True
Chapter Eight
After their meeting with Mary Wexler, Brady and Chloe decided to stop at a coffee shop nearby for lunch. After the plates had been cleared, they knew they had to decide what to do next.
"Okay Chloe... where do we go from here?"
Chloe took a sip of her water and shrugged slightly. "That's a good question. I guess the next logical step would be to go to Newport. I mean, that's where Nancy is from, and it's possible that my father might still be living there."
"Good point... but how are we going to find him? I mean, Mary may have been a help in one way, but we're still no closer to finding your father."
Chloe sighed and bit her lip nervously. "I know... But, I have a lot of information on Nancy... where she lived, where she went to school, who her friends were, the whole nine yards."
"So, you're thinking we do a little interrogation and exploration?"
"Exactly."
Brady nodded in agreement. "Alright... if I remember it right from Belle's maps, Newport is only about 70 miles away. We can head out there now even."
Chloe shook her head. "Nope... not now. Tomorrow."
Brady looked at her in shock. "Tomorrow? I thought you'd want to get started right away."
Chloe shrugged slightly. "Yes... and no. I mean, it's only about a 90 minute drive, so we can just leave tomorrow."
"Huh? Is this the same Chloe I know? The same Chloe that is so completely focused on one thing that she won't stop until it's finished?"
Chloe chuckled and gave him a wicked smile. "It is the same Chloe. But, with one slight alteration. Brady, we are 1100 miles away from Salem. We still have 10 days before we have to be home, and if we have to drive to Newport, Rhode Island... well, I want to have some fun first."
"Are you serious?"
"YES! Completely serious... I know this trip wasn't meant as a vacation, but I feel good today, and I think we can afford to take the next 18 hours off. Don't you?"
Brady grinned at her. "Well, actually... I was kind of wanting to do something fun while we're here too, but I was too afraid to suggest it. I thought *you* wouldn't be up for it. So, I'm game if you are."
Chloe smiled widely, clapped her hands together and leaned over the table to give Brady a quick kiss. "Yay...I win."
Brady smiled and couldn't help but think about how beautiful she looked when she was happy. He only hoped that he would see more of those happy smiles in the future. She had been through enough bad times, and deserved to be happy. "Well then, party girl... let's get outta here..."
Brady laid down cash for the bill and the tip and grabbed Chloe's hand. She stood up and kissed him again. "Alright... so where we going first?"
"Hmmm... I have a few ideas." Brady winked at her, threw an arm around her waist and led her outside to the parking lot.
***
Brady and Chloe spent the rest of their afternoon visiting some of Boston's more famous tourist spots. Chloe particularly enjoyed the trip to the New England Aquarium and visiting Boston Harbor, making sure to pick up souvenirs for Shawn and Belle. It was a beautiful summer day and standing in the harbor with the ocean breeze on her face, Chloe hadn't felt this good in a very long time.
They had been sitting on a bench that faced the waters and all of the ships that sat in the harbor. Chloe leaned into Brady and placed her head on his shoulder.
She sighed and whispered. "Thank you, Brady..."
"Thank you for what?"
"For this day..."
"Don't thank me yet, Chloe... the day is not over."
Chloe picked her head up and grinned at him. "Oh yeah? Don't tell me there's more? I mean, geez Brady, you've never even been to Boston but you seem to know where all the great spots are..." Chloe raised one eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously.
"Well, Belle gave us all those guidebooks to 'New England' so I read those a little. Plus, my dad and Marlena have been here a few times and they always talked about it."
"Well, any way that you've received your encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston area. I'm glad for it."
"And, like I was saying... that's not all." Brady clasped her hand and stood from the bench. "Follow me please..."
Chloe smiled and did as told. "What next, Mr. Black?"
"You'll see... you'll see."
***
Brady took Chloe to Beacon Hill, one of Boston's most renowned marketplaces. They stood outside an upscale women's clothing store, hand in hand, as Chloe looked up in awe. "Brady, what are we doing here?"
