Being preoccupied with how stunning he looks, I didn’t notice Kara standing in front of him. She touches his forearm while he smiles down to her. I automatically see red. Friend, my ass. I knew he was lying that night at Aces, but after last night, I wouldn’t have thought he was playing me. I guess I was wrong.
I turn the opposite way. I need to work off some of this anger by running on the treadmill, but it’s completely packed by the time I get to the room. Every treadmill and elliptical is taken. Change of plans. I’ll do some weights but that room is full of guys that could bench press me and Jessa together. So I make my way down the hall, hoping to sneak into the girl’s locker room without notice from Brady and Kara.
Thankfully, when I walk by the same spot, they are gone. I get my bag and switch my shoes out, rushing to get out and back to the dorm.
“I thought I saw you.” Kara comes around the corner.
“Oh, hey,” I say and give her a small wave of my hand.
“You were at Aces the other night, right?” she asks.
“Yes, I was. Sadie Miller,” I introduce myself.
“Kara Billings,” she shares and limply shakes my hand.
“It’s nice to meet you.” I smile.
“Just so you know, he’s mine.” Her lips go straight and her eyes bore into me.
“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, dumbfounded.
“You heard me. Stay away from Brady Carsen. He’s mine,” she repeats herself.
“Are you two dating? Are you in some sort of relationship?” I question her, praying she says no.
“No, but we will be. We would have already if it wasn’t for you,” she admits, her eyes narrowing, and she places her hands on her hips.
“I’m sorry, Kara, but Brady is a grown man and he will make the decision as to whom he dates.” I walk by her.
She grabs my wrist and holds it tight. “Listen. Don’t think you can come here and take something I have been working on for two years. He was ready to be mine this summer, but then you prance into town and he pushes me aside,” she spews, her grip getting tighter with every word.
I yank my wrist free, holding it with my other hand. “Obviously, if it has taken two years, Brady isn’t interested,” I curtly respond and try to get out the door. She rushes by me and I can finally see that tattoo. On her left shoulder blade it reads The Invisibles in a calligraphy script with black hearts for dots on top of the I’s. Oh, this girl has it bad, which makes me want to know exactly what her and Brady’s relationship is.
I shake my head and walk out of the rec center, thankful I don’t run into Kara a second time. Walking up the hill to my dorm, I notice the same homeless man asleep on the bench, wearing the same brown corduroys and plaid shirt. Someone has already left a bag of food next to him, so I reach into my wallet and tuck twenty dollars in his front shirt pocket. I wonder what he will do when winter comes. His clothes are not nearly warm enough to last through the cold and snow.
Continuing down my path, I pray that Rob has left my dorm room. I don’t need or want his snide comments. Suddenly, goose bumps cover my body when I see Brady standing on the sidewalk directly in my path to the dorm. He looks inquiringly at me, but smiles when I get closer.
“Fancy meeting you here,” I grin. I notice he still has those athletic shorts on, but sadly a sweatshirt covers up his chiseled chest.
“Don’t do that, Sadie,” he demands with a firm tone I have never heard from him before.
“Do what?” I tilt my head, confused.
“You shouldn’t be leaving money for the bums. You shouldn’t go up to them like that.” He motions with his head to the homeless man on the bench.
“Oh Brady, he’s harmless. I’m thinking about getting him a jacket for the winter.” I start walking past him, ignoring his comments.
“Sadie, listen to me. They call that one Vodka Vince because he usually has a bottle of Vodka with him.”
“Why do you think he would harm me, or anyone else for that matter? Just because they don’t have a home and might have a drinking problem doesn’t mean they are violent,” I spit out. I turn around to him, surprised he can be so judgmental toward people less fortunate than himself.
“Please, just keep your distance. Alcohol can make people do things out of character.” He gently touches my arm and heat rises through my veins.
“Alright,” I shrug. I wonder if he is talking about himself.
“Thank you. It’s nice of you to leave money, though.” He smiles and I question his numerous mood swings.
