“We have a picture of one of the bad guys,” Mattie blurted out while she held her phone out to Brandon to look at. “This is the guy who said he was investigating you.”
“His name was Carlos, and he showed me a badge and looked really professional.”
Both Brandon and Josh grabbed for the phone as shock washed over their faces. I instantly knew they recognized the man in the photo; there was no doubt about it.
“Who is it?” Mattie asked.
“It’s Brandon’s ex-wife’s fiancé,” Josh said.
“What?” I couldn’t figure out what was going on.
“It’s definitely Carlos,” Brandon muttered as he looked at the photo. “Can I send this to myself so I have a copy?”
“Sure. Do you want a copy, too?” Mattie asked Josh.
“If you want to give me your number, you don’t have to ask,” he joked.
“Ha, ha, very funny.”
The guys spent some time texting Brandon’s lawyer and the investigator working on the case while Mattie and I got drinks for all of us. It seemed like we had solved a big part of the mystery around what was going on with Brandon. Of course, we still had no idea why this guy was after Brandon, but he knew who the guy was, so that was a huge load off of his back, I was sure of it.
“Man, I’m sorry you had to pay for the drinks,” Brandon said as we got back to the group.
“I’m not. I doubt you’d ever let me pay for the drinks in any other situation. At least let me enjoy the independence of this moment.”
“Yeah, women can buy drinks for men; it doesn’t always have to be the other way around,” Mattie added.
“You can buy me drinks anytime, darling,” Josh suavely said as he started to make the moves on Mattie.
I moved over to be closer to Brandon while Mattie and Josh moved to the other end of the table. It was nice to see them keeping each other company so Brandon and I could spend the evening together and not worry about the two of them.
“I think he likes your friend,” Brandon said.
“I’m pretty sure he likes all women,” I laughed. “I’m glad things are starting to get straightened out. Still sucks that your ex is involved, though.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure if she knows what this guy is up to or not. But I’m relieved that we have some answers. You know what else I’m feeling?” He raised an eyebrow and moved closer to me.
“That you’re exhausted and want to go to bed?” I was joking, but I really was exhausted and could have gone to bed that very moment if I had been back at my place.
“Oh, I’ll take you to bed right this second. You don’t have to ask me twice.” And just like that, Brandon grabbed our drinks and put them in front of Mattie and Josh as the two of us made our way out of the club.
I gave the cab driver my address, and we went to my house to avoid any complications that might come up by going to Brandon’s place. We still didn’t know how serious everything was with this Carlos guy or if he was intending to hurt Brandon psychically, so it seemed like a much better plan.
I kept my eyes open for the ten-mile drive to my place, but just barely. When we climbed out of the cab and into the house, all I felt was total relief that I had made it back to my house and was going to get to climb into my bed in a few minutes.
“Let me give you the grand tour,” I said dramatically as we walked into the house. “Living room, dining room, bathroom over there, and bedrooms down here. It’s small, but it’s ours, and we love it.”
“I love it. Very cute.”
“I’m going to bed. Are you game?”
“Oh, I’m definitely game for getting in your bed.”
The second we got into my room, I pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and started to undress so I could change into them. Brandon got to work unzipping his pants and getting out of them as we both stood near the bed and next to each other.
It’s funny just how much comfort you had to have with someone to get undress and put pajamas on in front of them. It seemed like a more intimate thing
than even undressing someone totally.