Boys of Brayshaw High

by Meagan Brandy

  Crossing her arms over the top of the door, she leans her chin against them, calling me over with a crook of the finger.

  I was already headed for her and she damn well knows it.

  Raven smirks when I plant my feet on one side of the door as she stays tucked away on the other.

  “What do you say, big man, you want in?”

  Now it’s me who smirks, and she rolls her eyes playfully.

  I pull the door open and step against her.

  Her smirk stays in place but the lungful of air she takes and holds onto, and the more her body pushes against mine gives her away.

  She likes when I’m near.

  “You were right. You were there to divert. You’ve been around specifically so we could climb in your head and see what your angle was, so we could use it against you first if needed. But you knew that already,” I whisper, and her eyes fly between mine. “Now ask me what’s changed since the beginning. Ask me ... what keeps me up at night, Raven.”

  “I don’t wanna know.” She tries to hide her swallow.

  “Yeah, you do.”

  Her lips pull between her teeth as I step back.

  Like Cap said, she’s not mad we used her, but she wishes she was.

  She doesn’t have that tick inside her to care and she hates that about herself. She doesn’t give a damn, because she expects it. It’s fucked up, but it’s Raven.

  She blinks away her thoughts and sassy Raven slides back in place.

  “Not coming along, are we?” She jerks her head like she’s winning, but then the engine rumbles in the distance and she glances over my shoulder.

  She rolls her eyes and steps out, so she can close the car door. She dips her head in the window. “We’ll follow.”

  She bumps my shoulder as she passes.

  “Not even gonna fight me on it, huh?” I tease, and she scoffs.

  “Please.”

  I catch her by the back belt loop, quickly spinning her around and she yelps, but her fucking smile ... fuck.

  I step into her, fire burning in my groin. “You think you’ve got me all figured out?”

  “I know you enough to know how that’d have ended.”

  “How would it have ended,” I rasp, slowly moving to grip her hips.

  Her eager eyes darken, and she sways on her feet a bit.

  I lean in and her breath hitches.

  The light squeal of brakes has her jerking back.

  Bad fucking timing.

  Captain rolls to a stop beside us and Royce hangs out the window with a grin. “RaeRae, sneaking off already, are we?” he tsks. “Not sure that’ll work for us.”

  “I’m not sure I care,” she jibes back.

  I pull open the door and she climbs in.

  Royce shifts his smile from her to me then drops back in his seat.

  I slide in and she raises a brow when I move to the middle seat.

  When I don’t take my eyes off of her, she pushes through her edginess with a laugh, turning to look out her side window.

  She’s got tension rolling off her and I don’t like it.

  I like her in fuck it mode. That’s who she really is. Just ... wild.

  I turn, whispering in her ear. “Royce’s right. Not sure this arrangement’ll work.”

  “What arrangement is that?” She pulls the sleeves of her hoodie over her hands.

  “The one where you’re in your bed and I’m in mine.”

  She drops a grin to her chest before looking to me. “Well, you don’t have to worry about a thing like that, big man.”

  “Yeah, why is that?”

  We pull up and park along the long road of cars. She slides forward on the seat, ready to climb out the second the locks click open. She looks back to me. “’Cause I don’t have a bed. I’m only borrowing one.”

  And then she hops out, heading right for Bass and his emo ass friend.

  “Dude. Should we be here?” Royce looks from Captain to me. “Half these fools do work for us. We don’t hang with them for a reason. Business and pleasure, Madman. Not good.”

  Cap surveys the scene. “If shit goes down here, cameras could roll.”

  “They won’t. We feed these fuckers.”

  “Yeah, but you know Graven’s been poking around a lot more than normal lately. Any of them could be waiting for a leg up.”

  I look back to Raven who stands there, lighting a fucking joint.

  “You’re right. But I’m not leaving her here.” I look to Cap. “Go home. I can’t have you getting fucked out here.”

