Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
Brody
After our impromptu movie night, Rainey bid me good night and went to her room. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t seriously tempted to follow her to see what happened. Rainey’s not a cheater—I know this, and I would never want to help make her one—but that didn’t stop me from imagining all the possibilities. The more I get to know her, the more convinced I am she doesn’t really want to marry Adam. They’ve been engaged for almost two years now, and they still haven’t set a date for the wedding. That’s weird, right? Is she sticking with him out of some sense of obligation? I’m not proud to admit it, but I eavesdropped on her conversation with Devyn earlier. Rainey really wants kids one day, and he doesn’t. Not that I’m jumping to knock anyone up, mind you—I’m only twenty-four, for fuck’s sake. It just pisses me off she thinks she should settle. Someone like her should never have to settle for anything .
“You okay, man?” Drew asks. “You look like you’re ready to off someone.”
“Nah, just thinking about work,” I lie. “I have a busy week ahead.” I pull up to the curb outside his condo and flick my hazard lights on. “Here we are…home sweet home. You need some help getting everything upstairs?”
Drew looks in the back seat and sees his sister pulling her sleeping toddler out of his car seat. “Yeah, that’d be great. I think we could do it in one trip.”
I twist my torso until I’m facing the back seat. “Princess, do you mind taking the driver’s seat until I get back? I’d rather not get towed for parking in a loading zone.”
Rainey unbuckles her seat belt. “Only if you agree to stop calling me princess.”
“Sure thing… sweetheart .”
She rolls her eyes as she exits the car. “Jackass.”
I laugh as I slide out of the driver’s seat and gesture for her to get in. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You would,” she mutters.
I shut the door after she’s seated and lean into the window frame. “I’ll make it as quick as possible. Try not to miss me too much.”
This earns an even bigger eye roll, but her lips are turned up in the corners.
Devyn heads into the building with Nathan, so I meet Drew by the rear doors to gather their stuff. Thankfully, we do manage to get everything to their third-floor apartment in one trip, so I can get back to Rainey that much sooner.
“Well, I guess I’m going to head out. I don’t want to keep the lovely redhead waiting.”
I’m setting my share of bags inside the doorway as Devyn returns from putting her son to bed.
“Be nice to her, Brody,” she chides .
“Who me?” I shrug innocently. “I’m always nice.”
“I’m serious. She may look okay, but she has a lot going on inside her head. Just don’t push her too much.”
I’d bet good money she’s talking about Rainey’s fiancé. What a dickhead .
“I’ll be good.”
She smiles. “Thank you.”
Drew gives me a bro hug. “Thanks for driving, dude. We still on for golf next weekend?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, big guy.”
He blows me a kiss. “See you later, sweet cheeks.”
I mime pocketing his air kiss and head for the elevator. “Later, baby.”
Rainey doesn’t notice me exiting the building, so I take a moment to watch her. She left the windows open, so I can clearly hear the beats of “Lose Yourself” blasting from the speakers. Huh…I would’ve definitely pegged her as a pop music junkie. My mouth opens in surprise as I realize she’s rapping along to the lyrics perfectly . Never one to miss an opportunity to mess with her, I hunch down and round the back of my Suburban like a creeper. Once I reach the driver’s door, I do my best impression of a Jack-in-the-Box, causing her to jump out of her seat.
“Jesus H, Brody!” she shrieks. “You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing?”
“Enjoying the show, Nikki,” I say, referring to my favorite female rapper. “Impressive skills you have there.”
Her cheeks flush, but she’s trying to play it cool. “Ha! I wish! That woman’s ass could rule the world.”
I bark in laughter. “Don’t sell yourself short, darlin’. I’d follow your ass anywhere.”
She scoots over the console and slides into the passenger seat. “You’d follow any ass if it meant you were getting some.”
“Not true,” I argue as I get in. “Not everyone can fill out a pair of jeans like you do.”
She looks down at her denim-clad legs and smirks. “Guys have it so easy. If you only knew how much trouble getting into a pair of jeans can be when you have hips and an ass.”
“Honey, the only thing I care about is getting you out of those jeans. You can get in them any way you want.”
“I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”
“You sure did.”
“Are you ever going to give up?”
“Not likely,” I say with a shrug. “But I get the feeling you don’t mind so much.”
“Maybe not.” She smirks. “You’re certainly good for a laugh.”
“I’m good for multiple orgasms too. You should give that a try.”
Her eyes crinkle at the corners before her expression sobers. “Thank you, Brody.”
I quirk my head to the side. “For what ?”
“I can always count on you to make me smile,” she explains. “Don’t get me wrong—you drive me crazy more often than not—but it’s a good crazy, if that makes sense. I could’ve spent this weekend obsessing over some stuff I have going on, but you didn’t let that happen. I had a really good time and…as much as it pains me to admit this, you were a big part of that.”
“I’m happy to be of service, princess.”
And that , boys and girls, is what we call progress.