“What are you doing out my way, anyway?” I try to change the subject.
“Well, I was on my way back from your dorm. Jessa told me you were working out. Sorry I missed that sight,” he says, his eyes roaming over my legs and shorts, finally landing back on my face.
“Yeah, I finished my class about a half hour ago. I was going to do more but the place is packed.” I decide not to inform him I saw him there as well.
“I was lucky, I got there just in time before class change. You should tell me next time you go.” He starts to follow me back to the dorm.
“Do you want to come to my kickboxing class with me?” I laugh.
“I might surprise you some day, but I’m actually more of a runner.” He puts his arm around me and I’m amazed at how comfortable it feels.
“Oh,” I say and inch a little closer to him.
“So, when are you going to mention that you saw me there?” He grins down at me.
My face must be red from the flush that flowed through my body. “Um…you seemed preoccupied,” I admit, biting my lower lip.
“Sadie, I’m never preoccupied when it comes to you.” He squeezes my shoulder tighter, drawing me closer.
“What exactly is your relationship with her?” It’s none of my business, but it’s driving me crazy.
“Our parents worked together.” He stops walking and looks down at me. “Sadie, I have no interest in her.”
“Are you sure? She’s cute,” I reveal and meet his eyes.
“Cute is for puppies and kittens, Sadie. I prefer this stunningly sexy woman I have been seeing recently.” He winks down to me and butterflies flutter in my stomach.
“Really?” I ask in disbelief.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” He holds my arms with his hands. “I’m a one-woman man, Sadie, and you are her.” He bends down, letting his lips graze across mine while he moves his arms down to my waist, pulling me closer. Our chests rise and fall against one another and he sucks my bottom lip into his mouth before his tongue enters with purpose. His tongue finds mine and they engage one another while my hands move to his head. I twirl his hair with my fingers. Like every other time I’m with Brady, everything fades away and it’s only us standing on the sidewalk in the middle of campus.
Chapter 9
Friday comes in the blink of an eye. The Invisibles have a show tonight, but I told Brady I’m not feeling well. I know I won’t be much company tonight and I would never want to bring him down with me, especially on a night when he is performing.
I pull on my pajama pants and a t-shirt, curling up in my chair after I pop in a movie. Jessa is applying another coat of mascara when there is a knock at the door. I sigh heavily. I wish Rob would have just waited for her outside. Jessa opens the door and kisses him in greeting. He grabs her ass then gives it a little tap before he walks into our room. You could cut the tension with a knife. I decide to ignore him. If he wishes to address me he can, but I’m through with being polite.
“Hey, Gucci. You look like shit. What? Daddy didn’t pay someone to develop a cure for the flu yet? I’m sure he doesn’t want his little girl to suffer,” Rob remarks snidely.
“No, Rob. I guess I’m not important enough to him,” I sneer back.
“Surprise. Gucci has Daddy issues.” He puts his hands up in the air.
“Go to hell.” I turn back to my movie. I wish I could come back with some sort of smart-ass comment but Theo was always bett
er at that than me. He would have known what to say to Rob to make him shut his mouth.
“Alright you two, stop it.” Jessa playfully hits Rob in the chest and pushes him toward the door. “Call me if you need me, okay?” She glances back at me.
“Feel better, Gucci.” Rob’s voice travels in the room from the hallway.
I flip him off once the door shuts. I don’t think I have loathed anyone as much as Rob in my entire life. Well…except for one.
I’m a half hour into the movie and my phone starts ringing. I pick it up without looking at the caller ID, assuming it’s Brady.
“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be on stage right about now,” I answer.
“Excuse me. I’m looking for Sadie Miller, my daughter,” my mom’s soft voice comes across the line.
“It’s me, Mom.” I roll my eyes. How does she not recognize my voice after twenty-two years?
“Oh, Sadie. Your dad and I were just calling to wish you a happy birthday.” She sounds like she is in a tunnel.
