Taking Chances (7 page)

“I don't know
him well, but from what I
have
seen this week and what you've said I
would bet he isn't like the rest of them. He's seriously pissed at Chase for
embarrassing you. I had to talk him down from going after him and coming to
your rescue. I figured you'd want to talk to me first.”

“Thanks Bree,
you're a good friend. And I'll talk to him, but later. Can you please go get
the key, I really just want to be alone right now.”

She shut the
door behind her, but a few seconds later I heard her voice coming back towards
the bathroom. “She doesn't want to see you right now, just give her some time.”

I could tell it
was Brandon by how deep the voice was, but I couldn't make out what he was
saying to her.

“Because she's
humiliated! She'll come around though...No, if you want to blame someone, you
can blame me. I'm the one who told everyone the first day she met them...Look,
Chase is an ass, but you're going to embarrass her more if you confront him.
He'll make sure of it, so drop it.”

I didn't hear
anything else for a few minutes until Bree came back with the key. She checked
the hall before leading me to Chase's room.

“My first two
parties ever, and I hide out for most of them.”

“Well I don't
exactly blame you for this time. But I wish you would talk to Brandon. He
doesn't understand why you're avoiding him.”

I laughed humorlessly
and grabbed a pair of pajama shorts and racer back tank top from my bag.
“Thanks for talking to him for me. I think I'm just going to go to bed.”

“Really? It's
only eleven.”

“Yeah, we got
up early; I'll stay up later tomorrow, kay?”

I grabbed my
mouthwash, toothbrush, paste and clothes and ran back to the bathroom. Before
shutting the door, I turned to Bree, “Thanks again Bree. If you see Brandon
again tonight, will you please tell him I'll see him tomorrow?”

She frowned but
nodded. After I was make-up free and clean, I put on my pajamas and climbed
into the bed. I don't know how long I'd been in there, but it wasn't long
before Chase came barging in.

“Can't you just
leave me alone?” I groaned and rolled over to face him.

“Once again
Princess, you're in my room.”

“Fine, then
I'll
go.” I tried to make my way around him but he planted his hands on my
shoulders holding me in place. “Chase let me go!”

“Not until you
talk to me.”

I couldn't even
throw my hands out in exasperation, “We have nothing to talk about!”

“I'm sorry I
hurt you but I was just so damn mad!”

“Do you know
how immature you sound right now? You decided to hurt me because
you
were mad?! What did I ever do to you Chase? And why do I always end up with
your hands on me? Let. Me. Go.”

“Because you
won't stop and talk to me for five minutes!”

“Then you
should understand that I don't want to talk to you.” He still didn't let me go,
“Answer me! What did I do to make you mad?”

His face was
suddenly directly in front of mine and he gripped even harder, making me gasp
from the sudden pain; it felt like his thumbs were digging into the sockets.
“Nothing! You did nothing, I'm not mad at you!” The scent of vodka was pouring
out of his mouth, I'm pretty sure I could get drunk just from his breath.

“Seriously,
you're hurting me! Get off me and leave me alone!” I didn’t feel threatened
yet, but I instinctively went through different moves I’d been taught in case I
started to.

The door swung
open and Brandon rushed in, followed closely by Bree and a few others. “What
the hell, Chase?!” He roared and stomped towards us.

Brandon's fist
connected with Chase's face seconds after his hands left me. I shrieked and
jumped back as he fell to the ground.

“Keep your
hands off her!” Brandon took a step towards me and pulled me close, cupping my
face in his hands. “Was he hurting you?”

I just stared
at him and put a hand over his reassuringly. I didn’t need a guy coming to my
rescue, but damn if Brandon punching him hadn’t just turned me on.

“Come on, let's
get you out of this room.” He led me towards the door, stopping at Bree. “Bree
I'm sorry –”

She held up a
hand to stop him, “Don't. He deserved that one.” She smiled at us before
glaring at her brother, still on the floor. Brandon must've hit him hard. “Can
you make sure Harper has a bed to sleep in tonight? I don't want him near her.”

“Of course.”

