"I should've known better. I was there too. It's my fault too."
An unnamed emotion swept through Clarissa's green eyes and she murmured, "You're right. You always protect the one you love."
Wha—huh?
Then she flashed a bright smile and grabbed my arm. "Come on, Rayna. I'm really hoping you aren't pregnant yet because this is the last week of school. We've got too much partying to do."
"What are you talking about?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to know.
"We're going on the senior tubing trip. You're going to get drunk because it might be the last time in two years if you go the whole breast feeding way."
I stumbled when she tugged me behind her. My feet were not a part of my body then and all I could think was…breast-feeding?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Two hours later, I found myself self-conscious in a barely-there pink bikini and holding a mug of wine in one hand while I tried to balance a black tube with the other.
Not fun.
"Brady's girl! How are you?"
A sudden surge of water pushed my tube left while I slipped right. Someone jolted their way through the river to my side, but I couldn't look to see who spoke as I scrambled to keep from falling off my tube. Just as I was going in the river, I closed my eyes and gripped the mug tight, but a strong hand steadied me at the last second. When my legs were spread-eagle and my arms held the side, I peeked to see who'd come to my rescue.
Matt Krone stood in the water with his own foaming mug of beer. Instead of holding onto his tube, it looked like it was holding onto him.
"I'm not real good with the water sports stuff."
Matt blinked and then flashed a perfect smile. "Oh right. It was nicely done."
I frowned. "I have no idea what you're talking about." I gripped my mug tighter.
"Nothing," Matt chuckled. "What are you drinking?"
"I'm not drinking," I said quickly.
He looked at my hand.
I'm an idiot. "I mean, it's wine, but I haven't drunk anything. I'm not really a drinker."
"Sure about that?"
I opened my mouth to convince him of my normal boredom when I caught the grin at the corner of his mouth. "Oh. You're joking."
"Yeah," Matt laughed outright. "Trust me, Brady's girl, you've come around once and we all saw what a few drinks could do to you. Wine, not something you should be drinking. That stuff will go straight to your head."
I muttered, "I'm just holding it to fit in." A second passed and then—"I mean, I don't normally drink and Clarissa wanted me to…I'm just holding the mug. I'm not…I might, I don't know. I—"
Matt patted me on the shoulder. "It's okay, but does Brady know you're here? I saw him at Nellie's before school and he seemed worked up about something. You and him aren't my business, I shouldn't be saying anything."
I sat up straighter or tried. The tube started to slip away again. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"
Matt frowned and glanced to where Clarissa lounged on her tube. She looked like she did it every day as she idly held her own mug of wine and laughed with a guy. I recognized him from the hallway earlier that day.
"What?" I asked again.
"Look, Clarissa's after Kid. She likes challenges especially if they're male. We all saw it at the party, but you're here. Is Brady okay with this?"
"This what? What are you talking about?" I frowned as I remembered Clarissa raving about Kid, but I wasn't too concerned about it at the time. Now I was starting to be.
"Do the math, Brady's girl."
"I have a name. Learn it," I retorted as the feeling of being used was starting to settle in my stomach.
I turned, or the best I could with the tube, and twisted my neck to see Clarissa. She looked the same as she had a few days ago. She liked Kid. I knew this. Kid liked me. I knew this too. Brady really liked me since he was my best friend. I knew that Brady wouldn't want Kid around me…so… I asked, "What are you saying?"
Matt had been staring at me while I pondered between the lines. Now he just laughed and then laughed some more, but then he quieted while his shoulders jerked sporadically. When he hadn't regained control within a few seconds, I got impatient. "I'm not good at this stuff. I know that. Brady's usually around to help me, but he's not here. So don't think I'm dumb, just tell me what you're saying."
Matt's chuckles lessened enough so he leaned forward. "Look, just be careful. Brady might show up later."
"You think Kid will come too? Is that what you're trying to warn me about?" I leaned closer. The tube started to slip, but Matt shot out a hand and held it firm. "That would be disastrous."
