Too Much To Dream

Chapter Four


Shane pulled into his driveway a split second before Matt did. He got out of his navigator and waited for Matt to get out of his camaro. Shane looked at his best friend, trying to see him through Brandy's eyes. He grinned, thinking \ul\i No way that'll happen, unless I sprout boobs and a----.
"Hey Shane! Can I talk to you for a minute?" Matt interupted his thoughts. Shane nodded, walking to the house and opening the door, stepping aside so Matt could go in ahead of him. Tossing his keys onto the foyer table, Shane made his way towards the kitchen. Matt followed, looking around, puzzled. "Where's Malfoy?"
"He's at my parents. They keep him while I'm gone." Shane replied, referring to his great dane. He reached into the fridge and pulled out a coke, tossing one to Matt. "So, what's up? What did you need to ask me about?" Matt opened his drink, taking a sip before answering the question with one of his own.
"How well do you know Brandy? I know you two have hung out alot this past week and I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me." Shane glared angrily at his friend. Could it be that Brandy was right? Had Matt really been testing her?
"What kind of questions are we talking about here, Matt? Could be that you're better off asking her, not me. And I'd ask, not play games by kissing her..." Matt whirled to face him, not stopping to think before grabbing Shane's shirt up in one fist.
"That kiss last night was no game, Shane." Shoving him back, Matt pulled out a chair and sat down. "And how the hell did you find out about it?" It was Shane's turn to get mad and he took full advantage of their positions, towering over Matt where he sat at the kitchen table.
"Well, when I got back to your house last night and Brandy wasn't there, I, unlike some people, got worried about her. I tried to call her all morning and couldn't get hold of her. I even call the cab company to see if she'd taken a cab last night...turns out she walked home." Leaning down to get in his face, Shane looked Matt right in the eyes. "And if anything had happened to her, Matt..." Matt stood up from the table, knocking over his chair. Reaching over, he grabbed Shane by the shoulders and shook him.
"She's okay, right?!?!? You saw her today? Talked to her?" Shane looked at him in confusion. Maybe he'd been wrong. It sure sounded like Matt was genuinely worried about Brandy and if the fear and concern in Matt's eyes was any indication, he cared about her, too. He reached up and patted his friend on the shoulder.
"She's fine. I was coming back from her place when you pulled up." Matt loosened his grip on Shane's shoulders and ran a hand tiredly over his face. Shane looked at him curiously. "What happened last night, Matt? I've heard her side...now tell me yours." Matt turned and uprighted the chair he had knocked over. Sitting down heavily, Matt dropped his head onto his hands on the table.
"Well, it started out just talking...you know, about all sorts of stupid stuff. We swapped stories and some laughs for a while. Then I go to put my Pearl Jam CD in and she drops the bombshell that she's Eddie Vedder's cousin..." Shane interupted.
"Who's Eddie Vedder?" Matt rolled his eyes.
"Your education is sorely lacking, Helms. Anyway, while she'd gone to check in on dad I realized what a jackass I must've sounded like. I mean, I did just exactly what I had accused her of doing."
"Which was....?" Matt groaned, dropping his head to his arms.
"I made a fuss over her being related to someone famous."
"Oooohhhhh."
"Yeah. Anyway, when she came back, I apologized to her. She was so sweet about it, Shane. It was like no harsh words had ever been spoken between us." Matt looked up and Shane recognized the dreamy expression coming across his friends face. "Then I asked her to prove that she wasn't mad." Shaen nodded, realization dawning.
"And you asked her to prove it by kissing you." Matt nodded, unaware of the small smile gracing his lips.
"Yeah. And what a kiss! It felt like a live wire being held to my lips!" Shane choked on the drink of coke he'd taken. Matt jumped up and went over to pound on his back. "You okay,man?" Shane nodded, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Yeah, it's just...that's exactly what Brandy said earlier. About the live wire." Matt's smile widened.
"She did? So she wasn't mad?" Shane mopped the coke up off the counter and turned around.
"No. But she thinks you did it to test her emotions." At Matt's look of confusion, Shane sighed gesturing for Matt to follow him to the living room. "Brandy's not exactly had the best go of it the last two years." They each took seats across from the other.