"I thought we'd become street performers, you know. All I need is a cup for people to throw change into. Whaddya think?"
Chloe playfully smacked his arm and laughed. "No seriously... why are we here? I know it's not because I can afford to buy a new dress. Because, frankly, I can't."
"Yes, you can. Just go in there... try on some things. Find one that you like and when I get back from my shopping that I have to do... I'll pay for it."
Chloe shook her head vehemently. "No, no way. I can't let you do that."
Brady silenced her with a kiss. "Yes... you can. And you will. Besides, I plan on taking you to a very nice dinner after tonight and you can't go in a pair of jeans."
Chloe nodded knowingly. "Oh... so it's just because you're ashamed to be seen with a slob."
Brady chuckled. "Yeah. Right. That's it. Now, get in there and shop. I'll be back in about 45 minutes, okay?"
Chloe smiled at him and gave him a kiss. "45 minutes. No problem."
Brady let go of her and watched her as she walked into the store. He turned around and headed a few stores away to get his self something to wear tonight.
***
(45 minutes later...)
Chloe stood at the checkout counter with her garment bag in hand. She had chosen a tight-fitting midnight blue dress that hit right above the knee. It was made of a material that would shimmer when it hit the light, and had small spaghetti straps to show off every inch of Chloe's well-defined shoulders.
While she waited she made idle conversation with the saleswoman, glossing over all the unnecessary parts of course. No reason to bring up all the depressing bits with a complete stranger. Chloe heard the bell at the door jingle and she turned to see Brady walk in carrying a couple bags of his own. He walked over and gave her a quick kiss.
"So, did you get a paint-the-town-red kinda dress?"
Chloe grinned at him. "Maaaaaybe... you'll just have to see."
"I can't wait..." Brady grinned back at her and quickly paid the saleswoman. Brady and Chloe left the store hand in hand, and walked towards the van together. Brady glanced at the receipt quickly and shoved it into his pocket.
"Wow, Chloe... I got off cheaper than I expected."
"Hey... I'm not in this relationship so you can buy my love. I got what I wanted, and if it just so happened to be on sale... then so be it."
"Awwwww. I've always kinda wanted to be your sugar daddy, you know."
Chloe waved a finger at him teasingly. "Oh, no no no. You know I can't stand for that. I'm far too independent to let someone take care of me like that."
Brady pulled her closer to him as they stood outside the passenger door to the van. "I know that, and I wouldn't have you any other way. But... you gotta let me do something nice for you every now and then."
Chloe grinned and gave him a kiss. "Well... if you insist... I guess I'll have to let you."
Brady laughed and helped her into the van.
***
(Back at the hotel...)
Chloe stood in the bathroom staring in the mirror once again. She knew that she didn't have much time to get ready, so she had left her hair down and straight, and used hair clips to keep the sides away from her face. She spent a little more time on her makeup, doing everything she could to show off what she thought was Brady's favorite part of her, her wide blue eyes. Between the color of her dress and the eye makeup, it made her eyes glow an even brighter blue than usual. She put a light layer of lip gloss on and did a quick head to toe check to make sure that everything was in it's place. Satisfied with everything, she slowly opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the room.
Brady was so taken aback by her beauty that he immediately stood from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He walked over to her and smiled. "Chloe... you look amazing. I think you get more beautiful every day."
Chloe smiled shyly. "Well, thank you... I just think you have ulterior motives for saying things like that."
Brady shook his head. "Absolutely not... Remember how you told me that you always mean what you say? Well, that's where we agree. I always mean what I say, and when I tell you that you're beautiful... believe it."
Chloe smiled again and leaned in to kiss him. "Thank you then... By the way, you don't look too bad yourself."
Brady grinned and stepped back. He then proceeded to spin as if he was modeling on a catwalk. Chloe nodded approvingly. He had picked out a black suit, and underneath he wore a shimmery midnight blue dress shirt and a tie that matched. He looked absolutely gorgeous in Chloe's eyes, and the suit fit every inch of him perfectly.
