It was eleven-thirty, and Skylar was texting him. “Dude, Jamison and I are going to get some pizza at Johnny’s; you wanna come with?” The pizza sounded great. He felt famished after that hard workout. Johnny’s was a local pizza hang out in Barboursville. It was comfortable there, and Reed loved to play the pinball machines. Reed had stopped at a red light, then replied.
“Yeah, man, I’ll meet you guys there.” Reed headed towards Johnny’s pizza place.
“Cool, man, we’ll see you there,” Skylar replied.
It took about twenty minutes before Reed showed up. He saw Skylar and Jamison sitting in the booth towards the back of the building, where the pinball machines were. It was about noon now. The waitress gave the boys a menu to look over. As each of them was trying to determine what they wanted, they heard the bell on the door ring. They automatically looked up out of curiosity to see who else was coming in. It was the two gorgeous girls from the day before! Reed felt a tightening in his stomach. This wasn’t supposed to happen; he didn’t want to see them. He felt too tempted for the one who captured his attention and didn’t want to lose his goals or control.
The girls continued to walk in and sat in the middle of the room on the left side against the windows. A waitress hurried over to their table and gave them menus. The girls seemed absorbed in figuring out what they wanted to order. It was as if they never noticed the guys.
Skylar looked at both boys and said, “Dude, they were the girls at our school yesterday. Man, they are fine!” Reed rolled his eyes. He wanted to say, ‘thanks, Captain Obvious,’ but he refrained.
“I’m feeling confident today, boys. I’m going into foreign territory to scout out the lovely ladies. I’ll be back.” Before either guy could respond, Skylar had already left the table and headed towards the girls. Reed watched every move and reaction intently.
He could tell Skylar was his normal funny and pleasant self. The girls were responding with smiles and small talk. Reed noticed the hand gestures from Skylar. Oh my gosh, he was inviting the girls to sit with their group. Reed could feel his stomach twist. He felt nervous, and he never feels nervous! He did not like the feeling at all, and it was making him feel angry with himself. He watched the girls step away from their table; and follow Skylar over to a large, round table that would accommodate all five of them. Skylar yelled out to Sheila, the waitress, that they were all together. Sheila replied, “Ok, baby.” The girls sat at the table together, waiting for the rest of the boys to meander over. Jamison was the first to move and went happily over to the table to meet the girls. Reed took a few more seconds and then followed suit; however, he did not smile.
The girls were smiling until they saw the dark scowl on Reed’s face. Skylar introduced the girls to Reed, and he just shook his head at them. The blonde looked nervous. ‘Good,’ he thought. She won’t approach me if she’s scared of me. Reed sat opposite of Brynley. Jamison sat next to Brynley, and Skylar sat next to Kendra. The conversation was light and easy between the girls and the other two boys. Reed was quiet and simply listened. He didn’t want to participate.
“Alright, girls, the three of us want to know where you girls are from?” Skylar never met a stranger. Reed noticed that the redhead, Kendra, did most of the talking. The blonde, Brynley, seemed shy.
“Well, Brynley and I are from Los Angeles, California. We moved here for this year because Brynley’s parents were transferred to Germany, and she didn’t want to go with them. She decided to stay with her aunt instead. I followed her because she’s my best friend, and I didn’t want to go through my senior year without her.” Brynley occasionally looked around at Skylar and Jamison but would not make eye contact with Reed. That’s what he wanted, but somehow it irritated him too!
“Wow, why did your dad have to move?” Jamison asked Brynley the question. She smiled, and her cheeks blushed slightly before she answered. She gave Jamison the sweetest smile, and those blue eyes entranced him. Reed could see the look on his face. Reed suddenly felt extremely annoyed. He watched her every move; and listened to every word when she answered Jamison.
“My father is a Captain in the Army. He is an intelligence officer, and he was sent there to compile some information for the military. I don’t know any of the details; he usually can’t discuss them, anyway.” Reed watched her bite her lower lip out of nervousness and divert her gaze back to her hands. He could tell instantly that she didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She appeared to be sweet and innocent. He was sure that she was probably sheltered since her dad was in the military.