"Why? What happened?" Shane bit his lip, trying to decide what to do. On one hand Brandy had told him this in confidence. On the other, she hadn't told him that he couldn't tell anyone. He sighed. Matt deserved a chance at happiness as much as Brandy did and Shane had a feeling that they could bring it to each other. Taking a deep breath, Shane told matt the story that Brandy had told him the day before. As Shane explained about Brandy's abusive former husband, Matt's hands slowly clenched and unclenched, as though her were trying to refrain from punching something--or somebody. When he was finished, Shane saw the look of pure hatreed in Matt's eyes.
"If that son of a bitch weren't already dead, I'd kill him myself."
"Yeah, well I'd definitely help you out there, pal." Matt shook his head in disbelief.
"Dad had a feeling that something like this had happened to her in the past. I just can't believe it! She just doesn't seem the type..." Shane broke in quietly.
"They don't always have 'types', Matt." Jumping up suddenly, Matt strode towards the door. "Hey! Where're you goin'?"
"I gotta see Brandy. I need to talk to her about this." Not paying attention to Shane's shouts, Matt got in his car and started it up. Shane jogged up, gesturing for Matt to roll down his window.
"137 Honeysuckle Ln. It's a dark red brick with dark green shutters and roof." Matt spun tires, backing out of the driveway. Shane shook his head. What he wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall during that conversation.


Brandy had just finshed pulling her hair back into a ponytail when she heard the loud banging on the front door. Jesus, Shane! Brandy thought, laughing under her breath. Do you ever let up? Jerking open the door, Brandy said, "What is it thi--" Her words were cut off by a pair of soft, warm lips covering hers. Abruptly it ended and she was being crushed against a broad chest. A familiar smell met her nose and shook looked up to see Matt's chocolate brown eyes boring down into hers.
"What was that for?" she asked, angry at herself for sounding just the slightest bit breathless. Matt pushed past her, dragging her behind him into the living room. Turning to her, he sat on the couch, pulling her down into his lap.
"Because I like to finish what I start and you didn't let me finish last night." Matt held her while she struggled to get up. "Why didn't you tell me about your husband?" She stilled, suddenly very rigid in his arms.
"Who told you about my husband? And what did they say?" She asked through clenched teeth. Matt gradually relaxed his grip, allowing his arms to drape loosely around her waist.
"I asked Shane to tell me..." Brandy jumped up and stood facing Matt.
"Who the hell are you to butt into my private life, Matt Hardy? What business is it of yours if I had a rocky relationship with my husband? It's over, he's dead and that's that." Stalking to the front door, she threw it open and stood, arms crossed waiting for him to leave. "Now, I think it'd be best if you left..." Matt calmly rose from the sofa and walked over to where Brandy stood. Gently shutting the door, he said, "You aren't going to get rid of me that easy, Brandy." Taking her hand and pulling her back to the sofa, Matt once again pulled her into his lap. She sighed and wearily leaned against him, allowing herself to pretend for just a minute.
Lifting her head, Matt cupped her chin in his palm, looking deep into the depths of her amber eyes. "What did he do to you,Brandy?" Before she knew it, she was recounting the entire story to Matt, not knowing he had already heard the majority of it from Shane. One thing Shane had left out,though was the repeated rapes.
"Brandy, you won't have to worry about that EVER happening with me. I have NEVER lifted my hand to a woman in anger, and I never will." Matt placed a gentle kiss against her forehead and Brandy looked up to see something unexpected in his eyes. It had been a long time since she'd been desired and had felt a similiar desire within herself. Wanting to test this newfound feeling, Brandy reached up, sliding her hand underneath the long ponytail that hung down Matt's back. She pulled him closer to her face, her breath brushing lightly across his features.
"Matt..." Swallowing thickly, he found his tongue.
"Yeah?"
"Kiss me again...prove to me that I'm desirable..." Matt leaned his forehead against hers, partially closing his eyes.
"Brandy, sweetheart, I want nothing more than to show you how much I want you right now....but I can't." Brandy's eyes shot open at that, surprised at what she was hearing.
"What?" Matt sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.
"I don't want to scare you away like I did last night...I couldn't understand what went wrong and now that I know the circumstances, well, I'd rather take things slow." Brandy swallowed past the lump forming in her throat. After everything she'd been through and all that Matt knew about her, he STILL wanted her. She smiled up at him, flashing the little dimple in the lower right corner of her mouth. Kissing him lightly on the cheek, she eased off of his lap.
"Thank you , Matt." Before Matt could say a word, she made her way into the kitchen. Matt moved to follow her and found his feet being used as a pillow by a very fat english bulldog.
"Uh, Brandy?"
"Yeah?"