Chloe raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "Now, how in the world did you manage to buy a shirt & tie that matches my dress that you have never seen before?"
Brady laughed softly. "I swear. It's just a coincidence. It's not like I stuck a hidden camera on you or something. Besides, I have blue eyes too, you know... and the salesperson at the store said the blue would bring out my eyes."
"Oh, so she was hitting on you, then?"
"No... and it was a he."
Chloe laughed. "Well, that doesn't mean anything..."
"True... but you know I only have eyes for one person."
Chloe grinned. "One person besides Cameron Diaz..."
Brady laughed and pulled her close to him. "Nope, only you." She smiled up at him and he pulled her in for a deep kiss.
Chloe pulled away and sighed. "Wow... that was definitely worth messing up my lipstick."
Brady chuckled and wiped his lips making sure that none had rubbed off on him. "Well, I'm glad you see it that way. Now, we have a dinner to go to... "
Brady held out his arm for Chloe and she wrapped hers around it, as he led her out of their room and towards their car.
***
After dinner at a small, quiet, intimate seafood restaurant. Chloe and Brady walked arm in arm up the street until Brady found what he was looking for. When he had found the restaurant in his guidebook earlier that day, he also noticed that this small bar & grill was right up the street. They stood at the entrance together, but Chloe looked up apprehensively.
"Brady... I don't think we can go in there. We're a little too young to be hanging out in bars."
Brady shook his head. "Nahhh... we'll be fine. Just order water or soda and nobody will care. We both look old enough anyway."
Chloe shrugged and followed him in nervously. Brady led her to a small booth and they both ordered bottled water. Chloe looked around and noticed a small stage set up towards the front.
"Huh... I wonder what that stage is for."
Brady looked at her in mock amazement. "Oh you mean... I didn't tell you?"
Chloe looked at him nervously. "Didn't tell me WHAT?"
"It's a karaoke bar."
"Oh."
"Which means... you're going to sing and so am I."
Chloe shook her head. "Brady... you know I'm not normally shy about my singing but I don't think that they have any Italian arias that I can do. And even if they did, opera isn't a real crowd pleaser in a bar full of drinkers."
"Don't worry, Chloe. It's just for fun. Just get up there and do something fun."
Chloe cringed in her seat. "I don't even know what I would sing... Just pick something for me. Anything... just get it over with."
Brady grinned. "Anything?"
Chloe placed one hand on her forehead in frustration. "I guess so... you said have fun... so let's have some." She sighed softly and Brady almost chuckled at the look of frustration in her face.
Brady stood up and walked over to talk to the person setting up the stage. He returned to the booth and minutes later a woman's voice came over the mike.
"Hi everyone. Welcome to karaoke night here at Murphy's. My name is Shannon, and I'll be hosting tonight's festivities. We've got a few people signed up already, but we could always use a few more willing singers so come up here and look at our song list. Alright?"
The crowd clapped and Shannon continued. "Okay... our first singer tonight is named..." she shuffled the papers she had in her hand. "Chloe! Come on up, Chloe."
Chloe sighed and gave Brady a look that could kill. He just smiled at her and gave her two thumbs up. She shook her head in frustration and headed towards the stage. She smiled at Shannon and stood in front of the mike. When the title of the song came up on the screen, Chloe's jaw dropped in shock.
"BRADY! You jerk!"
Brady gave her a look of complete innocence. "Hey... you told me to pick ANYTHING, and apparently the folks here in Boston are huge fans of this song."
Chloe groaned but as the music started, she decided to let go and be free. She had promised herself that she would have fun tonight and if she had to let loose in a karaoke bar, even to a Britney Spears song, then she would. She moved her body to the music and began singing.
"Oh baby baby, how was I supposed to know... that something wasn't right here…”
Three and half minutes later, Chloe received a standing ovation for her stirring rendition of "Baby One More Time" As a payback, Chloe forced Brady into singing "Bye Bye Bye", her favorite NSync song. Both of them spent the rest of the night picking songs out for each other, all of them fun and upbeat, they were even talked into singing a duet on "I Got You Babe". The crowd really seemed to love them, and they had a blast singing and listening to the rest of the karaoke singers.
