Bradga Short Stories

little runaway [3]

"What do you want for dinner?" Bradley asked Lea, while he buckled her up inside of his car.

I was already inside and Lea and I made grimaces at the other, giggling in between. Bradley chuckled at our banter and slightly shook his head. Lea's face snapped towards her father at the mention of dinner and with wide eyes she said: "McDonald's!!"

"Lea, I don't think Stefani would enjoy a happy meal." Bradley chuckled, making the toddler pout with her arms crossed over her chest in protest.

Bradley slid into the drivers seat and I looked back at him with a hand over my heart, letting out a dramatic fake scoff. "How dare you just assume such a thing? A happy meal sounds absolutely divine right now!" I exclaimed, making Lea grin widely.

Bradley chuckled and shrugged, shooting me a dazzling smile. "McDonald's it is then! Seems like you won, Lea bear." He said and drove off.

++++

"Didn't think I'd have McDonald's drive thru inside of my car with my daughter and a gorgeous woman, but here we are." He said, biting into his burger.

I blushed and grabbed a nugget out of the box, dipping it into some sauce. "I certainly didn't think I'd have dinner with an adorable little princess and her handsome dad either, but look where I am." I mocked him, biting into my nugget.

He chuckled and handed Lea a fry. She happily drowned it in her ketchup and ate it. "Look Stefi! I got the pink dragon, what did you get?"

I giggled and showed her my blue toy. She smiled brightly. "You know what? Since we're best friends now, I want you to have my dragon as well!" I handed her the small toy and her eyes widened, a happy look on her face. Children were so pure, they really didn't need much to be happy.

"Really?! Daddy look! I got two dragons now!" She held up both of her toys as if it was the most surreal thing ever and Bradley laughed.

"That was nice of Stefani, right? What do you say?" He raised a brow and waited for her to say it.

"Thank you, Stefani!"

I laughed and handed her one of my fries. "You're very welcome, sweetheart."

++++

"She's asleep." I whispered, turning the volume of the music inside of the car a bit lower so it wouldn't disturb her.

Bradley caught sight of his sleeping daughter in the rearview mirror and smiled. "Today was an exhausting day for her. I'm just glad she's with me and nothing happened to her." He said and placed his hand on mine.

I stopped breathing for a second and looked at our hands before I looked up at him. His eyes were still focused on the road while the rain ran down the windows of his car. "I'm glad you were there and brought her back to me. Really, thank you." he squeezed my hand and pulled away again, placing both of his hands on the steering wheel now.

I rubbed my sweaty palm over my leg and smiled. "I'm sure you would've found her without me." I blushed.

Bradley shrugged and shot me a cheeky grin when he stopped at a red light. "Probably, but I wouldn't have met a beautiful woman and damn, I would've missed out big time!" He said.

I tore my eyes off of him to hide how red my face was and covered it up by playfully rolling my eyes. "You're real charming, huh?" I joked, making Bradley laugh a little.

"I try." He let out a satisfied sigh and peeked into the rearview mirror again to check on Lea who was still sound asleep in her seat.

"Where's her mom?" I suddenly asked.

Bradley sighed and I could sense that it was a touchy subject and feared that I'd crossed a line there but he relaxed again quickly and shrugged. "Somewhere in France or something. She's a model and works all the time which is why Lea has to deal with her goofy father most of the time." He paused. "We've been divorced for three years now and Lea's maybe seen her five times total. Which is also why my whole life revolves around Lea and giving her a father and a mother at the same time while also working to save up for her education." He explained.

I smiled and now it was my time to place my hand over his hand. "You're a good father from what I've seen. Lea can be lucky to have you." I said in a soft voice.

Bradley smiled at me. "Do you have time?" He asked.

I raised a brow. "Yes, why?"

"I'd like to show you something."

This is cute so far, also very short but still cute? 😌😌