Fight Or Flight (Tempted Series Generation 2.0)

by Janine Infante Bosco

  I wanted her in my bed.

  I wanted to purge all the girls that came before her from my mind. Hell, I wanted to rewrite my first time, and that thought led me to wonder if I’d be rewriting her first time too. When you start wondering if the girl you’re infatuated with is a virgin, you got problems. Sick, sick, fucking problems.

  So a party was a fabulous idea.

  It got me out of the house and away from Brooklyn.

  My mom was all for it.

  Dad, not so much.

  And Joss, well, she fucked up everything by asking me to take Brooklyn to the party with me. I couldn’t say no to her and if I’m being honest, every part of my being leaped at the chance. I was all talk. I didn’t want to be away from Brooklyn. Not even for a little bit. I wanted to take her to the party. I wanted to introduce her to my friends. I wanted…well… I just wanted to be with her. It’s that simple.

  It’s been a half hour since I asked Brooklyn if she was ready to go, and I’m still sitting here waiting for her to finish getting dressed. Someone needs to tell the girl we’re going to a party on the beach and not the spring formal. That she’s perfect just the way she is.

  I vote for that person to be my dad. Maybe then he’ll stop pacing in front of me. The guy is making me nervous…and dizzy. So friggin’ dizzy.

  Suddenly his feet come to a halt, and he turns to glare at me. With his finger pointed at me, he opens and closes his mouth. Just when you think he can’t get any crazier, he surprises you.

  “Are you okay?” I ask curiously, noting the vein in his forehead is bulging just like Grandpa’s does whenever he’s about to lose his shit on one of the guys from the club.

  “I want you home by eleven o’clock,” he orders. “No drinking either and keep your dick in your pants.”

  Whoa. First of all, my dad isn’t usually the strict one out of my parents. Second, I don’t remember the last time I was given a curfew. Third, who said anything about drinking and fourth, why is he suddenly worried about my dick? The guy bought me a box of condoms for my fourteenth birthday.

  “Um…”

  “Don’t um me. I’ve been where you’re at boy and I know how it ends.”

  “It’s a party,” I argue.

  I’ve been to dozens of them and he’s never been this bent out of shape.

  “Yeah, sure. It may start as a party. Innocent fun between two cubs, but then you’re screwing each other’s brains out against a brick wall and BAM! The next thing you know, there’s a pea.”

  “A pea?”

  What the hell is he talking about?

  “A baby!”

  Oh, this is a new level of crazy.

  “No one’s having a baby.”

  “Yeah, I said that too, but here you are,” he hisses, dragging his fingers through his hair. Then he narrows his eyes. “I see the way you look at her. I used to look at your mom the same way. Hell, I still do.”

  Busted.

  Shaking my head, I nervously rub my sweaty palms over my thighs and meet my dad’s gaze. My mom knowing I have a thing for Brooklyn is one thing…I’m her favorite cub, remember? This guy…he looks like he’s ready to hang me by my balls.

  “It’s not what you think,” I defend.

  He cocks an eyebrow and crosses his arms against his chest.

  “I saw her sneak out of the basement this morning while I was meditating, so tell me, Simba, what do I think?”

  Shit.

  I forgot all about his morning routine and his quest for peace. The man is up with the birds.

  “We didn’t…you know…do anything…” I stammer. “We were just talking and fell asleep.”

  He dismisses my reply with a wave of his hand. Yeah, the words sound flat even to my own ears. I may not have touched her, but that doesn’t mean something didn’t happen. Brooklyn got under my skin. She took root to some place deep inside of me. A place no one’s been. A place I didn’t even know existed.

  “You must think I was born yesterday,” he scoffs.

  Shaking my head, I swallow and point to the top of his head.

  “The gray hair on your head says otherwise.”

  “You’re a real wiseass, you know that?”

  Before I can respond, my mom enters the room and wraps her arms around my dad’s middle. Lifting her chin to his chest, she smiles at him and it suddenly feels like the wind is ripped from my lungs because watching my mother smile at my dad reminds me how Brooklyn smiled at me this morning when she opened her eyes. You know, before she panicked and tripped over her own two feet trying to escape me.