“Wow, that’s cool, Brynley. My dad works for the FBI, homeland security. So, I kind of understand a little bit where you’re coming from. Why in the world did you pick to come here, instead of Germany?” Jamison was starting to get on Reed’s nerves. He was too interested in Brynley, and that agitated him. Reed knew that he was trying to connect with her through her dad and his. Jamison was smart enough to know that it would help her bond with him if she could relate to him. Reed, suddenly, wanted to smash Jamison’s face; but he refrained from doing it!
Reed watched Brynley shrug her shoulders. She was nervous with the attention on her. “Uhm, I lived in Germany for ten years. I just wasn’t interested in going back. The kids there are kind of snobby, and I just wanted something simple and easy for my senior year. I hadn’t seen my aunt in a while; so, I thought I would spend the year with her before I went off to college.” Reed noticed her biting her lower lip again. Something about that action captivated him. He amusingly watched her take a quick peek at him and then suddenly looked away when she saw him watching her. He quirked his lips at her tenseness.
“Cool, do you speak German?” Skylar had to chime in this time. Why were both of the boys talking to Brynley so much? They were both starting to irritate him now.
Reed intensely watched Brynley. Her cheeks reddened once more before she replied, “Yes, I do. Kendra speaks it, as well. I taught her; so, we could have conversations, and no one would know what we were saying.” Kendra gave a catty grin.
Kendra spoke up this time. “She speaks Spanish and Russian too. Her father taught her to be quite the linguist. I only know German and Spanish, and just a wee bit of Russian.” Reed noticed that Kendra was comfortable showing off for the boys, but Brynley was definitely not. She looked embarrassed about the fact that she was so unique and smart. Reed thought it was fascinating. As beautiful as she is, most girls didn’t usually use the brain in their head well.
“Alright, beautiful, you look too exotic to be from California. What’s your story?” Reed’s blood pressure shot up when he thought Skylar was talking to Brynley, at first! He was trying to slow his heart rate down when he realized Skylar was talking to Kendra.
Sheila, the waitress, interrupted the conversation. “Ok, guys, what you all going to have?” Everyone ended up choosing a cheeseburger, fries, and a coke. Sheila smiled and then walked away.
The attention went immediately back to Kendra. “Well, my mother is from Spain, and my original father is American. My parents divorced, and my mother met my stepdad about nine years ago. He’s a trial lawyer, fell immediately in love with my mother, and moved us to Los Angeles with him. I met Brynley when I moved there, and we’ve been best friends ever since.”
“Yeah, I can hear the faint accent. The red hair threw me off, though.” Skylar was an idiot. If you looked close enough, you could see the girl colored her hair. Unlike Brynley’s, though, her hair was naturally white-blonde. Her hair looked thick, soft, and glossy. He remembered it glistening in the sun yesterday afternoon.
Reed spoke before he realized what he was doing. Everyone stared strangely at him. “Are you from Sweden?” Brynley’s cerulean-blue eyes swallowed Reed. They were large and amazingly innocent. The vividness of her azure, sky-crystal eyes engulfed him. He even noticed the darker blue rings circling the edges of her irises.
Reed watched Brynley swallow hard before replying, “No, I’m from Norway. My mother lived there and met my fa
ther while he was stationed over there. They married, and my father was ordered to Germany. I traveled back and forth from Germany and Norway to visit family before moving to California.” Reed noticed that Brynley continued to look at him, astonishingly. He had been so intolerable acting to both of the girls; that he knew Brynley was shocked that he even cared to know anything about her. That seemed to irritate him too. Now he felt like a pompous idiot! He unexpectedly decided that he wanted to change her mind on what kind of guy he was. He knew as gentle and shy that she was, she was very wary and cautious over him. It would take some effort and time to convince her otherwise. His gut screamed, ‘stay away’; but his desire said, ‘do it.’
