Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail(13)

Viola always talked about how pretty my eyes were. They were dark brown, but I knew it was my eyelashes she praised. They were long and naturally curved to frame my eyes. I got my eyelashes from my mother…wherever she was. Then there were my big lips. I got those from my dad. I must've because my mother had thin lips.

Once I overheard Brady talking about a girl's lips. He said they were "come screw me lips." The other guy had laughed, but when I rounded the corner both of them had stared in horror. I never figured out who they'd been talking about, but as I leaned closer I wondered if I had those lips. Maybe. Was that why IT had happened? Or was Brady just hurting and needed comfort? Did he choose me because I was there, convenient?

For whatever his reason was, we had sex. I wasn't a virgin anymore. My reason…I sucked in my breath. I didn't want to think about that.

I touched my throat and wondered…did I look different? Had my grandmother noticed and chosen not to say anything? Did Brady think of me differently?

I didn't really feel different, though a little sore.

Knock, knock.

I jumped, but managed to stifle a quick scream. I should've figured that Brady would get impatient, or maybe I woke up my grandparents.

I took one last breath, raked my fingers through my hair, and pulled my robe tight before I opened the door. Brady straightened from the doorframe and whispered, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why?" I whispered back.

He shrugged and went into my bedroom. I followed, but not before I heard two different sets of snores.

"What'd Clarissa want?" When I went in I pretended to look through my closet. I had no idea what I was looking for; I just needed something to do with my back to him. I couldn't look, but I felt his gaze on my back. Then the bed dipped under his weight as he sat down. I peeked over my shoulder and saw he was glaring at me. He had placed his hands back and was resting on his arms, but he was staring right at me.

"What?" I held something against my body, but I had no idea what it was.

"You're freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out."

"You are. You totally are." He nodded again, as if it made perfect sense to him.

"Don't do that! Stop!" But I felt my arms start to shake and then my entire body. I was suddenly cold, really cold.

"This is the talk. This is when we talk about it, isn't it?" Brady murmured to himself as he shook his head.

"We're not talking," I managed through chattering teeth.

"Look at you." He lifted a hand to me. "You're totally freaking out."

"I am not!"

"Shh!" He glanced at the door and then turned on the fan. As the sound dulled the air, he crossed to me and grasped my elbow to pull me down on the bed beside him.

I did not lie down. I sat. I only sat, perched on the end.

"Okay…" One of his hands lifted to take mine, but I snatched scurried back. I stopped when I hit the wall and that was how we sat. I was against the wall. Brady was turned towards me with one of his hands in the air.

A confounded look came across his face, but his eyes searched mine for a moment. I wasn't sure what he read in my eyes, maybe panic, but he laid his hand on his leg. I watched, fascinated, as his fingers curled into his leg like he was trying to restrain himself. His other hand was clenched into his other leg. His shoulder muscles were bunched together tightly. I noticed that his hair was wet and a droplet of water slid down the back of his neck, gliding over his muscles.

"Did you take a shower?"

"What?" Brady asked, distracted.

"You took a shower. Did you go downstairs?" Grandpa had his own shower in the basement.

"Uh…yeah. I smelled." Brady stared at something on my floor.

I looked, but couldn't see what it was.

Then my eyes widened in terror when I saw it was a pair of pink underpants that had fallen off the pile of laundry. It caught on a drawer on my desk and hung there, on display. I sucked in my breath and hurled off the bed to snatch it up. When I turned back, Brady's eyes were laughing at me, but he didn't say anything.

That's when I lost it. The fright. The panic. The "freak out" all vanished as one chuckle wracked through my body. Pretty soon, I couldn't stop the giggles. Brady joined in and both of us were laughing until I clamped a hand over my mouth to quiet myself. Tears blinded me for a moment, but they weren't those types of tears. I kept laughing, silent now, and I wiped them clear. I blinked to keep more from appearing. Brady's shoulders shook in laughter.

"Okay…" I murmured when I had resumed enough control to form sentences. I moved and sat beside him again, but this time I knew that I wouldn't scamper off. "I won't do that again. I promise." I patted his knee.

"Thanks." He caught my hand. "I don't like having my best friend scared of me."

Brady lifted his blue eyes to mine and I was startled to see how somber they were. He'd just been laughing, but…

"You were scared of me, Rayna. Don't do that again."

I couldn't look away. Somehow, my hand found its way to the side of his face and it cupped his cheek. "I won't."

"Promise." His hand rested on top of mine.

"Promise." I could barely talk.