I went to my closet to grab my boots. Brody stood in the middle of my room, looking around. “Hot pink and black stripes, huh? Doesn’t it make you a little dizzy?”
“You’re funny tonight. A real comedian.”
“I half expected there to be posters with all sorts of sayings all over your walls.”
I grabbed my boots out of my closet. “Nope, I just wear those across my chest,” I said, and then held in a groan.
What a way to invite him to look at my boobs. Could I have been any more obvious?
“Speaking of which…” He walked behind me, gently turning me around. “I didn’t get a chance to read tonight’s message.”
Watching his face as he read my T-shirt, I could feel my cheeks heat with a blush as his eyes roamed over my chest. Any other time, I wouldn’t have thought anything about it. People read my shirts every day, but knowing he was looking, watching him, made it seem personal, like he was reaching out and touching me.
He grabbed each side of my shirt close to where it tucked into my pants, pulling it taut. “You know, now that I think about it, I kinda agree with Jenna. You need to start dressing normal.”
I tilted my head to the side. “You said you liked them.”
“I do. I just don’t know that I like other guys reading them.” He let go of my shirt and moved his hands to my hips, sliding them slowly up my sides. He hesitated when his fingers brushed the sides of my breasts, before moving upward to cup my face. I forgot how to breathe.
I was sure I was going to pass out. Brody Victor just passed second base, and we hadn’t even kissed yet. How was that possible? Of course, I wasn’t sure skimming his fingers over the side of my breasts, through my shirt and bra, for a mere second, counted as second base. I didn’t really know what the bases were. I wasn’t a guy. And I’d had people accidently bump into me who got more of a feel than that. But that was… just delicious. He’d intentionally touched me, his gaze locked on mine. And my stomach dropped to my toes. I still wasn’t breathing.
He stepped closer to me, backing me up against the wall. One hand on either side of my head, he leaned down, his face close to mine. The length of our bodies touched. I dropped my boots. They hit the floor with a dull thud. Wrapping my hands around his arms, I made a moaning sound deep in my throat when I felt his muscles flex. I ran my hands up to his shoulders and across his back, feeling his muscles contract under my touch.
He leaned in closer to me, his mouth skimming my skin just in front of my ear, sending shivers through my body. “Willow?”
I think I said, “Yeah?”
“We’re going to be late.”
“Mm-hmm.”
He kissed my shoulder, moving up my neck, across my jaw, stopping when he reached my lips. His mouth was so close that his breath tickled them, and my tongue slid across to moisten them. Brody cursed under his breath and grabbed my hips, pulling me even closer against him.
The front door opened, and Ralph’s voice boomed through the house, followed by my mother’s softer voice. My heart skipped a beat, and then another. And not in a good way.
“Did you park in the driveway?”
“No. In the street,” Brody said.
“Thank God.” I moved to the door and clicked the lock closed. “Just be quiet.”
I stood at the door and listened. Someone came up the stairs, the floor creaking when they walked past my bedroom. Judging by the sound of the footsteps, it was Ralph. I squeezed my eyes closed, praying they’d just forgot something and would leave.
My doorknob rattled, followed by a knock. “Willow?” my mother called.
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing in there?”
“Just reading,” I lied, rubbing my hand over my face.
“Open the door.”
Crap.
Grabbing Brody’s arm, I pulled him toward the door. I positioned him behind it before unlocking and opening it, standing in the doorway so my mother couldn’t walk into my bedroom.
“Why’s your door locked?” she asked.
“Oh, um…” I put my hand on the top of my head; the other held the door so tightly my fingers hurt. “Someone knocked on the door earlier. I didn’t know who he was. It freaked me out a little so I locked my door.” I let my hand drop from my head and shrugged. “What are you guys doing back so early?”
My mom flicked her hand like she was waving my question away. “We just forgot something Ralph needed, and I forgot my cell phone, like always. We’re leaving now. We’ll probably be late. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Okay. Have fun.”
“Yeah, right,” she grumbled. She hated going to work functions with Ralph. She knew what people thought of her. It didn’t matter if they said it to her face or not. She could read it in the way they talked to her—or didn’t talk to her. She’d always be the gold-digging hussy that snagged the most eligible bachelor in Middleton.
I held my breath until I heard the door shut. “Stay here.” I crept downstairs, looked out of the window, and saw Ralph drive away.
That was too freakin’ close.
Despite Brody’s worry that we’d be late, we made it to the movie theater in plenty of time to get our tickets and popcorn with lots and lots of butter.
“I’m glad we have the butter thing in common. It would have been a deal breaker if not.”
Brody grinned and squirted more butter on the popcorn. “What are we seeing?”
“Beyond the grave.” I gave my best impression of a ghost’s voice. I didn’t quite pull it off judging by Brody’s laughter.
“I thought you didn’t like horror movies.”
“No. I don’t like watching them in the backseat of your Jeep, in the dark, in an isolated field, surrounded by nothing but woods. That,” I pointed at him, “by the way, is a scene in most horror movies, and it never turns out well for one or two of the actors.”
“You’re quirky,” he said and kissed the tip of my nose. “I love that about you.”
Hold. The. Phone. What did he just say? The L word? And it wasn’t Like or Lust. Calm down. He didn’t say he loved me, just that I was quirky. Yeah, totally different. So what am I supposed to say back? Nothing? That I love that he loves that I’m quirky? That I love him? Wait! What?
“Hi, Willow.”
I looked up and saw Natalie from English class. “Hey, Natalie!” I looked at her date and recognized the guy with the personality of a rock. “Hi, Earl. I remember you from the fall dance. You went with Jenna.” Earl rolled his eyes. I guess Jenna’s master plan of making his life miserable so he wouldn’t ask her out again worked. “Do you know Brody? Brody, this is Natalie and Earl.”
“Hey, man,” Brody said to Earl, shaking his hand and doing that weird shoulder bump thing guys do. “Hi, Natalie. I remember you from English class.” He smiled at her, and her cheeks turned slightly pink.
Yeah, that smile gets ’em every time. And it’s mine. All mine. Mine, mine, mine. Jeez, I sound like I’m two. But it is mine.
“I heard you broke up with Jaden and you two are dating now.” Natalie looked between Brody and me.
“Yes. I’m sure the whole school’s heard by now,” I said with a shrug of a shoulder.
“Pretty much. Everyone thinks you two make such a cute couple. Way better than Jaden. What an ass.” I blinked in surprise. It wasn’t what I expected her to say at all. “Well, I’ll see you two in English. We have to go. We have dinner reservations.” Natalie smiled at Earl. He actually smiled back. It was the first time I’d seen his face register any type of expression other than boredom.
“Have a nice dinner,” I called after them. “Huh.”
“What?” Brody asked, looking down at me.
“Nothing, just something Natalie said.”
“The thing about Jaden? I told you, no one could figure out why you stayed with him.”
Brody and I saw four more people from school, and none of them seemed the least bit concerned about what happened with Jaden. I was cautiously optimistic that my reputation would survive the break up intact. Then again, one never knew about these things. It was high school, after all.