Brady Remington Landed Me in Jail

"This is the talk. This is when we talk about it, isn't it?" Brady murmured to himself as he shook his head.

"We're not talking," I managed through chattering teeth.

"Look at you." He lifted a hand to me. "You're totally freaking out."

"I am not!"

"Shh!" He glanced at the door and then turned on the fan. As the sound dulled the air, he crossed to me and grasped my elbow to pull me down on the bed beside him.

I did not lie down. I sat. I only sat, perched on the end.

"Okay…" One of his hands lifted to take mine, but I snatched scurried back. I stopped when I hit the wall and that was how we sat. I was against the wall. Brady was turned towards me with one of his hands in the air.

A confounded look came across his face, but his eyes searched mine for a moment. I wasn't sure what he read in my eyes, maybe panic, but he laid his hand on his leg. I watched, fascinated, as his fingers curled into his leg like he was trying to restrain himself. His other hand was clenched into his other leg. His shoulder muscles were bunched together tightly. I noticed that his hair was wet and a droplet of water slid down the back of his neck, gliding over his muscles.

"Did you take a shower?"

"What?" Brady asked, distracted.

"You took a shower. Did you go downstairs?" Grandpa had his own shower in the basement.

"Uh…yeah. I smelled." Brady stared at something on my floor.

I looked, but couldn't see what it was.

Then my eyes widened in terror when I saw it was a pair of pink underpants that had fallen off the pile of laundry. It caught on a drawer on my desk and hung there, on display. I sucked in my breath and hurled off the bed to snatch it up. When I turned back, Brady's eyes were laughing at me, but he didn't say anything.

That's when I lost it. The fright. The panic. The "freak out" all vanished as one chuckle wracked through my body. Pretty soon, I couldn't stop the giggles. Brady joined in and both of us were laughing until I clamped a hand over my mouth to quiet myself. Tears blinded me for a moment, but they weren't those types of tears. I kept laughing, silent now, and I wiped them clear. I blinked to keep more from appearing. Brady's shoulders shook in laughter.

"Okay…" I murmured when I had resumed enough control to form sentences. I moved and sat beside him again, but this time I knew that I wouldn't scamper off. "I won't do that again. I promise." I patted his knee.

"Thanks." He caught my hand. "I don't like having my best friend scared of me."

Brady lifted his blue eyes to mine and I was startled to see how somber they were. He'd just been laughing, but…

"You were scared of me, Rayna. Don't do that again."

I couldn't look away. Somehow, my hand found its way to the side of his face and it cupped his cheek. "I won't."

"Promise." His hand rested on top of mine.

"Promise." I could barely talk.

"Okay."

"Is it hot in here?"

He chuckled. "I don't think it's the room, Rayna."

I suddenly missed the nights when I curled up with a book. "So…uh…what did Clarissa want?"

Brady yawned as he ran his fingers through his soft blonde buzz cut.

I loved his hair. My fingers itched to replace his hand and curl his hair around them. Whoa—change the mind topic.

"…her place tonight. I told her that I'd ask you…"

I ripped my gaze from his hair and jumped when I saw a knowing glint in his eyes. Brady smirked.

"What?"

He just shook his head. "You need to get control of yourself. Or else we're going to get in more trouble."

My jaw dropped, but I looked away. We both knew what he meant. "Okay, so what were you saying?"

"I was saying that Clarissa's having a party tonight at her dad's place. I left my cell at the police station or something. She called here because she thought you might know where I was. You want to go?"

"What?" I swung my gaze back to him. He was very close, very, very close. I gulped, itching to move back, but I wouldn't. I could control myself.

"I said…" His lips quirked upwards. "…do you want to go to Clarissa's party?"

"Does Clarissa want me to go?"

"Yeah, actually. She told me to make sure you came. It's graduation week. You need to let loose and celebrate. Plus, you'll keep me out of trouble."

Not at this rate. I almost said it, but I clamped my lips shut and kept them that way. Brady nudged me with his shoulder. "So? What do you think?"

"I don't know." I eyed my door. "You heard Viola. If she comes in and finds me gone again she's going to ground me."

"No, she won't. She'll ground me, but she won't ground you. She loved that you stayed out all night with me. Your grandmother is worried about you. She thinks you're never going to loosen up and get married someday."

That was true. She'd hinted enough about it, but I ignored her. A person would have to have sex to get married…and the thought of me ever having sex had been like a hot air balloon on a windy day. Something you might look at, but never touch.