“I’m almost ready—I swear!” she apologetically shouted down the hall.
Even with the panicked thought of telling her about my past and my family, I still smiled at the sound of her voice. She had already gotten deep into my system.
“Take your time,” I called back, grinning when I leaned back against the couch and saw a flash of red as she dashed into the bathroom.
I was praying that she would take her time. Because the longer she spent getting ready, the more time I had to put together a list of things I could tell her that hopefully wouldn’t scare her off.
Brianna let out a low whistle as I pulled the rental car into the parking lot. I arched a brow in her direction, smiling a little at her throaty chuckle.
“You’re really putting that football salary to work tonight, huh?” she teased, gesturing out the windshield at the restaurant I’d chosen.
Admittedly, my choice was a bit of overkill. It was one of the swankier places in town, but when Brianna finally came out of the bathroom all dolled up in the sexy dress she had worn to the reunion, I wanted nothing more than to take her somewhere worthy of her beauty, even if it wasn’t typically a great fit for either of us.
“You’re the one who decided to wear that dress,” I pointed out with a smirk, turning my head to stare hard at her cleavage after I killed the engine. “Not exactly a fast food outfit.”
“Is that a complaint?” she fired back with a grin.
“Hell no.”
Her head tilted back as she inspected my expression, a satisfied smile eventually sliding over her lips. She gave me a short nod before reaching to open the door and stepping out of the car.
I rushed out and around to her side before she managed to get it shut, pulling her gently out of the way and closing the door as I chided, “You aren’t going to let me play the role of a gentleman?”
Brianna snorted. “You? A gentleman?”
“I always make you come first, don’t I?” I whispered, smirking when a shiver ran up her spine.
“It’s going to be a long night if you keep that up,” she whispered back as she slid her hand in the crook of my elbow.
“It’s going to be a long night regardless.”
Brianna laughed, the sound light and musical, before she playfully slapped me on the arm and said, “Save it for after the date, yeah? I’d like to get through the meal without wanting to jump your bones.”
“You mean you don’t want to jump my bones all the time?” I asked with a pout, adding on a fake sniffle for good measure. “I’m hurt, Bri. I thought we were on the same page here.”
The doorman held open the front door for us as we approached and Brianna stifled a laugh, rolling her eyes at me as I led her inside.
Likely due to the recent article about me in the local paper, I was recognized as soon as we entered the building. The hostess guided us into the restaurant and we were given one of the center tables where all the other patrons could gawk at the celebrity. Not that I considered myself a celebrity in the slightest, but it was just how these things worked.
My biggest complaint was that I wouldn’t be able to have Brianna snuggle up close to my side in a private booth. Maybe next time.
“This place is ridiculous,” Brianna said lowly as she pulled off the light jacket she wore over her dress and placed it on the back of her chair. “Do you come here often?”
“Never been,” I admitted as I pulled her chair out and waited until she was seated before moving around the small table to take my own seat.
A waiter closed in on our table before either of us could get out another word, delivering the menus and reading off the specials before asking what kind of wine we wanted.
“None for me, thanks,” Brianna said right as I opened my mouth to request a red. I frowned at her questioningly and she shrugged, directing her gaze back up to the waiter as she said, “Just water, please.”
I was so caught off guard by her request that it took me a moment to realize that his attention was now focused on me. I hastily cleared my throat and said, “Water’s fine.”
I had no idea what her reasoning was, but the pleased smile on her face told me that I had chosen right by going along with her. Once the waiter disappeared, I leaned forward over the table and arched an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.
“You could’ve gotten a drink, you know.”
“Why didn’t you?” I asked, remembering how she had quickly polished off the Black Russian at the reunion.
“It’s our first date. I just… Well, I want to make sure that I’ll remember it all clearly.”
It definitely wasn’t what I expected her to say, but then again, I really didn’t know what I had expected. All I could say for certain was that I was oddly touched by her reasoning and I felt a smile slowly curl my lips, one that was returned by Brianna immediately. With a light pink blush staining her cheeks, she looked down at her menu. Even though I knew I should probably follow her lead and do the same, I couldn’t stop myself from using the opportunity to study her.
She had dressed nicely for our date, which was the biggest reason why I had made the last second decision and chosen this restaurant. But even though we were both out of our elements, I couldn’t spot any tension in her shoulders as she scanned the entrees with those pretty eyes of hers.
Was it me who had done that? Was I the reason she was so at ease? The thought of unknowingly doing so gave me an odd sense of male pride, but I couldn’t deny being worried about the implications. It was clear to me that Brianna did indeed like me the same way I liked her, which just meant that I had that much more to lose.
Generally speaking, I didn’t like to lose and even though I had yet to put myself in such a position with a woman, I found myself totally unwilling to lose Bri. It might have only been a few days, but she already meant more to me than I honestly cared to admit.
“So… Are we actually going to talk or are you just trying to distract me with the fancy restaurant?” Brianna asked, her eyes shining with amusement.