He stared down at me.
The feeling that I needed to do something was starting to grow within me, but what? I had no idea. "Brady usually takes care of this stuff."
"He's not here. You gotta do it."
I squinted upwards. "Why not you? You figured it out. Could you do something?"
Matt backed up and shook his head. "Oh, hell no. You're Brady's girl."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"I don't know, but you gotta figure it out."
My mouth fell open.
"Rayna," Clarissa shouted and waved towards me. She grinned, looking a little too happy. "Come here. I want to introduce you to Derek."
The guy next to her grinned as he held a clear John Deere mug filled with green liquid. I wasn't knowledgeable about drinks, but I was certain that was hard liquor. I knew I wasn't about to find out because there was no way I was going to ask. With wavy chestnut curls and chocolate eyes, something about Derek was screaming for me not to talk to him…at all.
"Come on," Clarissa called out again.
I looked over my shoulder, one more last ditch effort to see if Matt would help, but he'd already moved to another group of girls. I recognized some of them as the mean ones, Angela and what's her face.
I was on my own.
I moved towards Clarissa and Derek at a slow pace with only one hand in the river and my legs still spread-eagle over the tube. Then I squeaked when I saw Clarissa motion for Derek to help. He stood up and showed off a lean, slightly defined, body as he walked towards me. I breathed out in relief when I saw his reluctance. He had no interest in me. He wanted Clarissa and he was only trying to please her. When he got close enough and reached out to grab my tube, my voice squeaked, "Is there a rest stop on these things?"
He froze and studied me for a second. "Why? You have to pee or something?"
"Maybe." I shifted to switch positions. My legs had cramped up.
"We just pee in the river, most do. Some girls go up on the bank and take a squat. You could do that if you want." He looked revolted as he held onto my tube with one finger.
"Could you hold my mug for me?"
"Why?" So overly suspicious.
"I can't stay like this. I'm uncomfortable."
"Yeah." He motioned. "Your ass had been in the air this whole time. Your back's going to be a bitch by the end of the day."
"You were looking at my butt?" I blushed.
"What?" He looked disgusted. "No! I'm just saying—forget it." Then he took my mug. As I started to wiggle back and forth on the tube to switch positions, he asked, "So are you and Clarissa friends? Good friends?"
"You don't know who I am?" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I clamped it shut. "Oh gosh. Sorry. That sounded awful."
"Should I? What do you mean? Who are you?"
"Nothing. No one. I might need to leave soon. Do you know how I could do that?"
"Leave? People don't leave the river."
"What if people get bored tubing?"
"Once you're in the tube, you stick it out until your stop comes up. The rides are waiting for us there."
"Oh." I brightened. "So you mean people can't join us once we're in the river?" That would solve a whole bunch of problems.
"Oh, no." Derek was oblivious to my dilemma. "Other people tube too and sometimes they'll join up or people j
ump in from wherever all the time, especially if they do their own pick-ups. You've never been tubing before?"
Not only was he looking at me like I was an idiot, but he made me feel like one. "No. I'm very studious."
"I figured."
I got hot when I heard his condescending tone. "What does that mean?"
Derek jumped backwards in reflex and let go of my tube.
"Hey!" I tried to scramble to catch him. No avail. My tube caught a torrent in the river and off I swooped.
"Rayna! Where are you going?" Clarissa called out as my tube sped up even more.
I shifted and yelled back, doing my best to hold on, "I don't know what to do!"
"Jump off!" one of the guys yelled out.
"Get off the tube!" Clarissa shouted alongside him.
"Oh man." I heard Matt laugh before he offered, "I'll get her. I'm surprised this girl isn't dead yet."
"Maybe that's why Remy doesn't bring her around."
I gritted my teeth when I heard the snide tones from the number one mean girl.
"Just fall in the water," Matt called as he waded downstream after me.
