Текст книги "Don't Let Go"

Автор книги: Michelle Lynn

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Текущая страница: 4 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

“Sadie?”

“Yeah,” I answer and turn around. When I shift my head in his direction, he is so close, my heart skips a beat. “I just want to warn you. I’m going to kiss you tonight,” he whispers in my ear and then turns around and walks toward his car.

Chapter 7

When I open my dorm door after taking a shower, I find a bouquet of different colored daisies on my dresser. Jessa smiles over at me through the ladder of my bed, studying my reaction.

“When did these come?” I ask.

“While you were in the shower. The florist delivered them.” She’s beaming more than me.

I grab the note from the bouquet and my name is scripted in guy’s handwriting.

You deserve something beautiful, but they aren’t nearly as beautiful as you. I’m anxiously counting the seconds until you open the door and I see your gorgeous face. See you at six. – B

 

I hold the card to my chest, sighing. “Do I even want to know?’ Jessa holds her hand out for the card.

“It’s private,” I giggle, keeping it close to my chest.

“Come on, Sadie,” Jessa pleas.

“Fine.” I hand it over to her and she reads it. “Should have known a singer would write some romantic crap.” She hands it back to me. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?” She still believes he was with another girl Friday night.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” I say with a smile, reassuring her. I put the note in my top drawer and go over to my closet to find something to wear.

“Where is he taking you?” Jessa asks, putting her book down and turning on the television.

“He never said,” I answer, continuing to sift through my hangers. I finally decide on a red dress that flares out at the waist in a series of pleats, paired with black heels.

I get in my matching panties and bra. Even though Brady will not be seeing them tonight, they make me feel sexy. I curl my blonde hair in waves that travel down my back, pinning the front part off my face. My make-up is a little darker than Friday, but I still don’t use the dark red lipstick. I will never use it again.

It’s five forty-five and I’m already dressed and ready to go. I sit down next to Jessa while she flips through channels and wait for Brady’s call. Suddenly there is a knock on the door. Jessa and I share a puzzled look and she gets up to open the door where Brady stands on the other side with his hands in his pockets, rolling back on his heels.

I might have actually stopped breathing for a moment. He is wearing a pair of dark jeans with a red sweater and black leather jacket. His hair is loose and free of gel, pushed to the side. He smiles over to me, making me melt in desire.

“You look even more amazing than I imagined,” he says to me while I get up and walk toward him.

“Thank you. You look great, too.” I smile back.

“Shall we?” He holds out his hand.

“Please, before I throw up,” Jessa answers my question, walking back to her seat in front of the television.

“Bye, Jessa,” I say, grabbing my clutch from the dresser next to the flowers.

“Bye, guys.” She waves her hand, not looking our way.

“See ya, Jessa. Hey, Robbie wants you to give him a call,” Brady shouts toward her before he shuts the door.

“Whatever,” she remarks.

When we enter the hallway I notice a couple girls milling around, obviously trying to check out who Brady is here to pick up. They quickly scurry like rabbits when we start walking down the hall, whispering to each other. Brady puts his hand on the small of my back and leads me through the door. His Camaro is parked outside with his hazards on, probably trying to not get another parking ticket.

“You could have called, I would have come out,” I tell him while he opens the door for me.

“Sadie, this is a date. I’m not about to be some shmuck who waits in the car for you to hop in.” He closes the door once I’m securely in the seat and I admire him walking around the front of the car before he settles into his own seat.

“So, where are we going?” I pull my dress closer to my knees. It seems completely too short now that I’m seated.

“It’s a surprise.” He leans over to me. This is it. He is going to kiss me now. Stretching his arm over me, he grabs my seatbelt, bringing it across me, and pushes it in the clip.

“Sorry, I forgot,” I embarrassingly admit.

“Don’t apologize. I quite enjoyed it.” He winks at me and starts the car.

I can’t stop my grin while trying to roll my eyes at him.

I notice we are driving into the city, away from campus. Being so close to two different cities had been a major perk for me when I decided to attend. Brady has a CD in that I have never heard of, but his fingers hit the steering wheel to the beat. His wrists are empty of the black leather bracelets tonight.

“Do you like tapas?” He asks me, bringing my attention back to the conversation.

“Truthfully, I’ve never had them,” I confess.

“Really? That surprises me,” he exclaims.

“Why does that surprise you?”

“I just figured I would have nothing new to introduce you to. That you have pretty much experienced…everything,” he responds, making me believe he had a hard time planning this date.

