When Brad awoke the next morning, he reached over for Victoria and was surprised to find she wasn’t there. Quickly looking over to the bathroom and finding the door closed, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Looking over at the clock, he found it was already well into the morning.
Suddenly, Mark was in the room beside him. “Hey, shit for brains, you finally getting up?” He threw on the light and he yanked back the covers exposing Brad. “Shit!” he laughed, turning his back and shielding his eyes. “Cover yourself, man.” Brad quickly jumped out of bed and pulled his pants on that were lying on the floor.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” he ground out, his gaze quickly sliding over to the closed bathroom door. He wasn’t sure what Mark would do if her found out Victoria was here. “Get out of here!”
Mark’s keen gaze quickly scanned the room and he smiled at the clothes that were scattered on the floor. Bending over, he picked up a lacy black bra from the floor and turned to Brad. “I’m sorry, man. Holly’s here.” Brad didn’t say a thing, he just grabbed Victoria’s bra from him and threw it back on the floor. Mark laughed as he backed out the way he had come. “I just wanted to let you know that coffee’s ready and it’s your turn to cook.” Brad shot his a look that could kill and Mark quickly ducked out of the room. As Brad looked around the room, he wondered how he was going to explain Victoria’s presence.
Victoria dawdled in the bathroom as long as she could, her mind in turmoil. She had heard Mark enter the room and the conversation that had occurred. How could she have allowed Brad to make love to her when it went against everything she felt in her heart? She had brought it on herself - it was inexcusable. She hugged herself and shivered.
She hung her head as a tear squeezed from beneath a lowered lid and slid down her cheek. She had willingly surrendered to the passion and hurt she had felt and had welcomed Brad’s loving. Feeling guilt now would change nothing, she thought bitterly as she dashed away the moisture gathering in her eyes.
She knew she couldn’t stay here, hiding out from Colin and finding comfort in a man’s arms that she didn’t love. Unable to hide from Mark any longer and unwilling to hurt Brad, Victoria reluctantly walked back into the bedroom to fetch her clothing. She found that Brad had already gone into the kitchen, hoping that he was going to be the one to break to Mark what had occurred last night. Quickly dressing back into her jeans and button-down shirt, Victoria ran a brush through her hair and tied it up in a ponytail. As she donned her shoes, she wondered what she was going to say to Mark.
Brad stared across the bar at Mark over his cup of coffee. How he was going to break this to him, he wondered. Mark would be hurt, about that he had no doubt. Then there was Holly to consider. He should’ve known to put Victoria on the couch, but he hadn’t counted on the explosion of passion between them the moment their lips touched. What followed was inevitable. He took another sip of coffee as the phone rang.
“Hello?” Mark’s deep voice resounded through the kitchen. Brad looked up to see Mark’s intense gaze on him, and his face a mask of surprise. A shot of panic went through Brad briefly as Mark put his hand over the receiver, looked at him and said, “It’s Holly.” The two stared at each other for a moment; Mark confused and Brad startled.
Brad slowly took the phone. “Hello?” As Brad talked to her for a few minutes, Mark went back into the kitchen for another cup of coffee, questions filling his mind. He glanced down the hall, wondering who the hell it would be coming down it in a few minutes. He crossed back over the room and sat across the bar from Brad, watching him intently. He could tell Brad was squirming on the phone and he couldn’t help it, but Mark grinned at his buddy’s dilemma. He had one lady in his room and one on the phone.
Glancing down the hall one last time, Mark’s grin quickly turned to a grimace as he saw Victoria coming towards him. He quickly glanced over at Brad as he hung up the phone and then again at Victoria, who had now reached the kitchen, her hands in her pockets and her face ashen. Mark slowly set his coffee on the bar and straightened up, not sure what to say. It was obvious what had happened and he wasn’t sure how to react. His emotions were sporadic and his throat dry.
“Mark . . .” Brad began.
“Uh . . .” he stammered, quickly getting to his feet. “I think . . . I have to go, uh . . . uh . . .” Victoria reached out quickly and touched his arm.
“Are you all right?” She felt her heart break as she knew she had hurt him deeply. She should’ve thought before she acted last night. Guilt swept over her like dark clouds.
Mark retracted from her without thinking. “Uh . . . yeah, I’m fine.”
Victoria sent him a wary glance. She had grave doubts that Mark was fine. “I should explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain,” he said, picking up his keys and preparing to leave.
“Mark, don’t leave.” Brad set his coffee down to face his roommate and friend. Mark’s eyes blazed as he quickly thought about punching him right in the face. If it hadn’t been for Victoria’s hand on his arm, he would have. He quickly glanced back at her, hurt shining bright in his brown eyes.
“I have to go,” he said, turning quickly and walking out the door. Victoria watched him leave and then sat down at the bar with a heavy sigh.
Brad quietly set a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. He glanced at her and then tried to swallow the lump that was in his throat. “About last night . . .”
Victoria sent him a tired glance. She had grave doubts that anything he had to say would help the situation. “Forget last night,” she cut in before he could finish his sentence. “It should not have happened, and I don’t want to talk about it.” She fastened her eyes on the cup of coffee in front of her, aware that her expression would betray her emotions. She had wanted it to happen but she didn’t love him, and she had real doubts that he loved her as well.
“Look at me, Vicky,” Brad said, reaching across the bar and raising her chin so he could see her face. “We can’t deny what happened between us. Lord knows, I feel badly about it. I truly didn’t mean to take advantage of you, but the situation became explosive so quickly I couldn’t stop. I want to make it up to you.”
Victoria’s expression grew somber. “You didn’t take advantage of me. I am as much to blame, if not more. I came to you and I apologize. I should have never put you in that situation.”
“I warned that you would be sorry in the morning.” He tried to tease her out of her mood. “But I’m not sorry it happened.”
Victoria looked back at him and smiled. “I’m sorry I got you into this. You have Holly and it was not fair of me to put you in a precarious situation with her. I hope I didn’t ruin anything for you.”
Brad came around the bar to sit beside her, taking her hand in his. “You didn’t do anything I haven’t wanted to do for a very long time.”
“Brad . . .” she began, tears filling her eyes once more.
“I know,” he said, stroking her hand with his fingers and then bringing them to his lips. “You don’t love me. The only reason you came to me was Colin.” He looked at her and all she could do was nod her head in reply. “What happened, Vicky?”
Victoria’s gaze fell to the ground, the tears falling freely. Brad said nothing. He knew in his gut that Victoria belonged with Colin, even though he wanted her for himself. He had agonized over it the day he had first seen them together.
