bradley

 

 

Bradley threw the towel down on his bed. The night hadn’t ended the way he wanted, but he wasn’t upset at her about it. You win some, you lose some, he thought. She’ll be mine soon enough. As much as he wanted her, it wasn’t his style to take advantage of girls who may not be sure of what they want, especially if they’re drunk.

He pulled on his boxers and lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He knew she was just next door, and the thought that she was so close yet untouchable was a special kind of torture. He remembered the way her ass looked in the skirt she was wearing, and became transfixed. And hard.

Memories of all the women he had recently bedded flashed before him. In the last two weeks, there must have been five new girls. Sure, he enjoyed it, but he wasn’t in awe of his number of conquests like his friends seemed to be. It was becoming boring.

The problem was, none of these women held any mystery to him. They put out as soon as possible, maybe hoping for something more serious down the line, but that something serious never transpired.

It’s not that he thought any less of them – growing up with a single mother and a sister had instilled in him a deep respect for women – it’s that they didn’t hold his attention. Once he got them panting and shaking in his bed, he somehow lost interest.

He reached over and grabbed his phone. There were three unanswered text messages, waiting for his attention, all from women whom he had shown a good time recently. With a sigh, he dropped his phone on the bed. They won’t be receiving a response anytime soon. The last thing he wanted to do was lead anyone on. And besides, he was no longer interested in any of them.

But Victoria… sweet, sweet Victoria. His jaw clenched as he thought about her and the way she moved under his hands while they made out. He felt his desire for her grow with every second they spent together. He just knew that girl would have some moves, and he wasn’t going to rest until he found out exactly how great they were.

He didn’t know what it was about her. Sure, she was gorgeous, but so were the women lining up on their knees to undo his belt. How he would love to get Victoria down on her knees looking up at him. The thought made him stiffen even more.

The temptation to go back out to the living room gnawed at him, but he knew she was off-limits, at least that night, so he forced himself to try to think of something else, but it was so difficult – so very difficult, when all he wanted was to take her in his arms and bury himself in her.

He couldn’t sleep, so he tried to think of something else. His eyes rested on a framed picture of him and his little sister, taken the previous year just before her diagnosis. He still remembered the day he got the news from their mom. She had been so strong, his mother. She tried so hard not to cry while breaking the news to Bradley, but in the end, she broke down and fell into his arms.

Their father passed away in a work related accident soon after Emily was born. It was devastating for both Bradley and his mom. Bradley tried not to think about him, but he felt sorry for his mom, and especially Emily. He tried his best to be a good male role model for her, and visited her often even before she got sick. She was in and out of the hospital, and he visited her even more often after her diagnosis.

The day that he learned of her cancer, he vowed he would do anything to help his mom and sister get through the crisis. He offered to take a break from med school so he could take a full-time job to help with the medical bills. His mom’s insurance only covered so much, and there was no way he was going to let his sister go without the best possible treatment. It would have been a huge sacrifice, because it was his last year in med school, but he didn’t care.

His mom, on the other hand, wouldn’t hear of it. She went out and got a second job, and her sister moved in with her to help take care of Emily. Unfortunately, she was laid off from one of her jobs, so she was back to square one.

At about the same time, his good friend Adam started a stint as a stripper. All he would talk about was how good the money was and how many chicks he was constantly banging, and the idea to try dancing took root in Bradley’s mind. He thought it would be perfect if he could have a well paying part-time job that allowed him to stay in school.

One day, Adam took Bradley with him to check it out and talk to the manager about getting him a job. He was asked to do an audition then and there, in front of the crowd, and the audience couldn’t get enough. He was hired on the spot and started the following weekend. The money was definitely as good as Adam had promised, and it came with certain other perks as well. The women wouldn’t stop throwing themselves at him, and his social calendar, along with his bed, filled up very quickly.

He thought back to how excited he was for the first few months. His non-stripper friends were in awe of him, wished they could be him, and reminded him of it every time they hung out. If they only knew how soul-sucking it could become.

His eyes scanned the room and rested on one of his medical textbooks. He sauntered over and picked it up. It weighed a few pounds, at least. He sat on his bed and flipped it open, and started to review the passages he had highlighted in the past week. If he couldn’t sleep, he might as well use his time productively, he thought.

The sound of Victoria’s cough from the living room interrupted his thoughts. He was tempted to go out there and ask if she was ok, but then thought it would look too desperate and weird her out, so he stayed put.

She had dominated his thoughts and imagination for a whole week, since that first night they met, and he couldn’t wait to make her his in every way. That sweet face, that banging body… he could tell she would look just perfect in his bed once she got cozy and comfortable in it. His jaw clenched.

In time, she’ll be mine. All of her, he thought, before immersing himself in his textbook again.