“You would be astonished what I haven’t experienced.”

“I think you will like tapas,” he assures me.

“I’m sure I will.” I smile over at him.

We pull up to a small and intimate restaurant. There are only about fifteen tables and a bar along one wall. The hostess seats us in the corner by the window, handing us the menus. Brady pulls out my chair and then takes his seat across the table.

A guy about our age comes over with two waters, informing us that his name is Sergio and he’ll be our waiter. He suggests we have sangria so I order one and Brady does too, but non-alcoholic.

“Do you see anything you like?” Brady asks me, perusing the menu.

“I think I will take your lead on this. How about something with shrimp?”

“You pick three things, I will pick three things, and we can share,” he compromises.

I pick a shrimp and two vegetables and Brady picks three meat tapas. After my first sangria, I switch to water.

As we sit back in our seats waiting for our food, I start drilling Brady with questions.

“So tell me, do you plan on making a go of it with The Invisibles?”

“Um…no.” He leans back, hesitant to answer the question. “I love music and I will miss it, but I don’t want it as my career.”

“Do the others know that?”

“Yeah, Trey and Hulk are enrolled in school, too. It’s only Robbie who seems to want to pursue the dream of rock ‘n roll. He left school last year with only a year left, and I have been trying to get him to enroll again for spring semester.”

“What is your major?” I ask him since he never told me, Grant did.

“Engineering. Yours?” he asks in return.

“What kind of engineering?” I dodge his question.

“Civil. Again, what’s yours?”

“Why Engineering?” I spit out another question.

“I love to build things. Always have,” he answers. “Now, what is your major?”

“Guess,” I say.

“Hmm…” he contemplates. “Education. No, that’s not it.” He thinks some more. “Design, no not that either.” He puts his finger to his lip, smirking over to me. “How about Psychology?” He smiles as though he already knew the answer.

“How did you know?” I ask, shocked.

“My secret. I don’t know what you want to do with it though.” His tone becomes serious again.

“I haven’t decided. I hate the idea of being in school anymore, but I would love to counsel people,” I reveal.

“So, you haven’t applied for graduate school yet?” He seems concerned.

“No, I decided to take a year off.”

“Where did you say you are from again?” he asks innocently.

I can’t decide if I should lie or start telling the truth. I’m not ready to tell him yet, but I don’t want to lie either. I’m thankful the food comes just as I’m about to spit the truth out. But Brady can’t be detoured. After Sergio leaves the plates and we start picking at the food, he asks me again.

“Um…I don’t care to talk about my past,” I honestly answer.

“I understand, you tell me what you want. If I pry too much, let me know. But Sadie?” He waits for my full attention. “At some point I want you to trust me enough to tell me everything, okay?” he says and I nod.

“I’m from Maryland,” I reply, divulging the truth.

“Huh,” he says, remembering I lied previously to him, but he lets it go. “Did you leave both parents behind?” He cuts up his meat.

“Yes, my parents are married, living in Maryland, and wondering what the hell I’m doing down here,” I confess, making this seem too easy to reveal my past.

“Why did you leave school with only one year left?” I can tell he knows this is a bad question, but he is trying to figure out how far he can dig.

“Too much prying,” I inform him and he nods his head in confirmation. “What about you?”

“Let’s see. As you already know, I’ve lived here my whole life. My parents are divorced. My mom lives in Florida and my dad is still around. I live with Robbie, Trey, and Hulk off campus. That’s about it.” He pops a shrimp in his mouth, smiling.

“You make it sound so simple.” I admire him.

“Oh believe me, my life is anything but simple,” he admits.

We lighten up the conversation after that, talking about music and movies. Besides eighties music, the only thing we have in common is that we both love horror films.

After we finish the dinner, Brady pays the bill and escorts me out of the small restaurant. Butterflies fill my stomach when he grabs my hand outside and leads me back to the car. We only drive a few miles down the road to an area where bars fill each side of the road. He parks in one of the vacant lots, paying the man his parking fee. When he opens the door for me to get out, he pulls me into him.

“I’m really betting that when you pleaded the Fifth, it was because you enjoy eighties music.” He turns me around to face the bar across the street where a big sign across the entrance reads “Monday – Eighties Night”.

“I guess we will have to see, won’t we?” I smirk over at him and he wraps his arms around me, pulling me in closer. This is it; he’s going to kiss me. His mouth draws closer to mine and I suck in a breath, licking my lips in anticipation. Right as I feel them brush along mine, he slowly moves to my cheek.