She might have been joking, but I still swallowed hard. Because in a way, I was kind of hoping that it would either distract or deter her. Not forever, of course, but at least for a few hours.
“What do you want to know?” I forced myself to ask, hoping my face didn’t display how fucking uncomfortable I was.
Brianna’s head cocked to the side and her eyes narrowed slightly, her perceptive nature picking up on… something. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I was willing to bet she was able to see my relief after she shrugged and quietly said, “Anything.”
Being able to admit to everything on my terms—at my speed—made it a little easier. She wasn’t pushing me exactly, at least not any harder than she had a right to. Whether I wanted to tell her everything or not, a small part of me could admit that she deserved to know at least some of the reason why I was in my current situation.
I was still considering how to begin when the waiter came back around with our glasses of water, sitting them gently down on the table before placing a full pitcher in the center.
“Are you ready to order?” he asked, clasping his hands behind his back while he looked between us expectantly.
Brianna smiled at the man and prattled off an order, turning to me when she was finished. I shook my head as if to clear my thoughts and read off the first thing that my eyes landed on, feeling grateful that I wasn’t very hungry when I realized I had just ordered salmon.
I fucking hated salmon.
After the waiter took our menus and walked off, I was left nervously wringing my hands together while Brianna gave me that patient smile, seeming to understand what the problem was.
Eventually, I managed to clear my throat and ask, “You remember how popular I was back in high school, right?”
Her lips pursed together in a frown—she obviously hadn’t been expecting that—before she suddenly began to laugh. When I cocked an eyebrow at her, she tried to fight it off, shaking her head as she glanced a
round at the attention she had accidentally drawn.
“Sorry, sorry. Yes, I remember. But what does that have to do—”
“I wasn’t popular for the reasons you think I was,” I abruptly said, cutting her off. “I... I mean, I didn’t just walk into high school and immediately become The Body. That only happened… after.”
“After what?” she gently prodded, seeming to sense my hesitation.
I swallowed hard and looked her in the eye, softening my voice to a whisper I knew only she could hear as I said, “After I started dealing.”
Her surprise was obvious from the way her eyes went wide and her entire body seemed to tense. She glanced around like her main concern was someone eavesdropping on our conversation, which for some reason made me feel a hell of a lot better.
Maybe she wouldn’t run away after all.
“You... You’re a drug dealer?”
Or maybe she would.
“No, not anymore,” I clarified, watching the relief spread across her face. “It’s been a long time since I did it.”
“How long?”
“Not since high school. I stopped during senior year.”
“Why?”
My brows furrowed together with confusion as I asked, “Are you asking why I started or why I stopped?”
Brianna seemed just as confused. “Both?”
“Why I started is... complicated. I stopped because that cop that’s been following us? He warned me to stop—to think about my future. It... kind of put things in perspective. I never wanted to do it anyways,” I added as an afterthought, hoping she’d accept that comment and leave it alone for the time being.
Brianna nodded slowly and I watched as she began putting pieces together in her mind. When her eyes went wide and she looked up at me, I swore my heart froze in place.
“Is that why your mom didn’t want you there? Because she...” she trailed off, but her question was crystal clear.
“No,” I choked out, shaking my head for a moment before I tilted my head to the side after a long moment of consideration. “And yes. She doesn’t... she’s never dealt.”
Her eyes filled with sympathy and I knew I didn’t have to explain any further. I had a feeling she had long since figured that much out anyways. After all, she had spent a little bit of time alone with mom before I got home and found her there.
God only knows what mom might have said or what Brianna must have thought.
“Hey.”
Her voice startled me out of my thoughts and I looked up, surprised to see her hand stretching across the table. I hesitantly reached out with my own, unable to stop the small smile that formed on my lips when she intertwined our fingers together.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “For telling me that. I... It’s kind of starting to make more sense now.”
“Is it enough?” I asked, cursing the way my voice slightly cracked with desperation.
Brianna hesitated for a moment. “I’m not in danger?”
“No. I swear you’re safe.”
“Then it’s enough. For now at least.”
The urge to lift her hand up and press a kiss to her knuckles was too strong to ignore. Sappy as it may have been, the blinding smile she gave me in return made it well worth it. We moved on to less heavy topics of conversation until the waiter arrived with our food and we fell into a comfortable silence.
As I poked and prodded at my own meal while subtly sneaking glances at Bri as she enjoyed her entree, I couldn’t help but be internally thrilled. It was my first real date—one I had actually wanted to go on with a woman I truly liked—and it couldn’t have gone any better.
“That was the best steak I’ve ever had.”
I chuckled as I pushed my chair in before moving around the table and taking Brianna’s hand in mine.
“I could tell. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman tear into a meal quite like that.”
She groaned in embarrassment, reaching up with her free hand to cover her face. “I’m sorry. I was just so hungry and it was so good.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. It was kind of hot,” I admitted, shrugging a shoulder as she peeked between her fingers. “It was like you couldn’t get enough of it. That’s a look I really like on you, by the way.”
