“Hmm, and I wouldn’t know anything about stereotypes, huh? I’m just the bad boy, man-whore of Cassidy High,” he murmured.
I turned to face him, and his sapphire gaze locked onto mine. “I guess you were judged before you even stepped foot in school,” I whispered. He didn’t answer, but his gaze held mine captive. I lay my hand on his arm and skimmed my fingers over his skin. “I’m sorry. I was one who judged you, and I’m sorry.”
He didn’t answer me for a long time. The silence stretched between us, awkward and uncomfortable. I fought the urge to squirm in my seat. And then he did something that caught me completely off guard and threw me totally off balance. Brody took my hand from his arm, turned it over, and kissed the inside of my wrist, letting his warm, soft lips linger against my skin just a moment longer than necessary for a normal kiss. But it was no normal kiss. It was a silky whisper caress of his lips across my skin that sent my body into a frenzy.
I sucked in a breath. My insides did all sorts of weird things. Forget butterflies, I had balls bouncing around my stomach—bounding from one side to the other, hitting the wall and springing back again. My heart beat so hard it hurt and if someone had asked me about Jaden, I would have said, “Who?” Not good, not good at all. And so very dangerous.
I slowly pulled my hand away, still looking into his eyes. “Just friends, remember?” My voice was barely a whisper.
“That was my just-friends kiss. If it was my kiss for more than friends, we wouldn’t be talking right now.” He turned and started the Jeep.
I let out the breath I was holding and tried not to think about the more-than-friends kisses he would give.
Houston, I definitely have a problem.
We drove in silence for about five minutes when Brody pulled into a small, gravel parking lot. I looked around. “This is a bar,” I said. “They’re not going to let us in here.”
“Don’t worry. My aunt owns the place. She makes the best burgers in town. Makes The Dive’s look like dog food… and her milkshakes? Don’t even get me started.”
We walked into the small, white building. It was much larger than it looked from the outside, and it wasn’t at all what I thought a bar would look like. It wasn’t dark and smoky inside. It was light, without being too bright. And the smell of burgers filled the air, not the smell of cigarettes and stale beer like I expected. A large, square bar sat in the middle of the room with bar stools surrounding it. Booths lined the left wall and tables were scattered throughout the remaining area, with the exception of the right side of the room, which was full of pool tables, a couple of air hockey tables, and arcade games.
Brody took my hand and pulled me gently with him as he made his way to the back of the building where a small counter was located. A petite woman, who couldn’t have been much taller than five feet, greeted him with a broad smile.
“Hey, Brody! Whatcha up to today?”
“Hi, Aunt Bess. I’m just in the mood for one of your awesome burgers,” Brody said with a smile, dropping my hand so he could give his aunt a hug over the counter.
“And who’s this?” The woman glanced at me and then back to Brody.
“This is my friend, Willow. Willow, this is my Aunt Bess.”
“Hi, sweetie,” Bess said, turning her smile on me.
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you.” I smiled back at her. Her smile was contagious.
“So, you’re here for burgers, huh? Let me guess. A big Cheesy and a chocolate milkshake for you, Brody?”
Brody laughed. “I guess I’m getting too predictable. I’m going to have to switch it up one of these days. Keep you on your toes.”
Brody’s aunt winked at him before turning to me and asking, “And what would you like, Willow?”
“Um.” I looked at Brody. “Why don’t you order for me?”
“Nope.” He shook his head. “I know how much you hate that.”
I tapped the counter with my finger and read the menu under the glass on the counter. “I think I’ll try the little cheesy, and I’d like an order of onion rings, please, with a Coke.”
“Good choice.” Brody’s aunt wrote everything down on a ticket. “I’ll bring it right out to you, but, Willow?”
“Yes?”
“You really should have a milkshake. They’re the bomb, if I do say so myself,” she said with a giggle.
“Okay. I’ll try a chocolate,” I said, smiling at her giggles. I immediately liked Brody’s aunt.
“Do you want to play pool while we wait for our burgers?” Brody nodded at the pool tables. “Do you know how to play?”
I shook my head and concentrated on schooling my features. “No,” I lied.
“Well, I can teach you. I’m not too bad.”
Score. That’s what I was hoping you’d say.
Brody racked the balls and selected our cues. “You want to break?” He handed me a pool cue.
“Um, sure, I can break.” I took the cue from Brody and stood in front of the pool table, pretending like I had no idea what I was doing.
“Here, let me help you line up your shot.” Brody moved beside me and wrapped his arms around me, holding the pool cue with me. “Here, place your hands like this.” He adjusted my grip.
Oh, yeah. This is exactly what I was hoping for. Not a good idea, but, oh, it feels so good not to be right.
His warmth scorched my skin, and my body soaked up the feel of him to relive later. I was thoroughly enjoying having Brody’s arms around me. Pool was my new favorite game.
I’ve died and went to hell, because now I know what it feels like to have his arms around me. This was a bad idea, a very bad idea.
We pulled the pool cue back to make the shot. I nearly groaned as I felt his muscles flex and contract against me. The ball rolled down the pool table and cracked against the balls at the other end, sending them flying across the felt. Three balls sunk into the pockets. Brody looked at me and smiled.
“Good job. Do you want to be stripes or solids?”
“Well, since I sunk two stripes, I guess I’ll pick stripes.” I gave his shoulder playful nudge with mine. Well, sort of. My shoulder didn’t actually reach his.
“It’s still your shot,” Brody said, studying the table. When he decided on our next shot, he held his arm out to me. “This looks like a fairly easy one.”
I walked into his outstretched arm, my heart racing. Brody immediately wrapped both arms around me to help me take the shot. We bent over the table to line it up. It was an easy play and I normally would’ve made it, but I missed. My hands were shaking. My mind was numb, but my body hummed. I couldn’t concentrate on pool. I could barely remember my name.
Brody took his turn, sinking shot after shot. I wondered if I would get another turn. It was obvious he spent a great deal of time at his aunt’s bar playing pool.
“You’re pretty good, Ace.”
Brody looked at me and grinned. “I’m around here a lot. My mom travels a lot on business, so I spend time with my aunt. She makes sure I get fed when my mom’s gone.”
“What does your mom do?”
“She’s a sales rep. for a pharmaceutical company.” He took another shot, and I barely held in my groan as I watched his muscles in his shoulders and back.
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” I asked.
“Nope. It’s just me.”
It was my turn again. I looked over my shoulder. “Sounds kind of lonely,” I told him. My voice was all breathy and soft, so very embarrassing. It was hard to talk with his arms around me.
“Sometimes. But think of all the wild parties I can have.” Our faces were close. His eyes dipped to my mouth, and then back to my eyes.
I took—and missed—my shot. “Ah, I think I just found out the reason for your bad boy reputation,” I said, as Brody’s arms slid away from me.