  He glares. “Fuck you, bro. Like I’d leave.”

  “I can’t ask you to stay.”

  “To watch Raven?” He unbuckles his seat belt. “Yeah, man. You can. Three for one, brother. That’s how it goes.”

  My chest tightens and I look away.

  My brothers, loyal no matter what.

  We step out and follow along the orchard line.

  Raven tips her head back, blowing smoke into the night, smiling as it disappears. She catches me watching and winks, but when her eyes slide to Royce and she lifts the joint, my head snaps his way.

  He quickly glances off, scratching the side of his head.

  He’s fucking smoking again?

  “Hey, Bass, you got more of this?” she asks him and he looks from her to us.

  “Right.” She laughs. “Conversation for later.”

  I don’t fucking think so...

  She passes what’s left to the emo guy and when she does, I swoop in, wrapping my arms around her middle.

  She chuckles. “What do you think you’re doing, big man?”

  “Showing these people what’s mine.”

  “Hmm ...” She muses, spinning in my arms. She looks up, a frisky fire shining at me. She whispers, “Funny ... ’cause you haven’t even showed me yet.” She pulls away in good nature.

  I let her. Any more of that whispered rasp and my dick would be hard.

  She walks a few feet ahead, spins to face us, her hands rising above her head as she starts dancing to the music flowing through the trees. “You boys ready to see your first fake campfire?”

  “Can we get a real repeat of—”

  I shove his ass. “I’ll fuck you up you finish that sentence.”

  Royce shoves me back with a grin and dances toward her. The two make their way to the middle of the crowd.

  Me and Captain find a place to chill not far from view.

  When Royce gets sidetracked and starts dancing with some random, I wait for Raven to pull back his attention, but she doesn’t.

  In fact, she doesn’t even look his way.

  Or ours.

  She dances on her own with people surrounding her, hands in the air, hips swaying in perfect rhythm.

  Her eyes are closed, her head moving with her body. Sheets of sleek, dark hair fall over her shoulders, the tips brushing the little bit of exposed skin of her stomach. Not a care who’s around or hoping anyone is watching. Just doing her because she wants to.

  “She seems more relaxed here,” Cap voices my thought.

  “She’s in her element.”

  We turn to find a blank-faced Bishop behind us, holding up two cans of Keystone. I look from his hand to him. “I’ll only offer once. Take it if you want it. It’s cheap, but it works.”

  Cap nods and takes both, and Bishop walks off.

  I glance back to Raven.

  She opens her eyes but doesn’t care to look around to how many she sucked in with the curl of her body, doesn’t look to confirm if she’s drawn me in. Because she doesn’t fucking care.

  She splits from the crowd in the next second and I take a step forward, but Captain’s hand hits my chest.

  “Leave her, brother. Let her breathe a minute.”

  “Why should I?” I track her every step toward a group set up with a keg.

  “Because she let herself get comfortable this weekend, which couldn’t have been easy on her, and we left her feeling like shit. If we want her clo
se, we need her to admit to herself she likes being there.”

  My eyes narrow as they follow her. “Should we be letting her get close?”

  “I honestly don’t know. We’re not supposed to want to. Dad won’t approve.”

  “Dad isn’t here.”

  “Makes no difference and you know it. He always said a woman would make us crazy. We didn’t believe him, but Raven, I mean shit.”

  Raven is proof it could happen. We all feel the shift.

  The guy at the keg nods his chin and she pulls out a bill – I can’t see how much from here – and hands it over.

  He pours her two cups.

  I look to my free can of beer.

  ‘Course she wouldn’t want one simply handed to her.

  Double fisting, she weaves her way through the crowd, injecting herself right between Royce and his partner.

  The girl jerks back, ready to fire off, but when Raven steps closer to her, the chick lifts her hands with a nod and walks away.

  “What was that?” Captain asks right as I think it.

  I look to Bishop who of fucking course has his eyes on her too.

