by Yessi Smith
I gasp.
“You told them?!”
She jerks her chin out of my grasp to avoid my eyes. Then rolls her own.
Mom interrupts our twin moment. “Oh please. You don’t think we’ve known the whole time?”
I shift my gaze to my parents who have their arms crossed over their chests then back to my sister who’s going between inspecting her nails and looking at her phone.
“Who were you texting?”
“What?”
I point to her phone. “Just now.”
“No one.”
I reach for her phone but she shoves it down her bra. Clearly she’s a practiced hand at hiding things from me. “What did no one have to say?”
She looks up at me and smiles. “That they’re almost here.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, completely over this entire conversation. “Who?”
“Your other parents who you’ve been lying to.”
I close my eyes at the sound of Tess’s voice. I’ve known Tess and Barrett since I was a baby considering they’ve been best friends with my parents since they were kids. And now my dad and Barrett run a general contractor business together. A business that I work for. Am being groomed to one day take over.
Not complicated at all.
They had to be waiting in the car in my driveway because they got here in seconds.
I drop my face into my hands and groan. When I lift my head, Tess, Barrett, Mia, Cole and my parents, Lauren and Josh, are all looking at me. Cole with a smirk that says “hey, I tried,” the moms with a “mom look,” the dads with a “well, we’re waiting look” and Mia trying, but failing miserably, to look apologetic.
I sigh and cross my arms, my legs in a wide stance. “Okay. Tell me what you know.”
My mom lifts her hands and starts ticking off everything one by one. “We know that you’ve been writing music since you were ten years old. When you were fifteen and Cole and you met Walker, it was an instant friendship because finally someone understood that side of your life. Walker introduced you to Azner and Jude and soon you started playing in Azner’s garage and basement after school and on weekends, whenever you had time. We know that the night Grady got in trouble for beating the crap out of Dawson, you guys were going to play at the party, and it would have been your first show. We know that you guys have an increasingly large following on YouTube, and we’re only a few of them,” she points to my dad and Barrett and Tess. “And finally, we know that Mia introduced you to her friend Savannah and you’ve been trying to reach out to her ever since because you fell hard and fast. And guess what? Her big sister is a friend of Lily’s so it seems I know something you didn’t. But, did I miss anything?”
With every tick of her fingers I get angrier and angrier. The level of betrayal I feel from my sister and best friend is deep. “Nope. Seems like you’ve got it all figured out. So since you’re all caught up, if you’ll just excuse me…” I walk over to the door and open it, inviting them all to walk their asses straight on through it.
“Right. Like you’re going to get rid of us. We’re not in the wrong here. You are.” My dad’s voice booms, full of authority.
“How am I in the wrong here? I wanted something to keep to myself! How is that not allowed?”
“Oh it’s allowed. But why wouldn’t you want us to know? Are we really that awful?” my mom says, her voice full of guilt. Guilt that’s directed right at me.
“Don’t. Do not try to turn this around on me, Mom. First of all, Mia. How could you? And Cole? You’re my best friend, man,” I scoff and shake my head. “My entire life I’ve been labeled something. There’s always been a plan. I’ve been the one who would take over the business one day. I’ve been Mia’s twin brother. Cole’s best friend. The oldest boy of our weird mixed family, molded to protect everyone younger. And you know, none of that bothers me. I love it but… finally, I had something just for me. This is important to me. My music? The band? They’re like family.”
“And what does that make us?” My mom asks, hurt laced in her voice.
“You’re not listening. This,” I gesture between us, “is what I was trying to avoid. You’re making it about you! Just like I knew you would! You guys would be telling everyone you know that your son is a rock star or some bull shit like that.” I point to every one of them standing before me with a look on their faces like I just kicked their puppy. “It’s not about you! This is my thing. It’s not about notoriety or becoming some big name. It’s sharing music and that’s it! You can’t change the music I create. You can’t decide to change the name of the band. Or plan a venue where I need to be playing. This is all me. Did I plan to tell you eventually? Honestly? I don’t know. Yeah. Probably. But that, too, was taken away from me.” Out of the corner of my eye I see my sister flinches beside me and Cole wraps an arm around her. “Was it really so hard to let me have one thing just for me? Leave one little tiny corner of my life be? I expect this from you,” I point to Barrett and my dad who are known for blabbing secrets to everyone. They both look around the room and Barrett shrugs his shoulders before sliding his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “And especially you two,” I gesture to the moms who both harrumph. “But Mia and Cole? I expected more from you guys. How long did I know you were together before you told our parents? Did I whisper a word?”
“You knew!?” my mom shouts then covers her mouth when Tess nudges her.
I look around the room at the people who have been there for every other thing in my life every step of the way and finally land on Mia. She has tears streaking down her face and she’s biting her bottom lip.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers as Cole pulls her in tighter, leans down and kisses the top of her head.
