19. Chapter Nineteen ~ Brayden
Chapter Nineteen ~ Brayden
I was silently excited to have Nick over at the cabin with Mia and me. It felt good to have another piece of her so close. The kid also reminded me a lot of Trent when we were younger; stubborn, hard headed, young, wild, and free.
While she showered, because she said the stench of the house wouldn't leave her nose, Nick and I sat on the deck and waited for her. I made small talk with him and for a while, he wouldn’t say much. But as time went on, he started to open up more.
He even sounded like Trent. The way he spoke, the things he said. It all reminded me so much of my younger days with his brother. Honestly, having Nick over gave me a bit of nostalgia that I missed having in my life.
“Your brother and I used to sit out here almost every day,” I said. “We’d have our beers and smoke our pot sometimes, even though we weren’t supposed to. Fun times.”
“I bet Mia was a buzz kill then too, huh?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I chuckled. “She had her days. Most days she was cool, as long as we weren’t out running the streets, getting in trouble.”
I was no mentor back then, but I tried to steer Nick in the right direction, subtly. I didn’t want to come off too strong and make him feel like I was overstepping any boundaries because I was in love with his sister. Although Mia wanted me to get in his ear for her, there was only so much I could say to him.
“You know your sister cares about you a lot, don't you? She can be a bit overbearing at times, but she means well. She just doesn't want to see you go up the same hill Trent did. No one does.”
Nick let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair like he could care less what I had to say. He was eighteen years old; hormones raging, and he was figuring himself out as a young man. If anybody understood that it was me. Trent too. Hell, any eighteen-year-old boy who ever lived should have.
“My sister thinks she’s my mom,” Nick said. “Sometimes I just want her to be a friend and not try to tell me what to do. She thinks I'll get in trouble like Trent, but I'm a lot smarter than him. Trent was reckless and obnoxious with the things he did. I'm not like that.”
In his own way, Nick told me that if he wanted to do something that could get him in trouble, he knew how to do it without getting caught. I didn’t like the sound of it, but I gave him credit for at least being smart about what he did. If he did anything at all.
“And what’s up with you two anyway?” he asked. “Are you guys a couple or something?”
“We used to be,” I said. “We lost touch when Trent went to prison. Now, I guess we’re taking things slow.”
“I see,” he nodded. “She must really like you, because Mia never lets any man get close to her. She's never even brought anyone home the few times she did visit.”
His revelation made me feel like a winner. I already believed Mia when she said she hadn’t dated anyone since me, but hearing someone else confirm made me sweet for her even more. I wanted to leave him sitting there and go join her in the shower, but that would have been rude. Plus, my legs.
“How long were you and my brother friends before he got arrested?”
His question offended me, but I tried not to show it.
“Trent and I are still friends,” I said. “We’ve been friends since grade school and just because he’s not home right now, doesn’t mean that we aren’t still. He's my best friend.”
“Then why’d you let him do something so stupid to get him taken away from his family?” Nick shot. “You see, you and Mia are trying to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do, but you didn’t stop Trent from ruining his life. What's the difference?”
I didn’t have a quick answer for that because he was right. Instead of asserting my dominance with Trent like I tried to do him, I went along with Trent that night. I shouldn’t have, but I was young and stupid just like he was.
“My mom always said she didn’t believe Trent was the one driving the car,” he said. “I didn’t really think much about it when I was younger, but the more I heard her talk about it and the more people who corroborated her theory, the more I started thinking.”
My heart started to pound in my chest. I had never heard any of Naomi's theories about that night. I got the butt of her anger for a long time, but she never once told me she didn’t think Trent was driving. She may have hinted at it, and I just never paid any attention, but she never said anything directly.
“I was young, but when Trent left that night, he wasn’t too drunk to drive,” Nick said. “He didn’t even like driving. He said he was going up to the cabin to pick you up and you guys were going to a party. Mom read the police report and saw a few discrepancies and every time she went to the precinct to get answers, your uncle always showed up. I think that’s what drove her to the point she is now.”
Nick gave me a chilling look after his statement. Almost like he was daring me to contest what he said. I knew Uncle Joe was involved with the case, but I never knew he intervened with Naomi getting the answers she sought after.
“You two playing nice?”