“And keep your
hands to yourself.” She said sternly, complete with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes ma'am.” He
squeezed me gently once before pulling me through the crowd gathered in the
doorway and hall. Once we were in his dark room he turned to face me and cupped
my cheeks once again. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm
fine. He wasn't doing anything other than trying to talk to me.”

“He doesn't
need to force you to speak with him, or to stay in the room with him. He should
have let you go the first time you asked him.”

“The first
time?”

He sighed, “We
heard everything Harper.”

I groaned and
let my head sink into his chest, silently thanking the dark for hiding my
blush, “Awesome. I'm starting to think I'm just not meant to come to this
house.”

“Maybe just
when Chase is here.” He laughed when I playfully slapped his stomach. “I'll
protect you.”

“I noticed
that. I think you knocked him out.”

“Trust me, I
didn't. I only hit him hard enough to make him think twice before touching you
again.” He released me so he could look at my face, or attempt to anyway, it
was really dark in his room, “Did that bother you?”

“No, just
surprised me. I wasn't expecting it.”

“I'm sorry, it
was hard walking in on you two for the second time tonight and hearing you tell
him to let you go.”

If I had
punched him, I wouldn't have stopped with one. And here he was apologizing for
standing up for me. I wrapped my hands around his neck pulling his face to
mine, pausing just before our lips touched, “Don't be sorry.” I pressed my lips
softly to his twice, before resting my forehead against his.

“I shouldn't
have done that in front of you.”

I smiled into
the darkness, I understand he didn't know that my entire body was warming over
what just happened, but I wasn't about to tell him that either. “You're sure
you didn't knock him out though?”

Brandon's rich
laugh surrounded me and I sighed at the warmth it carried, “I do this for a
living Harper, I’m positive I didn’t hit him that hard.”

“Uh, what? You
do what?”

“I fight,
didn't Bree tell you that?”

That was a big
negative, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered something like that. “Um, no.
What do you mean you fight for a living? Fight how?”

“MMA, it's
mostly underground fights though. Every now and then I'll do local tournaments,
but I prefer the Underground. Less rules, better pay.”

Suddenly his
size was a little more intimidating. He was tall, muscled and seriously rugged.
But I had thought he looked like an underwear model, or an Abercrombie and
Fitch model. “Huh.” I replied lamely.

“That bothers
you.” He deadpanned.

I shook my
head. Nope, still definitely turned on, even more so now. Was that weird? “How
long have you done that?”

“Started going
to a gym and training after my dad died, just to let everything out. It wasn't
until I ran into Brad and Chase in a gym here my Freshman year that I started
on the Underground.”

“They fight
too?” How had Bree failed to mention all this?

“Not really,
mostly just train at the gym. They've done a few fights, but I haven't seen
Brad fight since maybe middle of last year, Chase around the same time.”

“Huh.” I
repeated. Man I was all kinds of brilliant tonight.

Brandon's face
was guarded while he tried to understand my thoughts.

“That's kind of
creepy, but kind of hot. Can I see you fight?”

He smiled widely.
“If you want, I'm sure there's another one coming up in a few days.”

“You don't know
when it is?”

“Nope, I get a
call an hour before it's supposed to happen. Other people start finding out
about it after, that way there isn't enough buzz to attract unwanted
attention.”

“Unwanted...like
cops?”

“You're quick,”
He whispered against my neck and I shivered from his warm breath against my
skin, “Are you ready to go to sleep?”

Not really, but
I nodded anyway. “Where are you going to sleep?”

“I'll sleep on
the floor.” He kissed my nose and swept me into his arms like I weighed nothing
at all.

“Holy crap!”

He laughed and
pulled the comforter back on his bed before lowering me into it.

“You do realize
I could have done that myself?” I said a little breathlessly.

“Yeah, but
where's the fun in that?” He kissed a trail from my collarbone to right behind
my ear, “I'll be back in a few minutes.”

