Brady swept me higher for a tighter hug.
"I thought you weren't too concerned about it."
"Are you delusional? Of course I was worried about it. I can't afford a kid. I just said that stuff to relax you. You looked like you could pop a champagne bottle open, you were wound so tight."
"Hey, lovebirds. I don't mean to interrupt the cozy twosome, but we might have something more pressing going on," Matt interrupted. When we looked up, he gestured behind.
Brady cursed when he saw Clarissa between Derek and Josh. She stood with a hand against both of their chests. Each looked fierce, but Josh was taller than Derek by an inch. Both boys were bristling and Kid was behind his cousin. He looked dazed and slightly embarrassed.
Then Clarissa glared at us. "Liddle helb, please?"
"Who the hell is that?"
"That's Kid's cousin." I frowned. "Josh. He was at the police station and he kissed me at that party. He's the one who called you a gorilla."
Brady cursed again. "Not him."
Matt waded beside us. "Derek Stout. He moved here two months ago."
"He's a douche. That’s why I don't know him."
"What do you want to do?" Matt crossed his arms over his Vikings chest.
"Why are they fighting?" Brady scratched at his jaw. His tribal tattoo seemed to jump out at me as his shoulders bunched in concentration.
"My guess, Clarissa."
"Remy! Brady!" Clarissa called out clearly this time. She fumed, "You're going to let them fight?"
Derek and Josh strained towards each other, but Clarissa seemed to have a firm hold on both.
"She's pretty strong," I noted. Her bicep muscles were showcased. They might've had an inch of fat on them. Barely.
Brady grumbled, "Why should we get in there and duke it out? That poser needs a beat down."
"Derek or Kid's cousin?" Matt asked.
"Both. I don't care."
Matt studied Brady's reserved face for a moment and remarked, "You're awfully upbeat and helpful."
Brady jerked a shrug. "I don't care. Why are you asking me?"
"Because you have beef with Kid and that's Kid's cousin. Plus, it's Clarissa. She's our friend. What do you want us to do? The guys want to wade in, but they don't want to piss you off."
Brady sighed and then yelled, "Clarissa, just let 'em go at it. Get out of the way."
Matt murmured, “ it’s Clarissa."
"That's her problem." Brady gave them a dismissing gesture. "What does she expect when she flirts with every guy around? Some guys don't know her game."
Matt repeated, “it’s Clarissa."
This time Brady groaned and jerked forward through the water. At his sudden approach, the guys jumped into action. Derek and Josh were quickly held back and Clarissa lost her balance. As she fell in the water, Derek yelled at Josh, "What do you care? She ain't yours."
"She ain't yours either!" Josh surged forward, but was held back. I had no idea who held them, but I knew they were Brady's friends as all of them looked at him when he stopped by the group.
Josh strained against his holders, but Derek stopped and watched Brady with a quizzical look. Kid had stepped around Josh so he was beside Clarissa, but while she watched him with a hopeful look, Kid watched Brady. When I saw a sudden jaw clench, I knew that Brady was extremely aware of Kid's focus. He didn't like it.
"Okay. What the hell happened?" Matt asked as he stepped around Brady.
Derek opened his mouth, but Josh cried out, "He's spineless. That's what he is. You don't disrespect women like that."
Derek asked, "Huh? What are you talking about?"
"You swiped her boob, man. You don't do that." Josh strained forward, but I caught the slight relief in his eyes. That's when I harrumphed. The fight was fake. Josh didn't want to fight Derek.
Brady opened his mouth.
The group fell silent.
And he pointed out, "You kissed Rayna at Barthal's. Did you respect her?"
Josh choked and Derek looked even more confused. One of the guys hooted under his breath, "Oh man. He's dead."
"Okay." Clarissa decided to intervene as she stood up. Water glistened down her toned body when she held out her arms again. "Derek did not disrespect me, Josh. He was hitting on me. I don't need you to come to my rescue, especially when it's not even real. You've wanted to fight someone since you came to town, but you're too scared to take on the real person you want to fight."
All eyes went to Brady and the air shifted. It went from entertaining to alarming.
I stood; my period could also be damned.