I scoff. “That’s the bitch of it all. I know you are. And I get it, I know you want to be excited with me or whatever but this wasn’t for you. Mia, we’ve never lied to each other so to know that you betrayed me over this? I just can’t right now. I’m out. Don’t follow me.”
With that, I turn on my heel and push through the door, the screen door slamming against the side of the house when I push through it. The sound of my family’s shouts behind me. Anger and irritation course through my veins as I get in my pickup and peel out of the driveway.
I have one destination in mind. A place that I haven’t been able to get out of my thoughts for five long nights.
A place my imagination conjures up when I’m lying in bed at night, recounting the night I met Savannah, my hand dipping under the waistband of my boxer briefs every one of those nights, with a vision of dark hair and haunted hazel eyes under my eyelids.
Chapter Six
Savannah
I’m sitting on the edge of the dock, my feet dangling just a few inches above the water, my hands resting on either side of my legs. The seventy-degree sunny day doesn’t match my mood. For five days, I’ve watched my phone blow up with phone calls and text messages from the one person I can’t get out of my mind.
And every single time it lit up with Brandon’s name, I had to fight against myself to not pick it up.
He deserves more than someone like me.
Someone who is so unlovable, her parents didn’t even want to stay around.
The water sloshes against the dock below me, splashing up against the aged wood. A cool breeze rustles through the trees, causing ripples to roll across the lake and I can hear birds chirping. The atmosphere around me alone should put me in a good mood but instead I’m sulking.
I thought being in this spot would help.
The spot I now consider ours.
But it just made me grumpier.
I hear a car door slam and, not wanting to be around anyone, I stand, brushing off the dust from my cut off jean shorts. I slide my feet back into my flip flops and turn, the image before me causing my breath to catch.
There stands Brandon, wearing nothing but a pair of black gym shorts and Nikes, his bare chest on full display causing my mouth to dry immediatel
y. The smattering of dark hair makes my fingers itch to run through it, right along with the stubble on his face. From where I stand I can see the definition of his abs, all six of them, right along with the tattoo that stretches around his left bicep all the way up to wind around his shoulder. On his right arm, there’s a tattoo that wraps around his thick muscular forearm. His dark eyes assess me as I take my fill. He takes a few tentative steps closer.
I hear his phone chime an alert of some sort and he reaches into the pocket of his shorts, pulls it out, reads whatever is on display and slides it back into the pocket without responding.
“You’re alive,” he nods to me, crossing his arms across his chest. The biceps in his arms bulging and contracting with every movement.
I gulp, knowing that in this scene before me, I’m a shitty person.
I nod, not trusting my voice.
“You never answered so I wasn’t sure.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Everyone’s sorry today.”
I turn my head, curious what that statement means but keep quiet when I notice the murderous look on his face.
He shifts his attention to the lake, speaking without looking at me. “So, you’re okay?”
I nod, even though he can’t see me. “I’m okay.”
“Good.”
“Look…”
“No, Savannah. If you’re going to make up excuses, I don’t want to hear it. I just lost the ability to trust the one person who I never expected to have to question. I’ve had a shitty day so unless you’re going to tell me that you lost your phone… just, don’t.”
“Okay.”
He guffaws. “That’s it?”
“You don’t want excuses, right?”
He shakes his head.
“Then I won’t give you excuses.”
He takes another step toward me, this time his eyes tracking me from head to toe. He breathes out a breath of disbelief. “Why are you here?”
I shrug, my white slub knit tee shirt that says “Just a Small Town Girl” on the front in black letters slipping off my shoulder.
“I’m not a city boy and wasn’t raised in South Detroit,” he smirks, taking one step closer.
“But you were singin’,” I smile, feeling like my heart could beat straight out of my chest from the nearness to him alone.
“I was. Though it wasn’t smoky and you definitely weren’t wearing cheap perfume. And I never stopped believin’, either.”
I take a step closer.
“You didn’t?” I ask, my voice quiet.
He shakes his head. “How could I? My heart wouldn’t let me.”
I swiftly close the distance between us, throwing myself at him, wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders.
“I should have answered,” I whisper into his chest.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” he whispers back.
He pushes me back slightly and slides his hands up to cup my face.
“I don’t even care about the last five days. I just… you’re here.”
“I’m so sorry I was ignoring you.”
“So you admit you were ignoring me?” He has a teasing lilt to his voice but he can’t hide the hurt displayed in his eyes.
I gulp and glance out at the water before looking back to Brandon.
I nod and blow out a breath. “There are things… that you just don’t know about me.”
“Yet.”
“Yet?”
His eyes bounce back and forth between mine, holding my stare. “That’s right. Anything worth more than one night takes time.”
I nod my head, finally understanding that maybe, possibly, I could have this. Him.
I lick my lips, his eyes following the movement. “I think you need to kiss me now.”
His smile his blinding. “Yes ma’am.”
Our mouths crash together in a frenzied kiss. It’s not soft or smooth. It’s crazy and wild and bruising. A kiss that says how much we missed each other, not even knowing what we were missing. A kiss that says I’m not going to be stupid again and not answer his calls.
