Chapter 3

• She couldn't stop her eyes from traveling over his body as his back was turned. Though it made her squirm with guilt to think this way about Ed she thought his body was incredible! Hard, dense muscles and lots of them. Huge arms hanging from broad shoulders, and supported by his broad chest and powerful back. He didn't look overinflated like those professional bodybuilders but he did look ripped! Every t-shirt he owned was stretched almost to death over his torso. At home he wore sleeveless T's as they were more comfortable for him.
• His legs were sexy as hell too, currently hidden in sweat pants. She knew her brother preferred to wear baggy pants but she didn't understand why he liked that look considering how great his legs looked. She'd even bought him a pair of stretchy but tight jeans using her employee discount but she had yet to see him wear them.
• Grace spun around and made a bee line to her room before she did something she'd regret. She knew her brother loved her so she had to protect him from her lustful thoughts. It would destroy their relationship.
• She got cleaned up and into her own comfy clothes. Before she forgot she sent off the incriminating photo to Frank's work email. She was sorely tempted to send it to his wife too but she contained her rage once more with difficulty. She returned back downstairs just as Ed placed the plates on the kitchen table. She noted there were only two plates.
• "Mom's not eating?" she asked.
• Ed's face showed his upset. "I tried to get her to eat earlier but she just screamed at me to leave her alone. I think her pain is bad tonight. I'll save some for her for later."
• Grace looked at Ed and wondered how he could still show so much compassion for a woman who had never said a single nice word to him since the day he arrived. It was more a sign of Ed's strength of character than her mother's.
• "I'll carry her up to her bedroom after I do the dishes," he said.
• Grace had a momentary flash of Ed carrying her instead, up the stairs to her bedroom in his strong arms to have his way with her. She trembled and he noticed.
• "Something wrong? Your food not taste good?" he said looking concerned.
• She forced her mind away from those evil, lewd thoughts and smiled weakly at her brother. "No! Everything is fine! It tastes wonderful! I was just thinking of something unpleasant from work."
• They ate for a while in silence both enjoying each other's company and the excellent food. Grace had to restrain herself from wolfing the paella down. As he'd said it was her favorite.
• He tried to put a casual expression on his face as he asked her a question. "Speaking of work, did you find out if you have tomorrow night off? It's our final playoff game for the state championship. It would be nice if you could be there."
• "I'm sorry Ed. I wish it was possible but I was asked to work a double shift tomorrow. Mary Carson broke her ankle and they're short staffed. And we need the money," she winced seeing his look of disappointment which he quickly hid behind a shrug and a smile.
• "Score a touchdown for me Ed!" she grinned as he rolled his eyes.
• "That's not what I do," he groaned for the hundredth time.
• She smiled at his frustration. "What is it you do again?"
• "I knock people down," he huffed.
• She could always catch him with this little game of hers. At first she used to worry that Ed might be simple minded but he was actually quite brilliant with some things. Ask him to repair something and he'd figure it out and get it working in almost no time. He was a really good cook as mixing ingredients in the proper proportions in the right sequence at the right time intervals came to him naturally. Ask him to deal with math and he'd struggle but he'd get to the answer, eventually. Ask him to explain what was going on in any TV show involving human interaction and he'd get the surface stuff but miss most of the nuance. He was innocent in that way. Intrigue was beyond him. He was what you saw and people who weren't confused him.
• If he weren't so easy going and just big he would probably have had a much harder time in school. Speaking of which...
• "Have you asked out that pretty brunette at the card shop yet?" she asked him. Her love life may be on extended hiatus but that didn't mean his had to be.
• He blushed. "No!"
• "Why not?" she pushed with a grin on her lips.
• "I don't have time for a girlfriend!" he smirked back. That was her favorite excuse for explaining why she wasn't dating. The 'I don't have time' excuse had been her automatic response for years. She shook her head at his victorious grin.
• "You know you shouldn't take such pleasure in using that excuse. It's not like it's made me hysterically happy," she said in a rare moment of self-reflection.
• "You deserve to find someone special," he told her sincerely, looking at her with his beautiful blue eyes.
• She snorted angrily as her mind went to Frank in the parking lot sticking his dick in her window. He was the perfect example of the kind of masculinity she was surrounded with now in her life. Well, them and Ed who she couldn't have. Her anger flared again and she pressed her thumb against the side of the bridge of her nose as pain spiked behind her eye. Dammit! It was another anger induced migraine.
• She heard the scrape of a chair then she felt his hands, his wonderfully large and powerful hands massaging the knots out of her neck muscles before they got a chance to really get started. Soon she was putty under his strong grip. The migraine dissipated as he worked her muscles. God his hands felt so good on her body! She wanted more and began to moan but locked that down in a squeak. She pushed herself to her feet as she felt her emotions start to go off the rails.
• "Thanks for dinner, Ed. I'm going to bed. Not feeling well," she blurted and rushed upstairs. She closed her bedroom door and managed to drop onto the bed to smother her sobs in her pillow. Life was so fucking unfair!
• The team ran out onto the field and the crowd cheered louder as they saw their heroes. Ed didn't bother looking at the bleachers as he knew there was no one there cheering him on.