Page 50 of Her Braun
Then why had she gone that far? Especially after she'd nearly made a complete mess of whatever it was that they had.
She didn’t really need to ask herself the question. She knew why.
It was him.
Gibson Braun.
As much as she knew it would be difficult to maintain a relationship with anyone given her time commitments at work, she wanted a relationship, with him.
Even before they'd talked at the Emergency Room, she’d heard his name in Center City. Working in the first responder community of Center City meant that she’d heard about the police, the 911 operators, and the firefighters. They were all revered. Honored.
They worked so damn hard to keep the people of the city safe. And no, they weren’t all heroes, but those that were? Well, their names kept coming up.
And Gibson Braun was a big damn hero.
She’d seen photos of him in the paper and video of him on the news.
She’d seen the bolded letters of BRAUN in reflectors across the back of his turnout coat.
All of his exploits. All of his heroic acts.
Her heart had always pounded against her ribs when she’d heard about the lieutenant who was stationed just a few blocks away at Station House Twenty-Nine.
But up close and personal, wearing a suit that had to have been professionally fitted and tailored, he wasn’t just a soot-covered hero that the nurses tittered and whispered about, he was flesh and blood, and he was built.
Even a woman who’d spent most of her life in classes and shit jobs to earn the MD after her name could appreciate the hedonistic hunger that welled up when she’d gotten close enough to smell his cologne and seen the hard planes of his face warmed by the bar’s golden light fixtures.
To be honest, she'd felt the same way when she'd seen him in the hardware store paint aisle. It didn't matter what he wore or what he was doing at the time.
It was Gibson Braun that she wanted.
So, even if she would never admit it out loud, Kay could admit to herself that she’d squashed Vanessa’s hopes of a chance on the dance floor with him because she, herself, had wanted his attention a little while longer. How selfish was that?
How selfish was she?
“Kay?”
She turned her head back toward Gibson and saw the curious look on his features.
The last thing she wanted him to see was how selfish she’d been with her actions.
Lowering her gaze away from his, she started to sit back down in her chair.
Gibson felt her pulling away and he wanted to pull her back.
He didn’t want to let her go.
Not at that moment.
Not even at the end of the night.
He adjusted his position on his chair so he could keep a hold of her hand until she was seated on her own chair and even then, he managed to prolong his hold on her for a few seconds more.
Gibson was sure that she had no idea what she’d done to him just moments before.
Leaning against him.
Putting her hand on the center of his chest.