A kiss that reminds us it’s bigger than we are. Whatever this is between us? Fate has decided to step in, bring us back together.
He tilts his head to the side, his tongue invading my mouth unapologetically.
Mine matches his swipe for swipe.
Taste for taste.
His hands move down, down, down until they’re cupping my butt, squeezing and pulling me closer to him.
His hardness presses between us when I lift on my tiptoes, wanting the friction to be at my center, where I want it most.
I groan when his hips shamelessly roll, just like I watched him do on stage the first time our eyes connected. The first time my heart felt like it was beating for someone else.
In a flash, I’m lifted up, my legs winding around his slim waist.
The pressure of his body against mine smashes my breasts against his bare chest, causing them to push up so I can feel them peeking out from my shirt. He leans back slightly, just enough to bury his face between my breasts, sucking on the soft flesh before trailing his nose up to my neck. He inhales deeply. “God your smell. I’ll never get enough. It’s kept my hand in my boxers the last five days, thinking of you.”
“Holy hell,” I breathe out, my body on fire from his words.
“How did I miss your taste already?” he groans into my neck as he bites then licks the spot his teeth just nipped.
My head falls back, giving him more access to my body.
Any part of my body he wants.
It’s his.
I don’t know why I thought I could ignore it.
He says he couldn’t stop thinking about me over the past five days?
Same.
One hundred percent same.
“You need to move us. Now.”
“On it,” he says as I attack his neck after he twists us around, walking down the dock but not letting me go. With a speed I wasn’t expecting, he has us in the parking lot, striding toward what I remember as his big black pickup, pushing me up against the passenger door.
“Where are we going?” he asks me, his lips barely leaving my lips while we breathe each other in.
“Anywhere private. Anywhere. Just get us the hell out of here.”
Chapter Seven
Brandon
I pick up my phone and find who I’m looking for and hit Go. I reach across the console, my hand wrapping around Savannah’s thigh, not being able to not touch her.
I still can’t believe she’s here with me.
Everything that happened earlier with my family means nothing now.
Pissed off mood?
Gone.
Hard on?
Probably here to stay.
For a long damn time.
“Hey, where’d you go?” I hear the voice of my best friend come through the line.
“Doesn’t matter but if you’re still at my place, everyone needs to be gone. Now.”
“You found her?”
How he knows me so well is still a mystery. I’m sure him dating my twin sister has something to do with it. And the fact that we’ve been best friends since before we could even sit up without support.
I sigh. “Just… make sure my house isn’t full of all you nosy shits. Got me?”
“I got you. And for the record…”
“I know. We’ll talk later.”
“Got it. Enjoy. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Dude.”
“Right. Sorry. Sister and all that.”
“Later.”
“Have fun!”
I hang up to hearing him chuckle and then immediately starts shouting something. Hopefully making sure that our parents and my sister are gone.
Though I wouldn’t put it past any of our parents to leave, only to hide their vehicles and army crawl through the yard to get a look at Savannah.
I briefly wonder if I need to call Cole back to make sure that he ta
kes care of that.
“Your place?” Savannah’s sweet voice pulls me out of my thoughts. I glance over, her dark hair pulled into a low messy bun, her light blue painted fingertips making a trail over the tattoo in my forearm.
I push down a little harder on the gas and move around in my seat, trying to adjust my hard on that won’t go away. She giggles, the wind coming in from the open sunroof and windows blowing a few stray hairs around her face. We come to a stop sign and unable to help myself, I lean over the console, kissing her soft lips.
“Yeah. My place. I hope you don’t have plans for the next few days because you’re not going to make it to them.”
Her eyes widen as she presses her lips together tightly, rolling them back and forth before biting her bottom lip.
I pull down the street to my house, grateful that no extra cars are parked on the street or in my driveway, hit the button to the garage door and park my pickup in the center of the garage, just one of the benefits of living alone.
Savannah doesn’t wait for me to come around to open her door. The second I’m opening mine, hers is open and she’s sliding out, her flip flops slapping against the garage door as she walks around to meet me.
I take her in another soul-crushing kiss the second she’s within arm’s reach.
I meant what I said when I told her she better not have plans for the next few days.
If she did.
I just changed them.
Once we’re inside, I only hesitate long enough to grab a couple bottles of water and two Cokes from the fridge before dragging her down the hallway to my bedroom.
I place the drinks on the dresser, turn her around in my arms then walk her backward to my bed.
I twist, falling backwards, letting her land on top of me.
Our lips fuse together, heating up every cell in my body. while I whip the shirt off her head, the tie holding her hair in a bun falling out from the force causing her long, silky dark hair to rain down on me.
I grasp a couple of strands, rubbing it between my fingers and bring it to my nose, inhaling the sweet beachy scent.
“Everything about you smells so damn good. You’re like a drug. Can’t stop thinking of you. You’re bringing me to my knees, Savannah.”