Her cheeks flushed as she caught on to the innuendo and I forced myself to look away, trying not to get turned on by the perverted turn my thoughts had taken until we had at least made it back to the rental car.
As we walked through the crowded restaurant, Brianna jokingly whispered, “You’re dirty.”
“You have no idea,” I whispered back.
She laughed lightly as we made our way outside and into the lot, but the musical sound abruptly cut off. I looked back to her face and froze in my tracks at the look of horror there, opening my mouth to ask what was wrong when she pointed ahead with a shaking finger. I turned around, my eyes quickly scanning the lot until they finally landed on the rental car.
Fuck.
Chapter Nineteen
Brianna
Dinner with Adam had easily qualified as the best date I ever had. The location, the dress, the food, the man... it had all been spectacular.
At least until we strolled outside and I saw his rental car smashed all to hell.
The ground around the car was covered in glass that had once been the windows. The paint job had been keyed up and as I followed Adam around to the front, I saw that the hood had been forcefully opened. I didn’t know anything about cars, but even I could tell by looking in that the engine wasn’t meant to look like it did. Wires had been cut and ripped out of place and fluids I couldn’t identify were leaking all over the place.
So much for feeling safe.
“Adam—Adam!” I hysterically called, pulling him back by his shoulder when I noticed he was moving closer to the car. “Isn’t that stuff flammable? Get back!”
He seemed to be in a daze, but he did as I commanded. He slowly backed away, turning to face me and wrapping an arm around my waist. I nearly screamed at him that it wasn’t the time for that, but he simply lifted me off the ground and walked us further away from the car.
When he finally put me back on my feet, he gently pushed on my shoulders, guiding me to sit on the bench he had carried me to. After I sat down, he began to pace back and forth while reaching into his pocket for his cell phone.
I vaguely registered his clipped tone as he spoke to whoever was on the other end, but the words all jumbled together. All that kept replaying in my head was that regardless of what Adam claimed, I was definitely not safe. Neither of us were.
“Brianna?”
I jumped when his fingers landed on my shoulder, unable to feel remorseful even as I noted the obvious pain in his eyes. I just couldn’t stop the million questions rolling through my mind long enough to think about how he must be feeling.
Who did this? Why did they do it? Did Adam lie to me on purpose? Or had he truly thought I was safe? Was I overreacting?
I didn’t have an answer to the majority of my questions, but I was certain that I wasn’t overreacting. It didn’t make a damn bit of difference that we weren’t in the car when it happened. This was an act of violence against Adam and since I happened to be present for it, it felt like an attack against me as well.
Logically, I knew it wasn’t his fault, but logic had no part in the nearly overwhelming anger that began to rise in me as I glared at Adam. He backed away immediately, his throat moving as he swallowed hard.
“Dale’s on the way,” he said softly.
“Dale?”
“The detective.”
I nodded mutely, watching as he ran his hand through his hair and let out a shaky sigh. His distress somehow made me feel both better and worse at the same time.
Needless to say, I was quickly turning into an emotional wreck. In an effort to save myself from potential embarrassment, I clamped my lips together to keep silent.
Within a few short minutes, the blare of sirens fille
d my ears shortly before the red and blue lights came flying up the road and pulled into the parking lot. The car that had been following us around came first, followed by two cruisers marked on the sides as being a part of the local police department.
“Stay here, yeah?” Adam said before shrugging off his jacket and draping it over my shoulders. I frowned up at him as he said, “I’ll be right back.”
Adam was gone before I could voice any protest, not that I had really planned to do so. I still had my lips sealed and I intended to keep them like that.
However, I did not intend to let myself be kept in the dark any longer. I gripped the lapels of Adam’s jacket and held it tightly around me before I stood up and marched across the parking lot.
He was already speaking to the detective when I came to a halt directly behind him. I didn’t miss the way his spine straightened as he sensed my nearness, but I narrowed my eyes and hardened my gaze when he glanced back over his shoulder.
I wasn’t fucking around anymore. I was a woman on a mission and my only goal was to find out exactly what kind of a mess I had gotten myself into. No half-assed explanations or excuses—just the fucking truth.
“I’m Brianna,” I said, sticking my hand out to the weirdly familiar man who was looking between us with a raised brow. “You must be Dale?”
“That’s me,” he confirmed with a gruff voice. “Nice to meet you.”
The handshake was short and fairly awkward, but I was kind of surprised that he indulged me at all. He didn’t really seem like the type to introduce himself or make small talk, which was totally fine with me. That just meant I could use the no-bullshit approach.
I folded my arms across my chest and pointedly ignored Adam’s irritated look as I asked, “Any idea what happened here? Or who might have done this?”
Dale side-eyed Adam who coughed into his fist and tried to subtly shake his head. It was obvious to the detective that I was fishing for information and Adam obviously didn’t want Dale spilling the beans.
The Body Page 11