Candy Crush (26 page)

He tugged his arm out of her grip and pushed
through the crowd toward the booth where Courtney, Laney and Emmett
were sitting. His father stepped in front of him just before he
reached the booth, and started talking business. Brandon listened
with only half an ear. The other half was listening to Emmett and
Courtney’s conversation.

“Just eat, Laney,” Courtney said
impatiently. “We have to leave for the game in half an hour. If you
don’t eat, you’ll be whinny and we’ll have to leave the game
early.”

“You keep her at the game until it ends?”
Emmett asked.

Courtney barely glanced at him. “Yes.”

“How old is she?”

“Three.”

“Three? Isn’t that kind of late? Shouldn’t
she be in bed at eight or something?”

“What are you, the kid police? She’s been
going to the games since the season started and she hasn’t turned
into a pumpkin yet.”

“I bet she’s pretty crabby on Saturdays,
though.”

Courtney didn’t answer, but she did glare at
him. Emmett turned his attention to Laney. “You know what they make
that pasta out of, right?”

“What?” Laney asked, peering at the pasta on
her plate.

“Sugar. Spice. All things nice. Just like
little girls.”

“Really?” she said skeptically. She pushed
at the pasta with her fork.

“Try it and you tell me.”

Laney took a bite, and then another. “It’s
good!” she declared. She began eating with gusto. Courtney stared
at him in disbelief.

“She’s my kid,” she snarled. “Leave the
child rearing to me.”

“It takes a village, Courtney. You’ve
obviously got the concept down, since you leave her with your
parents all week while you’re at school.”

Courtney looked as if steam would start
erupting from her ears at any moment. Maybe Brandon had nothing to
worry about after all.

“How do you know that?” she wanted to
know.

“I’m staying with your brother, Brandon,
right now. I actually helped babysit her just yesterday.”

Courtney looked as if she wanted to get up
and leave, but Laney was shoveling food into her mouth, and she
always struggled with trying to get the child to eat. She fumed and
glared at Emmett instead.

“You’ve decided you instantly don’t like me
because your daughter has taken a liking to me? That’s a little
weird.”

“And you’ve decided you like me because you
like my daughter? That’s a little weird too.”

Emmett’s eyes danced with amusement. He
leaned across the table and Courtney automatically mimicked his
action. “My attraction for you has nothing at all to do with
Laney,” he murmured as he let his eyes caress her, almost as if he
were doing it with his hands.

Courtney blinked and abruptly leaned back in
her seat. Before Brandon could excuse himself from the conversation
with his father, Laney declared, “I’m done.”

Brandon, Courtney and Emmett all looked at
her plate. Sure enough, it was empty.

Courtney hastily stood up. “Okay, let’s go,
Laney.” Before Emmett could stand up, she snagged Laney’s hand and
disappeared into the crowd. Brandon slid into the seat she
vacated.

“My advice is to give up,” he said
conversationally.

“Why?” Emmett asked as his eyes scanned the
room.

“She’s always had bad luck with guys. She
has a bad habit of being attracted to older men who are no good for
her. About the only thing she does right is she keeps Laney and her
fucked-up love life separate.”

“So she’s pissed off that I already know
Laney. And Laney likes me.”

Brandon shrugged. “Probably. Plus, last we
talked about it, she was dating some loser up at school. We haven’t
met him yet, which is a good sign.”

“She’s pretty hot.”

Brandon bristled.

“You’re sleeping with my sister, remember?
Don’t be a hypocrite.”

Brandon chugged his beer. A woman appeared
in front of their booth and slid a fresh beer in front of him. He
looked up and started to say thanks, but the words didn’t make it
out of his mouth. Instead, he stared, slack-jawed, at the woman
standing in front of him.

“
Chareese
?” he said in disbelief.

“In the flesh,” she purred with a sexy
smile. Chareese had a thick main of red hair that draped in loose
curls halfway down her back. She had almond-shaped green eyes and
an hourglass figure to rival Marilyn Monroe. She was closer to six
foot than five and she wore a tight black sweater, tight black
leather mini-skirt and black leather boots that didn’t stop until
just above her knees. The sweater had a v-neck and her cleavage all
but spilled out of it. She leaned closer so he could have a better
look. “It’s been a while, Brandon.”