The river wasn't going that fast and I knew it was shallow, but I was a little relieved my tube had put some distance from the group. Matt's earlier warning concerned me and I wasn't sure what to do if either Kid or Brady showed up. I was almost disappointed when Matt caught up and took hold of my tube.
Then he stopped and studied me, or as much as he could around the glaze of booze in his eyes. "You don't look that scared. You could've just stood up or don't you know how to swim?" A different look in his eyes flared. "Did you do that on purpose?"
Then I heard from above on the bank's cliff, "Rayna? What are you doing here?"
My hope that neither would show shriveled inside of me. Brady stood in navy blue swim trunks with a rope in his hand. He stood poised at the edge of the bank, frowning down at us.
"Brady! Don't do it, man!" Matt laughed.
The frown vanished and I saw the mischievous Brady come to light. Even though he wasn't dared, he might as well have been. He grabbed the rope tighter and then leapt off the cliff, swung down to us, and scooped an arm around me as we both hurled into the river. Swallowing a mouthful of water, I kicked off Brady's chest, and ignored the sweep of his hand as it grazed my breast. As we popped back up, I pretended to punch him in the chest. Brady dodged and caught my hands. He twisted them so I was held hostage against his chest.
"What were you saying, Matt? Rayna can't swim? That's nonsense." Brady chuckled and hoisted me in the air over his shoulder.
"Don't you dare," I started to warn, but bit down on my words as he launched me in the air. When I slammed into the water, I shot my legs down to shoot back up.
"Rayna's a fish in water. We grew up on the river by her grandparents' farm."
"Really?" Matt asked with an evil grin. "So if I threw her over my shoulder, she'd be fine?"
"Don't you dare! Either of you!" I waved a finger at both of them and then moved towards my tube which had floated near the bank. Just as I caught it, two bodies flew over the cliff and I was drenched again from their splashes. Then three more people repeated the motion and I stared, confused, as I saw the guys go towards Brady. They were all laughing together.
I realized how much of Brady's life I wasn't a part of. I had no idea who all his friends were and I hadn't really cared before. When he looked at me and his eyes darkened in desire, I knew I cared. I had a right to care.
"Hey, guys." He moved towards me. "This is Rayna."
"You're the infamous Rayna," one of the guys sneered, but I caught the amusement in his eyes.
"Don't touch her. Don't look at her. Don't speak to her," Brady casually warned and then picked me up and deposited me on the tube.
"Oh!"
He kicked off down the river and floated with an arm holding my tube. As water dripped down his face and flattened his hair, Brady grinned at me. His eyes sparkled brightly and I found myself almost breathless when he added, "I don't want to punch anyone later."
I melted inside a tiny bit and reached out to trace a water drop from his cheekbone. "I don't think that's a healthy outlook on life."
"Not if you're having my baby," he whispered.
My heart skipped a beat. When he said those words, they sounded like a loving caress.
"Hey, Remy! We're doing shots. You want one?"
With a wink, he shot off the tube and flipped himself backwards in the river. A second later he surfaced and was beside his friends in a flash. Four of the guys lifted a shot in the air, each tanned and muscular, but when Brady tipped his head back for the shot, the others did as well. That was how the rest of the afternoon went. Brady stayed next to me for the most part, but a few times his buddies would call him over for some drinks. I caught curious looks from some of them, but no one approached. They adhered to Brady's not-so-subtle warning.
"I should be annoyed with you right now," I remarked later as my hand dipped into the water and my head rested on the tube, a couple inches from where Brady held on.
"Why?" Brady asked in a monotone as he watched the group behind us. Clarissa and her friends had all waved to Brady when he first joined the group, but seemed content to stay in their own group. It had taken me awhile, but I figured out most of the people weren't students from school. This was their normal partying group. Where they had come from, I had no idea.