“Happy birthday, Sadie,” my Dad’s deep voice shouts in the background.
“Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad.” I hate talking to one of them, let alone both at the same time.
“Are you doing anything special?” my mom asks.
“No, just staying in,” I admit.
“You should go out and celebrate,” she insists.
“Don’t push her, Mags,” my Dad chimes in.
“She can’t hide out forever, Junior.” My parents start having a conversation without me, another reason I hate speaker phone.
“Well…thanks for calling Mom and Dad. Have a good night,” I say, attempting to end this conversation.
“Hey Sadie, your father and I are coming out at the end of the month for Parent’s Weekend,” she adds in at the last minute.
“Mom, Parent’s Weekend is more for freshman. I’m a senior. I appreciate it, but there isn’t really a reason.”
“We are coming. You don’t have to take us to a football game or anything. We want to come and make sure you are doing alright,” my mom assures me. I don’t know why they want to come; they didn’t even come my freshman year at Drayton.
“I’m fine. You don’t have to make that trip. I will be home at Thanksgiving.” I try to change her mind, which is usually an easy task when it comes to me. Lately, she has done everything to ignore my existence.
“I told you, Mags. She’s a tough cookie,” my Dad gives me a back-handed compliment. He hates women with an opinion or any strength of character.
“Don’t come, Mom. Really, I’ll be home just a few weeks after that. You would be so bored. There is no shopping or nice restaurants around here.” I pull out all the stops.
“Are you sure, Sadie? We will come.” Either she has gotten better at faking her concern or she is actually worried about me.
“Yeah, Mom. Just wait until Thanksgiving.”
“See. I told you she doesn’t need us. She never has, right Sadie? You were born independent,” my Dad shouts loudly in the background.
“Yeah, Dad,” I agree, not mentioning they made me become independent. They made me not rely on others, except for Theo. I could always depend on Theo.
“Okay then. Well…happy birthday.” She seems reluctant to hang up. “Bye, Sadie.”
“Bye, Mom and Dad.” I click the phone off.
Our relationship was never stellar, but the last couple years it had gone dramatically downhill. I think that conversation was more than I have said to my parents since I told them I was transferring out of Drayton last summer. It baffles me that my mom feels some motherly instinct to come and check up on me here.
I press play on the remote, starting the movie back up. Right as the girl is about to get the guy, two short knocks hit my door. I glance at the clock and see it’s only eleven and since I’m not expecting anyone, I ignore it. The knocks get louder and more persistent. I shrug off my blanket and stomp over to the door, assuming it’s some drunk ass that has the wrong room. But when I fling the door open, Brady stands there with a smile on his face.
“I thought maybe you were sleeping when you didn’t answer at first.” He walks right in without an invitation.
“Why aren’t you at Aces?” My voice is harsher than I intended.
“Oh Sadie. I’m thrilled to see you, too,” he sarcastically replies.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just…you didn’t leave on account of me, did you?” I shuffle my feet back and forth, trying to cover my chest since I’m not wearing a bra.
“Would it bother you if I did?” He raises his eyebrows at me.
“Of course not. I just would hate the rest of the band to be upset,” I admit.
“Oh forget them.” He throws his hand out toward me. “Let’s go.” He starts to walk to the door.
“I can’t go anywhere. Not to mention, you don’t want to get sick,” I lie.
“Sadie, look at me.” He places his finger under my chin, raising it so my eyes meet his caramel ones. “Are you really sick? And don’t lie.” His one eye brow raises in question.
“No,” I confess.
“That’s what I thought.” He pulls me to the door again.
“Brady, I’m not even dressed.” I pull back.
“It doesn’t matter. We aren’t going anywhere public.”
“Where are we going?” I question.
“It’s a surprise. Come on.” His smile is so wide I wonder what he is up to. He couldn’t have found out it was my birthday; I didn’t even tell Jessa.
“What about your show?” I persistently ask.
