating the mantra, âYouâre married, youâre married, youâre marriedâ over and over again, while the more elemental parts of her brain screamed âSCREW IT! THIS IS AMAZING!â Eventually the more persistent half of her brain won the battle and managed to silence the doubts that werenât very strong to begin with. She dropped her keys and cell phone so she could use both hands to explore the body she knew so well by sight and had longed to touch for years. Within mere seconds, the kiss had turned from innocent and exploratory to hot and wet, tongues meeting and mating, teeth nibbling, lips pulling and sucking, hands roaming over familiar yet new terrain. Sierra marveled at the well-honed muscles of Garretâs chest and the way it made him shudder all over when she drew her short fingernails across his small pebbly nipples and down his strong arms. Garret smiled as he kissed a trail from her mouth to the ultra sensitive skin just below her left ear. Sierra moaned loudly as he worried the small stud earring she always wore with his tongue. When she couldnât take it any longer, Sierra involuntarily ground her hips into his in an effort to ratchet up the intensity of their pleasure once again. Any one else might have missed the tiny little intake of breath from Garret that signified she had hit her mark.