He nodded and swallowed the lump in his
throat. “What are you doing in town, Chareese?”

She smiled her cat got the cream smile.
“Just passing through. Thought I’d catch the game, say hello to my
grandparents. Hoping I can find a good time while I’m here.” Her
smile widened and was full of promise. Brandon shifted
uncomfortably. She started to slide into the booth next to him, her
cleavage leading the way.

“Here comes Gabby,” Emmett said under his
breath, and Brandon jumped as if he’d been shocked. Chareese stood
up straighter and he pushed past her.

“Excuse me, Chareese,” he said, and he leapt
up to intercept Gabriella. Chareese cocked an eyebrow at Emmett and
he waved to indicate she could sit down across from him.

Brandon caught Gabriella by the arm and
turned her around the other way. “What’s wrong with you?” she
asked, peering at his flushed face.

“Nothing. I was looking for you. I need
another beer.” He’d left the beer Chareese gave him back at the
booth, and he’d be damned if he would go back to get it.

They walked back to the bar, he ordered a
fresh beer and then drank half of it in one swig. He wiped his
mouth with the back of his hand and pulled Gabriella toward him. He
leaned forward, brushed a kiss over her lips and immediately tried
to deepen the kiss. Gabriella struggled away from him.

“What are you doing? I’m not really into
such public displays, Brandon.” She looked slightly annoyed. He
dipped his head and kissed her neck, feeling his senses and focus
finally returning.

“Sorry. I can’t help myself.” He smiled his
charming smile and Gabriella rolled her eyes, but she looped her
arms around his waist.

“What happened with Emmett and Courtney? I
got caught up talking to Nicole.”

Brandon shrugged. “He hit on her, she told
him to get lost.”

“Really? That’s a little shocking. Emmett’s
a lot like you, I think.”

“A lot like I
was
, you mean.”

Gabriella cleared her throat. “Right.
Anyway, why’d she tell him to get lost?”

“He made the mistake of befriending Laney
first. Courtney has a strong rule about keeping guys she dates away
from Laney. Plus, I’m pretty sure she’s seeing someone at
school.”

“Well, it looks like he’s recovered nicely,”
Gabriella commented, nodding toward her brother. Brandon glanced up
and saw that Emmett and Chareese were now standing up, and were
standing much closer than necessity dictated.

“Shit,” Brandon said.

“Do you know her?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.”

Brandon grimaced as he tightened his grip
around Gabriella’s waist.

It was nearly time to head to the game.
Gabriella excused herself to go to the restroom and Nicole sidled
up to Brandon. “I saw Chareese sucking up to Gabriella’s brother. I
wonder what she’s doing in town?”

Brandon tried to act noncommittal as he
shrugged, but Nicole knew him better than that. “Did you talk to
her?”

“She’s passing through, visiting her
grandparents. Mentioned she was looking for a good time.”

“With you?”

“She wasn’t specific. But it looks like
she’s settled on Emmett.”

“That’s good.”

“I guess.” He turned and smiled as Gabriella
approached.

***

Brandon, Gabriella, Emmett and Chareese
drove to the game together. Gabriella noticed that Brandon seemed
on edge and barely spoke to Chareese, even though she kept trying
to engage him in conversation. Once they got to the stadium, they
made their way through the stands to sit with the rest of the group
from the Pizza Parlor.

Brandon plopped down next to Courtney and
Gabriella sat on his other side. Emmett walked past Courtney and
winked when she scowled at him. Chareese followed Emmett, letting
her hand brush Brandon’s knees as she passed, and they sat on
Gabriella’s other side. When Gabriella gave Brandon a questioning
look, he stared stonily ahead and pretended to be engrossed in the
players warming up on the football field. Or maybe he really was
engrossed and hadn’t even noticed the subtle flirtation. A lot of
men were serioulsy into their football.

Laney climbed off the bench and scrambled
past Brandon and Gabriella to climb into Emmett’s lap. “Laney,”
Courtney said sharply. “Come here, now.”

Emmett leaned forward so he could see past
Gabriella and Brandon. “She’s fine with Uncle Emmett, aren’t you?”
He glanced down at Laney.

“You said you were just Emmett,” Laney
accused.

“Yeah, well, call me Uncle Emmett. Maybe it
will help your mom to relax.” He looked down the aisle and received
another scowl from Courtney.