  “Takes one to know one, Tiger,” Mom says before her eyes cut to me. My dad’s arms snake around her and he drops a kiss on the top of her head—just like I did before Brooklyn slipped out of my bed.

  “Brooklyn is ready,” Mom says to me.

  I blink slowly. Those three words shouldn’t make my heart race. Drawing out a sigh, I slap my hands to my thighs. It’s this house. I need to get away from the Kitten and Tiger show.

  “Great, where is she?” I ask hoarsely.

  “Right here,” Brooklyn murmurs.

  My parents pull out of each other’s arms and my fucking chest tightens as soon as I get a glimpse of her. I’ve said it since I crashed her mom’s car, and I’ll probably say it until I drop dead—Brooklyn is beautiful. Whether she’s wearing pajamas like she was last night when she fell asleep in my arms or now, dressed in jeans and a tank top with her hair curled and makeup on her face.

  She is a beautiful hurricane.

  “What is it? Is my mascara running?” she asks me.

  “No, it’s nothing. You…” My words trail as I feel the weight of my dad’s stare. “We should get going.” I regretfully tear my eyes away from Brooklyn and dig my phone out of my back pocket to call our ride.

  “Brooklyn is driving.”

  Lifting my eyes from the screen, I stare at my dad. When I first asked my parents if I could go to the party, I told them I had asked my cousin Luca for a ride. He was back in New York training for an upcoming fight and seeing as he’s over twenty-one, I figured I’d take advantage and make him stop to get beer for the party.

  He tosses the keys to Joss’ car to Brooklyn.

  “No drinking and driving,” he warns as she catches the key ring.

  “There’s going to be alcohol at this party?” Brooklyn asks, looking at me.

  I shrug my shoulders.

  “Can we just go?”

  Before the fun police fucks this night up even more.

  I go to take her hand but stop myself. Instead, I nod toward the front door impatiently.

  “Eric,” my dad calls.

  Christ. What the hell happened to him?

  “Yeah?”

  “No glove, no love.”

  It’s official—he’s finally lost the few marbles he had left.

  After a quick goodbye to Joss, we were finally on our way. The drive to the party was awkward as all hell. It felt like the last couple of days never happened and we were back to being two clueless teens sitting across from one another in a pizzeria. I wanted to hold her hand. I wanted to tell her she looked amazing. I wanted to stare at her lips the entire ride there, but my dad had gotten in my head.

  He also had gotten into my pockets.

  Something I realized when I attempted to make small talk by offering Brooklyn a stick of gum. I reached into the pocket of my leather jacket and instead of finding a pack of gum; I found a strip of condoms. Thankfully, neither of us had bad breath, or we’d really be up shit’s creek without a paddle. But hey, if we wanted to rock the canoe, we could have safe sex.

  Where was I? Oh, right. So, the party was at Michael Dawson’s house, a senior who lived on the south shore of Staten Island in a cushy mansion with the beach acting as his backyard. I instructed Brooklyn to park in front of Michael’s house and I led her to the backyard. There was a fence we had to jump to get to the beach, and that’s when things went downhill. Apparently, jumping fences isn’t
a sport in Connecticut like it is in the concrete jungle and the girl with the tight pants needed a boost.

  Having Brooklyn climb me like a tree wasn’t something I was prepared for; at one point my hands were on her ass and my face was buried in between her tits. It was hell in its purest form and I actually wound up throwing her over the fence.

  You read that correctly.

  I threw her over the fence, and she’s been brushing sand out of places sand shouldn’t be ever since.

  “I’m sorry,” I mutter as we trek through the sand.

  “It’s okay,” she says, shaking out her shirt. “I didn’t know the party was on the beach. Can’t we get in trouble for being here?”

  I shrug my shoulders.

  “It’s a public beach.”

  “The sign on the fence said it closes at dusk and trespassers will be prosecuted.”

  “You read the sign?”

  “Well, yeah, before you sent me flying over the fence, I read the sign.”