Chloe had just finished singing a powerful "I Will Survive" and sat down in the booth across from Brady. She sighed and smiled happily at Brady.
"Brady... I didn't know I could have this much fun. I've always been so serious about my singing, and I love doing it but I almost forgot how much fun I could have with music."
Brady grinned at her and placed his hand on top of hers. "See... it's all about letting loose sometimes. You had fun with it, and you sound better than ever tonight."
Chloe gasped in mock amazement. "You mean you don't have anything negative to say when it comes to my singing tonight?"
Brady shook his head. "Absolutely not... This is what I've been trying to tell you all along. You may have been out there singing pop songs or disco songs, but you opened up and let yourself have fun with it. Music comes from every part of you, the good and the bad. So, when you sing something sad... like opera... then you need to lay yourself out there for all the world to see. Use what you have inside and express it through your songs."
Chloe nodded seriously. "I know... but you know how hard it is for me to express my emotions in day to day life. So, it's even harder to expose myself through my singing."
"But, you did it tonight. You took the happiness that you have inside, and the yearning to have fun and poured it into the music. I mean, Chloe... I'm a lot like you, but also very different. I have a hard time expressing my feelings in words some times too, but when it comes to music, I can just let it out."
Chloe sighed thoughtfully. "You're right... maybe I would feel less stressed if I could open up like that all the time."
"You would, I guarantee it."
Chloe grinned at him. "Well, a patented Brady Black guarantee is good enough for me then. Anyway... it's getting kinda late... You ready to go home?"
Brady looked at her for a moment and shook his head. "Not yet... I have one more song I need to do."
Chloe groaned. "Allllllright.... fine then."
"Hey, don't get fussy. You'll like it."
Brady took a sip of his water just as Shannon was calling him to come back up to the stage. Brady stood up and grabbed Chloe's hand.
"Come on, Chloe."
She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "It's not another duet, is it? We're no Sonny and Cher, you know..."
Brady shook his head and grinned at her. "Nooooo, it's not a duet. I just need you to come closer to the stage so you can.... hear better."
Chloe sighed and followed him to the stage. Brady got up on stage and took the microphone out of the stand as Chloe stood at the edge of the stage and looked up at him. He nodded at Shannon who began the CD. Brady smiled and winked at Chloe and began singing.
**I've been searching a long
time
For someone exactly like you
I've been traveling all around the world
Waiting for you to come through
Someone like you, makes it
all worthwhile
Someone like you, keeps me satisfied
Someone exactly like you**
Chloe felt like her heart was going to explode in her chest. Brady wasn't just singing a song with beautiful words, he was singing it to her. He was feeling the words and showing Chloe a piece of himself through a song written by somebody else. Brady stepped off the stage and grabbed her hand. He looked deep into her eyes, making sure that she knew these words were meant for her.
**I've been traveling' a hard
road
Looking for someone exactly like you
I've been carrying my heavy load
Waiting for the light to come shining through
Someone like you, makes it
all worthwhile
Someone like you, keeps me satisfied
Someone exactly like you
I've been doin' some soul
searching
to find out where you're at
I've been up and down the highway
In all kinds of foreign lands
Someone like you, makes it
all worthwhile
Someone like you, keeps me satisfied
Someone exactly like you**
Chloe smiled at him, and he pulled her into his arms and began dancing with her as he sang into the cordless mic. They were in a bar full of people, but instead of feeling embarrassed or shy, Chloe felt like they were the only two people in the room.
**I've been all around the
world
Marching to the beat of a different drum
But just lately I have realized
The best is yet to come
Someone like you, makes it
all worthwhile
Someone like you, keeps me satisfied
Someone exactly like you
The best is yet to come...**
The music ended as Brady set the mic down and pulled Chloe in for a deep kiss. Chloe became lost in his embrace for a moment, but was pulled from her reverie by the sound of people clapping and cheering around her. She broke off from Brady's kiss and noticed the crowd in the room cheering for Brady. She cringed in embarrassment and could feel her cheeks flushing red. She smiled at Brady and muttered under her breath. "That was amazing..."