Brandon patted his sister’s back. “Chill
out, Court. He’s a good guy and Laney really likes him. Let her
have fun.”

Courtney fumed, but she did not call Laney
back to her.

Nicole, Anthony, Patrick and Stephanie sat
in the row behind them. Nicole suddenly stood up and began waving
to a woman at the bottom of the stands. When the woman spotted
Nicole, she smiled and waved and began making her way up the stands
towards them.

“That’s Natalie,” Brandon whispered to
Gabriella.

“Natalie!” Nicole shrilled as she embraced
the woman. Patrick jumped to his feet and accidentally tipped his
drink into Stephanie’s lap. Stephanie leapt up and shrieked.
Patrick ignored her and clamored to his feet, facing Natalie.

“Natalie?” Patrick asked uncertainly.

“Hi Patrick,” she said with a shy smile. He
smiled back in a bemused sort of way and they embraced
awkwardly.

“Who is this?” Stephanie demanded, her eyes
slits as she observed the woman from head to toe.

“This is Natalie Reager.” Patrick said. “We
went to school together.” He blushed and Natalie smiled shyly
again. He didn’t introduce Stephanie.

“Patrick, I need to leave,” Stephanie
complained. Patrick turned and seemed to focus on her for the first
time.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because you spilled your drink all over
me,” she complained. Patrick looked as if he were struggling to
make a decision.

“I’ll take you home, Stephanie,” Nicole
piped up.

“You can’t take her home, you’re half in the
bag,” Anthony pointed out. Nicole smacked him on the shoulder and
glared at him.

“Then
we
’ll take her home,” Nicole
said pointedly. Anthony clearly wasn’t sure what was going on, but
he recognized his wife’s tone, and he was wise enough to follow her
direction. He stood up.

“Okay, let’s go Stephanie.”

Stephanie looked like she wanted to
protest.

“Come on,” Anthony said impatiently.
Stephanie reluctantly turned and followed him. Nicole managed to
throw a wink at Natalie on her way down the aisle.

As they climbed down to the bottom of the
stands, Patrick said, “Would you like to sit here, Natalie?” She
gave him another shy smile and sat down next to him.

***

By half time, the home team was up by three
touchdowns, Laney was asleep in Emmett’s lap and Chareese was
bored. “I’m heading out. I’m going to go hang out at the bar at the
Holly Hotel, if you want to find me later.” Her voice was full of
suggestion. She ran a finger down Emmett’s arm, stood up and
sashayed down the aisle. She let her hand trail across Brandon’s
knee again as she passed, and Gabriella narrowed her eyes but did
not say anything.

At the end of the game, Emmett stood up,
cradling a peacefully sleeping Laney in his arms. “Good game,” he
remarked. “Still undefeated.”

Brandon shrugged. “It’s what we do on Friday
nights.”

“Can you drop me at the Holly Hotel?” Emmett
asked Brandon.

“Sure.”

Emmett looked at Courtney. “I’ll carry her
to your car, if you want.”

Courtney looked like she wanted to say no,
but she finally shrugged and led the way through the stands and out
to the parking lot. Emmett gently placed Laney in her car seat and
managed to get her buckled without waking her. When he straightened
and closed the door, Courtney said, “Thanks,” with surprise in her
voice.

Emmett winked at her and turned to Brandon.
“Okay, on to the bar,” he said with a flourish. Courtney made a
huffing sound and walked around and climbed into the driver’s seat
and started her car.

When Brandon pulled up in front of the Holly
Hotel, Emmett leapt out and told them not to wait up. Gabriella was
inclined to go inside as well, but Brandon didn’t particularly want
to be anywhere in the vicinity of Chareese. He whispered a few
suggestions of things they could do tonight, since Emmett wasn’t
likely to be home, and Gabriella changed her mind about going
inside.

***

It was shortly after three a.m. when
Gabriella surfaced from sleep. She thought she was having a bizarre
dream, but the moaning persisted even as the sleep cobwebs cleared
from her brain. She lifted her head and saw that Brandon was awake
as well, and his face looked grim. “What is that?” she
whispered.

Brandon glanced at her. “Your brother came
home after all.” They heard another moan. It grew high pitched at
the end. There were several short shrieks and then another loud
moan.