Tempting BAD: VIP Spin Off (4 page)

Taunting and haunting me.

“Devon, what would I do without you, honey?” my mom asked, pulling me into a tight hug.

I wrapped my arms around her. “Good thing you will never have to know.”

I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Alexis and Lauren. Lauren told me about how her junior year of college was going and this guy she was talking to. I reminded her that I needed to meet him, before anything was set in stone, in order to scare the living shit out of him if he touched her or hurt her in any way, although I didn’t tell her that part. Alexis spent most of the time on her phone and I finally had to grab it out of her hands for her to pay attention.

I loved being active in my sisters’ lives. I often wondered how much they remembered from when they were kids; they weren’t that young to have forgotten about the things that happened in our house. The community remembered my father as a hero and their most treasured officer. When he passed, we all suffered a loss… on the outside. I couldn’t speak for everyone else, but for me, it was a victory.

I would be lying if I told you that I didn’t worry about the types of men my sisters would fall for; I knew that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree and little girls admired their fathers. I prayed that, in their case, it wouldn’t be true. My mom never dated since he passed and that worried me more than anything, she had to be jaded, and I couldn’t blame her if she were. My dad put her and this family through the ringer, multiple times.

He never hit my sisters, only my mom and me. I could still see the sadness and regret that she held in her eyes every time she looked at me. I was her baby boy, getting beaten by the
man
she married, the
man
she loved at one point or another, the
man
she said her vows to, the
man
she raised a family with. I knew she felt responsible for every one of his actions and blows, even though she never had any control over it. She was a victim as much as I was, as we all were.

Except, you couldn’t help how you felt. No one could change your mind when it’s set on something. It didn’t matter how you appeared to the world, all that mattered was how you felt when you lay your head on your pillow at night and let your eyes close and your subconscious takeover.

No one knew what happened when you were alone with your thoughts. Everyone had fears and things that terrified them, and I couldn’t escape mine, especially when I was asleep.

The doorbell rang at exactly eight o’clock and at first, I thought that Christine had lost her damn mind because she usually would just walk in and come up to my room. But when I told Maria, our housekeeper, that I would get the door and opened it to Landon standing there, I smiled, understanding why.

“Hey,” I greeted.

He took a deep breath. “Wow, Brooke, you look beautiful.”

“Thanks.” I dressed in a red mini-skirt with a black crop-top, and black wedge sandals. I curled the ends of my hair and went light on the makeup and jewelry. I grabbed my overnight bag and closed the door behind me.

“Here, let me take that for you.”

“Oh, okay.”

Christine was sitting in the backseat, smiling like a Cheshire cat, as I opened the passenger side door to get in.

“Wait,” he said, placing his hand over mine to open the door.

“Awe… my brother is such a gentlemen; you should totally suck his dick.”

“Christine, shut the hell up.”

I laughed and she winked at me. We drove in silence, and at one point, he reached over and grabbed my hand. I remained calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside, I was flipping out.

Christine wished me a very happy birthday with a huge hug and kiss and then bailed out of the car as soon as we got there, saying something about letting us be alone and that she would catch up with us later.

Landon grabbed my hand again and we walked side-by-side into the house. There were people everywhere and alcohol was flowing loosely; I was never much of a drinker. I didn’t like how it made people act stupid and foolish and I didn’t want to be out of control from my judgments. I guess it’s my type A personality. Landon led us to the keg and filled two cups. I took one, not wanting to seem immature.

We socialized with our friends for a few hours, people wishing me happy birthday with hugs and kisses and I would catch people’s stares and whispers every so often. I excused myself to go use the bathroom and I ran into Marie, one of my fellow cheerleaders.

“So you and Landon? Are you finally official? You know that boy has been in love with you since elementary school,” she stated, following me into the restroom.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m not really sure what’s going on. I mean, he’s leaving for college,” I replied, applying powder on my face in the mirror.

“He’s going to UM, Brooke, not South Dakota. He’s getting an apartment with Aaron and Jacob near campus; he won’t be far from you.”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to read anything into it. I guess we’re just hanging out and seeing where it goes.”

“It’s going to go with him putting a ring on your finger. You guys are so meant to be; you know it as much as everyone else does. Stop being so evasive.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

“Have you kissed him?”

“No! We just showed up together and he asked me to hang out this afternoon. We haven’t done anything.”

“Well, girl, you are in for a surprise because word around the school is that he has a huge dick and actually knows what he’s supposed to be doing with it.”

“Oh my God, shut up!”

“You know he had sex with Stacy and Amber, and I think he did with Jamie and maybe Celeste.”

I shook my head. “How do you know this?”

She sat on the edge of the sink. “Because I know everything; plus, I heard Stacy telling Victoria, and also, Amber said something to Ashley. You know… the normal high school runaround.”

I laughed.

“But I want details, so make sure to take notes.”

I rolled my eyes again. “Have you seen Christine? I haven’t seen her since we got here and that was a few hours ago.”

“I saw her with Derrick. You know they have that torrid love affair that they love to make public. I swear they have seen one too many soap operas with how much they love to fight in public.”

“True story.”

I was about to round the corner to where I left Landon.

