One Trip Around the Sun (15 page)

By week three, Brady and I are sitting at one table during lunch with Chelsea and Connor and whoever else ends up there. Now, all of us meet at the park in the evenings. The guys play basketball while the girls gossip and watch them.

Everything is going good.

After school on Thursday, I pull into my driveway, get out of my car, and stand there as I listen to my parents yelling and fighting for twenty minutes. More than ever, I want Kyle to be home. I might even settle for Kara. I just don’t want to be standing alone in my driveway.

I know things aren’t good with my parents, and they haven’t been for a long time. I thought my dad was absent and cold, causing the issues, but that isn’t what I hear as they argue. Granted, I’m listening from the driveway, but what I hear is my dad pleading with my mom to go away with him this weekend. He’s begging her not to end their marriage.

While Kyle is away and Kara’s pregnant, why would my mom ask for a divorce?

For the first time in my life, I find myself thinking of Kara’s happiness. She wouldn’t want her baby born as our parents are going through a divorce.

I don’t want to be here, so I send a text to Chelsea.

What are you doing?

Immediately, she replies.

Hanging out with Connor.

Next, I text Brady.

Are you at work?

Nope. I’m at home. What’s up?

Can you meet me at the park or something?

Why don’t you just come to my house?

Are you sure?

Yes, I’m sure, babe.

He gives me directions, and when I pull in the driveway, he jogs out to meet me.

“Hey, what’s going on? You told me at school that you had too much homework to hang out tonight.”

He holds my face, and not waiting for me to answer, he kisses me. I quickly take the kiss further and hook my fingers into his belt loops on his jeans, pulling him close to me.

He moans and kisses me deeper before pulling his face back, speculatively looking at me. “Are you okay?”

“Are we together, Brady?” It’s been on my mind for weeks. I want to know.

He looks around us and then back at me with a puzzled look. “Obviously.”

“No, I mean, are we exclusively together?” I step back away from him.

“I, uh…I thought we were. I’m really confused right now, Reese.” He crosses his arms over his chest, waiting for me to explain.

“Well, you’ve never asked me…and I didn’t want to assume,” I say, blushing.

He relaxes, nodding his head. “Wanna grab your books and do homework with me?”

But you still haven’t asked me!

I reach into my car and collect my purse and bag. He takes my bag from me, throwing it over his shoulder, and he leads me into his house. We enter the living room. It’s nicely decorated, everything in dark wood with deep brown leather furniture. We then enter the dining room, all dark wood furniture also. He sets my bag on the kitchen table, and then he walks me into the kitchen. It’s very modern and beautiful with all dark wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances.

“Do you want a drink?”

I nod my head.

He walks to the refrigerator and pulls out a soda, holding it out to me.

“Come on. I’ll give you a tour of the house.”

I set the soda next to my bag and follow him as he shows me the game room downstairs. A pool table is in the middle of the room, and a bar is set up near one wall. On the opposite side of the room are a poker table and a bookshelf overflowing with books and board games.

He leads me back up the stairs, around a corner, and up another set of stairs.

Bedrooms.

He smacks each door as we pass it. “My brother, Blake’s, room. Mom and Dad’s room. Bathroom.”

There’s only one door left on the other side of the hall. He opens it and motions for me to go in. “My room.”

We step inside, and he leaves the door open. I stand in the middle of the room, looking around. The walls have only a few decorations—two posters of girls wearing next to nothing in weight-lifting poses. I smirk. He shrugs and smiles unapologetically.
Boys!

He picks up some laundry off the floor and throws it into a basket by the door. His bed has a black-and-gray suede comforter strewed across it with gray sheets and several pillows.

“Sorry. I only make my bed on the weekends. That’s the only time my mom comes in here.” He straightens the comforter and sits down.

He hooks his finger, motioning for me to come to him, so I do. I stand in front of him. He puts his hands on my hips and pulls me to him until I am standing between his legs. He kisses my stomach and then looks up at me.

Since he hasn’t officially asked me to be with him, I decide to ask some questions.

“How’s this supposed to work, Brady?”

“What do you mean?”

“How are we supposed to present this at school?” I ask as if he knows exactly what I’m talking about.

“We don’t present anything. You be yourself, and I’ll be myself.”

“So, are we just going with the flow then? Taking it slow?”

“Anything you want, Flower.” He runs his hands up my sides, and his eyes follow his hands.

That’s not what I want!
“Is that what you want?” I ask.

He pulls me down and flips me onto my back.

I nearly have a heart attack when he lies on top of me, his chest over mine, as he props himself up on his elbow.

“Brady!”

“No, that’s not what I want. I want you to be mine, only mine, all mine.” He looks deep into my eyes.

I smile because he wants me, but I decide to play devil’s advocate for a minute. “I’m not your type.”

He looks offended for a moment. “You are exactly my type, Reese. You’re beautiful, you’re funny, you’re smart, and you’re a little badass. I love badass girls.” He nods toward the posters on the wall.

