Bradga Short Stories

best friends brother [4]

"My brother is really taking you out for dinner. I can't believe it!" Holly said, going through the racks of clothing inside of the small boutique. Luckily this place wasn't crowded and nobody really cared about or knew me.

"He also kissed me." I confessed, blushing and making Holly let out a squeal of excitement, shaking my arm a little, making me laugh.

"I'm so happy! Stef, you're so whipped! I mean, I can't blame you, my brother is the best man on this planet and I can assure you he'll treat you amazingly, but oh my god! This is so exciting." She suddenly held out a dress to me.

I gasped and grabbed it. It was a beautiful red dress, with a slit down one side, exposing my leg but not too much. I held it out in front of me and turned towards the mirror, examining it. "Do you think it'll look good on me?" I asked and shot her an unsure look.

"You could wear a garbage bag and look amazing. You're Lady fucking Gaga." She stated matter of factly and I giggled. "And let me tell you, red is Bradley's favorite color." She teased in a sing-sang voice.

I bit down on my bottom lip and nodded. "Okay, you got me. I'll take it."

++++

I nervously bit down on the skin around my nails and reapplied my lip balm for the billionth time, looking at the clock. Bradley and I had agreed to meet in the lobby at 7pm and I was already finished getting ready at 6pm. It was almost 7 now and I suddenly grew nervous and anxious. I questioned my choice of clothing and glanced at my reflection one too many times.

It was like those situations when you take a picture of yourself and then stare at it until it turns ugly.

I grabbed my purse and decided to finally make my way to the elevator before I'd either start changing clothes or end up cancelling. The ride downstairs seemed extra long that night and I anxiously bobbed my leg up and down, my arms crossed in front of my chest.

When it reached the lobby and let out a 'ding' I tried to relax but failed miserably when my eyes landed on Bradley who was - of course - waiting for me already. He wore a different suit this time and I could've sworn it looked even better on him. I was glad to see that I wasn't overdressed like I thought I'd be. I hesitated inside of the elevator for a moment but rushed out of it when the doors threatened to close again. I slowly walked towards him with a small, nervous smile on my lips.

I finally joined his side and let him take my hand in his. He admired my appearance and then intertwined our fingers. "You look breathtaking. Not that you don't all the time." He smiled.

I blushed at the compliment and the way he held my hands in his. "Thanks." I squeaked out. God, why was I so nervous?

We started walking towards the car and I noticed some camera flashes, looking up at Bradley to see that he was completely unbothered by them. It was relieving to know that he didn't care about how famous I was and he obviously wasn't scared to show me off.

He opened the passenger side door of his car for me and I got in, Bradley joining my side quickly. "I hope you like Italian food."

I giggled. "Are you kidding me? I am half Italian, of course I do!"

His face lit up and he smiled at me. "You're Italian? Me too."

I smirked. "No wonder we get along so well!"

++++

"I can't believe you got kicked off the football team!" I laughed, putting some more pasta on my fork and chewing on it.

The restaurant was almost empty and the table we were at was hidden off behind a wall, to give us privacy. They were playing some soft Italian music and I felt very comfortable. He definitely knew how to pick out a good restaurant.

"School was bullshit anyway. I was glad when it was over." He said, chuckling with a roll of his eyes.

"Believe me, me too." I smiled. "You said you'd like to act. I might know some people. They'd absolutely love you." I changed the topic, making him look up from his food.

"Thank you, but I don't think I want to get a job because you're the one getting it for me." He simply said, shrugging. "I'd never use you. I hope you don't think I took you out to gain anything from it!" He hastily said, his eyes widened in horror when he realized what it could look like to me.

I placed my hand on top of his to calm him down a bit and laughed. "Calm down. I know you're not in it for the fame or money, but I'd still love to help. You'd still have to audition, they surely won't hand you the job for free, but you'd actually get to audition for something and that's a first step, right?"

"I'd have the same chances as everyone else? No extra points because they're you're friends?" He asked, slowly warming up to the idea.

"No extra points, I promise. You better not embarrass me though, Cooper!" I teased with a finger pointed at him, making him laugh.

"I promise." He paused, holding his hands up in defense. "Thank you." He said, intertwining our fingers.

I blushed at the feeling of his hand in mine and we continued to eat, constantly feeling the need to either look at each other or hold hands. I never was the clingy type and Bradley also didn't seem like it but there was something about our chemistry that was so addictive, we just needed to be close.

++++

"We're flying back home in two days." Bradley said when we stopped in front of my room. Even though he wasn't too happy about it he'd let me pay for our dinner when I reminded him of how he said he'd let me pay after our first dinner together.

I frowned a little and nodded. "I don't think I ever asked you where you're from?"

"Arizona. You?" He asked.

"New York." I said, a sad look on my face when I realized how far away we'd be from each other.

"Bloody hell. That's like 2300 miles or something." He stated, groaning in frustration as he threw his head back and arms up.

We both stayed silent for a moment and let the reality of what was happening sink in. We'd go back to our own lives, me being a famous pop star who's  living in New York and him being a mechanic who'll spend his days in Arizona with his mother and sister. We probably wouldn't be able to see each other often or at all and I couldn't expect him to quit his job and life back home for me and I was sure he didn't want me to do that either. What if this exciting vacation dating situation wasn't going to last once we're back to our normal and stressful everyday lives again anyway? Was it just working out so well because we were literally in paradise now?

Bradley mustered my face for a moment. "Guess I'll have to fly over to New York soon then?" He cheered me up a little and I smiled, nodding.

"My dad owns a restaurant, we'll have dinner there then." I said.

I noticed that Bradley didn't want to leave yet since neither him nor I really tried to move or say goodbye yet and pointed at my door. It was now or never. "Do you want to come in?" I asked, biting down on my bottom lip.

Bradley nodded and we walked inside, both a little nervous now.

Y'all know what's coming next 🤪 I added a picture of her outfit for the first time, do you want me to add pictures more often? :)