“You going to fuck her?” I heard someone ask and it stopped me dead in my tracks. I realized it was Aaron, and he must have been talking to Landon, about me. I stopped to listen to the rest.

“Nah, man, it’s not like that.”

“Of course it’s not. You’ve been puppy-eyed with your dick between your legs ever since we can remember,” Jacob added to their conversation. “I can’t believe it’s taken you this long to grow some balls and actually ask her out.”

“She’s not like other girls,” Landon asserted.

“How do you know that?” Aaron questioned.

“I just know,” he nonchalantly rebutted.

“Damn, man, you haven’t even touched her pussy yet and you’re already whipped,” Jacob remarked with a sloppy laugh. “Her parents are the happiest married people I have ever seen. I know my mom is always fucking bitching at my dad about why he can’t be more like Brooke’s dad.”

I smiled.
Maybe I could have that too… with Landon.

“Her parents are good people, but Brooke does things to me; I mean, look at her. She’s like a real-life Barbie doll, and not only that, but she has a heart of gold. She’s been an amazing friend to my crazy-ass sister who would have probably ended up in rehab or pregnant by now if it hadn’t been for Brooke. I respect that and you can’t help but fall for her.”

“Awe…” they said in unison, making fun of Landon. “That was really sweet, man. Did you grow a vagina overnight? Do we need to take you in the back and inspect you to make sure you still have a dick between your legs?”

I heard a punching sound and then an “ow” before I walked up to them, pretending like I hadn’t heard their conversation.

“You want to go for a walk?” I asked Landon.

He nodded and I grabbed his hand. We made our way over to the dock and slipped off our shoes to dangle our feet in the water.

“So beautiful,” he admitted.

I looked up at the moon. “Yeah, I know.”

“I was talking about you.”

Our eyes locked.

“Oh…”

“Oh? That’s all you have to say?”

I giggled.

“You’re nervous,” he stated. “I can tell by your laugh. You have this certain tone to your giggle when you’re nervous.”

I grinned. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve known you for a long time.”

“Since… what? Fourth grade?”

“Yeah, I remember being in sixth grade and finding my baby sister’s friend really cute. I always knew you would grow up to be gorgeous, but I never imagined it would be this insane.”

I laughed. “Where is the shy Landon I have admired from afar? This person, I don’t recognize.”

He grabbed my hand and brought it to his lap, and with his other hand, he grazed my cheek back and forth with his index finger, settling it on my chin.

“I’ve spent the last few years being shy Landon and it hasn’t gotten me anywhere. I really like you, Brooke, and I have liked you for a long time. And since I’m being honest… it’s taking everything in me right now not to kiss you.”

I leaned in until our lips were almost touching. “So kiss me,” I murmured.

I had been kissed before, but kissing Landon was completely different in every aspect of the gesture. He softly grabbed the back of my neck and effortlessly pulled me to him. When our lips touched, it was like fireworks had exploded all around us; our connection was breathing into our veins and making itself home.

His lips were soft and when his tongue beckoned my mouth to open for him, I did, feeling the silkiness of Landon. Only Landon.

He tasted of peppermint and beer, and I fell in love with the taste and feel of him in that moment. There was nothing else like it. We let our lips speak for the years of chemistry and undisclosed emotions. Our kiss became heady and intoxicating; I felt him everywhere, even though he wasn’t touching me. It left me craving more. I wanted more.

I wanted all of him.

“Landon!” Aaron yelled, breaking our trance and spell over one another. I shook my head before looking behind me. “Your sister is drunk as shit and making a scene. You need to get her out of here.”

“Fuck! Come on.” He grabbed my hand, helping me off the ground and we ran until we came face-to-face with the ruckus.

“Fuck you, Derrick! I know you have been cheating on me, you son of a bitch!” Christine roared, pushing him.

“You crazy bitch! Get your hands off me!” Derrick roughly grabbed her wrists and Landon placed himself in between them.

“Don’t. Touch. My. Sister,” he barked in a tone I had never heard before.

Derrick put his hands in the air in a surrendering gesture. “I mean no harm, man, just take her home.”

He nodded and turned, placing her over his shoulder and carrying her.

“Fuck you, Derrick! I hate you! Do you hear me? I hate you!”

“Christine, shhh! Calm down!” I warned, knowing that Landon was about to lose his shit on her.

He threw her in the backseat and she was passed out within seconds of us closing the car doors.

“Unbelievable,” he breathed out, putting the car in reverse and backing out.

“You can’t take her home, Landon. Your parents will freak out and never let her out of the house again.”

“Maybe that’s what she needs, a fucking wake up call. I’m tired of covering for her ass.”

“I know, but you can’t. Just this last time… please… take her to my house. My mom’s out of town, my sisters are at sleepovers, and I’m sure my dad is already passed out, it’s late.” 

He sighed, nodding and not looking at me. I knew his frustration had nothing to do with me, but I couldn’t help but feel responsible. He parked his car at the end of my gated driveway and we used the service entrance to carry her up to my bedroom. He laid her face down on my bed and I pulled the covers up, placing a bucket beside her just in case.

“I’m really sorry, Landon.”