by Cindy Miles
“She said to leave,” Tessa snapped. “Are you loco, gringo? Do you think your monkey squad there is going to stop him?” She jerked her head in Brax’s direction. I’d told Tessa as much as I’d told Brax. Not the complete truth but enough that Kelsy was forever on Tessa’s shit list.
Kelsy’s gaze darkened as he flashed a glance at her. “Whoever the fuck you are, shut up.”
Without missing a beat, Tessa let loose a string of Spanish expletives, waving her arms and bowing up. Tessa didn’t take crap off of anyone. Especially a man. She took a swing at Kelsy but the guy on his left blocked her.
“Get your hands off me!” Tessa demanded. The guy let her go.
Her rants didn’t faze Kelsy. He ignored her. “Olivia, I’m serious.”
“I am too, Kelsy. Leave.” I regarded him angrily. He knew Brax would react and possibly get into trouble. He was doing this on purpose, just to goad him. “I mean it.”
“Oh shit,” Tessa mumbled. “Liv, here he comes.”
I turned to find Brax pushing through his teammates, his face drawn in fury. He broke free and started running directly at us. I shot my gaze between Kelsy and Brax; Kelsy not budging, and Brax gaining ground. I started down the bleachers, hoping to divert Brax away. It didn’t work. When he reached me, he didn’t stop but his eyes, hooded by the bill of his Silverbacks hat, turned to me for a flash second.
“Wait here.”
My head turned to watch him take the bleacher steps two at a time. I could do nothing but stare helplessly as he never slowed down, Tessa backed out of the way, and Brax’s fist connected with Kelsy’s face. Kelsy kept backing away from Brax, with his hands held up in front of him. Brax charged him, chest to chest. I thought Brax was going to break Kelsy’s nose with his forehead.
“What part of ‘leave her the fuck alone’ don’t you get?” Brax growled. His eyes were dead-on fastened to Kelsy’s and only a few inches separated them. Kelsy’s nose had started to bleed from the first hit. One of his friends grabbed Brax’s shoulder. Big mistake. Brax elbowed him in the mouth so hard I heard the crack four bleacher seats down. A big blur flashed by me. Cory Maxwell reached both of Kelsy’s friends and shoved them back. The guy Brax just elbowed was bent over at the waist, holding his mouth.
“Jenks,” Cory said. He stood behind Brax but didn’t touch him. “He ain’t worth it, son. Let’s just get the girls and bust.”
Brax ignored him and shoved closer to Kelsy. He didn’t say anything, just … crowded him. Then, surprisingly, Kelsy spoke. To me.
“Why don’t you ask your boy here about his dare, huh, Livvy? I’d love to hear—”
Whack! Brax popped him right in the mouth.
Kelsy’s head snapped back with the force of Brax’s hit and his hands flew to his face. “Fuck!”
I hurried up the bleachers toward them. “Brax, stop it! Let’s go.”
Brax turned his head, ever so slightly, acknowledging my presence, my words. But he didn’t look at me. His eyes remained on Kelsy, staring him down until Kelsy moved past him and hurried off the bleachers. His buddies trotted behind him.
Brax’s harsh stare followed them down, and it wasn’t until Kelsy had disappeared around the concession stands that Brax looked at me. “Did he touch you?”
“No,” I answered. I knew Brax’s rage had tripled toward Kelsy after my half-confession and I knew Brax was just trying to protect me. What I wanted to do was shake it off and forget about it. “He only wanted to talk.” I slipped my fingers through his and lifted his hand. The middle knuckle was bleeding from where he’d hit Kelsy. “But he’s gone now, and like Cory said. He’s not worth it. You know he’s only trying to egg you on. So let’s go eat.” I pulled him close and pressed my lips to his, smiling against them. “You kicked ass on the mound, Boston.”
Like a sieve, I felt the tension slowly drain out of Brax. His hands found my hips and those ethereal eyes clashed with mine. “You noticed.”
“Wow. It’s like a freaking magic show or something, the way you tame the beast.” Tessa’s sunglasses hid her expressive eyes, but I knew they danced with mischief. “Can we go now or are you two going to make out right here? ’Cause I’m starved.”
Brax’s mouth lifted and a dangerous spark glinted in his eyes. His fingers dug into my waist. “Decisions, decisions.”
“If you’re riding with me then let’s skin outta here,” Cory said as he started down the bleachers.
