Free I Call Him Brady by K. S. Thomas

nearly over. It didn’t stop us from wandering in and out of the small stores that lined the street leading down to the ocean. With Brady decked out in a baseball cap and shades, he blended in pretty well with the crowd of tourists and city people who had come out for the festivities just as we had.
                  I noticed Brady was doing an unusual amount of shopping, loading up on a variety of board shorts and t-shirts, all of which were over-priced and screamed of out-of-towner.
                  “You know if you really want to spend a fortune on a T-shirt that will make you stand out among the locals like a fish in the desert, I can take you down to Disney World. They have a huge selection there.”
                  He shrugged and opened one of his bags to glance at his most recent purchase. “I’m on vacation. I need souvenirs.”
                  May coughed. “Bullshit”
                  I watched as the two exchanged a loaded glance. “What?”
                  Brady’s head dropped backward in surrender. “Fine. If you must know, I didn’t bring any clothes on this trip.” He turned to May. “There, I said it. You happy now?”
                  “Yeah.” She nodded repeatedly, her mouth slowly inching its way into a smile. “Yeah, I am.”
                  “Wait, then what was in the bag?”
                  “Condoms. Lots and lots and lots of condoms.” May wasn’t even trying to hide her amusement at this point.
                  Suddenly it all made sense. “Those are Marshall’s pants aren’t they? You know how long this has been driving me crazy! I mean, I totally recognized them because of the stupid tiny knots he insists on tying in all the little drawstrings, but I couldn’t figure out why you would be wearing them! Do you know he goes commando, like, always?”
                  Disgust flashed on his face as he went after May. “Is that true?”
                  “Relax. He hardly ever puts pants back into the drawer after he’s worn them.”
                  We left shortly after. Brady had a sudden urgent need to take a shower and it couldn’t be put off.
     
    We had been promising Jessa a trip to our favorite ice cream shop all day, so after our outing had been unexpectedly cut short, May volunteered to take a ride over there with her. At first I thought she was still under the impression that I needed more time to defrag and regroup after my unpleasant encounter with the ex, but then she winked at me when she was walking out the door and I realized she had a completely ulterior motive.
    Finding myself suddenly sitting on my couch alone, my mind began to wander. I began to revisit that moment in the elevator, only this time around, I made a few changes. For starters, I left Jessa with Margo for the morning, leaving me standing there alone as Brady came bustling through the doors. In my fantasy, he wasted no time ending his call the second he saw me. The past was in the past and I was clearly his future. Something he murmured as he stepped closer to me, so close in fact that I could feel his breath on my skin. The warmth of it sent a tingling sensation all the way down my spine.
    I closed my eyes as I imagined him leaning in to kiss me, my lips open with anticipation.
    “What are you doing?” The sound of his voice ripped me from my daydreams and brought me back to reality with an unpleasant whack.
    “Hm?” That was about all I could put together. Attempting to form actual words would likely have proven to be disastrous.
    “Were you sleeping? Your eyes were closed, but your mouth was moving.”
    “Huh.” I was working my way up to conversation one syllable at a time.
    Brady’s expression remained in a state of confusion. “Did you take something?”
    The question came so far out of left field for me, it snapped me right out of