One Trip Around the Sun (11 page)

Tomorrow is the big night, so I’m at The Pit to find Matt. I know he hangs out here on Fridays, and I saw his car when I pulled in. As I’m walking alone down the path leading to the fire pit, I’m nervous.

Never having been here on a Friday night, I didn’t realize how crowded it would be. There sure is a lot of commotion. As I make my way into the clearing, I take a step backward, almost falling on my ass.

On the opposite side of the bonfire, there’s a fight. I’ve seen several fights down here, but most of them don’t usually make it much past a few punches before someone breaks it up. Nobody is even trying to break up this one. People are cheering them on instead. I stand, shocked and afraid, as everyone jumps up and down, screaming.

Finally, when my curiosity gets the best of me, I take a couple of steps toward the crowd. I can barely see over them, so I can’t make out who is fighting. A girl runs away from the crowd as she answers her phone. I move back before stopping near where she’s standing.

“Hey, Mom. I’m at a basketball game,” she lies to her mom.

Basketball game, my ass.

I look at her, and she shrugs her shoulders as she smiles
sheepishly.

“Okay, I’ll call you later,” she says before hanging up.

As she passes me, I call out to her, “Hey, what happened?”

She shakes her head, confused by my question. “What do you mean?”

I raise my eyebrows and nod toward the fight.

“It’s Friday,” she says matter-of-factly.

“And?”

“There are always fights on Fridays.”

“Oh. Why are they fighting?”

“I just told you. It’s Friday. I’ve seen you here before, right?”

I’m so irritated. “Yes.”

“Okay. Then, you know Fridays are fight nights,” she says.

“I’ve never been here on a Friday.”

“Oh. Well, it’s kinda kept on the down low, so don’t go blabbing to anyone.”

“I won’t.” But I actually can’t wait to tell Chelsea.

“Brady is gonna win. He always wins when he fights.”

“Brady?”

“Yeah, Brady Fisher. You know him?”

What in the actual fuck is going on with my life lately? Am I just blind?

“Yeah, kinda.”
I guess not as much as I thought.

“Well…” She motions with her eyes until I finally understand that she wants my name.

“Reese.”

“I’m Tara. I gotta get back to my boyfriend. Don’t go telling our little secret, okay?”

“I won’t.” I shake my head.

I make my way into the crowd, so I can see better, but I instantly regret it. It is brutal.

Brady is wearing tight black shorts under a pair of white baggy shorts with blood on them and no shirt. He’s got a swollen eye, blood dripping down from it. He’s moving gracefully though, like he did when we boxed at the gym.

The other guy punches Brady so hard in the ribs that I gasp and turn away. A feeling of nausea comes over me. I can’t watch anymore.

Wandering away, I find a seat near the fire. I see several girls who, like me, probably couldn’t stand to watch the fight either. Sitting on a log away from everyone else, I’m trying to gather my thoughts when I hear a familiar voice. It’s Matt. For a minute, I forgot why I was even here.

I snap my head up, and just as I stand to approach him, he wraps his arms around one of the girls, and then he kisses her.

Whoa! Wait just a minute!

That was more than a friendly kiss.

She holds his waist, and he sits, pulling her onto his lap. I sit back down on the log before I fall. My thoughts are racing a mile a minute. I want my boring life back. The past few months have been too crazy.

I watch the idiot who I was about to hand my virginity to while he makes out with Blondie for about ten minutes. I contemplate what I should do. Obviously, the stupid quest to find my maybe-lost-or-maybe-not-lost virginity is off. I deserve exactly what I’m getting. I don’t give a rat’s ass about this guy, so I should just get up and leave. I don’t want to though. I want to confront him.

Without thinking any more about it, I stand and make a beeline toward him.

“Yeah? You need something?” Blondie asks, looking up at me.

“Um…um,” Matt stutters, looking between the two of us.

I don’t bother trying to help him through it. Finally, he stands, nearly dropping Blondie to the ground. He grabs her arm and begins pulling her away, but she struggles out of his grasp.