"Is that what you want?" Brady moved forward a step. "Do you want to fight me?"
Josh held his breath.
Kid froze too, but he waited.
Derek casted dumbfounded looks between the guys.
Clarissa shifted. "Okay, guys. I did not mean for you two to fight. We all know Remy's down for a fight, but since the law can't afford booking him one more time; I'm going to settle this. Brady, I like Kid. You got a problem with that?" As she said this, her eyes skirted towards mine.
"I don't care." Brady moved back a step.
"Wha—huh?"
"Why would I care if you have the hots for him?" Brady further clarified. "I just don't want him to have the hots for Rayna. She's my best friend."
Clarissa twisted her mouth into an ugly smile. "She's a bit more than that, don't you think?"
Brady narrowed his eyes. "Wanna say that again?"
I saw no hesitation when Clarissa narrowed her eyes back, crossed her arms, and stood firmly in her skimpy black bikini. "I know she's a bit more than your best friend. I'm not stupid."
"It doesn't matter what's between her and I. You should be grateful that you're still a friend of mine." Brady was tense as he moved forward again, one slow step. "Now, I'm going to be the friend I need to be for Rayna and I'm going to ask Kid for a ride out of here."
"What?" Clarissa's mouth dropped.
Everyone seemed startled.
I squirmed and clenched my legs tighter.
Brady ignored Kid's incredulous look and asked him, "You drove here, right?"
Kid jerked a nod.
"Can we get a ride? Rayna's place ain't far." Brady was polite and controlled…too much so.
"But…what? What about what I said?" Clarissa cried out.
Brady jerked a shrug. "I could care less. I don't have any idea what that stupid fight was about. I don't care. You have some notion that I'm supposed to care what you do with who. I don't. I don't think I need to spell it out anymore."
"What happened to us before? It's always been you and me on the party scene. I'm your girl those nights and now you start bringing her around?"
"Rayna's always been my best friend. This isn't new, Clarissa. We don't live in a big city. You've gone to school with her since first grade. I don't think I need to explain anything. And right now, she needs a ride out of here. We're leaving."
Clarissa jumped forward and clasped a hand on Kid's rigid arm. "I'm going too."
"What?"
"Hey now…" Derek said and moved forward. "I thought we could hang out? I thought you were into it?"
Josh announced, "She was using you to make my cousin jealous. She was doing that to make the King Gorilla jealous and now she's all huffy because it didn't work."
Derek turned towards him. "Why'd you care then?"
"I'm tired of everyone trying to play my cousin! And I'm starting to hate this town," Josh exploded. Then he stepped backwards and grabbed an inner tube. A second later, he sat down and pushed off with the current. "Give 'em a ride, Kid. I came to have fun and that's what I'm going to do from now on."
Kid watched as his cousin sailed away, but moved towards the bank. Resigned.
Brady watched him and stood very still.
I relaxed slightly when I saw the determination in Brady's eyes. I knew he was doing it for me and I hoped that he'd do his best not to start anything in the car. "Are you sure abo
ut this?"
Brady jerked a shoulder again. "It'll be fine."
I knew he wasn't sure, but I sighed when I felt another burst between my legs. When Brady touched my arm, I waded where Kid had already climbed up the bank and disappeared in the direction of his car. Clarissa darted ahead of us, but not before shooting a glare over her shoulder.
"I thought she liked me."
"Clary's not real good with girls, but she don't mean everything she just said. I think she actually does like you. She's just hurting right now."
Matt hurried over and asked, "Are you sure about this, Brady?"
Brady asked him, "Do you have a towel or something?"
Matt laughed and held out his bare arms. "I've got my trunks and my booze in that other tube. If you're sure about this, I'm going to catch up with my booze."
"Who's got a towel?" Brady hollered out.
After one was located and handed over, he gave it to me. I knew my face was a deep shade of red, but I stood up and wrapped the towel around my bottom. Everyone else shouted their goodbyes before they took off down the river, eager to catch up with their booze too. The only one left was Derek, who still looked confused.
Brady turned to him. "Don't sweat it. You just got zapped by one of Clarissa's games, but she'll probably be at Barthal's tonight, looking to soothe her hurt ego."
