Armadillo's Decision

Brennan

When Leah walked off the elevator, I looked up from my computer, where I was checking on the stocks that I had invested some of Eden’s money into. She didn’t even look at me as she approached me, only pausing long enough to kiss my cheek before going into the bedroom. I heard the shower start in the bathroom, and I frowned at the door. What was wrong? Worried that something had happened, I got up to follow her into the bathroom. I leaned against the wall with my ankles crossed and my arms folded across my chest, watching her stand under water so hot that the bathroom was already full of steam with her eyes closed.

“Brennan? Are you alright?” She asked worriedly, finally noticing my presence.

“I could ask you the same thing, Leah. What happened?”

“What do you mean? Nothing happened,” she immediately denied, making me even more worried.

“Leah, baby, you can talk to me about whatever is bothering you. Even Armadillo. I won’t pretend to understand how you feel about that, because I don’t. I don’t have the same relationship with him that you do, but I will listen. And if you need to cry, I’ll hold you. You can lean on me, baby. I promise,” I told her.

“I am not going to lie, Brennan, I am really upset over this situation with Armadillo. It is why I havee been burying myself in such hard physical labor. It is hard not talking to Armadillo. Besides you, he is my favorite person. It’s you, him, and Rosemary. Now, I lost him. I know he is hurting because of what he saw us doing. But I also know when he calms down, we will talk,” she said confidently.

“So, why didn’t you stop and talk to me when you got home?”

She paused with the washcloth on her stomach. “Is that what this is about? Because I didn’t stop to talk?” I nodded, causing her to giggle a little. “Doc and I broke down all of the kennels today to deep clean them. I am sore and exhausted. I just want to shower and sleep. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

I studied her face intently. “Are you sure that’s it?”

“Yes. I promise.”

“Alright, when you get out of the shower, let me know and I will rub some Icy Hot on you.”

Her eyes lit up. “You will?”

“Of course. I don’t want you to be in pain.”

She beamed at me. “Okay.”

I turned around to walk out of the room before turning back to her. “Leah?”

She met my eyes. “Yes, Brennan?”

“I care about you. Like, really care about you.” I reached up to massage the back of my neck. “A lot, actually. I just wanted you to know.”

She got out of the shower, walked up to me, and used my arm to balance herself on as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss my lips softly. “I care about you too a lot, Brennan,” she murmured, before going back to the shower.

I watched her for a moment before walking back out to my computer to finish reviewing the stocks while I waited for her to let me know she was done. When I heard the shower shut off, I rushed back into the room eagerly. She chuckled when she saw me, shaking her head.

“You are so silly, Brennan.”

“Not silly. I just want to help you,” I murmured huskily as I walked up to her.

She wrapped her arm around my neck, pressing herself against me before kissing me softly. “Come rub me down,” she whispered.

I picked her up to carry her over to the bed, where I laid her down before leaning over to grab the Icy Hot tube out of my bedside table. I squirted a little on my hands, warming it up a tad before massaging it thoroughly into her back and shoulders before giving her legs the same treatment. When I moved onto her arms, she moaned loudly.

“Oh, that feels good.”

I chuckled as I nodded. “I know it does. Your muscles are really tight.”

“That’s not the only part of me that’s tight.”

I froze, staring at her in shock. “What did you just say?”

Her lips lifted up in a shy smile while her eyes hesitantly met mine. “I said, ‘That’s not the only part of me that’s tight.’”

“I thought that was what you said,” I replied to her, going back to massaging her arm.

She remained silent for a moment before sighing. “I said it wrong, didn’t I? I’m not very good at flirting.”

“No, Leah. It was perfect. I am just at a loss for what to say. It surprised me. Now, I’m wondering where you heard language like that.”

“From my books,” she admitted, blushing deeply. “The female leads in them are so confident and wonderful. They aren’t shy, and I want to be more like them. I want to be more confident and flirtatious with you. Talking is my love language. Or, as Ramira would phrase it, ‘words of affirmation.’ I know that your love language is physical touch. Just thought if I combined the two and was more flirty, you would never doubt how I feel about you.”

