*Unedited*

Chapter 8
    
Freshly showered, I flopped backwards on my bed and stared up at the uneven popcorn ceiling.  What should I do now?

I know what I needed to do.  I needed to make a few phone calls.  Turning over on my side, I glanced over at what little was left of my phone sitting in a neat little pile on my table and frowned. It’s awfully hard to make a phone call without a phone.

Groaning aloud, I flopped backwards on the bed again and pressed the palm of my hands to my eyes. 

Stupid- stupid, stupid, stupid.  How could I have been so incredibly stupid? I knew the answer to that question.  Unfortunately I’d inherited the Shoffner quick temper; hence my broken phone.

I needed to call Jay.  I needed to talk about my new plan and iron out the details and who better to do that with than my best friend. 

Okay, enough of the sulking.  Pushing myself up, I jumped off the bed and walked over to my door.  Opening it up, I stuck my head out and hollered from the top of the stairs.

“Charlie!”

I patiently waited for all of sixty seconds.  Ignore me, would he.  Not hardly.  Since I didn’t get an answer, I cupped my hands around my mouth, sucked in a big breath of air and bellowed out his full name this time.  

“Charlie Eugene Shoffner.” 

“What?” He snapped, his head popping up at the bottom of the stairs. 

Works like a charm every single time.  Smiling mischievously, I used my sugary sweet voice.  It was the voice that I’d perfected by the time I reached eighth grade and with my brother, it never failed.

“Can I use your phone please?" I asked him, smiling like a cat ate that just swallowed the canary.

His brow arched suspiciously.  “Why?  What’s wrong with your phone?” He asked, leaning over the banister to rest his arms. 

“Yeah, about that…” I started and then looked up and down the hall like I was going to find a magical answer to that question other than the truth.

“Bailes?” He pushed.  “It’s not like I asked you to solve world peace? I simply asked you what happened to your phone.”

Sighed, I stared down the stairs and still had nothing.  I didn’t want to tell him the truth because then he’d probably lecture me half the afternoon and I didn’t have time to listen to another one of the famous Charlie lectures on responsibility.

Charlie finally held up his hands and shook his head. “Look, I don’t have all day to wait for you to make up an excuse.  For once, just try telling me the truth.”

Now that was a novelty idea.  But then that was my brother for you. Next to Jay, he knew me all too well and right now, he knew I didn’t want to tell him about my phone.

Hell, what did I have to lose?  If he lectured me then he lectured me.  As long as he was speedy about it and then let me use his phone afterwards.  “You want the truth?” I asked him.

“Yeah, I do.”

“It had a most unfortunate accident this morning and now I can’t use it anymore because it’s in a bunch of tiny pieces." I sputtered the words out quickly.  "I need to call Jay, so for the love of all that is holy, can I please use your phone?”

“You threw a temper tantrum this morning, didn’t you?” he asked, brandishing a knowing smile. Stupid big brothers.

“I guess you could say it was something like that.” I told him.  And hoping that he would just move along with the flow, I tried to focus on the task at hand.  “Now that you know the truth, can I please just use your phone?” I pleaded with him.

He smirked at me and right now, I would love nothing more than to wipe that pretty boy smirk right off his pretty boy face.  Why do brothers have to be such a pain in the ass?

“Fifteen minutes, Bailey.  That’s it because I’ve got plans this afternoon and my phone is going with me.”

“Yes!” I did a successful fist pump in the air.

Charlie laughed at me.  “It’s by my bed,” he said, then turned to walk away.

“Thank you!” I yelled out to his retreating back and without wasting any more time, I headed for his room.  I had a very important call to make.  

I’d no more than taken five steps when I heard him holler back up the stairs.  “Hey!”
I was standing in front of his door and stopped with my hand on the knob.  “Yeah!” I answered back.  

“Be sure you put it back when you’re done.” 

“Will do!” I yelled back and listened to his retreating footsteps.  I walked into his room and there is was.  Sitting as pretty as you please, his new Samsung Galaxy S 5.  Grabbing it up quickly, I raced back to my room, closing the door behind me.

I collapsed on my bed.  I really needed to see about getting a new phone fast. Staring at Charlie’s phone, I thumbed through several applications and was instantly wowed.  This phone had everything and then some.  This thing made my old I-phone 4 look ancient.  “So cool,” I muttered to myself.  I was definitely going to have to get me one of these.