Derek frowned more, but Brady urged me forward. I sighed, my insides all amass. Kid had looked at me once when Brady asked for the ride. I saw the genuine concern and I knew Brady hadn't, but it was going to be unmistakable in the car. He wouldn't like that Kid was worried about me.
When I got into the truck, I had a brief thought that skipping school had not been worth it.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The drive to my place consisted of two statements. The first was when Brady instructed beside me in the back seat, "You gotta turn up by Billard's farm. Then left again by the green post."
The second was a tense retort from Kid, "I know where she lives."
I grasped Brady's arm and hoped to prevent any explosion, but was surprised when he clenched his jaw and remained silent.
Clarissa harrumphed once, but was just as silent as the rest of us. And me, I was hoping not to die before we finally arrived. When Kid pulled into the driveway, I didn't stop to think. I shot out of that car and ran through the opened doorway as Grandpa Neil stood there, caught unaware. As his foot fell roughly onto the first step, I rushed past and up the stairs to my bathroom. Once I'd taken care of my business, I was in the safe zone. Then I sat there for a moment and went into the red zone—Brady and Kid were both downstairs. Together.
I dressed in a jiffy and ran back downstairs. I burst through the door with my arms up and my elbows flying as I pulled my hair into a ponytail. I knew my cheeks were red from my hurry, but I stopped abruptly at the sight of my grandmother standing in front of Brady, Kid, and Clarissa.
She stood with her hands on hips and a red apron tied over baggy jeans. I cringed when I saw she had pulled out her pepper apron. When she was feeling feisty and hot tempered, she always went for the red peppers. Everyone else rested against the car, but kept wary eyes on her.
When Brady saw I was okay, he turned away. "I'm going to check on Neil. He looked like he needed help in the barn."
Viola snorted and retied the apron's knot behind her back. "Run away, little boy. Run away."
"Grandma," I chastised. When she turned chilly eyes on me, I grimaced and remembered the last time I'd been in the same room with her and Brady. I'd been looking at a pregnancy test and we'd yet to talk about it.
Kid cleared his throat. "Are you okay?" He sent a furtive look towards my grandmother and shuffled awkwardly by his car.
I moved to stand next to Viola. "I'm fine and thank you for the ride."
Clarissa glanced between the two of us, and then turned to watch Brady's retreating back. I watched with a knot in my stomach as her eyebrows furrowed forward like she was figuring something out. She sent a skeptical look towards my grandmother, who was staring with hostility towards Kid and Brady. Then realization hit Clarissa's eyes. I gulped. This wasn't good. She whirled shocked eyes at Brady, but he was already in the barn. When she turned towards me and looked at my grandmother, Viola only stared at Kid like she wanted to eat him up in a carnivorous way.
"What do you mean if she's okay? Why wouldn't she be?" Viola barked out.
I gulped again and dried my sweaty hands on my shorts. I wanted someone else to speak, but knew no one else would. "Um…I'll tell you later."
Viola narrowed her eyes, looking me up and down. I wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she scoffed, "You have a doctor's appointment in a few hours. Good thing you got home when you did."
"What—oh!" I'd forgotten what my period actually meant. "Uh…um…"
"Rayna?" Kid asked again. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"She's fine!" Clarissa clamped a hand on his arm and forced a smile. "Look at her. She's a shining beacon of health and fertility. Let's go."
"Fertility?" Kid questioned.
"Yep. Like Aphrodite. Let's go."
Viola watched the exchange with narrowed eyes. Then she turned her piercing beacons towards me. When she saw how uncomfortable I was, she looked at Clarissa again. "Now, hold up."
Kid froze. Clarissa sighed in disgust. "We have to go. I'm sorry." She pushed against Kid, but he wasn't budging.
Viola waved a hand towards the barn. "You boy, you go to the barn. You girl, you get inside. I need to feed your skinny behind."
Surprised and then a little offended, Clarissa placed both hands on her hips and brazenly stood in her black bikini. "You don't know me. You don't owe me anything and you can't order me around."
Kid's eyes widened.
Viola threw out her arm. "Give me your keys. Now, you go, Kid."
