Eighteen #3
“Oh, babe, I have to do something at my townhouse. I forgot until just now,” she says like that’s all the explanation I need.
“What is it you have to do?” I ask. I know she’s very tipsy, and if she thinks I’m letting her go anywhere without me, she’s bloody nuts.
“Umm… I, umm… I have to… you know…” She’s looking to all the girls to help her. Help her what? What could she possibly have to do that she can’t tell me?
“Told you he’d find out. You’re a fucking hopeless liar, Lyssa.” Bray laughs at her.
“Find out what?” I ask very pointedly to Alyssa, who is squirming in her seat.
“Argh, it’s a surprise and I’m not telling you because it’s a surprise for you. But you can’t see it because it’s a Christmas sort of surprise.” She whacks Bray in the arm, then immediately shakes her hand out. “Man, do you have bricks lining your shirt? Damn you, Bray. I told you not to tell.”
Bringing her fingers up to my mouth, I kiss each one better. “I didn’t tell him, Lyssa. I just knew that he would find out, and I can’t wait to see his face when he does.” Bray smirks at her.
Now, I’m really intrigued as to what the surprise is, but I’m not going to ruin any surprise she wants to give me. I decide to let it drop. I’ll drive her to her house, and even if I have to sit in the car the whole time, I will be there… just enough to not ruin the surprise for her.
Alyssa turns to Bray, a triumphant smile on her face.
“Yeah, well, I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he finds out you were in the dressing room with me when I was only wearing my bra and panties—” Her mouth stops, and it registers with her what she just said.
Everyone at the table goes quiet and watches me.
My body has gone stiff, shoulders tense. I can’t kill my brother. I can’t kill my brother. I keep replaying the mantra in my head as I breathe in and out. Alyssa looks back and forward between Bray and me before trying to fix what she just said.
“Ah, babe, it’s not how that sounded!”
“Are you sure, sunshine? Because I just heard you say that my brother was in a dressing room with you while you were naked?” I ask her, my voice strained.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. She had just screamed the whole damn store down with a blood-curdling scream.
Of course, I would barge in to see what the hell was wrong.
And for your information…” Bray points to me.
“I dressed her before anyone else saw her.” He nods his head like: That’s that…
I should be thankful that he was the only one who saw my girlfriend naked.
“Plus, I wasn’t naked. I had underwear on,” Alyssa adds.
So not helping like she thinks she is. I don’t know what to think, other than my brother saw my girl naked. I’m so fucking mad at myself for not being there. For not being the one who was there to help her when she needed help.
Blood-curdling scream? Bray said she let out a blood-curdling scream.
That’s a little more than a tiny freak-out, as Alyssa had told me she experienced when she picked up that picture.
Fuck, I’m grateful for the foresight to send Bray along with the girls today.
I’m grateful that he was there to help her, and I know, without a doubt, he would have been nothing but respectful towards Alyssa.
I know my brother, and as much as he clowns around, deep down, he is a fucking decent guy—one of the best I know.
“I think you broke him,” Reilly says, a slight concern to her voice.
Before I can respond, Alyssa slams her lips down on mine, swiping her tongue along my lips until I open for her, granting her the access she is seeking.
As if I’d ever deny her. I can feel the tension leave my body with each stroke of her tongue against mine.
I’ve never loved kissing anyone as much as I love kissing her.
I think I could sit here and kiss her all day and not get bored.
Pulling back from the kiss, she looks at me. “I’m sorry, really sorry. Please don’t hate me,” she pleads.
Hate her? What the fuck? As if I could fucking hate her…
“Sunshine, I could never hate you. I slightly hate my brother right now, but I’ll survive. I’ll get over it… maybe.”
Leaning into me, she whispers in my ear, “He was a true gentleman; he put my shirt on and shorts on without even saying a word. He didn’t touch me at all, I promise. But if you tell him I said he’s a gentleman, I’ll deny it.”
I laugh at that. He would hate being referred to as a gentleman.
Leaning in, I whisper in her ear, “Babe, I know he would be respectful. I know my brother. I never doubted his intentions. It’s just a little fun to watch him squirm for a bit. But I’m glad he was there to help you.
I just wish that it was me. I should have been there.”
“You can’t be with me all the time, Zac. It’s not how life works. Now, I need you to drive Sarah and me to our townhouse, because I have someone meeting me there.”
Who does she have meeting her at her place? I want to question it, but when I remember how happy she was when she talked about how she has a surprise for me, I can’t bring myself to question her. Like I just told her, I trust her completely.