  They cut to mine a second before he turns and walks away.

  I look around, noticing how everyone near her gives her a few inches of space, unlike the others near who are all smashed against each other.

  Son of a bitch. “They respect her,” I determine.

  Mine and Cap’s eyes connect a moment, both our expressions tight.

  Raven has gained these people’s respect from the few fights she’s had here.

  She earned it where we demanded it.

  “Maddoc ... we need be careful.”

  I nod. My thought exactly. But we’ll worry about that later.

  I’m focused on right now.

  Royce takes the cup Raven offers him and when he wraps his hand around her middle, laying his palm on her hip, I toss my beer to the ground.

  “Yeah.” Captain laughs. “Guess that’s enough breathing for the night.”

  Royce sees me coming and chuckles. He whispers something in her ear and spins the other way, grabbing the first girl he can find to grind on.

  And I grab mine.

  She laughs lightly when I pull her in and without instruction starts dancing against me.

  I bend at the knee, pushing mine farther between hers so we fit better.

  She looks down, following the movement of my body.

  I pull her eyes back to mine, finding the tip of her tongue between her teeth. “Didn’t take you for the dancing type, big man.”

  “If I wanna dance, I dance.”

  She smiles and swiftly spins in my arms, bringing that ass in, but she doesn’t push it on me.

  I tug her in until it does.

  Her chest inflates and her movements slow. She’s getting turned on just leaning on me.

  I run my hands up her ribs and hers drops back, lazily laying against my shoulder, so I skim my lips over her arm.

  She took off her sweater and it works in my favor.

  Her body shivers and she steps away a fraction of an inch, but my grip tightens to keep her from moving farther.

  “You should admit it now.” I slip my hands in her tight as hell front pockets, right against the curve of her bikini line.

  “Admit what?”

  “That you want me.”

  A husky ass laugh leaves her and she turns to meet my eyes over her shoulder. They’re glossy and low, probably effects of the weed and the little alcohol she’s had, but there’s a fire in there too. Defiance laced with desire.

  Mine.

  “You think I won’t admit it, big man?” Her eyes light up, along with the corner of her mouth tipping up. “You’re wrong. Do I want you?” Her stare bounces between mine. “When you’re pushed up on me like this? Hell yeah, I do.”

  She makes quick work of pulling away and starts walking backward.

  “But when you’re a few feet away, the fog wears off and it all goes back to normal.”

  “Yeah.” I meet her every step back with one forward. “And what’s normal?”

  “Normal is you needing power, and me refusing to give it.”

  “Trying to pull the old oil and water card, Raven?”

  “Nah.” She shakes her head. “We’re both made of the same things, big man.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “Problem is, I want to stay out of sight.”

  “You think I don’t?”

  “Oh, I know you do, but it’s different. You want to be out of sight, but you’re meant to be seen, and me?” She looks left, nothing but dark orchards for miles. “I’m meant to disappear.”

  I step in front of her and she doesn’t jerk away when my fingers grip her chin to pull her attention to me. “Meant to or want to?”

  She inhales as my hand slides into her hair. A slow blink. A tight grip to my bicep.

  She’s ready for me.

  “Both,” she breathes against my mouth now lined up with hers. Her stare bounces before mine. “You gonna kiss me again, big man? Right here, where all can see?”

  “Again?” I raise a dark brow and hers pull in slightly. “I haven’t touched your lips yet, Raven.”

  She goes to speak but stops when my thumb pulls down on her bottom lip.

  My eyes meet hers. “At least, not these ones.”

  She tenses at first and then, fuck me, a shy-like smile I’d never expect from her spreads and she drops her eyes. That look has my head spinning.

  “You ate me out,” she whispers.

  “Nah.” I release her, and she looks up as I’m stepping back with a smirk. “I only licked you a little bit.”

  Her tongue sweeps over one corner of her mouth to the next, her smile coming right back. Her stimulated eyes track me as I walk backward.