I heard some
drawers open and shut before he left, and though I tried to calm myself enough
to fall asleep, I was still wide awake when the door opened about five minutes
later revealing Brandon in nothing but a pair of work out shorts. And dear Lord
that boy had an amazing body. My eyes were traveling up his torso and I thought
I saw something on his chest, but before I could look close enough, the door
shut and the room was dark again. He grabbed a pillow from the bed and dropped
to the floor. After a few more minutes I realized there was no way I was going
to fall asleep knowing he was down there. He had to be uncomfortable, and he
didn't even have a blanket.

“Hey Brandon?”

“Hmm?”

I paused, and
almost talked myself out of it. But only almost. Leaning over the bed to look
down at where he was, I smiled and let my hand fall down to his chiseled chest.
I wanted nothing more than to run my hands all over his sculpted body, but I
wanted him wrapped around me more, “I don't want you to sleep down there.”

“Oh, okay.” He
grabbed his pillow and walked towards the door.

“What...where
are you going?”

“To crash on
Drew's floor.”

“Why?”

“So you’ll be
okay to sleep, I’ll see you in the morning Harper. Sweet dreams.”

This guy beats
the crap out of people on a regular basis, but is doing everything to make sure
I'm not uncomfortable? My God he's perfect. I chuckled and sat up, “No, I want
you in the room. I just don't want you on the floor.”

“Are you sure?”

“Come here.” I
held out my hand and waited for him to reach me. He took it and slid in next to
me before kissing my palm.

“I really don't
mind sleeping on the floor if you're uncomfortable with this.”

“I know.” I
smiled to myself as I curled my back into his chest and sighed happily. I was
right, it’s like I was made to be in his arms.

“Can I ask you
something?”

I laughed at
the same phrase that had practically started our night, “Of course.”

“Why wouldn't
you see me tonight? After what Chase said?”

Ugh, I'd
already forgotten about that. “I was embarrassed and kind of afraid of what
you'd think of me.”

“What I'd think
of you? Why?”

Apparently I'm
the only person who sees it this way. I turned to face him, “Because I'm weird.
Up until two weeks ago, I'd never been to a party, I'd never hung out with normal
guys my own age, and like Chase said –” 

“Am I the first
person you've ever kissed?”

I didn't answer
for a minute. “Yes.”

He laughed and
trailed his fingers across my back in random patterns, “I would have never
known, you're an amazing kisser.”

“You don't have
to try to make me feel better.”

His next laugh
was a little louder, “I'm not, I swear. During the two games of beer pong all I
could think about was kissing you again.”

He had no idea.
“So you didn't know what 'PG' meant?”

“Not at all. I
figured since they called you 'Princess', they had just shortened that with
something else to 'PG'.”

“I’m not really
a fan of either name.” I grumbled.

“You won’t hear
either from me,” he whispered against my neck and my whole body tingled, “I
promise.”

The way he was
nipping at my neck caused me to almost forget what I wanted to ask him, “Does it
bother you that I’m so inexperienced?”

I could feel
his smile against my collar bone, his lips brushing against it as he shook his
head, “No. If I’m being honest, I love knowing that your firsts will all be
with me.”

All? Oh God my
heart was racing just thinking about being with him like that. It wasn’t
something I wanted yet, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to think about
Brandon’s hard body pressing against mine. “Have you ever been with someone?”
The way his body stiffened, I knew he knew what I was asking.

“Yes.”

“How many
girls?”

He pushed back
slightly and ran a hand through my hair, cupping the back of my neck with it, “Harper...is
that really something you want to know?”

I was already
head over heels for this guy, and if he decided he wanted to be in a
relationship at some point, this was something I definitely needed to know.
God, please don’t let him be like Chase. I swallowed audibly, “Yeah, it is.” We
were talking about
all
of my firsts being with him after all, it was
only fair that I knew too…right?

He blew out a
deep breath and thought for a second, “Five. I'm not like some of the other
guys here. I actually have relationships, so my last five girlfriends.”

Five seemed
like a hell of a lot to me, but then again I was glad that at least he could
count them on one hand. Chase could barely count a week’s worth on both hands. “Okay.”

“Please don't
ever be too embarrassed to talk to me.” He leaned in to whisper in my ear,
“I'll never intentionally make you uncomfortable. If I do, tell me. And I
promise I'll never push you to do anything you don't want to.”