“Who are you?” she asks me.

“Why don’t you ask your boyfriend?” I respond casually.

She looks at him. “One of you needs to tell me what is going on.”

As Matt rushes away, she points her finger in my face. She and her friends close in on me.

Oh shit.

Everyone is staring, and I’m overwhelmed. I see the girls’ mouths moving, but I don’t hear a word they’re saying. Not realizing that they are forcing me to back up, I’m startled when I crash into someone behind me. I glance over my shoulder, and Brady looks fierce as he pulls his tee on over his head.

He wraps one arm around my waist and pulls me close. “Is there a problem here, ladies?”

I don’t recognize Brady’s voice. It’s raspy and demanding.

They all look at him in awe, and immediately, they are quiet.

He addresses Blondie, “Your douche-bag boyfriend comes down here every Saturday and tries to hook up. He hit on my girl last weekend.” He rests his chin on top of my head.

Speechless, the girls back off, and after a few moments they turn and leave.

I’m embarrassed, but so much more than that, I appreciate the safety and comfort of being wrapped tightly in Brady’s arms. I don’t bother to move, even after the girls are gone.

I turn my head and nuzzle my face into his bicep. “Thanks.” I mumble.

“Are you done messing with that loser now?”

What?
I’m puzzled. How did he even know?

“It wasn’t like that anyway. We only talked on the phone.”

He slides his hands down and grasps my hips. He drops his head down resting his cheek against my ear. “Good. I’m glad to hear that.” I feel a grin spread across his face. “Will you go out with me tomorrow, Reese?” he asks for the second time.

I don’t say anything, but I’m not missing out this time. I just nod.

We stand in a comfortable silence as everyone makes their way up the path to leave. Eventually, he releases me and takes my hand, leading me up to my car.

Noticing a trickle of blood running down the side of his face, I figure now is as good of a time as any to ask him a few questions. “So, what’s the deal with you fighting?”

He pauses before answering, but he doesn’t make eye contact with me. Instead, he’s keeping his attention on where he’s going. “It’s fun.”

Fun? That’s an odd way to put it.

“Is there a prize, like money or something?” I ask, trying to understand how it could be fun.

Still, he doesn’t look at me as he answers, “Nope. Just the title.”

“Are you okay? Your eye is swollen.”

Finally, he meets my stare. “Yeah, it’ll be fine.”

“Ah!” Just as we reach the area where my car is parked, I dramatically trip and fall to my knees in the rocky dirt lot. If not for Brady holding my hand, I would have landed flat on my face.

“Ouch! Damn it!” Pulling my hand away from Brady, I roll to the side, sit on my bottom, and hold my knee. My jeans are torn, and there is blood where I’ve skinned my kneecap.

Brady leans down to me. “Reese, are you okay? See if you can straighten it.” He reaches out, taking hold of my calf.

I slowly extend my leg and lay it out in front of me. “Yeah, it’s good. I’m such a klutz.”

He holds his hands out in front of me, and I grab them. With more force than necessary, he pulls me up, and I crash into his chest. Of course, he doesn’t skip a beat. He takes hold of my hips, steadying me. We stand there, looking at each other, and neither of us moves or says a word.

A few people come up the path and walk around us. They say good-bye to Brady and congratulate him on winning his fights tonight. Other than a quipped response to them he remains quiet.

Finally, when it’s clear that he isn’t going to kiss me, I gather the nerve to do something. I reach out, touching his stomach. Breaking our eye contact, I focus on my fingertips as they make contact with his body. Together, we watch as my hands slide up his stomach and over his chest. When my fingers make contact with his neck, he shuts his eyes and sucks in a deep breath. I place my hands on his cheeks, and he opens his eyes.

He quickly closes the gap, and his lips are on mine. His hands firmly hold my hips, pulling me in close. The first kiss begins soft, and he sucks my bottom lip into his mouth. He pulls away and looks into my eyes. When he kisses me again, his tongue sweeps my mouth.