“I’m anything but a badass, Brady, and I’m not that little either. I’m serious. Is this, like, a bet or something?”

“A bet? Why would you even think that?” He’s serious now and not amused at all.

“Well, because you have girls falling at your feet. There is no logical reason you would want to hang out with the fa—curvy, shy girl.” Avoiding eye contact with him, I nervously trace the symbol on his shirt.

He smiles and shakes his head. Then, he plants a kiss on my forehead. “You know what? When I first met you, I thought you were shy, but you’re not all that shy. You just have shitty self-esteem. I see you working out, and you eat healthy. So, you’re doing what you need to do. Every high school girl seems to think she’s fat if she has an ass or a curvy body. I’m here to tell you, guys like an ass and hips on a girl. And just for the record, I don’t care about your size as long as you take care of yourself. As for you being shy, sometimes…it’s fucking hot. I like you just the way you are, Reese. As a matter of fact, I can’t stop thinking about you.”

I let out the breath that I was holding. I’m pretty sure I just melted into a puddle of mush right here on his bed.

“Besides, do you really think that I wanna get my ass kicked by your brother? He’s probably gonna try anyway, but it won’t be because I hurt you.” He kisses me—in his bed.

I have to tackle one more issue now because I don’t want to bring it up later. “It just doesn’t make sense. All the girls at school like you a lot. You could be with them.”

“I don’t want them. I want you.” He kisses my neck.

I slide my hands down his back to his waist. “You’ve dated lots of girls like them.”

“Yes, and they’re all as fake as three-dollar bills. They act like they’re giggling six-year-olds, and they’re about as smart as them, too. They’ve all…been around, you know? High school girls are idiots.”

“I am a high school girl, Brady!” I slide my hands around and push his chest.

“You’re different.” He rolls off of me and onto his back with his arms resting behind his head.

I think to myself,
Isn’t that what every boy says to a girl to get what he wants? You’re different. Yeah, right.
I wonder what would happen if I told him that I have no intentions of giving it up anytime soon.

“It seems a lot easier to get what you want from them.”

“Easier? Hell yeah. Better than you? Not even close. That’s the thing. I don’t want anything from them. I want you, Reese.”

“You deserve better than me.”

“Ugh!” he groans, covering his face with his arms. “Damn it. Why do you say shit like that?”

“You have needs, and I can’t fulfill them like every single girl my age at school can. You’re so, um…you’re hot, and you deserve a hot girl who can give you what you need. I’m not taking this as far as any other girl would be more than happy to.”

He sits up and grabs me, pulling me on top of him so that I’m straddling him.

“You’re everything that I don’t deserve. You are the one who deserves better, but I’m selfish. I want you, and I want you to want me. So, as long as we can at least make out—a lot—then I don’t care how long it takes before we take it further.” He pulls me down to lie on top of him.

Every word he’s said in the past few seconds has left me breathless. I stare at him with my mouth hanging open in disbelief. I did not think that was going to be his response.

I lean forward, bracing myself with my hands on his chest, and I kiss him and kiss him and kiss him. After what seems like an hour straight of making out, I notice that he likes touching my butt a whole lot.

“You’re a butt guy, aren’t you?”

He shrugs. “I appreciate every part of your body equally.”

“No, you’re definitely a butt guy. That’s always where your hands end up when you touch me.”

I’m sick of waiting for Brady to make a move. I arch my back and slide my hand down his abs. I make it to his waistband before he stops me.

He slowly sits up, taking me with him. “We’d better go downstairs and get some homework done before my parents come home and catch us up here.”

I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, refusing to let go when he stands.

“Brady, please,” I whimper.

He breathes out a heavy sigh. “You scare me, Reese.”

“I scare you?” I ask, bewildered.

“Yes, I don’t know how to handle you.” He buries his face in my neck. “What you want and what you can handle are two different things right now.”

I’m completely speechless. I don’t understand.

“Babe, it’s just”—with me still wrapped around him, he leaves his bedroom and carries me down the stairs—“we have a lot of homework.”

In an effort to lighten the mood, he smacks my butt, and I scream. I’m so very frustrated right now.

For three hours, we do our homework. Every now and then, we take breaks to get a snack and make out.

When our homework is finished and I’ve packed my books away, he walks me out to my car. Since I arrived earlier, I haven’t even thought of the chaos going on at home. Brady has a way of making me forget the bullshit.

Just before I leave, Brady grabs my shoulders and looks me straight in the eyes. “Just so you know, you do something for me that nobody else does.” He looks down at the bulge in his pants.

My jaw drops, and I laugh, embarrassed. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry! I didn’t even do anything!”

“You walked, and when you walk, your ass looks hot. I’ll have you know that I’ve never had a spontaneous hard-on in my life.” He hangs his head, shaking it.

I place my hands on each side of his face and kiss him.