"Because you're all protective right now." I lifted my head up and made sure to look him square in the eyes. "You don't have to do that, you know. I don't know if I'm pregnant. Chances are really good that I'm not, and I don't want you being like this just because you feel like you have to be."
He narrowed his piercing eyes and considered me a moment before he replied, monotone, "Trust me. You having a baby is the last thing on my mind."
"But then…why did you bring it up?"
He shrugged. "I only mention it because I know you're worried about it. I'm not really. I should be, but I'm not."
I opened my mouth, flabbergasted, and then shut it again. He was such a boy; of course he's not worried. He won't be having the nine-month sabbatical.
"And if anything happens, I won't leave you high and dry. You could shoot me and I'd still be knocking on the door with flowers." He stared at me, long and hard. "You're stuck with me, Rayray."
My knees melted and I almost slipped from the tube. Brady shot a hand out and steadied me. Then he leaned closer, an intimate look in his eyes. I held my breath and my eyes widened when he grew even closer till I felt his breath against my cheeks.
Then we heard Clarissa shriek from behind us, "Kid! You made it!"
Brady stiffened before he jerked his head up.
I almost fell forward, but caught myself this time. When I looked, Kid was frowning down at a drunken Clarissa. Josh stood behind him and both wore black swim trunks with a whiskey bottle in hand. Neither of them had towels or inner tubes. Josh stood an inch taller, but the familial genes were unmistakable with their dark brown eyes and soft pretty boy features. The only difference was Kid's jet black spiky hair.
"What the…?" Brady stopped short as he caught the look between Kid and Clarissa.
I scooted forward and grasped Brady's arm. Then I jumped on his back. The inner tube be damned. "She likes him. Let them be."
He grasped my arm, but didn't push me off. He just cradled my arm and stared back at them.
"Brady," I urged and clung tighter. "He's not here for me. She wants him."
"He wants you," he wrung out and dipped back down into the river. As the water swirled around my shoulders I wrapped both my legs around Brady's very chiseled waist. Then I placed my mouth near his ear. "I might be carrying your baby so focus on me. Leave them alone."
I felt the air leave Brady as he turned in my arms and legs. We were now face to face and he pulled me forward to tighten my legs around his waist. His hands found my own waist and he squeezed both sides. "Fine," he growled as his eyes linge
red on my lips. "But don't expect me to be nice to him."
"He used to be your best friend."
"No, he never was. He's not you."
My eyes clung to his as I held onto him with every bit of strength in my body. When he stood in the air, two things exploded within me. One, I was pretty sure I was in love with Brady. And two…I'd just gotten my period.
It was an awful feeling when something other than water dripped between my legs. I pushed away from him and clasped my legs together. The water erased the feeling and I was tempted to ignore what had just happened.
"Rayna, what are you doing?"
"I—" I couldn't say it, but I had no idea what my plan was. I just needed to get away because I was going to die from embarrassment. If everyone else saw, but could they see? We were in a river.
"Hey, hey." Brady caught up and grabbed my shoulder. He stood closer, intimately close. "What's wrong? What just happened?"
I pressed my forehead to his chest. "I'm not pregnant."
"What?" Brady pulled my forehead away and looked down at me. "What did you just say?"
I couldn't look at him. "I'm not pregnant."
"Wh—huh? But you just said—"
"I got my period, Brady!" I whispered and then groaned as I pressed my forehead to his chest again. I wished to be anywhere except there, anywhere with tampons, no string bikinis, and no water. "I want to die."
When I felt his chest jerk, I thought it was from revulsion. Then when he choked back a snort, I jerked my eyes upwards. He wasn't disgusted. He was hysterical.
"This isn't funny!" I cried out. "Hey, stop it."
He shook his head and covered his mouth. Then he pressed it against my shoulder and tried to muffle his laughter. To no avail. "I'm sorry, Rayna. I am, but you got your period? You shouldn't be embarrassed. You should be relieved. You're not pregnant."
I grumbled, "That really tickles, you know. People are starting to look."
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