Free Loving Sofia by Alina Man Page A

and walks toward me with a big smile on his face.
    “Hi.  What are you doing here?  You should be in the house keeping warm, reading a book or something.”
    “Oh really? I thought you’d be happy if I stopped by,” I say, pretending to be upset by his comment.
    “Trust me , I’m more than happy to see you, but today is not a good day to be out and about.”
    “Well I was bored and decided to take a break from my job search.  Since you didn’t take lunch, I thought I’d bring it to you instead.”
    We walk inside the building and I couldn’t help but feel pride in his work.  I can already tell that when finished it will be a beauty.  “Wow Mark, this is amazing.”
    “I told you, didn’t I?”
    Just as I’m about to ask him to get the food out of the car, a tall young man walks up to us, a big smile plastered on his beautiful face.  And he is beautiful, let me tell you.  The white bright smile belongs on the cover of a toothpaste ad.
    “Well hello there, I’m Bradley.”
    “Sofia.”
    “Nice to finally meet you , Sofia. I heard so much about you from Mark.  He forgot to mention you were drop dead gorgeous.” He winks at me and gives Mark a nudge with his elbow.  Mark looks pissed for whatever reason, so I figure now is the time to excuse myself and get him to take the lunches inside. 
    “Nice to meet you too , Bradley.  Unfortunately, I can’t stay long, but I wanted to bring you guys some lunch.”
    “That’s too bad.  I hoped we could get to know each other a little.  I heard you were looking for a job? Is that true?”
    “Sure am, but no luck so far.” I can see Mark from the corner of my eye and he’s staring at me. Staring like he’s never seen me before.
    “What if I told you I had a job for you?  Not sure if Mark here has told you what our plans are for this building , but I’m going to have several positions open. We’ll definitely need a manager, someone to keep the staff in check during the day.  Think you would be interested?”
    Was he kidding?  I would get to be around kids all day . And I’m sure whoever he was going to hire, I would get along with them just fine.
    “Sounds like a dream job.”
    “Why don’t we get together for dinner sometime this week and talk some more?”
    I have to give it to him , the guy is smooth—and handsome and easy to talk to.
    “Sounds like a plan.”  He gives me another of his Colgate smiles and hands me his card.  This whole time Mark is actually growling.  Literally growling. I take the card from Bradley and try not to show any excitement, all the while ignoring Mark.
    “Are you guys done here?” Mark asks, not too nicely.
    “Oh sorry, yes.  I kept you guys too long already.  Come take the cooler from the car , and I’ll let you guys get back to work.  Bradley, it was nice meeting you and I look forward to talking some more about the job.”
    He walks up to me and takes my hand in his.  Before I kn ow it, he is kissing my hand, his eyes locked with mine.  Yeah, like I said, he sure is smooth.
     
    MARK
    That asshole actually kisse d her hand.  Not that Birdie minded at all.  I grabbed her free hand and pulled her toward the car before that guy swallowed her whole.
    “Stop that, what’s wrong with you?” Sofia pulls on my hand as hard as she can.  “You’re acting like a crazy person , and I don’t care for it.”
    “Birdie you know nothing about that guy. I want you to stay away from him.”
    “Oh really? He seems really nice. I have no reason to stay away.  He is going to help me find a job. Besides, it would be nice to go out on a date once in a while.  Remember what a date is, Mark?”
    Hearing her say that really hits me hard.  She’s right.  I mean , I’m nothing more than her friend with no right to tell her what to do.  She pops open the back of the car and I pull out the cooler.  I feel like an ass for getting angry and all postal on her.
    “I’m sorry,” I say and pray she’s not too