The food stirred Reed back from his thoughts. Everyone started eating, but the questions kept coming. Reed could tell that Skylar was totally into Kendra, and that made Reed content. Skylar always liked that dramatic, strong personality type. The problem was, he could tell that Jamison was head over heels with Brynley. The seriously infuriating part was that Brynley was responding encouragingly to him. Reed was fighting an internal war with himself. He just needed to walk away. He had it made with Tabitha. He could tell that Brynley was too innocent and would require a lot of reassurance from him. Girls flirted hardcore with him every day; he knew that a girl like Brynley could never handle that. He knew that she would want his attention every day, and he just didn’t have time for that. He needed and wanted just some quick fun and then out; no commitment, no expectations, and no possessiveness! Relationships were always possessive; the tricky part was, he wasn’t sure if that would be her or him?
The girls got the chance to ask a few questions, finally. They wanted to know what the school was like, the kids were like, and what to do for fun.
Skylar responded to most of the questions. Skylar told the girls that the school was great. Most of the teachers were cool, the building was big, the sports were phenomenal, and most of the kids were cool, with a few exceptions. Skylar mentioned the Hinton Barn; before he could finish, Reed chimed in. “I’m having a party there tomorrow night. Won’t you both come, and you can meet some people from the school.” What in the world did he just do? He felt a little embarrassed because both guys were looking at him curiously. He needed to diffuse the situation. “You two can come and hang out with Skylar and Jamison; they can introduce you to a lot of people. My girl, Tabitha, will be there. I’ll introduce the two of you to her; you’ll probably hit it off as friends. Skylar smiled, and Jamison released a rush of air that he must have been holding.
Reed noticed Brynley looking at Jamison and replying, “Would you be ok with that? Letting me hang around you at the party”? Reed’s eyeballs felt like they were on fire! He clenched his teeth tight; so as not to say anything scathing. He was trying to slow his breathing down. He knew he had made an impulsive mistake and needed to fix it.
Skylar told both of the girls to meet him here at the diner tomorrow, at four. He also told them to bring their swimsuits to swim in the lake before the bonfire. The girls seemed excited, which added to the fire burning in Reed's gut. Reed couldn’t take it anymore; he got up from his chair and went to pay the bill. He waved bye to everyone and quickly escaped in his car. This day could not get any worse for him, or so he thought
Chapter Five:
It was eight in the morning, and the girl’s car and luggage had arrived. The girls worked diligently to put all the rest of their things away to their proper spot. Around ten o’clock, the girls drove to the school and signed up for classes. They shared most of their classes together, luckily. Both girls were excited to find out that they had a swim team. They were to meet the coach on Monday for tryouts. It was nearing noon, and the girls were famished. They had decided to be adventurous and scout out a place to eat for lunch.
As the girls were taking their time looking for a place to eat, they noticed a small restaurant called Johnny’s. It wasn’t crowded; so, they took a chance to try it out.
When the girls entered the restaurant, they immediately noticed a group of guys in the back. They didn’t want to seem obvious; so, they quickly looked away and found a nice spot to sit and eat. The waitress was pleasant and had given them a menu to browse through. Before the girls could decide on what to eat, a guy showed up to introduce himself. Kendra instantly recognized him from the football field yesterday. She loved his name and thought him terribly cute! His personality was adorable! He coaxed the girls to join him and his friends to eat with them. Kendra had accepted. Brynley was feeling very nervous because she knew that dark hair belonged to the intimidating-looking fellow. Brynley wasn’t sure if she could eat, being around him. Brynley followed Kendra and Skylar to a large round table that would accommodate all of them. She nervously watched the other two boys travel over to the table. Luckily, the sweet one sat next to her. However, the scary-looking guy sat directly across from her; and she could feel him watching her every move. She held her hands together to keep them from shaking. She was sure not to make eye contact with him.
It was the most excruciating moment of her life! The boys just kept asking questions after questions, and the dark hair guy named Reed just kept staring at her. Her nerves were so raw that if someone touched her, she would probably scream.
Her greatest shock was when Reed had asked her what nationality she was. She couldn’t help to look at him with surprise. He had looked at her like she was repulsive; so, she was confused that he was interested in anything with her. Then he double whammed her when he invited her and Kendra to his party. Of course, he made it abundantly clear that his girlfriend would be there. Brynley was relieved and frustrated at the same time. What was nice was that Jamison seemed to like her. He was handsome and very sweet!
