Defend

by Lindsay Paige

  Brent is a bad influence. I don’t like to open up and talk about things and it hits me as I’m driving to his shop that he got me to do that last night without me even thinking twice about it. Okay, so it’s a good thing and probably a sign I trust him, but still. It’s a little unnerving that I’m able to confide in him so easily. And look at how easily he was able to convince me to come meet his brothers.

  Bad, bad influence. In the best possible way, I know.

  But I’m super nervous about meeting his brothers. I’d rather discreetly drop off the pizza and run away. I’m not a wimp, so when I park, I take a moment to compose myself before reaching over to grab the two pizza boxes and get out of my car. I should’ve texted Brent first to let him know I’m here because when I walk inside, I don’t see him.

  A man notices me and walks over. “Can I help you, ma’am?” Maybe he’s related to Brent since he has the whole ma’am thing down.

  “Is Brent around?” I scan the big open space, hoping he appears.

  Before he can answer, a car pulls into one of the bays and relief pours through me. Brent. He gets out of the car and says, “Hey, Jamie. Sorry I wasn’t here.” He glances over his shoulder and shouts, “Peter! Lunch break.” Brent walks over to me, kisses me on the cheek while taking the pizza boxes, and whispers, “You really brought pizza.”

  “I told you I would,” I whisper back.

  He laughs. “They’ll really love you.” He faces both of his brothers who smirk. “Ronnie, Peter, this is my girlfriend, Jamie. Jamie, these are my dumbass brothers.”

  “Nice to meet you both,” I say.

  “We knew there had to be a woman for him to be working less and leaving on time,” Ronnie, the one I first met, says. “It’s nice to meet you,” he adds as an afterthought.

  “Yes, it is,” Peter agrees.

  “She brought lunch if you’re hungry.” Brent lifts the pizza boxes. When Ronnie steps forward, Brent hands him one of the boxes.

  “Oh, no,” Ronnie says. “You can’t bring her here to meet us and then sneak her away to your office. We’re all having lunch together.”

  “No,” Brent says in that no-further-discussions tone. “I only brought her so y’all wouldn’t bug me about if I had a woman. Now, you know I do and you can leave me alone.”

  His tone must have no effect on his brothers because Peter says, “But now we need to know more. Don’t be rude, Brent.” Peter walks over to me, hooks his arm through mine and whisks me toward Brent’s office in one swift move. “You can ask us anything you want to know about Brent.”

  I smile, wider when I hear Brent say, “I’ll tell you anything you want to know, Jamie.”

  “Yeah, but will your answer match ours?” Ronnie asks.

  “Probably not,” Peter answers.

  Brent steals me away from Peter and we sit on the couch. Ronnie and Peter drag two chairs over to sit in front of us and Ronnie also grabs some napkins. As napkins and pizza are passed around, I’m asked what I would like to know about Brent.

  What would I like to know? It would be interesting to get their perspectives, too. I ask the first question that comes to mind. “What is Brent’s worst habit?”

  Peter leans back in his chair. “Easy. He’s a workaholic.”

  “I am not,” Brent argues.

  “What do you normally do with your free time?” Ronnie asks him.

  Brent glares at him and I laugh. “He does what he likes to do: work,” I answer for him. “Name something else; I’m not worried about him working.”

  Both of his brothers shake their heads. “He’s brainwashed her already,” Ronnie says to Peter. “Another bad habit is he can have a bit of a temper.”

  “Really?” I glance over at Brent.

  “What they mean is once I get pissed, I’m pissed. That’s all.”

  He definitely doesn’t need to meet my parents, then. He gets mildly riled up when I talk about them. There’s no telling how he’ll respond when he actually meets them and hears the things they say without thinking come straight from their mouths.

  “Okay, well, what’s something y’all would like to tell me that Brent would probably prefer you didn’t?”

  Ronnie and Peter grin at the same time. Brent grumbles under his breath. I pat his leg and then take a bite of my slice of pizza while Ronnie speaks first.

  “He’s an emotional guy. Watch a romantic movie where someone dies, or a movie where an animal dies, and he’ll shed a tear.”