“Did I sign up for twenty questions? What’s my prize if I win?” His eyes move slowly up and down my body. “If you’re the grand prize, I’ll answer as many questions as you want.”
“Brady,” I sigh, struggling to hide my smile. “Why aren’t you playing?” I ask him again.
“I cancelled the show. Well, not exactly. I played a couple songs and then told the guys I had to go. Rob sings, he took my spot.” He shrugs.
“Why did you do that? I’m fine,” I insist, upset with myself. People showed up to see him sing and he left because I’m feeling sorry for myself and didn’t go.
“Let me get dressed. We will head up there now. You can finish the set.” I walk over to my closet and sift through my clothes.
“Sadie,” he calls over but I don’t turn around. “It’s over. Rob is finishing the set. Now get your little ass over here so I can take you somewhere.” He stays where he is and waits for me to walk to him.
“Alright.” I surprise myself by following his directions. Usually I’m not so submissive, but Brady has a way with me that no other male has had before.
“Finally.” He wraps his arms around me and presses my face to his shoulder. “I swear girl, sometimes you make things more difficult.”
Brady intertwines our fingers and leads me out to his car. I know autumn has officially hit when I feel the cool night breeze rising up under my shirt.
“As much as I don’t want you to cover up, it’s getting cold outside.” He reaches behind me and pulls a sweatshirt from the backseat, tossing it over to me. I notice it’s the one from earlier in the week. The smell of Brady fills my nostrils when I tug it over my head. I smile, knowing he won’t be getting it back.
“Thank you,” I say. I wait outside the car door for him to motion me in, but he shuts the door after grabbing another bag. He swings his guitar over his shoulder and takes my hand again, walking us away from the car. “Um…” I tilt my head, confused.
“We don’t need the car.” He looks back to his Camaro and then to me.
I already know where we are going by the time we are halfway there. This is his place, the spot he first saw me and his hide-out from the world. I remember now that there is so much I don’t know about Brady. Why does he favor a spot where no one can see him? I have to find out soon because that spot in my heart for him grows bigger every day and I can’t afford to get hurt again.
<
br /> By the time we get there, I’m freezing. Brady grabs a blanket from his bag and spreads it across the lawn.
“Take a seat, Sadie.” He points to the blanket and I sit down, wrapping my arms around my legs in an effort to keep me warm.
“So, what are we doing up here?” I ask.
“Alright, Sadie. We need to make a deal.” He takes a seat across from me on the blanket.
“What kind of deal?” I hesitantly ask.
“If you stop asking me questions and answer one of mine, I will play you a song.” He brings his guitar closer to him.
“How do you know I want you to play a song?” I hope my voice sounds casual, even though I would do anything for him to sing.
“Ugh…another question. Do you ever stop? Because you love my voice. Not to mention, you really need to hear this song.” He leans in closer to me and my heart beats faster.
“Alright, shoot Carsen.” I release my legs and cross them over each other.
He brings the guitar to his lap and starts to strum the strings a few times while he tunes the knobby things.
“Wait, I thought you had a question.”
“I think I want to play the song for you first.” He grins and starts to play. I recognize it from the first strum on the guitar but when Brady’s voice tenderly begins to sing Happy Birthday, I know he just took a little more of my heart.
It is the most romantic act anyone has done for me. I don’t know how he knew it was my birthday or when he found out, but I couldn’t have asked for a better gift than him. After he finishes with the song, he places his guitar back in the case and instructs me to close my eyes, which is an easy task since I need to compose myself. I hear a flick of a lighter and know now he must have a candle.
“Open up your eyes,” he whispers. I feel him closer to me than before. “Happy birthday, Sadie. Make a wish.” When I open my eyes, there is a chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting topped with a mound of toasted coconut shavings and one lit candle.
“Brady…” I take a deep breath in. “You shouldn’t have.” Our eyes meet again and I hope he can see how grateful I am despite my words.
Don't Let Go Page 7