Brynley didn’t know if she would have enough courage to wear a bathing suit tomorrow and swim around the boys. When the girls went and paid for their check, they were told that Reed paid for everyone’s lunch. She thought, ‘what a kind thing to do’ from such a scary guy. She was still very wary of him, but she thought he had the potential of being a nice guy.
The girls left the restaurant and started talking about everything they just experienced. Kendra was telling Brynley how infatuated she was with Skylar. She loved his personality and thought he was superiorly handsome. He looked so much like Paul Walker, except he was built much stronger than him! She was crushing hard for that boy!
Brynley, on the other hand, thought Jamison was super cute and sweet. He wasn’t as mesmerizing as Reed was, but she liked that he was easy to talk to, and she didn’t feel like a bundle of nerves around him! She got the feeling that Jamison sort of liked her too. He had the prettiest green eyes, with lighter green flecks towards the pupil. He had a darker green color surrounding the iris. Those dimples made you want to pinch his cheeks; they were so adorable! He was a comfort zone between Reed and Skylar. Skylar was so flirtatious and laid back; Reed was too serious and foreboding, Jamison seemed to be the happy in between.
Kendra and Brynley arrived back at Aunt Jimena’s house. They were choosing the clothes that they were going to wear for the party tomorrow night. Kendra wanted something really striking to wear. She wanted to make a colossal impression with Skylar tomorrow. Her exact words were, “I’m going to be so perfect tomorrow that Skylar will not be able to get me off his mind. I’ll be dating that boy before school starts!” One thing about Kendra, if she sets her mind to what she wants, she usually gets it. Brynley was always the quiet one. If it happens, then it happens. She never stuck her neck out to take something that she wanted. She was just too shy for that.
Kendra and Brynley hopped into the car and drove down into the city of Huntington. They had a cool fashion clothing store there. They sold outfits that you could find in California; however, their prices were astronomical! It was August, and still very warm at night, Kendra pulled out the stops. She found a pair of white, loose beach shorts with a black print lining the shorts' bottom. The top was a strapless halter top. It was white, with a very cool black emblem,
in the center of the halter. Lining the bottom hem of the halter was the same design on the shorts. Her long hair would pull this outfit together, and she was going to look so hot in it! Kendra was not going to be satisfied unless Brynley found an outfit too. Brynley’s outfit was not as daring as Kendra’s. She was usually a little more preppie and a conservative dresser, compared to Kendra. Kendra could take chances and look great; Brynley usually played it safe.
Brynley found a very pretty pair of loose, sage-green dress shorts with a nice belt to match it. She selected a white lacy camisole and paired it with a lightweight, deep V-cut, white off-the-shoulder sweater. Brynley spotted an eye-catching gold St. Christopher medallion and bought it to go with her outfit. She also spotted a large and beautiful gold and Jade ring to wear on her forefinger. She felt Tre chic in this outfit. It was romantic and preppy at the same time. She had a pair of gold decorative sandals in her room that would go perfect with this outfit. Before she left the store, she found an incredible jade, pearl, and gold ankle bracelet. She had to have it; so, she bought it! Brynley was ready.
Kendra had tons of jewelry in her jewelry box. She decided to wear her gold hoops, that had an onyx stone in the center of the hoops, and her matching onyx and gold necklace. She had a pair of black sandals that enhanced her look. Ok, now it was time to determine which bathing suits they were going to wear. Kendra was going to wear her bikini, that had a black high cut bottom and a light pink and low-cut bikini top. This bikini and her tan made her body look scorching hot. That black bikini bottom rocked the shape of her hips. She had abs to die for, and the pink bikini top rocked the girls if you know what I mean. That auburn hair was the final compliment. She had a pair of light pink sunglasses that matched the swimwear; no other girl would stand a chance around Kendra. That Spanish coloring and ample body of hers was untouchable, and she knew it! Brynley was usually in the shadows when Kendra was present at a party. Her spicy personality and gorgeous look caught everyone’s attention. Brynley didn’t even think a guy like Reed could resist her charm if she truly wanted him!
Pride and Passion Page 4