Okay, enough playing.  Opening up the key pad, I dialed Jay’s number and listened to the ringing while I waited for him to answer his phone.  

I didn’t have to wait long before his voice mail picked up.  “This is Jay and I must be busy…”

“Agh.” I groaned and hit the end button.  I really need my best friend right now.

I stared at the phone.  Where could he be?  He didn’t say that he was doing anything special today.  Opening up the key pad, I decided that I’d try one more time and dialed the number. 

Three rings and then the voice mail again. 

Damn! Frustrated I hit the end button again.  Where are your friends when you really need them?

I lightly tossed the phone by my side and drummed my fingers on the bed beside me.

“What to do? What to do?” I spoke aloud.  If someone had been in my room at this exact moment, they would have thought I was crazy talking to myself all the time.

Just laying here wasn’t the answer.  I was getting antsy and I didn’t have it in me to sit still.  What I needed to do was get out of here.  With no Jay to spill my guts and Charlie and Ella downstairs doing only God knows what, the walls of this house seemed to confining.    

An idea came to.  Grocery store.  Jumping off the bed, I grabbed my purse.  I could go to the grocery store and get the stuff to make a red velvet cake.  I remember on Rio’s seventeenth birthday he had a red velvet cake.  He said it was his favorite.  Baking helps to calm me.  It’s like my own personal type of therapy.  Since I can’t reach my Jay pooh then baking therapy would just have to suffice.

I started to jog down the stairs but halted about half way down when I remembered that I’d left Charlie’s phone on my bed.  Dang.  I told him I’d put it back.  Running back up to my room, I grabbed the phone.  Spinning around, I quickly made my way back to Charlie’s room and laid it back on the table exactly where I found it.  There, that should make him happy.

Satisfied, I made my way back down the steps for a second time.  

I stopped at the front door.  “Charlie, I’m going to the store.  Do you need anything?”

I waited a minute and was about ready to leave when he popped his head around the corner, scaring the living daylights out of me.  Grabbing my chest, I jumped back when he called back to me.  He has got to stop doing that before he gives me a freaking heart attack.

“Did you say you were going to the store?” He asked.  

“Yeah,” I replied and looked at him curiously.  It was hard to miss the lipstick smear at the corner of his mouth.  Ella must work pretty fast.

“Can you pick me up some lemon bar cookies?” 

“Sure,” I told him and held out my hand for some money.  I may be his sister and I love him to death, but I am not about to financially support him.

“Hold on a sec.”

I stood there impatiently tapping my foot.  Five minutes later he comes around the corner with a plastic sandwich baggie full of change.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I said, eyeing the baggie he was holding.  It looked like mostly pennies. 

He shrugged.  “It’s all I got on me.” I could see him struggling to hide his grin.

“Hm, hm.  I bet,” I said to him.  “Never mind, I’ll get it this time, but you’ll owe me.”

“You’re the best sister in the world, Bailes.”

“Yeah, I know,” I told him as I turned to leave.  “You better remember that too.”

I heard his full blown laughter as I walked out the door and headed for my car.  Shaking my head, I could help but to laugh too.  That was my brother for you.  He could be really sweet when he wanted.  It amazes me how much something’s never change. 

At the grocery store, I started down the various aisles picking up what I needed.  I knew this recipe by heart.  In fact, I made it a point to learn this recipe the moment I heard that red velvet was Rio’s favorite cake.

A little stalkerish maybe.  But now, knowing this recipe sure does come in handy.

Kneeling down, I was comparing the prices of sugar when I heard that deep familiar voice speak behind me.

“Hey there friend.”

A rash of chill bumps broke out along the top of my arms from hearing his sexy voice.  Slowly I stood up, turned around and met his deep mysterious eyes.   

“Hey there, right back at ya’ friend.”

The answering smile he gave me caused butterflies to pirouette in my belly.  For a sliver of a moment I felt a tad awkward, remembering the almost kiss from earlier in the day.  But the one word that I’ve been trying to live my life by whispered through my head and all that awkwardness when flying out the window. 

Confidence.

Remembering to trust in my confidence, all I could see now was Rio.

Standing a bit straighter I faced him head on, confidence was the key.  I would use my confidence to show him how good of a friend I could truly be.  And if all went to plan, everything else should naturally all into place.

I had confidence. I was confident that the man standing before me would soon realize how good the two of us would be together.