  Brent shakes his head, but his brothers nod and tell him not to lie to his new girlfriend. I’m grateful this is going well so far and we’re all enjoying ourselves.

  “Okay, here’s something for you,” Peter says. “Brent broke into a house and stole a car once.”

  With wide eyes, I look at Brent, who curses and glares at his youngest brother. “What the hell, Peter? That’s sacred information that we promised each other we would take to our graves.”

  “You were sixteen! I was six. Ronnie was eleven. You returned it and it was for a good reason.”

  “It was not for a good reason,” Brent grumbles.

  “Will someone tell me what happened?” I plead before they can get distracted with their arguing.

  “Our parents had a date night or something and Brent was babysitting us,” Ronnie tells me. “We were annoying the hell out of him and begged for ice cream. After two hours, he had enough. The neighbors were gone on vacation. He went to their house, found the spare key to get inside, found the car keys, and drove us to Dairy Queen for ice cream. He made us swear on our lives that we couldn’t ever tell anyone what he did.”

  “And you both broke your promises,” Brent snaps.

  “Oh, come on. It’s been over twenty years!” Peter argues.

  I will definitely have to talk more about this with Brent later. I can’t imagine him doing such a thing with how he oozes a good guy vibe. For now, I sit back, finish off my pizza, and enjoy listening to the brothers bickering while occasionally answering their questions about myself. Too soon, I have to leave and the guys have to get back to work.

  Brent walks me out to my car with a smile on his face. “Told you they would like you.”

  “It was more fun than I expected. And I learned a lot more about you.”

  “Yeah, if you could forget almost everything you learned, I’d be extremely grateful.”

  “Not a chance. Can I have a kiss, just on the cheek, before I go?”

  Brent frowns. “On the cheek? What’s wrong with your mouth?” My gaze shifts to the shop where I can clearly see his brothers sort of working, but clearly watching to see how Brent says goodbye to me. Brent doesn’t bother following my gaze. “Don’t pay them any attention, but if you think they’ll cause me to kiss you on the cheek instead of on the mouth, you’re dead wrong, hon.”

  The kiss he immediately hits me with weakens my entire body and has his arms wrapping around my waist. If people married on the basis of kisses, just kisses, I would marry Brent in a heartbeat. There’s something about the way he kisses me, even the simple ones, that somehow tells me exactly everything I need to know without telling me anything specific. When I kiss Brent, I know he cares for me, he’d protect me, and he’s a person who needs to be in my life.

  “You should kiss me again,” I whisper when he pulls away, already hungry for more.

  He chuckles. “If I do, will you see me again tonight? We’ll go out somewhere.”

  “Kiss me and I’ll do anything you want.”

  Brent’s grin is slow and devilish. “That’s a dangerous promise to make, Jamie.” Before I can respond, his mouth takes mine. I thought I had experienced the best of Brent’s kisses, but I was wrong. This is filthy and dirty and it’s totally not fair that we’re dressed right now. We should be naked.

  Brent pulls away, but I keep my eyes closed, not wanting this moment to be over with yet. I hear him chuckle and reach around me.

  “I’ll text you when I figure out what we’re doing tonight, unless
there’s something you want to do. If that’s the case, let me know and we’ll do it.” Brent laughs. “Open your eyes, hon. You have to get back and I have to get to work.”

  “One last kiss,” I whisper. When he kisses my forehead, I open my eyes, only to glare at him. “Not even funny, Brent.”

  “It is a little bit, but you don’t have to admit it. I’ll see you later.” He nods toward my car where he’s opened the door already.

  Reluctantly, I leave and return to campus. Hopefully, tonight’s date will involve the two of us doing something romantic. That’s what I’m in the mood for, but I’d also like to see what Brent comes up with. For now, I have to focus on one more class and seeing Erin while I get ready to see Brent again. She’s texted me a few times, needing to talk, so she’s coming over since she insists it needs to be done in person.