  Something tells me I’m never going to live this one down. Forty years from now, when we’re sitting in the backyard with our grandkids, she’s going to tell them about that one time when grandpa threw grandma over the fence and the rest, kids, is history.

  “Don’t worry, okay?” I say, taking her hand. Fuck it. I give it a squeeze and watch as her eyes dart from our joined hands back to mine. “We do this shit all the time. I promise it’s all good.”

  Smiling, she raises an eyebrow and I notice just how long her eyelashes really are.

  “You throw girls over fences on the regular?” she teases.

  Grinning at her, I wiggle my eyebrows.

  “Nah, you’re my first.”

  She blushes, and all is right in my world again. I forget about the awkwardness of the car ride, and I push my dad’s voice out of my head as I drape an arm around her shoulders and lead her to the bonfire. Danny is the first to spot us and jumps up from his spot in the sand.

  “You made it, Montgomery.”

  Barely, but he doesn’t need to know that. In fact, I think we should forget everything that’s happened until this moment. All that matters is that we made it.

  He stops directly in front of me and Brooklyn and I watch as his eyes slowly rake over her. The bastard clearly likes what he sees.

  “You didn’t tell me you were bringing a plus one.”

  “Quit looking at her like that, you jerk,” I growl. “Brook, this is Danny, Uncle Jack’s son. Danny, Brooklyn.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” she says, releasing my hand. She offers it up to Danny, and he stares at it for a moment. A sense of panic immediately washes over me because I didn’t have a chance to give him or anyone else a heads-up that I was bringing Brooklyn with me. Thanks to Robert’s big mouth, most of the kids in our circle know Brooklyn’s situation and the reasons she’s here. If they start acting weird or talk about her mom dying, the night will be ruined, and my smiling girl will turn into a pumpkin.

  I hold my breath as I wait for Danny to respond, silently willing him to use his fucking brain for once in his life. I don’t know if it’s the universe that obliges or an act of God, but he slides his hand into hers and tosses me a wink.

  “Oh, the pleasure is all mine, gorgeous. Come, let me introduce you to the crew,” he says, and just like that, I’m a forgotten thought. He leads her to the bonfire where he introduces her to Tabitha, Connor, Ryder, Lexi, and Michael. Out of everyone here, Michael is the only one whose father isn’t a member of the Satan’s Knights, but we don’t hold it against him because he’s got a sweet pad with easy access to the beach. That, plus he and Lexi have been dating on and off for about a year now. Seeing as how she’s currently sitting on his lap, I’m going to say they’re on—at least for tonight, anyway. A few beers and that could change.

  “What are you guys drinking?” Danny questions, lifting the top of a cooler that’s packed with booze. “I’ve got Johnny, Jimmy, and Jose.”

  “Where did you get all of this shit?” I ask him.

  “Where do you think? Kate’s, of course.”

  “Man, when they find out—”

  “No one’s going to find out,” he interrupts, shooting me a glare. “I took care of it, okay? Now are you drinking or what?”

  I shake my head, and he looks to Brooklyn.

  “What about you, babe? Pick your poison. I got beer and some of those Twisted Iced Tea things.”

  She eyes the cooler full of booze then diverts her gaze to me. I lean close so no one hears me.

  “I’m not drinking. If you want to have one, go ahead.”

  “But you don’t have your license.”

  “I’ve got my permit and my cousin Luca on standby.”

  She hesitates for a second, then grabs a beer from the cooler. One beer somehow turns into three—not that I’m counting or anything. I mean, the whole point in bringing Brooklyn tonight was for her to let loose and unwind. So, we have to figure out a way home—big deal. Dealing with my dad once we got home, though—that’s going to be rough. I doubt he’ll have much to say to Brooklyn, but he’s going to give me hell.

  The thing is, I’m not sure I care.