Mia came out onto the deck, and I was relieved to hear her voice. She saved me from Nick’s investigative dare, and from spilling my secrets all over the deck. Had she waited a minute longer, he might have gotten me to confess.
“Yeah,” I said, “we were just talking about life. You know, guy stuff.”
“Yeah well, hopefully Nick is taking some of this talk to the head and taking direction from someone who almost fell down the wrong path too.”
He looked at Mia and rolled his eyes. She ignored him, and the obvious distaste he had for me after talking about Trent. I was glad she did, because I wasn’t quite ready to tell her the entire truth about that night. I felt like shit for keeping that part a secret, but I had to tell her when I was ready.
“I ordered some takeout for dinner,” she said. “It shouldn't be long before it gets here.”
“Are you going to take me home after?” Nick asked. “I have things to do.”
“I’ll take you back tomorrow,” she said. “Just give me some time, Nick. The streets aren’t going anywhere. I think being out here in the wilderness might do you some good, you know? Help you get your mind right.”
Nick looked like he wanted to give Mia a good cursing himself, but he kept quiet. I felt like he was more focused on me and wanted to ask me more questions about Trent, but he didn’t. He just glared at me every so often and listened to Mia ramble on about him being a good kid.
The entire time they talked, I paid attention to how nurturing Mia tried to be with him. It made me miss the days she was the same way with me. I realized I took those small acts of kindness for granted and felt inclined to make it up to her somehow. No matter how long it took.
“Have you heard anything about mom?” Nick asked. “She hasn’t tried to call me at all.”
“Yeah, about that,” Mia sighed. “I went down there to bail her out after you stormed off, but she has no bond this time. That's why I've been trying to find you. I didn’t want you out here all alone.”
“Great,” Nick scoffed. “I’ve been alone this long; I can take care of myself.”
Nick started to get on my last nerve with his tough guy bullshit. All Mia tried to do was help him, make sure he was okay and had a safe place to lay his head, and all he did was give her attitude and shut down everything she said. I wanted to grab him by the collar and shake some sense into him, but I let Mia handle her little brother the way she saw fit.
“You really need to get your head out of the clouds, Nick,” she said. “If you think you can take care of yourself, pay bills, keep a roof over your own head and keep food on your own table, then I won’t stop you. But like I said before, don’t push me away and then call me when the shit hits the fan.”
When dinner came, we all crowded around the table and ate. Nick didn’t say much. Mia either. I was done trying to give him advice and listening to his attitude about everything, so I didn’t say anything at all. Instead of wasting my energy talking to deaf ears, I enjoyed my food, then went off to my room.
After Mia got him settled into one of the guest rooms for the night, she came to my room for some company. I didn't want to hear any more about Nick, but I was happy to have her near for some alone time.
“What am I going to do, Shuan?” she asked as she crawled into bed with me. “He isn’t receptive to anything I have to say. He thinks he knows it all and I'm so afraid he’s going to do something to get himself in trouble.”
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “My advice isn’t appreciated by him, so I'm going to keep my mouth shut. I'll be in your corner to support you though.”
I thought she would be angry at my comment, but she wasn’t. Instead, she climbed on top of me and started to kiss me. I thought I might have been dreaming at first, but when she reached into my boxers and fondled my shaft, I knew it was for real.
“Feeling frisky, huh?” I kissed her back.
“I’ve been feeling this way all day,” she said.
Wasting no time, Mia pulled my shaft through the opening in my boxers, removed her panties and inserted me into her wetness. It felt so good I let out a moan that was new to the both of us. My legs even jerked a little at the sensation.
“Mmm,” she teased. “What’s wrong? Can't handle it?”
She grinded her hips on top of me, working me deeper into her. My toes started to curl because she felt so good. The feeling of her ass bouncing against my thighs made me harder the more she rode me.
She rode me so good, I released in record time. That didn't stop her, however. She kept riding me until my erection got hard again and I was ready to switch positions and take her from behind. That was her favorite. Mine too, as long as I was with her.
She had a full moon shaped ass that was plump and soft, and made me want to bite a chunk out of it every time I pounded her from behind. I pounded her so hard that night, when we finished, my bed had rocked itself away from the wall.
“I hope Nick didn’t hear us,” I said. “He’ll for sure hate me even more now.”
“He doesn't hate you,” she chuckled softly. “He’s just in this phase right now. I don’t know. Shit, I think he hates me the most.”