“Like?”
“Her.”
“You want her but you don’t want her?”
“Yeah. Somethin’ like that.”
It was Braydon’s turn to laugh. Brendon was making absolutely no sense.
“Did you get a chance to talk to Jessie last night?” Brendon asked, flipping the topic, of course.
“A little.”
“Y’all gonna work things out?”
Braydon didn’t know how to answer that. He didn’t know what Brendon expected to hear, and the last thing he wanted was to add to his stress.
“It’s okay, man. I’m not gonna lose my shit. At least not again.”
“I’m taking her out today.”
“Out? Like a real date?”
“Yeah,” Braydon answered tentatively.
“Where?”
“Hell if I know.” Braydon had given it considerable thought, but he hadn’t come up with a plan yet. He wanted to abide by Jessie’s request to take things slow, but he also fully intended to show her just how much he had been holding back.
“Does she know?” Brendon asked.
Braydon stared at his twin, the confusion contorting his face. “Know what?”
“That you want to fuck her blind?”
Braydon chuckled. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure she knows.”
“She’s messed up, man,” Brendon finally said as they stared at each other.
Braydon’s back went ramrod straight.
“Not like that,” Brendon clarified. “She’s had it rough. I don’t pretend to know everything there is about her, but we’ve talked. Some. She’ll be the first to tell you that she’s got a shitty track record with men.”
Braydon’s eyebrow cocked as he waited for more details.
Brendon sighed. “I didn’t actually hear this from her. Kylie told me that she’s been in an abusive relationship in the past. When I tried to find out more, her sister didn’t elaborate. I never had the guts to ask Jessie.”
Braydon knew that the two of them had been friends. He also knew that Brendon wasn’t the type of guy to try to get to know a woman, friend or not. But the fact that he knew more about Jessie’s past surprised him. It made him want to talk to her, to find out everything there was to know about her.
“Look. I know I fucked things up. With you and with her. But I don’t want things to be awkward between us. I know how you feel about her. And I’ve seen the way she looks at you. You’ve got a chance to be happy. And I want that for you.”
“But?” Braydon knew there was something Brendon was holding back.
“I can’t promise that it’ll be easy for me. It’s always been the two of us,” Brendon admitted, glancing down at the floor. “I don’t want anything to come between us. It’s weird. I get it. I just never imagined life without you there.”
“I’ll still be here.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Brendon hesitated. “When you were gone, I was fucked-up. I don’t like what it’s done to me, but I’m not blaming you. I just have to get used to it.”
Braydon didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t want anything to come between them, either. And up to this point, he hadn’t considered that anything would. Strange how things could change overnight. Well, in their case it wasn’t instant, but now that he thought about it, things were changing. And as much as he hated it, Braydon knew that it was time.
Time for them to find the happiness that had managed to elude them for all these months.
BRENDON HAD HOPED that Braydon would argue and tell him that there was nothing to get used to. He’d wanted to hear that nothing was changing when, in fact, he knew everything was.
But Braydon didn’t say anything.
Pushing to his feet, Brendon looked over at his twin one more time.
“I’m happy for you. Really, I am. And I do owe Jess an apology. I don’t want to lose her as a friend. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t promise this’ll be easy for me. It’s gonna be strange to see you with her. But I want that for you. And for her.” Brendon waited for Braydon to acknowledge him before he added, “I promise I won’t interfere. But I’m gonna need some time. Time to get my head on straight.” If that was even possible at this point.
“What about Cheyenne?” Braydon asked.
What about her? he wanted to say. But he didn’t.
Cheyenne Montgomery might never speak to him again, and he really didn’t blame her. As much as he wanted to blame his ignorance last night on the alcohol he’d plied himself with, Brendon knew he couldn’t. He had lost his ever-loving mind. That was all there was to it.
“She probably won’t ever speak to me again.”
Braydon raised one eyebrow in question.
“Like I said, I was an idiot. I tried to interfere in something that was none of my business. I can’t get past it though.”
“Nothing has ever happened between the two of you?” Braydon asked skeptically.
“Not except for that kiss.” The one that had sent his world spiraling right out of control.
“I don’t understand,” Braydon stated.
“Neither do I,” Brendon admitted. “I’m hung up on her. I find myself doing stupid shit because of it. And truthfully, she’s never made me any promises. Hell, I haven’t even slept with her. I don’t get it any more than you do.” And that was the truth. Last night, when Brendon had all but claimed Cheyenne as his own, he had deserved the fist to the face that he received.
From Sawyer, of all people.
It had been the wake-up call Brendon had needed.
“Don’t you dare disrespect her like that,” Sawyer growled angrily, stepping in between him and Cheyenne. “She’s a woman, Bren. I won’t stand here and let you talk to her like that. Understand me?”
At the sight of Sawyer standing so close, adrenaline had flooded him as his brother got up in his face, and Brendon’s fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. Too bad he’d opted for fight, because Sawyer was already geared up.