“You have no idea how much I want to feel your body against mine.” He kisses my cheek and grabs my hand, leading me into the bar. I stagger behind him as my heart picks up another beat.

We enter the bar and I’m pleased to find it’s a mix of different ages, not just the usual drunken college kids. Brady guides me past a couple of tables, taking one right next to the large dance area. There are still a lot of empty tables, but the dance floor overflows with couples. I don’t notice any groups of a single gender huddled together, but rather everyone seems to be half of a couple. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler plays over the speakers while the couples dance, holding each other close.

Brady motions for me to sit in a chair and then takes the seat across from me. His smile hasn’t faltered all night and I’m enjoying how easygoing his personality is. The waitress comes by, looking him up and down, but he only looks at me until I give my drink order. He gives his order and then thanks her. Either he is oblivious to women checking him out, or he has the courtesy not to look when he is on a date because the waitress is young and attractive.

The tall brunette brings our drinks and I take a small sip of my vodka tonic while Brady drinks his water. Since I have met him, he hasn’t had one drink. This spurs a red light for me. Is he a recovering alcoholic like Jessa asked?

“How come you never drink?” I wonder if he’ll lie to me.

“I do but I’m driving tonight. Anyway, I would never put you in harm’s way.” He glances over and then turns back toward the dance floor. I can’t help but feel he is keeping something from me.

“One drink wouldn’t hurt,” I offer.

“That’s what a lot of people think.” His voice goes cold and I know I struck a chord.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you,” I say softly, swirling the straw around my drink.

“You didn’t. It’s just everyone always asks…” he says, trailing off and then abruptly, he scoots out of his chair. “Let’s dance.” He holds out his hand.

“Footloose” by Kenny Loggins plays over the speakers while the men swing their partners around. Suddenly, I’m incredibly nervous. With only a couple sips of my drink, I’m entirely too sober to dance, especially in front of Brady. I press my heels to the ground in front of the wood planks and shake my head at Brady, but he grins and pulls me harder. I reluctantly follow, dragging my feet while Brady walks to the center of the room. We are more camouflaged here and I start to feel more comfortable. I move side to side, displaying my lack of dance skills. As much as it scares me to be close to Brady, I would rather be slow dancing than show my lack of ability to follow a beat.

Brady wraps his arm around my waist and rests his hand on the small of my back, drawing me into him. I hold my hand in his and he leads us around the dance floor in a smooth form of the box step. A calm feeling absorbs me and I start enjoying myself before he pushes me away from him. When he pulls me back to him, I smack into him and both his hands fall to my waist, catching me. We both laugh. As much as I hate to admit it, I think he just discovered I can’t dance. But instead of letting me go, he pushes me out again and this time I attempt to come back more gracefully.

We dance for another three songs before we make our way back to the table. My cheeks hurt from the constant smiles and laughs. He holds the chair out for me like the gentleman he is, while I tuck my dress under me and take a seat. My drink is completely watered down, and since we were gone from the table, I don’t really want to drink it. The cute brunette comes by and asks Brady if we want something else, never glancing my way. He looks over at me for an answer, forcing her eyes to follow his. I tell her I’ll take a water and Brady asks for the same.

A couple minutes later, she brings bottles of water and two glasses of ice. Brady twists my cap off and pours it into the glass for me. “Your mom raised you well,” I compliment his chivalry skills.

“Actually, it was my dad. He always told me to treat a girl the way you want your daughter to be treated.” One side of his mouth goes up while he places my bottle down and picks up his own.

“Sounds like a wise man”.

“Yeah.” He stares off toward the dance floor again. I’m starting to think Brady Carsen could have more secrets than me.

“Where do The Invisibles play next?” I try to divert the topic.

“Are you going to come?” He turns his head my way and smiles as though there wasn’t an awkward silence a moment ago.

“I don’t know. Their music is okay but the lead singer is so incredibly…what’s the word?” I jokingly look up at the ceiling and scrunch the side of my mouth up.

“Hot?” Brady asks.

“No, that’s not it,” I say, still pretending to think.

“Talented?” He smirks over at me.

“Nope.” I smile.

“Amazing?” He laughs.

“He’s kind of…kind of a stalker,” I joke, trying to conceal my giggle.

“From what I hear, he sees what he wants and goes after it,” he confirms.

“What do you think he wants?” I question.

“I heard that he is completely infatuated with this incredibly beautiful girl. Hold on…I know her name…just give me a minute.” He taps his finger to his lips as though he’s thinking hard.

