“Let’s go to the bathroom. C’mon.” Jenna put her arm around my shoulder and held me tight against her, guiding me to the restroom. When we got inside, I slid down the wall and sat down on the dingy, tiled floor with my knees pressed against my chest, my arms wrapped around them. I laid my head down on my knees. “You wanna talk?” Jenna asked softly.
I shook my head. “Nothing to talk about.” Jenna handed me some tissue. I wiped my face and cursed. “All the makeup I put on to cover it up, and I’m crying it all off.” I half laughed and half sobbed. I heard the warning bell ring. Three minutes until classes started. “You should go. I don’t want you to be late.”
“No freakin’ way.” She shook her head. “I’m not leaving you like this.”
“I’m fine, Jenna. Go. I don’t want you to be late. You get detention enough on your own. You don’t need me helping you by making you late for class.” I smiled, wiping my tears on the back of my hand. “I’m just going to splash cold water on my face, and then I’ll go to class.”
“You’re sure? ’Cuz I don’t want to leave if you need me—”
“I’m sure.”
She gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Text me if you need me. It doesn’t matter what class I’m in. If you need me, just text and I’ll be there.” She hesitated in front of the door. “Promise me you’ll text me, Willow. I hate leaving you like this.” A tear slid down the side of her face.
I went to her and hugged her tight. “I promise I’m okay, but if I need you, I will text. No matter what. I’ll see you in history.”
With one last hug, Jenna wiped her tears and slipped out the door. Alone in the bathroom, I sat down on the floor again. I had no intention of getting up and going to class.
Sometime later, I don’t know how long, the door squeaked open, and I turned my face from it. I wasn’t in the mood to answer any questions, and I damn sure didn’t want to see pity in anyone’s eyes. I just wanted to sit on the dingy, pea-green tiled floor for the rest of the day. Maybe for the rest of my life… or at least the rest of the class period.
“You gonna sit here all day or what? ’Cuz if you are, I can make a Chinese run for lunch.” He eased himself on the floor next to me.
“What are you doing here, Brody?” I asked, trying to wipe away my tears before he saw. Because, although the tears were because of the circumstances that led up to my majorly black eye, I was also crying because of him. His reaction to me in the parking lot. I was hoping for a little more empathy, rather than disappointment. That stung. And maybe hit a little close to home, too, because, if I faced the truth, I was disappointed in myself.
“Jenna told me you were in here. She said if you weren’t in class in five minutes, I was supposed to text her so she could check on you.”
“Of course she did. So why are you here instead of her?” I turned my head to look at him, but kept my arms in front of my face to block his view.
He shrugged a shoulder and wrapped the hem of my shirt around his finger. “I wanted to be the one to check on you.”
“You do realize you’re sitting on the floor of the girls’ bathroom?”
“So are you,” he pointed out.
I sighed. “Yes, but I am a girl. You most definitely are not.”
“Thanks for noticing.” He gave me a lopsided grin, and I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
“Believe me. I’ve noticed, along with the rest of the female, and some of the male, student body.”
“Well, it goes both ways. I’ve definitely noticed the fact that you’re a girl. A very beautiful one at that.” He slipped a finger under a lock of my hair and twirled it around his fingers as he looked around the room. “So, what’s it gonna be? Are we staying in here all day or are we going to brave biology?”
I shrugged and dropped my arms, forgetting that not only was my eye totaled, but I’d also been crying so my face was undoubtedly red and splotchy too. Yeah, America’s Top Model, here I come. No need to vote. I’ll just accept my winnings now. Sure.
I heard Brody suck in a breath when he looked at me, and his fingers stilled.
“Yeah, I guess I look busted, huh?” I said, wrapping my arms around my legs, pulling them tighter to my chest.
Brody shook his head. “Nope.” He swallowed and cleared his throat. “Not unless the term busted means something different to you than it does to me, because I think you look effin’ gorgeous.”
I rolled my eyes—the good one, anyway. “Whatever. What happened to your vow to always tell the truth?”
“It’s still in place,” he murmured, sliding a lock of hair behind my ear. He let his fingers glide gently along my jaw and down my neck, following it with his eyes. I shivered under his touch and watched him roll his full bottom lip between his teeth. I nearly groaned out loud.
I’m losing it. I have a mangled eye, a splotchy face, no makeup, I’m sitting in a dirty school bathroom, and I’m getting turned on.
“You deserve so much better than this,” Brody whispered, cupping the side of my face. He ran his thumb over my bottom lip, eyes following. I let the tip of my tongue touch the pad of his thumb, and he groaned deep in his chest.
He moved in front of me so fast, I gasped. Grabbing my upper arms, he slid me across the tiled floor until I was sitting between his legs with my legs over his, wrapped around his waist. His hand traveled up my back, sliding under my T-shirt. I hummed at the feel of his skin against mine. His other hand cupped the side of my face, his fingers delving into the hair falling in front of my eyes, holding it back.
His eyes roamed from mine to my lips and back again. My breath was trapped in my chest. His touch made it impossible for me to breathe, and my chest burned. My heart pounded as though it were trying to breakthrough and hand itself it Brody, because at that moment, he surely held my heart in his hands.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed. Brody’s hand ran up and down my spine. My hands moved up his arms to his shoulders, and then my fingers sifted through his silky dark hair like I’d wanted to do so many times. Time and place melted away. We were no longer in a school bathroom, but encased in a solitary cocoon where we were the only two people alive.
Brody’s hand left my cheek and moved to cup the back of my neck, nudging me forward. He leaned his cheek to mine. I could feel his warm breath moving wisps of my hair. Turning slightly, he kissed my cheek, moving along my jaw to my ear, kissing the sensitive spot just behind my earlobe. My head started to swim, and a tremor ran through me.
“Brody,” I whispered so low I wasn’t sure if he heard me.
He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. His breathing came in short gasps, his eyes closed. His fingers opened and closed around the hair at the back of my neck, gripping it tighter and tighter.
I knew the moment he decided. His breathing changed. His grip on my hair loosened. He splayed his hand between my shoulder blades. He groaned a curse, moving his mouth to mine. Pressing his lips to the corner of my mouth, he hesitated, giving me time to stop him, but my mind had been made up before that day. I knew if Brody Victor ever tried to kiss me again, I wouldn’t stop him. My body craved the taste of him and wouldn’t be satisfied until it had him—and even then, I knew one taste wouldn’t be enough.
He pulled back just far enough to move his blue eyes, dark with desire, to mine. Seeing his desire mirrored in my gaze, he leaned forward just as the bathroom door flew open, hitting the wall beside it with a crack before bouncing off.
“Oh, sorry,” a girl dressed all in black with blue hair said, looking down at us. “You know, there are better places to make out than the slimy bathroom.”
Scooting away, I stood, keeping my back to the girl. I didn’t need any reports getting back to Jaden of my bathroom tryst with Brody.