“Not so fast, fellas.” A tall man in his early forties waited by the dug out. He looked directly at Cory, then Brax. “What’s with the fists, son?”
“It’s cool, Coach,” Brax answered. “Handled and done.”
The coach’s skeptical gaze swept over Brax. “I’ve heard that one before.” He gave a quick look at Cory. “Make sure it doesn’t happen again or you’re benched.”
“Yes, sir,” Brax answered. “No more fists.”
The coach trained his eye on Brax. “I mean it, son.”
Brax didn’t say anything as the coach walked away. I looked up, and Brax tapped me on the nose with his fingertip. “No worries, sweetheart. You hear me?”
I nodded, but the worry remained.
“Shit. That’s all you need, bro. That fuckin’ temper of yours is epic. Can we skin outta here now?” Cory said.
“Yeah,” Tessa chimed in. “Come on, you disgusting lovebirds. There’s a pizza and a pitcher of beer with our name on it.”
Brax’s stare held mine for a handful of seconds longer, ignoring the playful taunts of our friends. In his eyes I thought I saw hesitance; something a little darker, maybe. It was so fast, I couldn’t be sure. But before I could question it, he tilted his chin and tugged my hips. “Let’s get out of here.”
We rode in the back of Cory’s work-in-progress Camaro with the windows down, Metallica blasting through the stereo and Tessa singing at the top of her lungs. Brax held my hand, our fingers entwined and resting on his muscled thigh and it felt comfortable, secure. Yet I’d noticed a shift in him as we rode; a quieter, more withdrawn Brax, and I wasn’t exactly sure if Kelsy’s presence was the sole reason behind it. I wondered about what Kelsy had said. Something about a dare? I held my tongue, though. For some reason I wanted to ask him about it in private. Not in front of Tessa and Cory. Coming from Kelsy Evans, it had to be something ridiculous. He was purposely trying to make me mad.
After we’d settled into a booth at Milani’s Pizzeria, along with most of the other Silverbacks baseball team, Tessa, elated to be parked in a booth beside Cory, leaned forward and flicked her straw paper at me. “Liv, what was it that brainless jerkoff said to you earlier? Oh yeah. Something about a dare?” She looked at Brax. “I’d heard a rumor about Kappa Phi fraternity dares when I was a senior in high school.” Her gaze drifted to me. “I’m talking loco dares, chica. Like stuff you see on Jackass. My brother said it was just that. Bullshit rumors. Kinda disappointing, really.” She wiggled her perfectly arched brows. “Like finding out there’s no Santa Claus.”
Well, so much for me waiting to ask Brax about it in private. Cory’s gaze darted to Brax’s, and I felt his body stiffen beside me where our thighs brushed together. A hooded, smoky sheen glazed over Cory’s chocolate brown eyes, then his mouth tilted in a rare grin. “Sorry, Tessa. Just another famous Winston urban legend.” The muscle in his jaw flinched. “Dares are just as bad as hazing. Against school policy.”
“Bummer,” Tessa said. Our pizza came, and the topic was dropped. Brax returned to his usual obnoxious, arrogant, charming self, yet not completely; at least in my eyes. That subtle hesitancy remained, and I was pretty sure only I noticed it. Maybe Cory, too.
After Cory dropped us off at the dorm and Tessa waved goodbye, Brax, still in his clay-stained Silverbacks uniform, walked to his motorcycle and started the engine. I stood close by in silence, the old familiar taste of dread on my tongue like I knew something bad was about to happen. He wasn’t acting the same. Not the confident Brax I’d known since day one, not the
zealous Brax who could barely keep his hands off me. I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d done something wrong. Despite heavy make-out sessions, we’d not taken it to the next level. I knew Brax wanted to; felt the urgency in his touch, in his kiss. I knew he’d refrained because of my ring. Had that become too much of a burden on him? I mean, what hot-blooded twenty year old guy withheld from sex, no matter that a ring existed? Or … Jesus, maybe he hadn’t withheld at all. Thoughts of the girl from the seafood restaurant that first night out with Brax returned. Old fears. Self doubt.