  I am willing to take the punishment if the crime is seeing Brooklyn like this. The girl hasn’t stopped smiling and laughing. When Michael hooked up his portable speaker, she stood from her place beside me in the sand and went to dance with the rest of the girls. Her laughter is contagious and her smile…damn, her smile is everything. If I had any talent whatsoever, I’d paint a picture of her. I’d do it a hundred times and a million different ways. I’d plaster that art on every surface for all the world to enjoy.

  “Man, you’re hopeless,” Danny says from across the fire. “You haven’t stopped staring at her.”

  He’s right, and still, I don’t make any move to stop. She walks to the cooler and grabs another beer. Using the hem of her shirt, she twists the cap off and brings the neck to her lips. She doesn’t flinch like she did with the first three beers and when she brings it away from her mouth, her eyes find mine.

  “This stuff isn’t so bad after all,” she comments as she saunters through the sand, making her way back to me. Touching a hand to my shoulder with her free hand, she balances herself. Unsure what she’s trying to do, I cover her hand with mine.

  “Easy, now.”

  A giggle flies past her lips as I hold her steady and she kicks off her shoes. She sends one flying, and it misses the firepit by a hair. It might be time to cut the little rebel off before we have to call the fire department.

  “There’s so much sand in my shoes,” she explains as she sits beside me. Pulling her hand away from my shoulder, she replaces it with her head. As she leans against me, she brings the beer to her lips again.

  “I didn’t take you for much of a beer drinker,” I say. Especially after she nearly spit out her first sip. Unable to keep my hands to myself, I twirl her hair around my finger and wait for her to respond.

  “I’m not. This is my first time really drinking,” she reveals. “Do you think the water is cold?”

  I glance at the ocean and the black waves rolling onto the shore.

  “It’s the middle of March, it’s probably arctic.”

  She elbows me.

  “Chicken.”

  Yeah, now would be a good time to cut her off. Fuck the fire department. If she keeps drinking, I’ll have to call the Coast Guard. I take the beer from her and she turns her head to protest, but I lift it to my lips and drain the bottle.

  “Maybe you’re not a chicken after all,” she teases.

  Setting the empty beer bottle on the other side of me, I turn back to her and wrap my arms around her, pulling her close so she’s settled between my legs, her back pressed against my front. Her body suddenly goes stiff in my arms.

  “Not a chicken,” I hum against her ear.

  She glances over her shoulder and our eyes lock.

  “So, you’ll go swimming with me?” she questions.

&nbs
p; “Sure,” I reply with a nod. “In the summer.”

  “Will you even be here then?”

  I tear my eyes away from her to see if anyone heard her question, but the girls are still dancing around in the sand and Danny is too busy rolling a blunt to give a damn about anything else. Bringing my eyes back to her, I notice the frown on her lips.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that,” she whispers. “No one here knows your plans, do they?”

  I shake my head.

  “It’s fine.” I’m not entirely sure why I’m keeping it a secret. I’ll be eighteen soon enough and with graduation near, my parents are going to expect me to decide on a college. I guess I figured I’d drop the bomb then—no pun intended.

  But to answer Brooklyn’s question, the odds of me being here this summer are slim to none. Basic training is normally ten weeks long, but since I’m interested in infantry, it’ll likely be closer to fourteen weeks and the plan is to enlist right after I’m finished with school. The thought of not being able to swim with her doesn’t sit well, and it makes me wonder what else I’ll be missing.

  “Yo,” Danny calls, interrupting my thoughts. Lifting my head, I find him standing in front of us, holding a blunt. I might’ve stood a chance of rejecting his offer if it wasn’t for the grim truth weighing on my mind. Instead, I quickly unravel my arms from Brooklyn’s body and take the blunt. She moves, so she’s sitting beside me and watches me intently as I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my lips around the end of the blunt. Desperate to clear my head, I hit it hard. The smoke burns my throat and instead of focusing on all I’ll be missing; I lock eyes with what’s right in front of me.

  Her.

  Right here.

  Right now.

  I drag the blunt away from my lips and a cloud of smoke trails past my lips as I pass it to her. She stares at it for a beat, drawing her lower lip between her teeth. Reading the hesitation in her eyes, I ask, “You’ve never smoked before, have you?”