Present Perfect(41)

He straightened. “Are you sure there’s nothing going on between you two?”

“Noah is very protective of me.” I lied. Sort of. Noah had always been protective of me, but this was more than that. It was jealousy and possessiveness. I should know because I felt the same way every time a girl even looked at Noah. “I will talk to him,” I promised Brad.

Brad pushed himself off the wall and turned towards me. He took three steps, putting him directly in front of me. His head lowered, so that our eyes were in line with one another’s. There was so little space between us, our lips were almost touching.

“Talk to him, because I do plan on touching you. A lot. If you let me.” He leaned in closer and gently brushed his lips over mine. When he pulled away my breath hitched. He had sucked his lower lip into his mouth and was slowly grazing it with his teeth as he released it. This was the same move that got me all disoriented at my car the first day he approached me.

He took a couple of steps back, never breaking eye contact with me, then turned and walked away. I watched as the door to the locker room closed before slowly letting out the breath that had been trapped in my lungs since he touched me. Staying put, I tried to compose myself from what I believe to have been a swoon. Man, that boy was sex on a stick, deep fried.

Did I actually have two hot guys fighting over me? Yes. The answer was yes. I realize Noah was only being protective and Brad, well, he really didn’t fight. But a girl can pretend, can’t she? Yes, and I did just that, the entire drive home and the rest of the afternoon. It felt amazing to be wanted by two hot guys, even if it was only a fantasy. Noah, Brad, with a little sprinkle of Zac Efron… yep, I’ll be holding on to this fantasy for a while.





Getting over someone doesn’t happen by getting under someone. It just reminds you what you should have held on to.





It was overwhelming when Brad and I first entered Jeremy’s beach house. The amount of people was amazing. They were everywhere. Couples were in the corners of the living room making out, couples dancing were making out, and even couples on the stairs were making out. It was like the John Hughes version of Caligula. It seemed like most, if not all, of the senior class was here. The music was incredibly loud and with the pulsating base, I felt the vibrations through my entire body. The room was dotted with red cups, indicating that the alcohol had already started flowing.

Brad kept me close by his side as we walked through the maze of bodies. His hand never left the small of my back. I was wearing my cropped faded jeans and sleeveless light purple shirt, the hem of which skimmed the top of my jeans. Brad’s fingers slid under my shirt and grazed the skin of my lower back. His touch sent a slight shiver through me. He always looked very good, but he looked extremely hot tonight. He wore dark tan cargo shorts and a sapphire blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow. The color matched his eyes perfectly. He smelled good too, like cinnamon. Teenage boys don’t usually have an appealing fragrance. The only boy I ever knew who always smelled wonderful was Noah. He smelled citrusy, like an orange.

Several people stopped Brad to talk. He would give them a quick ‘hey’, then directed his attention right back to me. We made our way to the kitchen. Wine, tequila, vodka, and rum filled the countertops along with various mixers. There was a sliding glass door that led out to a huge deck where a couple of kegs sat. Chips seemed to be what was on the menu for the night, just chips. All different kinds of chips-potato, corn, pita, tortilla. You name the chip and it was there.

Once in the kitchen, we were greeted by our host, Jeremy. “Hey BroJo! Glad you finally made it, man. Now the serious partying can begin,” Jeremy said as he high fived Brad. I was pretty positive that our host had already sampled the liquid refreshments earlier.

“Pratt, you know Amanda?” Brad asked.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! You’re Stewart’s girl.” I felt Brad’s hand stiffen against my back. “Glad you could make it.” Glancing down at where Brad’s hand rested, Jeremy leaned in and whispered loudly, “Better watch out dude. You don’t want NoStew to catch you touching his girl, not after what happened yesterday. I’ve never seen him that pissed off before.”

“She’s not his girl.” Brad looked down at me and I gave him a small smile.

Knots began forming in the pit of my stomach. “Where is Noah?” I asked Jeremy.

Raising his hands, he began to wave them above his head, as he slurred, “Somewhere...” He lost his balance and stumbled back against the counter. Slapping Brad on the back he said, “You guys make yourselves at home. Mi casa su casa. Eat, drink, be merry, and all that shit.”

As Jeremy disappeared, I scanned the room to see if I spotted Noah. Concern was written all over my face when I looked at Brad. “Me being here with you was a bad idea. I didn’t have a chance to talk with Noah about yesterday.”

Leaning down to me, Brad’s lips gently brushed my ear as he whispered, “Being with you is never a bad idea. There’s a ton of people here. We probably won’t even see him. Just relax. I’ll take good care of you.” He placed a light kiss just below my ear. “What’s your pleasure? As far as something to drink, that is. I can take care of your other pleasures later.” He winked.

I made no attempt at hiding my eye roll as I shook my head and said, “Unbelievable.”