“What a lucky girl”.

“I know, right? I mean Brady Carsen is like the best catch.” He uses his best girl voice. “I think her name is Sadie. Yeah, that’s it, Sadie Miller. Do you know her?” He leans over the table toward me.

“Yeah, I do. What on earth would he see in her? They are so different, surely his friends would disapprove?” I continue to joke, but Brady’s face drops.

“Are you kidding me? Sadie walks into a room and every guy turns. From what he told me, she is not only gorgeous but smart and funny. The complete package with an amazing body to boot. As far as his friends, he could give a shit what they think and he wishes she would, too.” His brown eyes seem to have gotten a little darker as they pierce into me from across the table.

I don’t know what to say. Thankfully, “Lady in Red” by Chris de Burgh fills the room and Brady takes my hand.

“The last song of the evening and how fitting it is…my lady in red.” He nudges his hand on my back and leads me to the dance floor. He wraps his arms around me, resting his hands on the small of my back. I don’t know where to place my hands, so I ultimately rest them around his neck. We sway back and forth to one of my all-time favorite songs.

Brady holds me close to his chest and my eyes automatically close, letting the beat of the music move my body. He softly sings the words in my ear as he leads me around the floor. His cheek presses against mine as though we are the only two people in the room. My heart beats out of control with his warm hands around me and his soft breath on my neck. I swear I feel his lips graze slightly against my neck and I ache for them to meet mine. I want him…I want him to be mine.

As the song comes to an end, Brady doesn’t sing that last line, telling me he loves me. Instead he hugs me tightly, lifting my feet from the ground. “Thank you for the most incredible date I have ever been on.” He kisses my cheek again before he releases me.

We leave the bar and surprisingly, the waitress looks at me as well as Brady and tells us to have a good night. The car is silent on the way home, but Brady holds my hand, rubbing his thumb across my finger. When he glances over at me, we exchange smiles. The ride back to my dorm feels too short. I don’t want to say goodnight to him, but I will never ask him to stay. The thought of him leaving me tomorrow after I sleep with him is unbearable.

Brady parks the car in front of the dorm and his eyes move my way. For a brief moment, I think he is going to ask me to go home with him, but he opens the door and steps out. I watch him as he walks around the car before he opens my door. My body protests leaving the safe Camaro cocoon with him, but I get out and accept the hand he offers. He entwines our fingers and we slowly walk toward the doors. Emptiness fills my stomach with every step.

When we get to the door, Brady asks for my keys. I hand them to him and he opens the dorm doors, motioning for me to enter before him. He turns me into the mail locker alcove to conceal us from passers-by. He leans me against the cold metal mailboxes and stretches his arm above my head. This is it; he is finally going to kiss me. I should have popped a mint in my mouth. His other hand moves up toward my face and his thumb lightly brushes over my lips. I stare into the caramel eyes, filled with desire and want. He tips his head down to me and before I have a chance to lick in preparation, his lips are on mine. He cups the side of my face and captures my bottom lip with his soft and gentle ones. I allow his tongue access after he slides his tongue between mine, asking to enter. We taste one another as our tongues mingle together. He tightens his hand against my cheek and draws his body closer to me.

Brady slowly stops the kiss but continues to give me short tender kisses before he ultimately pulls away, leaving me numb.

“This date keeps getting better,” he says softly and grins down at me.

I smile back. I can’t think of a good come-back because I just want to beg him to do it all over again. I lean forward from the mailboxes and Brady puts his arm around my waist, leading me down the hall.

The halls are empty since it is Monday night and almost everyone has class tomorrow. I don’t hear Jessa on the other side of the door, so I assume she is asleep. The pull to have him come in and climb into my bed with me is fierce. But I can’t take the chance he won’t be there tomorrow. That he will use me like the others.

“Thank you, Sadie. I had a great time.” He leans me up against the door again, encasing me with his arms.

“Me too,” I agree, “thank you.” I hold the doorknob behind my back with my hand and stare up at those eyes that could make me do some very bad things.

He gives me a chaste kiss on the lips. “I will definitely be dreaming about you tonight.” His eyes roam my body, as though trying to burn the image in his head.

“Goodnight, Brady.” I open the door before I beg him to come in.

“Goodnight, Sadie. Sweet dreams,” he responds.

I shut the door and lean against it, releasing the breath I have been holding. I’m in so much trouble. Brady Carsen just carved out another piece of my heart.