Not that Brendon blamed him. Cheyenne hadn’t deserved what he’d said to her. And the moment the words had left his mouth, she’d looked like he’d just killed her dog.
“Hooking up with ’em all, are ya? Is that what it takes to get ahead in the music industry these days? Does the media know that the West Texas princess gets around?” Brendon slurred.
Yeah. That was the dumbest fucking thing he could’ve possibly said. Even six beers in and no food, Brendon had known it at the time, too. Not to mention, it was completely untrue. As far as he knew, Cheyenne hadn’t been with anyone. Including him. No matter how much he’d tried to tempt her.
So when he’d done the unthinkable and disrespected Cheyenne in the worst way, in public at that, Sawyer had stepped in. It was what any one of them would’ve done if they’d heard someone talking to a woman the way he had. When he was face-to-face with Sawyer, fury had surged through him. But more than that, he’d been filled with shame. Never in his life had he talked to a woman like that. Never.
And this was a woman he thought he might love.
God, no. He didn’t love her. He didn’t even know her.
Shit. He was definitely losing his mind.
Needless to say, Brendon had provoked Sawyer at that point. And that lasted until Sawyer belted him one.
Brendon didn’t fault him for it one bit.
Now he just had to figure out what the hell was wrong with him. And in order to do that, he had to take a good, long look at his life.
Brendon turned to Braydon once again. “I’ll stay out of your way. I promise you that much. Just know that . . . I don’t want . . .” Brendon swallowed hard. “I don’t want anything to come between us. I’m not sure I can deal with it.”
That was the understatement of the century, but Brendon closed his mouth. He wasn’t trying to guilt Bray
don. It wasn’t like that. He did have a lot to figure out, but he had to accept that it wouldn’t be at the expense of his own twin’s happiness.
“So, go on. I’m sure Jessie’s waitin’ for you.” Brendon stood and headed for his room. “Have fun on your date.”
He didn’t wait for Braydon to say anything. Brendon just shut his bedroom door behind him and leaned up against it. He sucked in a deep breath and let it out.
Brendon was almost certain that his brother would forgive him for being an asshole. That’s what family did.
As for Cheyenne . . .
Brendon feared he might’ve lost her long before he ever had her.
And if that was the case, he would be subjected to a hell of his own making.
chapter TWELVE
Jessie was sitting on her bed, her ereader on her lap, rereading for the fourth time the same paragraph in the book she’d been engrossed in just a few days before.
Okay, so it was safe to say that Braydon had effectively distracted her, because she couldn’t seem to stay focused. This time in an entirely different way than what she’d been going through for the last several weeks.
She’d been trying to figure out just what the man had in store for her. The whole starting-over thing intrigued her and scared her a little. Up till now, Jessie had known what to expect from him . . . or at least she thought she had. He’d gone and surprised her with his bold statement the night before, and she’d done little else besides sit around and think about what he could’ve possibly meant.
“For now we’ll go slow. But I can’t promise that I won’t make you burn for me. I want you to go to sleep at night thinking about what it’ll feel like when I’m above you, sliding deep and then fucking you hard.”
He had effectively ignited a slow burn deep in her core from his words. Let alone the anticipation she’d harbored since he said them.
Just when she was giving up on her book, Jessie’s cell phone rang and she glanced over to the nightstand to see who it was.
Her mouth tipped into a huge grin when she saw Braydon’s name light up on the screen.
“Hello,” she greeted him tentatively.
“What’re you wearing?” he asked, his rich, dark voice seducing her effortlessly.
Jessie leaned back against the headboard as she said, “Nothing.”
“Oh, dear God” was the response that she received, making her laugh.
“Just kidding.”
“Well, damn.” Braydon cleared his throat but remained silent.
“Why are you calling me?” she asked, adding a hint of excitement to her voice. Not that it was hard to do. She was actually feeling rather enthusiastic that he’d called her.
“I was sitting here with my tablet, hoping to find something to go do today.”
“You’re resorting to Google for our first date?” she asked dramatically.
“Well, yeah. I’m not chancing it. Did you know that dinner and a movie is no longer the way of the world?”
Jessie laughed. “I didn’t know that. I happen to enjoy dinner and a movie.”
“Well, we’ll save that for our second date. I’m not willing to go down into the record books as the most boring first date.”
Still grinning, Jessie asked, “So where are we going?”
Her skin was tingling with excitement and anticipation. She felt like a teenager again. And the boy she’d wanted to talk to had surprised her by calling.
“You’ve got options,” he told her.
“I like options.”
“I’m sure you do,” Braydon said throatily. The fact that he was still affected by her comment made Jessie’s body hum louder.
“Okay, so whatcha got for me?”
Another throat clearing from Braydon had Jessie laughing uncontrollably.
“Simmer down, woman. We’ve got a date to plan,” Braydon finally said, pulling her back from the brink of hysteria.
“Okay,” she said on a choked laugh. “I’m listening. Wait, should I Google it, too?”
“No, just listen,” he answered abruptly, making her chuckle again.