"A little help, please?" Brandy walked back into the living room, only to start laughing at the sight that met her.
"Well, I'm glad you think it's funny." grumbled Matt. Brandy walked over and grabbed hold of the dog's collar.
"C'mon, Boris. Matt is not a sleeping bag." Wiggling his toes to make sure they still worked, Matt smiled ruefully at the dog.
"Boris, huh? Where's Natasha?" he joked. On hearing her name, the 110 pound siberian huskey came bounding into the room and jumped up onto Matt's shoulders, happy to have company. Brandy laughed as Natasha greeted Matt with long slobbery kisses.
Taking pity on him at last, Brandy clapped her hands together sharply. "Natasha, nien ." Matt watched in amazement as the huge dog immediately sat, looking up at his through crystal blue eyes. Reaching out, Matt scratched behind her ears, earning a doggy groan.
"She's a beautiful dog. How long have you had them?" Matt followed Brandy into the kitchen. He leaned against the counter as she scraped plates together and prepared to put them in the dishwasher.
"Boris was my "Sweet Sixteen" birthday present from my dad. I'd always wanted an english bulldog and he actually found Boris at the dump when he went to take off some garbage one day. The only thing he could figure was that someone dumped him because of his eye." Matt glanced down at the dog, looking at his eyes.
"He's missing one!" he said, noticing it for the first time. Brandy nodded, sticking plates in the dishwasher.
"Yeah. It was really infected and swollen and when dad took him to the vet, it had to be removed." Wiping her hands on the dishtowel she'd tossed over her shoulder, Brandy squatted down and brought her face up next to Boris' for a kiss. "But I wouldn't trade him for the world. He's been the only constant thing in my world since my dad passed away." Standing up, she moved to where Matt had begun doing dishes. Pointing at a bowl he held in his hand, Brandy said, "You missed a spot." Matt looked down into her twinkling brown eyes.
"Oh really?" he asked, slowly backing her into a corner. She grinned, not noticing the plate with syrup on it behind her.
"Yep. Really--" she broke off with a shriek as Matt took the syrup he'd scooped off the plate and wiped it across her mouth, making a mess. Matt smiled at the glare Brandy sent his way.
"Looks like I missed another spot, too." He leaned in, his tongue snaking out lick at her lips. The mixture of maple syrup and Brandy's own flavor acted like an aphrodisiac on Matt's body. Languidly he licked the corners of her mouth, being sure to be very thorough and get every drop. Finally he slipped his tongue slowly into her mouth, allowing her to taste him and the syrup she'd had earlier. Opening her mouth wider with a groan, Brandy pulled him closer, unable to get enough of his taste.
Matt's tongue danced with hers, raking the roof of her mouth and gliding along the inside of her lips. His hands found their way to the soft flesh underneath her tank top. Lightly caressing her back, his hands slowly moved down to cup her buttocks. He lifted her and pressed his arousal into the notch of her thighs. Groaning more loudly, Brandy fisted her hands in his hair, urging him to take more. She undualted her hips against his, trying to ease the ache that he had started deep within her.
Letting her slide down his body slowly, Matt gentled the kiss, eventually breaking it off. They each stood there, breathing heavily and looking deep into each other's eyes. "Matt I--" Brandy was interupted by the phone ringing. Sighing, she walked over and picked up her cordless, not bothering to check the caller I.D...she knew who it was. "Hi Shane."
Matt looked up at the sound of his friends name. Starting to say something,Brandy gestured for him to be quiet.
"It's not a big deal, Shane. I didn't like working there anyway. My boss could be a real dick sometimes..." Matt only listened with half an ear as he processed what she was saying. Had she gotten fired? I wonder if it had anything to do with dad, Matt thought, looking up as Brandy was ending the conversation.
"Yes, we talked things out...yeah, I should be mad at you for telling him, but I'm not. Nope. Seriously though, Shane, your in-ring name should be changed to "Mouth of the South." she paused and laughed at the false indignation in Shane's voice. "I'll talk to you later. I will. Bye." Hanging up the phone she turned to look at Matt. "Shane says tell you 'Hey'. "Matt nodded absentmindedly and walked over to put his arms around her.
"What happened with your job?" he felt her sigh heavily and rest her head against his chest.
"It's a long story..." Lifting her chin, Matt gently brushed a kiss across the tip of her nose.
"Brandy, for you, I think I could find all the time in the world." Brandy blushed and pulled Matt over to the couch. Grabbing a pillow and holding it to her, Brandy started with her story.