He threw them over Clarissa's head and tucked tail. They exchanged a glance, hers in mystified anger and his in a silent apology before he darted towards the barn.
"You can stew out here if you'd like, but you heard me. I've got food inside for you. Now, git."
I looked away when Clarissa sent a scorching glare at me. I wasn't going to bend to her will and go against my grandmother. Viola had spoken.
Clarissa snorted in disgust. "Fine. Whatever. It's just a biscuit, right?"
Little did she know.
Viola retied the pepper apron and gestured toward the baby chair. "Girly, you sit there."
"Wha—huh? Are you joking? What is that?"
"It's a chair." I quickly took my normal chair against the wall. I pointed out, "Brady sits there."
"It looks like a baby."
"It is, but it's a chair, too." I felt stupid having this conversation.
Clarissa perched at the edge. "Okay. So what do you have to eat?"
Turning back from the counter, Viola held two glasses and a bottle of bourbon. She placed them on the table. She pushed one towards Clarissa and the other in front of her. Then she poured a small amount in each glass and sat back. Her eyes didn't leave Clarissa's face once, like a hawk.
"What is this? I'm underage. You can't give me alcohol."
Viola smiled. "Something tells me you're already half-doozied up anyways. Besides, if I had a heart to heart with your grandma Bertha, I'm pretty sure you'd be in more trouble than me. She's real tight with Judge Bailor and Deputy Doug."
"You mean Deputy Dog." Clarissa rolled her eyes.
"I call him by his God-given name," my grandmother murmured, deceptively soft, as she leaned forward on her elbows. She nudged the drink closer. "Go ahead. It's just us girls. No one else around."
With a disgusted sigh, Clarissa picked it up and looked between us. She sniffed the drink, then grimaced and tossed it down her throat.
"There you go." Viola smiled in approval and refilled it.
"What are you doing?" Clarissa's eyes were wide in shock.
"I figure if you can do one, why stop there? Everything's best in doubles. How about
it? What's your name?"
"Clarissa."
"Drink up, Clarissa. Let's see who the real partier is."
"What?"
Viola nodded towards the drink and then drank hers slowly, savoring it. She wiped her mouth. "That was good. I'd like another. Your turn, Clarissa."
"Grandma, what are you doing?" This wasn't going to end well.
"Take the drink, Clarissa. Show me how tough you are."
The two stared at each other and I felt a shift in the air.
As I watched, completely baffled, Clarissa reached out with a sturdy hand and took the drink in one gulp. She placed the glass back on the table, jaw firm, and seemed to say 'so there' with her eyes.
Viola poured a third.
Clarissa downed it. Viola took hers and the contest kept going. Each for each until Clarissa started to waver as she reached for her umpteenth drink. She slurred as her eyes began to droop, "Thisss i soo illwegal. Yooou gould go do jawel."
My grandmother straightened in her chair and wiped her mouth. Her voice was clear. "No, honey. I'm not going to jail. I know too much dirt on our town's officials."
"Thenn whiii…?" Clarissa fell back against the chair and winced in pain.
"Why'd I get you drunk?" Viola stood up and put the bottle away. "Because I want you to tell me what you did to my granddaughter. I heard your snide comments out there and I didn't like them. I know your game. You think you're the queen around these parts, but I won't have my grandbaby be a part of your games."
Clarissa hiccupped and squinted at my grandmother. "Whah made you tink awll hurt her? I'm da one gidding hurd. Sthe took Brady away frob me."
"Brady—" Viola started.
Clarissa interrupted with a finger in Viola's face. "Kid likes her, her her more than me, too. I know this, but I hade that. She—Rayna…I don wanna hurd her. I'm hurding too…"
"Don't be one of those girls!" My grandmother pounded the table with both hands. "You don't be one of those girls."
"Huh? Waddya mean?"
My eyebrows bunched together. I had no idea what she meant either.
Viola was passionate. "If Brady and Kid like you then you've got something in you, something more than other girls. I hate to admit it, but Kid's got some backbone." She looked at me. "I still don't want you to have any part of him, but…" She looked at Clarissa again, who was starting to waver back and forth in her chair. "You don't be that girl who plays games. You don't get involved in those bitchy snide comments any longer."
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