Jessie quieted so she could hear what he had to say. Although he didn’t sound serious, she was really interested in what his date suggestions were. She’d never done this before, never had the opportunity to map out a first date, so to speak. It seemed to be a day full of firsts, because she’d never gone on a first date with a man she’d slept with, either.
She wasn’t sure she really wanted to think about what that said about her—the fact that she had slept with him without going on a real date, that is.
“Okay, so it looks like we’ve got some choices. I’ll call them out, you say yea or nay. In the end, we’ll figure out which sounds best.”
“Got it,” she confirmed.
“Bowling.”
“Ummm . . .” Jessie wasn’t much of a bowler. “Nay?”
“Is that a question or a statement, Jess?”
“No. No to bowling,” she said affirmatively, laughing while she did.
“Okay, no bowling. Rock climbing?”
“Wow. Seriously? That’s a first date option? That seems a little high risk, don’t you think?”
“Okay, no to rock climbing. How about paintball?”
“Is this a date? Or an afternoon with the guys?”
“No paintball, huh? Okay, fine. What about go-karts?”
Jessie considered that for a minute. “I like go-karts.”
“My kinda woman right there,” Braydon replied. “Okay, that’s a possibility. What about arcades?”
“If you want me to put you to shame . . . then okay.”
Braydon laughed, the sound of his voice sending a jolt of heat through Jessie. It didn’t help that she was sitting on her bed, her eyes closed as she listened to his voice.
“Horse races are obviously out, since we don’t have any around here. Stargazing? Seriously?” Clearly he wasn’t talking to her, so Jessie just smiled contentedly as he worked it out. “No stars, so what about live music? Austin is the Live Music Capital of the World, so I’m sure we could find something.”
“Too loud,” she told him.
“Okay, then. Shoot that one right down, why don’t ya?” He laughed. “Fishing?”
“Nope.”
“Museum?”
“Nope.”
“What about . . . Wait, nope. That one’s out.”
“What was it?”
“You don’t wanna know.”
“Yes I do,” Jessie told him, trying to sound serious but failing.
“Skinny dipping,” he said seriously.
“No way. On a first date? Does it really say that?”
“No,” he answered easily.
Jessie laughed again, feeling so much lighter than she had in days. She had missed this. The banter back and forth with Braydon. They’d always laughed and joked, but she had never even noticed that it was blatant flirting until now.
“See, I told you that one was out. Okay, so I think we’ve narrowed it down. Arcades or go-karts?”
“What about miniature golf?” she asked sweetly.
“Is this your competitive side coming out?” he asked.
“Maybe.”
“Hey, wait a minute. There’s a huge place off 35 just north of Austin. They’ve got miniature golf and go-karts, I know. I think they’ve got arcades inside. They’ve even got rock climbing if you’re feelin’ adventurous. What do you say?”
“I say what time will you be here to pick me up?” Jessie answered, anxiously looking forward to seeing him.
“Twenty minutes?”
“Hold up, cowboy. You’ve got to give me time to get ready.”
“Fine. Thirty minutes.”
“Okay, then. I’ll see you in thirty minutes. Should I eat some
thing first?” she asked.
“Nope. I’ve got that covered, too.”
They were both quiet for a moment. Jessie listened to the sound of his breathing, her eyes still closed. This was the day she’d hoped for for so long. An actual date with Braydon Walker. Sure, they might’ve started from the wrong direction, but did it really matter? To her it didn’t.
At least not yet.
“WOW! IMPRESSIVE!” BRAYDON laughed as he moved toward Jessie, stepping over the small bumpers that outlined the miniature golf course.
“Why did you pick this game again?” Jessie asked, her eyes laughing, her sarcasm evident.
She had just hit the ball and missed the hole for probably the fifteenth time on this one, and it was a par three. After that, she’d stood up straight, held her hands up in victory, and then dropped her club. Jessie had never stopped smiling, although he knew, despite the fact she had mentioned it, she wasn’t particularly fond of playing the game.
“Hold on, I’ll help you out,” he offered, stepping away from her to retrieve the colorful golf ball. Once he had it in hand, he took a step over to the left and dropped it into the little cup.
“Yay! See, I can play this stupid game!” Jessie exclaimed, pretending victory again. “And technically, I think the rules say that if the other player hits the wrong ball into the hole, I win.”
Braydon laughed as he reached for her, pulling her into his arms and swinging her around once. “Whatever you want. I’ll give you all of my points if you really want ’em.”
“But?” Jessie asked when he put her back on her feet. “I hear a ‘but’ in that statement.”
“But you’ll owe me,” Braydon told her, leaning down and kissing her on the lips. “Come on, let’s finish this up so we can head inside. It’s too damn hot out here.”
Thirty minutes later, Braydon was leading Jessie back toward the main building that housed the arcade games and the food center. “You suck at miniature golf,” he informed her as he held open the main door to the huge air-conditioned building.
She laughed and punched him lightly in the arm. “If I remember correctly, someone cheated.”
Braydon Page 16