I leaned down to kiss her cheek. “You are so amazing, baby. Nobody has ever put as much effort into our relationship as you do. Thank you, Leah.”

“For what?”

“For reminding me that fairytales do exist, because only being a fairytale princess would explain how amazing I think you are,” I told her.

She smiled sleepily. “And you’re my Prince Charming, Brennan. You protect me from the world.”

“I always will, baby. Now sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up. I was thinking we could have a picnic under the stars tonight. I hear there’s supposed to be a meteor shower or something.”

Her eyes widened excitedly. “Really?”

“No, but with you by my side I’m sure it’ll be just as amazing.”

She rolled her eyes, grumbling, “I’ve never seen a meteor shower.”

I chuckled. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“Now, I’m mad. You can go away.”

I spanked her naked ass. “Behave.”

“As in the words of my favorite heroine: Never!”

I kissed her again. “Go to sleep, Leah.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

I left the room, cracking the door a little, knowing that in no time, Sugar would be on the bed, cuddling her. It used to bother me because Sugar would get between us when I tried to hold her, but lately, Sugar had taken to curling up over both of our feet. Before I could sit back down at my computer, my watch beeped.

“R. H. M., can you come downstairs?”

I frowned down at my watch. It had been four days since he told Leah to leave him alone, and he hadn’t made any appearances in the community.

“Yeah. I’ll be right down,” I answered him.

I took the elevator down, eyeing him suspiciously as I walked up to him.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“Yeah. I guess,” he mumbled before gesturing down at the suitcases by his feet. “I want to leave Eden, R. H. M.”

I tilted my head as I continued to study him. “Are you coming back?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t decided yet. Are you going to tell me to stay away from Eden?”

“No. I know some things have happened recently that have upset you. I understand needing to take time away to work through your emotions. We really weren’t trying to hurt you. I shouldn’t have done that with her where people could see, and for that I’m sorry. We both are.”

He sighed as he stuck his hands in his pockets. “I know. I’ve tried to stop caring about her, R. H. M. I really have, but she’s just so special that I can’t. She isn’t like other girls. She isn’t like me or you. She’s completely different, and that’s what makes this so hard.”

I nodded. “She is definitely different. Are you going to say goodbye to her?”

He shook his head. “No. I shouldn’t.”

“I think you should say goodbye just in case you decide not to come back. I might be with her, but you mean a lot to her too. She really values your friendship. It would crush her if you just disappeared,” I informed him.

He sighed. “Alright. I’ll talk to her.”

“Thank you.”

I lifted my watch up, scrolling through my contacts before clicking on her name. “Phoenix, are you awake?”

“Barely. Why? Are you okay?” She instantly responded.

“Yes. Armadillo would just like to speak with you.”

“Armadillo? He’s here?”

“Yes. We’re downstairs.”

“I’ll be right there.”

I nodded at him. “While you two talk, I’ll go get your car.”

“Thanks, R. H. M.”

I nodded again before strolling off toward the area where I kept the cars. I quickly walked over to Armadillo’s car before starting it and heading back to my office. I may have encouraged him to talk to her, but that didn’t stop me from being jealous of them being alone together. Once I put the car in park in front of the gate, I hurried back to my office, trying to keep my panic at bay when they were hugging. They broke apart as I reached them. She wiped a tear from her cheek as he took the suitcases’ handles before walking to his car. I wrapped my arm around her waist.

“Is everything okay?” I asked worriedly.

“Yeah. Or at least it will be when he gets back,” she answered, making my heart sink.

If I was honest with myself, I didn’t want him to come back. I kissed her cheek.

“Good. I’m glad,” I lied.

She leaned against my side. “No, you are not. You don’t have to lie, Brennan. You have no reason to be jealous of him. He is my friend. That’s all he will ever be.” She tilted her head back so she could meet my eyes. “And you are my boyfriend. There’s no comparison.”

I relaxed slightly. “I love hearing you say that.”

She stepped in front of me, wrapping both of her arms around my waist as she tilted her head back to meet my eyes. “My boyfriend. The best boyfriend.” She ran her fingers through my hair. “My Brennan.”

I smiled down at her. “And you are my Leah.”

She returned my smile before saying, “Yes, I am.”