I clearly didn’t think this through. Sure, I’ve made out with a few guys before now but nobody experienced. If they were, they weren’t any good at it. In the few seconds that Brady’s lips have been on mine, it’s clear that he is both experienced and a fantastic kisser.

I’m nervous, and it’s obvious that I’m so far out of my league. I need to stop before I embarrass myself any further. My hands drop to his chest, and just as I’m about to push away to break our contact, he grabs my face and deepens the kiss. The second that he takes control, I’m all in. Fear is out the window.

He continues to run his tongue around my tongue. I pull my face away for the briefest moment, and he looks me in the eyes again. With his eyes open, he leans in and kisses me softly and slowly, sans tongue. It’s the sexiest thing ever.

He presses his lips to mine one last time and whispers, “I’m in so much trouble.” His gorgeous half smile graces me, and he wraps his arms around my neck, pulling me close.

I hug his waist and look up at him. “What do you mean, you’re in trouble? You’ve said that twice now.”

He doesn’t say anything. He just looks at me.

Surely, he doesn’t think that I’m some kind of party girl. As I scan my memory for anything I might have done that would make him think so, I come to a realization. Nearly every time we’ve been together, I’ve either been drinking or having less than pure thoughts about him or both.

Oh God, and then there was the mess with Matt tonight.

Whispering, I assure Brady, “I’m not trouble.”

“I know you aren’t, and that’s exactly why I’m in trouble.” He dips his head down and kisses me again.

His lips are sideways on mine, and he doesn’t try to reposition himself. He sucks and softly bites my lips. I swear, I thought that whole firework analogy was bullshit. It so is not. I feel like I’m the one exploding. Yeah, he’s definitely experienced. I should probably be worried about that, but right here and right now, I’ll gladly be any kind of trouble he wants me to be. I’m on fire and burning, and it’s almost painful. I pull away, and I take in a deep breath and then slowly let it out.

After a few seconds of catching my breath, I break away from Brady. I notice the contents of my purse strewed near where I fell a few minutes ago. We both kneel down and begin collecting my things.

Brady picks up the condoms in one hand and the spermicide in the other, holding them up. “Whoa! Safe much?”

My mouth drops open. I’m mortified. “Oh my God!”

I gasp and cover my mouth. Of all the things he could have grabbed, he found the stupid birth control.

“You know what, Brady? I’m good. You can just go—really.” I feel it coming on. I stand and abruptly walk away, hoping that he will just leave.

But I know full well that after the way he just touched me and kissed me, he isn’t going to.

“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to be embarrassed. It’s a good thing that you’re careful.”

I’m in no condition to speak, but my mouth opens anyway. “I’ve never had sex before.” Shaking my head, I hold my hand out, trying to retract that statement because I don’t know if it’s even true.

I choose that moment to lose it, and he notices my rapid breathing and change in demeanor.

“Please don’t cry. It’s not that serious, Reese.”

I wish that were all I’m getting ready to do. The first gasp for breath drags on for longer than it ever has. I know that it’s worse because I’m doing it in front of him.

“Are you choking?” He rushes toward me and grabs me from behind.

I blow out a small breath that I have in my lungs, and I try to suck in another.

“Panic attack?” He moves in front of me and kneels down so that he’s eye-level with me.

I nod my head.

“Okay, okay. Breathe. Take long breaths, Reese.” He holds his hands out in front of me, and I take hold of them. “That’s it. Breathe with me.”

I squeeze his hands as tightly as I can.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

He’s so patient for the next five minutes as I struggle for every breath.

When it’s over, we take several more slow deep breaths together. I loosen my grip on his hands as I take my first few normal breaths again.

“Good job.” He nods his head. “There you go. That wasn’t bad at all.”

He pulls his shirt off and uses it to wipe my eyes and then my face. Although I’m not comfortable with it, I let him take care of me. I’m in no condition to push him away.