Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, #4)(10)

“Crud.” Mina and rushed out after Brody into the rain. He was only a few feet off of the porch and had stopped in front of his black car. He looked forlorn and lost as the rain ran off of him. When he heard the door shut he turned to look at her. His face was a mirage of emotions—confusion, want, need. She rushed off the steps and went to him. Stopped within arms’ reach and watched him silently.

“It’s raining,” Brody said as if he just noticed it.

“Yeah, it is,” she answered. “I’m sorry for doubting your reasons. If the offer is still good, I would like to go with you.” She smiled, blinking through the rain.

Brody stepped closer, and she closed the distance. She almost leaned into him but caught herself at the last moment. He was standing closer than was appropriate as well, and they were both staring at each other. Neither one said anything, but her thoughts hung heavy in the air.

What are you thinking? Do you remember me…us?

Brody opened his mouth to say something, but closed it at the last second and shoved his hands in his pockets. She could see them balled into fists through the denim of his jeans. His smile dropped from his face and he looked irritated at himself.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, promptly forgetting to breathe.

“Nothing.” He shook his head.

“Okay then.” She turned and walked in the pouring rain back toward her dry porch. The storm seemed to have passed, but a strong, steady rain continued.

“No, that’s not true.” Brody ran after her.

Mina stopped and turned to look up at him.

The rain was pelting them, but he didn’t seem to care. “Do you ever feel like you’re losing your mind? I have these dreams, recollections of events that I know deep down couldn’t have possibly happened. But then whenever I go to sleep, I remember everything—clear as day. I tell myself when I wake up, I’ll recall every detail—only I don’t.”

Mina stood there holding her breath, refusing to believe what she was hearing. “Yes, unfortunately that’s how dreams work. But they’re only dreams,” she said.

“Are they?” Brody looked at her sadly. He stared at her as if waiting for her to lay his worries to rest or give him answers he desperately needed.

She shivered at how close they were coming to the truth, and she so wanted to believe he remembered everything they’d shared.

But then she remembered Teague’s warning. He could hurt her friends. Was it really better if Brody didn’t know?

It couldn’t be. How many times could the Story mess with her friends’ memories without leaving permanent damage? “Why are you asking me about this?” She had to know.

This time it was Brody who shivered. “Because I dream about you. Every night, I dream of you…and me. Yet at school we act like strangers. But I know things about you I couldn’t possibly know. I know you hate the color red, hate being the center of attention. Love journaling, love Asian dumplings. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“I don’t know.” She avoided looking at him. Afraid he’d see the truth in her eyes.

He reached out to touch her shoulders. “How could I know that your kisses taste like honey? And I would give anything for another one, but yet…I don’t think we’ve ever kissed.”

The tears came, and Mina thanked God that it was raining to at least hide them. “I don’t kn—”

“Stop. Don’t say that again. I don’t think I can hear those words again. Not from you.” Brody’s grip became tighter and he pulled her closer.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have the answers you want,” she answered softly, refusing to meet his gaze.

“No, I think you do.” The water trailed off of Brody’s cheek and dripped onto Mina’s face with a small stream. She flinched from the splash and her movement brought Brody back to the present. He looked around and only now seemed to notice he was holding her captive in the middle of her driveway in the pouring rain. He stepped back, appearing upset with himself, and ran his hands through his hair.

Mina wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything would be okay. But she couldn’t. She didn’t dare. She was a bona fide chicken when it came to him. “I’m sorry, Brody,” she whispered. She looked over her shoulder at him before she walked away. “For everything.”

Without warning, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace. His lips locked onto hers, and he kissed her. She was momentarily a prisoner of his desire, and she didn’t respond right away. His hand lowered to her back refusing to let her pull away. He wasn’t going to let her escape.

She didn’t try. She leaned in and met his kiss. The ember of desire that she’d been squelching for so long started to burn hotter. Maybe it was because Jared was gone that she felt lost…alone. She’d closed herself off from so many other emotions that she forgot what it was like to feel. And right then, with his kiss, she felt more alive than she had in weeks. Her hand reached up to cradle his neck, encouraging him. Never before had their kisses been like this. It may have started off soft, unsure, and confused, but then it was as if something awoke in them.

Their lips remembered. Then the sparks that have been pushed down for so long resurfaced.

He pulled away and Mina gasped for breath, his mouth still inches from hers. His eyes locked onto her lips as if he couldn’t believe what they had just shared. Their breaths were ragged, and he squeezed her closer to him.