  My class stinks as usual, but I try to pay attention and be a good student. I don’t want to slack too much because that’ll result in my having to repeat a class and I definitely don’t want to do that. Plus, this is a math class. Not my greatest subject. Luckily, I’m only tortured for an hour before I can move on to a subject I’m well versed in: friendship.

  Erin waits outside of the building and steps in next to me. “First, how are you? Everything good with you and Brent?”

  “I’m fine and we’re really good. Is everything okay with you?”

  She groans. “That guy I went on a date with? We went out again. He seems nice, but something seems off, too. I can’t put my finger on it. Won’t you go on a double with me soon? See if you can help me figure it out.”

  “If Brent is up for it, sure. When the schedule comes out Friday, I can let you know my next days off. Has he been good to you so far?”

  “Yeah, but I’m telling you something about him doesn’t seem right. I just want to see if I’m being crazy or if you see it too. You know I don’t always pick great guys.”

  “Worse comes to worst, you can tell him you want him to meet your best friend and I’ll come along as a third wheel,” I reassure her. I’m honestly not sure if this is something Brent would be up to do. Would he want to hang out with a bunch of early twenty-year-olds doing goodness knows what? He’s okay with dating me, but that doesn’t mean he wants to hang out with my friends. I think I might be okay with that, too.

  Erin tells me more about the guy she’s dating while I change into nicer clothes for my date with Brent. I’m feeling in an especially good mood, so I decide to wear a dress. After I’ve packed my bag, I drive over to Brent’s, unfortunately with my laptop and books in my bag as well. I smile when I see him standing on the front porch, looking nicely dressed as well. I may have sent him a picture of what I was wearing and gave him a heads-up that I was coming.

  He meets me at my car and takes my bag from me. “Bad news, hon.”

  “What is it?”

  He sighs. “Apparently, Glenn, the man my ex-wife is marrying, wants everyone to get together for a family dinner. Including me and I’m making you go with me.”

  I reach out to grab my bag, but Brent holds it away from me. “It’s bad enough you’re making me go to that wedding. I am not going to a dinner, Brent!”

  “Oh, come on, Jamie. Please?”

  “Why didn’t you tell them you already had plans tonight? With me?” Anger swells up because he didn’t warn me, our date night is ruined, and Brent didn’t do anything to prevent that from happening. “You could’ve told me before I got all dressed up and came over here!”

  He places the strap of my bag on his shoulder and then cups my face. “I waited to tell you because I figured I’d have a better chance of convincing you to go if we were face-to-face. You should be pissed and you probably shouldn’t want to go. Hell, I don’t want to go, but I have both my kids begging me to go, my ex-wife asking nicely, and they swear this is the only night they can do it. I’m the only one who had other plans.” He rests his forehead against mine and my anger stupidly melts away the longer he looks at me. “I’ll make it up to you. Please go with me.”

  Ugh. How does a woman resist a man when he’s being so sincere and obviously feels bad about what’s happened?

  “Am I dressed okay?” I ask softly.

  Brent smiles. “Perfectly. Thank you.” He kisses my cheek. “Let me put your bag inside and then we’ll go.”

  A few minutes later, we’re on our way to a restaurant. My stomach is in knots. I not only have to face Kayla, but I also get to meet Brent’s ex-wife.

  “Do they know I’m coming?”

  “Yes, I said I was bringing a date.” He reaches over and takes my hand in his. “Don’t be nervous. No one will say anything out of the way to you.”

  “What about dirty looks?”

  Brent chuckles. “I’ll give them dirty looks right back.” He lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles. “I’ve got your back, hon. Wouldn’t ask you to come if I didn’t plan on protecting you and standing up for you, if needed.”

  “I know. I don’t want you to have to do that with your family, though.”

  “Don’t worry about me.”

  I don’t and I try not to worry about myself, too. The nerves creep back in when we arrive at the nice restaurant. Brent snakes an arm around my waist, leading me inside where a waitress takes us to the table. Conversation halts and everyone looks at us.

  “Hey, y’all. This is my girlfriend, Jamie.” He introduces me to his ex-wife, who looks stunned to see me, and her fiancé, Glenn. Everyone does say hello, though. Brent pulls my chair out for me and then sits down next to me. Maybe it’s just me, but the air seems stifled. The dinner might be the longest one of my life.