But then he reached for me, tugged me by my hand as he sat against his bike with his legs spread wide, and nestled my hips between his muscled thighs. With hands splayed over my waist, his gaze drifted; over my shoulder, my chest, my mouth. Everywhere but my eyes. Fear stabbed me in the gut like a sliver of broken glass, jagged and sharp and lethal. Something felt so off. So, so off. Part of me wanted to turn tail and run as fast as I could, away, away. Away from any possible hurt. The urge to protect myself, to throw up steel armor around my heart to keep all pain from worming its way in, nearly choked me. My body quivered. I tensed. I wanted to hide my fear. I didn’t want Brax to see the weakness he’d created within me.
But then Brax pulled me to him with a frustrated exhale, wrapped those powerful tattooed arms around my whole body, and buried his face against my shoulder. His lips pressed to my throat, warm, firm, possessive and I felt the tension ease out of his body once again. Confusion webbed my brain, and at the same time my fear eased, too, as Brax’s mouth dragged slowly along the column of my throat, grazed my jaw, then his kiss consumed me, and I wanted it. I wanted this, wanted him, so badly that I felt pressure in my chest, heat where our bodies touched, an ache that I couldn’t describe. I couldn’t say it. God, I wanted to, but I just couldn’t. My fingers threaded through his hair, kneaded the muscles in his neck as I kissed him back, and I couldn’t help the groan that escaped me.
Out of breath, Brax broke the kiss, resting his forehead against mine. We breathed in silence, and then he kissed my nose. “’Night, Sunshine. See ya in the morning.”
I let my hands fall from his hair, and grazed the top of his thigh. “Good night,” I responded, still breathless, a little hurt, a lot confused by the sudden end to our kiss. I turned without another word and walked to the dorm’s entrance, slid my key card and didn’t look back as I crossed the common room. The rumble of Brax’s exhaust trailed after me as I hit the stairwell and climbed to my room.
Tessa’s steady stream of excited chatter about how hot Cory was and how sculpted his abs were and oh what an Adonis ass he had kept my mind occupied until she finally fell quiet, exhausted, in her bed. With a couple of astronomy chapters to read before class the next day, I sat against the wall with a pillow behind my back and my knees pulled up, book balancing on top like a mini-shelf. Concentration on my work proved challenging; all I could think about was Brax, us, and what seemed to be changing. Was it changing? Or had my self-confidence taken a nose dive again? Tessa’s tinny voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Hey,” she said while yawning. “What do you think dickface really meant about the dare, anyway?” She rolled onto her side, braced her head with her palm, and looked at me. “I mean, seriously. That was weird. To risk getting his face bashed in by Brax? Sadistic as all holy hell if you ask me.”
The words in my text book blurred as I stared, thinking again. What had Kelsy meant by the dare? He’d known Brax would see him, would charge him. That was an awfully risky chance to take on a Winston urban legend. Was there a deeper meaning to it? God forbid, some truth? The last thing I wanted was to sound like a consumed-with-worry girl. Especially to Tessa. So, I hid that worry. “I guess I don’t know,” I finally answered. “Maybe he was hoping to get Brax into trouble with the coach? That sounds something like he’d do.” And, that was true. And something completely like Kelsy Evans.
“Douchebag,” Tessa muttered. “’Night, Liv.”
I heartily agreed as I returned to my studying. “’Night.” But I fell asleep wondering about the possibility of a dare. Dare for what?
Surprisingly, Kelsy left me alone after that. Every once in a while I’d catch him tearing a glance away from me in humanities, but there were no further shocker visits, no sudden need to have a word with me, and I was glad. Thoughts of Brax’s violent past plagued me at times, though, but not in a fearful way; at least, not fearful toward me. More for what he might do to Kelsy if my secret was fully exposed; if he knew what Kelsy had really done to me that night. The one thing I’d decided to do was make sure that didn’t happen. As long as Kelsy just … got on with his life and stopped hounding me, it’d be okay. We could both just … get on with our lives. I mean, if I could get past it, certainly Kelsy should be able to. And just when I thought Kelsy was our only obstacle, I discovered another one.
Our astronomy lab class had just concluded the first of two night observations, of which we’d gathered with our lab partners and logged our findings on the platform of the observatory. Eight of us had signed up, and Noah had led the observation. We had to complete two for the semester, and combined, along with our log, was worth twenty-five percent of our final grade. Steven and I had both brought our telescopes and were just packing them up. I heard a giggle and noticed Noah speaking to a pair of girls who’d remained behind the other lab partners.