"Well, now you see what I mean about things I am unable to say in my own words."
Chloe nodded and smiled in understanding. Brady gave a quick, polite bow to the crowd and squeezed Chloe's hand. "Ready to go?"
Chloe nodded. "Have to... It's better to go out on a peak like that."
Brady grinned and waved goodbye to Shannon, the karaoke host and led Chloe to the exit.
***
Chloe and Brady walked into their hotel room hand in hand, and floating on air.
"Hey Brady... I've got an idea... Why don't we start a band?"
Brady raised one eyebrow, in a style most certainly passed on from his father. "A band? What... like Chloe and the Pussycats?"
Chloe laughed and rolled her eyes. "Nooooo... "
"Oh. So, then the Partridge Family? No wait, I got it... My name is Brady, and Shawn's last name is Brady... so we can be the Brady Bunch?"
Chloe groaned, but laughed anyway. "Ha ha. Very funny. Just make fun of my idea then."
Brady gave her a look of mock innocence. "Making fun? No, not at all... I've always wanted to drive a psychedelic bus."
"Well, give your van a groovy coat of paint and you’re halfway there. So, maybe it's a silly idea... But, I was just caught up in my karaoke haze."
"Well, it's not entirely silly... but wait until you see the look on Shawn's and Belle's faces when I tell them all about karaoke night."
Chloe laughed and resisted the urge to cringe with embarrassment. "They'll just want to know why we didn't bring a video camera."
Brady laughed and smiled at Chloe. "You know something, Chloe... I'm glad that you said we could take the rest of the day off."
Chloe smiled and moved closer to Brady. "Me too... this day was perfect."
Brady wrapped his arms around her waist and moved her even closer to him. "I agree... but it was only this good because I could spend it with you."
Chloe smiled at him and sighed. "Thank you... Thank you for today. You have a bright future with the Boston Tourism Council ahead of you."
Brady chuckled softly. "Yeah, well... you deserve to have some fun once in awhile. Not everything has to be about pain and strife."
"You too, Brady. I'm glad to finally see you smiling about things."
"Well... I finally have reasons to. I can walk again, Marlena and I have made amends, and I have this wonderful girl in my life who makes me happy."
Brady smiled at her and moved in towards her. He pressed his warm soft lips against hers and Chloe felt every inch of her body warm up. Brady's kisses were like nothing she had ever known before, and they made her want to melt into a puddle on the floor. He pulled her tighter, and deepened the kiss. She felt his body pressing against her own, his strong chest and she would swear that she could hear his heart beating faster underneath his clothes. The kiss gradually became more intense and Chloe didn't know how they were going to stop themselves from going any further. A momentary lapse of control drove Chloe to place her hands on the lapel of his jacket and slide it off his shoulders and to the floor behind him.
Chloe ran her hands up his lean strong arms and undid his tie and threw it to the floor. Brady ran one hand up from her waist over her back to the top of her dress. He moved her zipper down and Chloe moaned as she felt his warm hand glide down her bare back and over the back of her strapless bra.
As Chloe was undoing the buttons on Brady's dress shirt, he began to kiss her shoulders and pull the spaghetti straps on her dress away from them slowly. She opened his shirt and ran her hands up his bare chest as Brady pulled the material of her dress just far enough down to expose the front of her blue strapless bra. He held her closer and planted soft kisses from one side of her neck to the other. One of his hands drifted from her waist and gently brushed against her left breast.
Chloe shuddered suddenly and jumped away from Brady. She put one hand on her neck where his mouth had just been and took a deep breath in.
Brady looked at her in pure confusion. “Chloe… Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
Chloe stammered and she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. “Brady… I…. I… can’t….”
She looked at him with pain in her eyes, pulled her dress back over her shoulders and ran into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.