  “I wanted everyone to get together since we’re all about to be one big family,” Glenn says after we’ve placed our orders. I glance at Jamie and roll my eyes, causing her to smile. “I thought this would be a good first step to us getting to know one another a little better.” He talks in a monotone voice that makes me want to nod off.

  “Yes, let’s get to know one another. Jamie, how old are you?” Shannon asks her.

  “We aren’t here to interrogate my girlfriend,” I answer. “And last I checked, I never asked Glenn his age.”

  “Glenn’s obviously not fresh out of high school,” Shannon snaps back. Fresh out of high school? That’s ridiculous.

  “Mom,” Gregory chides, sounding a little disappointed in her.

  “If you want us to stay, leave her out of it.”

  Everyone’s quiet until Jamie breaks the silence.

  “Will you two go on a honeymoon?” Jamie asks, clearly deciding to get us back on topic and gracefully ignoring her previous comment.

  It turns out they will go on a honeymoon, but not right after the wedding, which is in two weeks. Jamie, my dear beautiful Jamie, does her best to be polite and seem interested in this dinner. She asks how they met and listens intently to their answer. Unfortunately, Shannon seems to think this is a tit for tat kind of dinner because she turns around and asks Jamie how we met.

  “Jamie let me change her tire and fix it for her,” I answer. That’s how we met and she doesn’t need to know more than that.

  “How long have y’all been together?” Jamie asks.

  Glenn answers, kissing Shannon on the cheek, which means Shannon turns right around and asks, “How long have you been dating Brent?”

  “About a month,” I answer. Jamie might be okay with answering. She might not see anything wrong with Shannon asking, but I do. Jamie is asking to make conversation. That’s not why Shannon is asking and that pisses me off. She’s being nosy with an undercurrent of judgmental. That’s why I don’t want Jamie to answer. She can’t find reasons to dislike Jamie if Jamie never says anything, not that I think Jamie could say something to cause her to dislike her. However, when people are being irrational, it doesn’t take much.

  Shannon frowns at how I’ve answered her again and she gives up on questioning Jamie. Unfortunately, this means Glenn takes over the conversation.

&nbs
p; “Now, kids, I know I’m about to become your stepdad,” oh for fuck’s sake, “but I’d like us to be friends and get along. I would like to be a person you could come to if your mom or dad isn’t available and you’re desperate.” He laughs and the kids give him a smile. “I might not be as cool as your parents, but I’m here if you need me.”

  Well, that’s nice and it makes me like him a little. Our food is finally served. Logan, Kayla, and Gregory talk to one another, sometimes including Shannon. Glenn decides now is the perfect time to ask me every question possible about my job and anything he’s ever wondered about cars. All this means is Jamie is left out.

  I reach over and keep one hand on her thigh, rubbing my thumb back and forth, so she knows I haven’t forgotten about her. I know she appreciates it because she rests her hand over mine. Gregory tries talking to her a few times, but he keeps getting sucked into the conversation with the others and I’m pretty sure that isn’t an accident.

  I don’t like the fact that she’s sitting next to me, the only one at the table not talking while eating. It’s no wonder Jamie finishes her meal first and though I’m not quite finished, I stand and excuse us. With one hand on her back, I lead us over to the bar. Jamie actually orders a drink, a lemon drop.

  “I’m sorry, Jamie.”

  “I feel awkward being here, Brent. They obviously don’t want me here, even though Gregory is being sweet and trying to talk to me.” She gulps down half of her drink, eyeing the table we just left. “And it looks like they want dessert. Can I catch a cab back to your place? I don’t want to stay longer.”

  I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her tight against me. “If you leave early, they’ll think they upset you.”

  “I am upset,” she interrupts.

  “And we don’t want to give them that satisfaction, do we?”

  “I don’t care, Brent. They don’t want me here and I’m tired of feeling like I don’t belong here. There are other things I could be doing.” She downs the rest of her drink.