Steven cleared his throat. “During my observation of the human female I’ve noticed Noah Hicks brings that insanely obnoxious and primitive behavior out in most cases,” he said, then quirked his head and looked up at me with a grin. “I’ve concluded that the female species is simply beastly and unpredictable. I’m surprised you’re not on the Noah Hicks bandwagon.”
I gave Steven a disapproving fake frown. “Who are you now, Dr. Sheldon Cooper?” I continued loading up. “Steven, if I did have primitive beastly behavior I sure wouldn’t just let it out for everyone to see.”
“Let what out for whom to see?” Noah said behind me. “Exactly?”
My gaze flipped around to Noah, who watched as I packed up my gear. His lip twitched.
Good Lord, busted. I gave a nervous laugh. “My primitive beastly obnoxious side.” I flashed a glare toward Steven.
“That’s something I’d have to see for myself.” Noah knelt beside me and began breaking down the tripod. “How’s the log coming along?”
My braid slipped over my shoulder as I leaned across and tucked the body of my scope into the bag. “We picked up cloudy nebulus tonight. Saturn.”
“Yeah, and a few cool shots of the Milky Way with Olivia’s camera.” Steven shouldered his scope bag and pulled his car keys from his pocket. “I’ve got an online Stargazer’s meeting to attend in twenty minutes, plus about a pound of chemistry homework. So I’m gonna head out.” He flipped me a thumbs up. “Nice job, lab partner of mine. See ya in class.”
“Bye.” I gave a short laugh. I really liked Steven a lot. Like me, he was a geek to the nth degree.
Noah leaned close, and a slip of a breeze picked up his cologne and it wafted toward me. He smelled good; polished, crisp, well groomed. After tucking my tripod away he turned and sat on the ground, his forearm resting on his knee, his head turned toward the sky. I noticed how sharp and square his profile was; like a statue chiseled from stone. Not in a bulky, muscular way, but in a David sort of way. No wonder all the girls lost balance whenever he passed by. “Did you ever find out who damaged your truck?” he asked without looking at me.
“No.” I zipped my bag and sat down beside it, turning my stare toward the heavens. “It could’ve been any number of random people, I suppose.”
He let out a quick laugh. “I’d be willing to bet another girl did it,” he looked at me. “Just because of the guy you’re dating.” He shrugged. “Girls can be pretty vindictive.”
I knew that better than Noah thought. “Luckily they used shoe polish.” I searched the vast blanket above me, kept my eyes trained there. “It came right off.”
&
nbsp; “Yeah,” he continued. “But those words were pretty harsh, Olivia.” I felt his eyes on me, and embarrassment heated my face. I looked at him, and his eyes appeared completely black. “Listen, I know it’s none of my business, but,” he searched for words. “I guess I hate to see people,”—he shrugged—“nice girls, I mean, get in over their head.”
“In over my head?” I didn’t know where he was going with this, but an uncomfortable feeling nicked me; something that usually didn’t accompany Noah.
He exhaled, looked down at the platform, then lifted his gaze. “Brax Jenkins. You two seem …” He laughed again. “Well, you know.” He rubbed his hand over his jaw, then his close-clipped hair. “Dammit. I’m over-stepping my boundaries here. Just be careful, Olivia. If you ever need anything, you have my number.” He flashed an embarrassed kind of smile. “Us nerds have to watch each other’s back, you know.”
“Gracie, you ready?”
I jumped at Brax’s unexpected presence on the platform. I leapt to my feet, grabbing my bag. Guilt washed over me as my eyes met his; anger and pain flashed over his features. The words weren’t mine, but I felt responsible for them just the same. Brax walked over and shouldered my scope bag, and I nervously searched for something to say. “Uh, yes. Actually. Just finished up here.”
While his hand found its way to my lower back, his gaze shifted to Noah’s. A hostile flare shone there, and although his words were for me, he threw that hostility at Noah. “Let’s get out of here.”
Noah rose, cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets. “See you in class, Olivia.”
“See ya,” I answered. Brax guided me to the stairwell, tension radiating off of him.
“And hey,” Noah added. We stopped, but Brax’s gaze remained forward. I looked over my shoulder. “We’re expecting the Draconids to be spectacular, with very little moonshine to block the view.” He grinned. “It’ll be … great for your log.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
Silently, Brax led me down the stairs, out the main lobby and, by the time we hit the exit door, I thought he would self-combust. We made it to the parking lot before I couldn’t take it anymore. I knew he’d heard what Noah had said.