  She knows what I’m saying.

  That was nothing.

  I turn to head for Captain, unable to wipe the smirk off my face.

  “Uh, oh.” Captain takes one look at me and laughs. He downs what’s left in his can and tosses it in the back of the pickup we’re standing by. “That look can only mean one thing coming from you, brother.”

  My smirk deepens.

  I think I’ll keep her.

  “Rae.”

  I ignore Maybell, pretending to be asleep when I heard her walk in the room.

  “Come on now, your headphones ain’t in, child, so I know you awake.”

  Despite my best effort, I crack a small smile, and one eye pops open.

  She grins and walks over, pulling her shawl closer at the center. She sits down on the vacant bed across from mine.

  “Is this about my taking off this past weekend?” Or the journal I stole ... “We didn’t exactly talk—”

  “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. You were here all weekend.” She hits me with a stern expression.

  I nod against my pillow. “Right.”

  “You know,” she starts. “Lots of girls come on through here. Some stay until eighteen, most take off beforehand, and of course ... some get the boot in they bratty asses.”

  I laugh lightly, moving to sit up.

  She’s going somewhere with this.

  “They like you.”

  Neither of us pretends “they” need to be named.

  “They hardly know me.”

  “But they want to, I can see it. You know, never once did those boys pull a girl who came from here into their world.”

  “No offense, but I don’t believe that.”

  She scoffs. “Oh, Royce may have a few missed curfews here and there. That boy doesn’t need to know or like a thing about ‘em to, well, you know.” She shakes her head, but not in judgment.

  “You love them,” I observe.

  “I raised them.”

  So that part of the rumor is true.

  She tips her head back with a light laugh. “Well, I raised them as much as they let me. Their dad was good to them when he was around, but he was gone
more often than not and eventually, they were old enough to be angry over it. The kind of anger a parent can cause never really goes away, it grows like mold from the inside, testing to see if we’re strong enough to clean it out. But they still love him despite his faults.”

  “No offense, Maybell, but why are you telling me this?”

  “I can’t say.” Her face tightens, the truth of her words causing her concern. She stands. “Might have something to do with the person waiting outside for ya. Call it, intuition.”

  She moves to the door and turns back to me.

  “I see something in you, Raven. Something I’m not sure you see yourself. Don’t let ... just, trust your gut, child. Trust ... what you know. The rest will come in time.”

  She doesn’t wait for a response but leaves the room, and I’m left real fucking confused as to what she’s getting at.

  I slip my feet in my boots, taking my time as I lace them up and pull a hoodie over my head.

  I’m sure Royce will have a lighter.

  I walk out the front door and hop off the side of the porch.

  “Well.”

  Lead fills my veins in an instant and I stop dead in my tracks.

  No.

  I slowly turn toward street.

  Glacier blue eyes rake over me with pure disdain. “Never seen that smile from you before. Sure faded fast.” Her glossy eyes meet mine. “Don’t look so happy to see me.”

  “I’m not.”

  I glance to the porch when the door opens and Maybell steps out, pretending she needed to pull from the mailbox right then. Her eyes briefly skate past mine before landing on my mother. Her features tighten and she pauses a moment, but then walks back in.

  I turn back.

  My mom’s eyes are stuck on the Bray house, but slowly shift to mine when I move closer to the curb.

  She leans against a blue Toyota that must be older than me. I try to glance past to see the driver, but she blocks my view.

  I let my eyes travel over her and hate how good the universe was to a piece of shit like her.

  Long, perfectly shaped legs, wide hips with a trim waist, and a rack many women pay thousands for, all given to the one who gives it away for a fee.

  Her skirt just covers her upper thighs, her underwear string pulled up over her hips and her top is more a thick headband around her chest than a shirt. ‘Course, it’s white and her bra is a deep silky purple. Her hair, long and dark is curled and piled on her head. Perfectly placed. Her makeup too.