Chapter 18
eighteen
PAST
brANDON
“I’m going to win,” Kate informs me as we stride toward the front door of the arcade.
“You don’t even know what games we’ll be playing,” I say.
“Doesn’t matter.”
I laugh, grasp the handle on the door to the arcade, and pull it open for Kate. She throws me a saucy little wink as she passes in a scented cloud of what I’ve come to figure out is jasmine. At least that’s what her shampoo bottle said when I stayed at her place for the first time last night.
My throat works in a swallow as my mind replays it all.
Every. Single. Detail.
I’m so gone for Kate.
It’s like I’ve reached new heights of pathetic. The things I would do for this woman after only dating her for what, two months?
Sure, she’s hot—ridiculously so—but Kate’s mind is a maze I want to get lost in over and over again.
It’s our late night talks that get me. Anytime I can get her talking about art, she lights up all animated-like, and I just sit back and watch.
She’s wicked smart, too. Even though we share the same major, it’s obvious her knack for art history far outshines mine.
That being said, I think Tired Kate is my favorite. After a certain point, she becomes loopy and hilariously funny. But she cracks herself up even more, which only makes me laugh harder. For as sassy and stubborn as she is, deep down, Kate’s a complete sweetheart.
I’m about to follow Kate and her tiny miniskirt into the arcade when my phone rings. Kate’s dark eyes question mine, but then I see the name on the screen, and my stomach slumps.
“I’ve gotta take this,” I say. “Are you okay to wait?”
“Of course,” Kate says, moving to the side of the line of arcade-goers.
I let the door seal shut between us, feeling Kate’s gaze following me as I step closer to the curb. I brace myself and answer the call.
“Hey Mom, what’s up?”
Mom’s naturally buoyant tone is strained, her consonants somewhat slurred. “Hey hon, could you bring me some Advil? I can’t find any, I’ve got a pounding headache, and I’ve got an early home showing tomorrow.”
“Where’s Zeke?” I ask, praying my intuition is wrong even as it prickles my skin. “Why isn’t he taking care of you?”
“Zeke is…not coming around anymore,” she mumbles.
I inwardly curse, but panic shoots through me. “Last time I was there, I made sure you had a few extra bottles in your medicine cabinet.”
Mom’s sudden giggle detour drives a punch to my gut. “Oh my gosh, I’m so dumb. They are in the medicine cabinet. Thanks, sweetie. You’re the best. Do you know you’re the best son? Gosh, I love you.”
“Yeah, Mom. I know.” I scrub a hand down my jaw. “And I love you, too.”
I’ve barely ended the call before the suctioning seal of the arcade door pops open behind me.
“You okay?” Kate’s tone is gentle, imploring, but shame rises in my gut like a firestorm.
“More than okay.” I swivel toward her with an easy smile. “You’re here.”
But Kate’s eyes continue to probe mine, her mouth slanted. “Is someone messing with you? Do I need to take a little jaunt to slash someone’s tires?”
A laugh bursts out of me—a real laugh—and the defiant pinch in her brows softens.
The fact that someone would so vehemently support me—albeit a somewhat morally gray girl eager to slash tires—warms me more than she’ll ever know.
The tension coiled in my stomach loosens a bit.
Mom just needs Advil and a good night’s rest. She’ll be fine.
“Down, girl,” I chuckle, ruffling Kate’s hair before lacing my fingers through hers. “You don’t need to vandalize anyone’s property just for me. Come on, let’s go waste some tokens.”
“But you know I would, right?” she says, walking beside me to the door. “Anyone that messes with you now messes with me.”
I breathe another laugh before pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. “I’ll make sure to warn people.”
KATE
“I’m going to win.” I state this fact again, dancing on the balls of my feet. The air hockey table puffs a steady stream across my fingers, and I grip the paddle tighter. “You, my friend, are going to be so embarrassed in front of all these people.”
Brandon makes a show of scanning the somewhat sparse crowd inside the arcade and nodding. “You’re right. I’ll be utterly humiliated. Might as well just hand over my man card right now.”
I laugh, and his dimples deepen. It’s so easy to laugh with Brandon. These last two months with him have felt… light. Like the worries that weigh me down can’t when I’m around him. He’s like a sexy anti-gravity chamber in a leather jacket.
“And ‘friend’? Really?” His green eyes smolder as they meet mine. “I think after last night, there’s no way you can still call me that.”
My tongue runs dry as I flush the same shade as the suspended blinking scoreboard. Last night was a night of firsts, and I’ll never forget a second of it.
I fight the quiver from my voice. “So, what am I supposed to call you, then?”
His hypnotic grin curls sideways. “If I win, call me your boyfriend. If you win, then you can be my girlfriend. Consider your probation over.”
“Isn’t that the whole coin-toss trick? Heads, I win, tails, you lose?”
Brandon nods. “If that’s what you want to call it, then sure.”
I laugh. “You’re so weird.”
Brandon makes a show of rolling a shiny arcade token between his fingers before feeding it into the outdated hockey table.
“And you’re procrastinating. Come on, scaredy Kate. Drop the puck.”
Ten minutes later, I walk out of the arcade with my arm looped through his. I’ve been defeated, but somehow, I feel anything but. My heart glows so bright, it’s like I have my own personal sun.
I never thought I’d be able to feel this way. Or that someone would stick around long enough to feel something for me too.
And Brandon does. I can tell. His affection is written inside every touch, every joke, every time he sees straight through my crumbling walls. There’s something happening between us. Something I don’t think either of us has ever experienced.
“Say it again.” Brandon tugs me to a stop in the parking lot, breathing into my ear.
Goosebumps feather my neck, but I meet his gaze. Lifting up on my tiptoes, I whisper the word across his lips.
“Boyfriend.”
Sinister glee spreads across his face. “And don’t you forget it.
” Brandon crouches lightning fast, squeezing my hips before he stands and throws me over his shoulder.
I’m upside down with a glorious view of his backside, but I wiggle my legs in the air and fight against his hold. Brandon races toward his motorcycle.
“Put me down!” I laugh.
“Nope. You’re mine now. No take-backs.”
“Brandon!” I smack his butt, still six inches from my dangling face.
He pulls up short. “Katie. You naughty girl, you.”
He maneuvers his hold until I drop into his arms, one bicep around my back and the other cradling my knees. Those green eyes shine as they stare into mine, but they darken by the second. Brandon’s gaze drops to my mouth, and I’m done for.
My hands fly to his bristled jaw as his lips cover mine. I savor each blindingly white-hot kiss as he carries me to his motorcycle.
After a long while, he reluctantly breaks away and sets me down. Yanking open the seat compartment, he snatches both helmets and jams one on his head before sliding mine on.
“We’re taking taxis from here on out,” he grumbles. “Fast ones.”
“Why?”
“If you have to ask that, you obviously don’t know how much I live for your kiss, Kate.”