“Like you’re going to be sick? You want me to stop at the chemist and get you something for it?” I offered.
She paused before answering cryptically. “No…like I have cramps.”
Ahhhh. The Curse. I knew about that from having a sister, just never had to deal with it in a relationship before. Matter of fact, I’d never had a relationship like the one I was in with Brynne, before either. When you have sex with short-timers, inconveniences like ‘she’s having her dead week’ don’t come up. But I’d heard the complaints from friends for years, and I’d been around my sister. And I’d learned enough to know that giving a woman her space when she’s hormonal is the way to go. You think?! I supposed the nice wall-shag I had in mind was out of the picture now too. Damn.
“Okay…I can give you a massage when I get there. Is everything else all right? How did the shoot go?” I felt myself tense up just waiting for her to answer me.
“Ummm, the shoot was fine. Good.” She paused and made a sniffling sound. “I talked to my mom on the phone.” She sounded sad and I wondered if the reason she sounded snuffly was because she’d been crying. Made sense. That woman almost made me feel like crying from the one time we’d spoken.
“Our conversation didn’t go so great.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I’ll be there and we can talk when I get up to you.”
“I don’t want to talk about her,” she snapped back. She had that lovely pissed-off tone to her voice that actually got me a bit hard, but also got my warning flaps going too.
I paused a beat. “That’s fine too. I’ll be there very soon.”
“Why are you sighing into the phone at me?”
Christ. I’m sure I opened my mouth and just gaped like a goldfish because I had nothing to offer after that question. “I’m not.”
“You just did it again!” she scolded. “If you’re going to interrogate me about the photo shoot, and my mother, then maybe you shouldn’t come over. I’m just not up for that tonight, Ethan.”
Can you say wicked hormones changing my girl into Medusa and scaring the hell out of me?
“Not up for talking to me or not up for me at all? Because I do want to talk to you.” I tried to keep my tone level but wasn’t too confident I was succeeding. I was pretty f**king sure I couldn’t do any better at keeping my cool though. I did not like this f**ked up dialogue at all. It sucked.
Silence.
“Hello, Brynne? Am I coming over right now or not?”
“I don’t know.”
I counted to ten. “‘I don’t know,’ is your answer to me?” What in the holy hell happened to our nice romantic lunch at Gladstone’s? I want my sweet girl back!
“You sighed at me again.”
“Have me arrested. Look, I’m driving with a car full of Indian take-out and don’t know where I’m going. Can you help me out, baby?”
I absolutely f**king refused to get in a row over this. She was having a shit day and hormonal—that I could deal with. It sucked if she wouldn’t be in my arms tonight, but at least we weren’t breaking up. Medusa might be messing with my night, but she would be out of the picture in a few days. I prayed.
“Okay…come get me then,” she said firmly.
I couldn’t believe my ears. “Come and get you? I thought you had to stay at your place tonight. You said earlier—”
She cut me right off, her tongue like a sharp edged blade. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to stay here. I’ll pack a bag and be ready for you in five minutes. Call me when you’re at the curb and I’ll be down.”
“All right, chief,” I said in utter bewilderment, waiting till she hung up before I sighed good and loud. I shook my head too. And even blew out a whistle. Then I drove over to get my snaked-haired, sharp-tongued, unpredictable, and very perplexing girlfriend, like the besotted sap that I very much was.
Women…frightening creatures.
11
“That’s going to be Aunt Marie! Ethan, can you let her in? I’m up to my elbows here.” Brynne gestured to her frantic last-minute prep for dinner from the kitchen.
“I’ve got it.” I gave her an air kiss and said, “Show time, yeah?”
She nodded back, looking beautiful as always in her long black skirt and purple top. The color was lovely on her and since I now knew it was her favourite, I had to believe in my luck that first time when I sent her the purple flowers.