Page 69 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
Brody: I can’t be mad at the guy. He doesn’t date much, so this is a pretty big deal for him.
Kate: Check his body language though. I’m not so sure he’s down with all the PDA.
His eyes dart to the seat in front of us, and I follow his gaze, watching as Ryan extricates himself from one of Aislynn’s side-arm hugs. Brody stifles a laugh, but he doesn’t do a very good job, the noise coming out of his nose in an awkward snort. He presses his lips together and looks back at his phone, but not before Aislynn shoots a look over the back seat. Except, her look isn’t directed at Brody, it’s directed at me, and she is clearly sayingthis man belongs to me.
My eyes widen. She thinks I might go afterRyan? The thought is only made more ridiculous by Brody sitting next to me. If there is any man in this car I’m going after, it’s him.
My phone buzzes with another text.
Brody: She’s staking her claim, temptress. You better not glance Ryan’s way today.
Kate: Temptress?! I am nothing of the sort.
Brody: I hate to break it to you, but you only have to stand there to be tempting. You could have the whole car completely at your mercy if you wished it. Minus AJ, of course.
AJ, the fourth kayaker in the group, has a wife and twin daughters at home.
I type out my next message, emboldened by Brody’s flirting.
Maybe this part of todaydoesfeel different. We’ve always been close. He’s always been attentive. But Brody has never flirted like this.
I know. I know.This is exactly the opposite of what I’m supposed to be doing. But he started it. And have I mentioned how good he smells? Or how good he looks today? I’m beginning to feel like resistance is futile.
Kate: The whole car? Even you?
Brody looks up from his phone and levels me with a look that can only be called a smolder. Like, an actual, straight out of the urban dictionarysmolder.
Brody: I might be the last to fall. But only because I have years of experience resisting.
Resisting. Resisting me? And for years?
I don’t look up from my phone for a long moment. Is he trying to tell me something? Has he...for me...for years?
There were a few times growing up when I suspected Brody might have real feelings for me. More than friendship feelings. But there were so many opportunities for him to tell me, and he never did. Brody was always so good at talking about things, the fact that he didn’t convinced me I’d made everything up.
Griffin calls something over his shoulder, and Brody leans forward, slipping his phone into his pocket and joining the conversation about the best rapids this side of the Mississippi.Or something like that. I don’t know enough to truly follow along, and I’m too distracted anyway.
I lean my head against the back of the seat and close my eyes, thoughts running through my head a million miles a minute. Brody could have been teasing. Joking about how long we’ve known each other. Playing into Aislynn’s erroneous assumption that I’m some sort of temptress trying to get her man.
Keeping my eyes closed, I do a breathing exercise to try and slow my thoughts. Stressing about the unknown isn’t going to help me figure things out. Whatever happens next, it will be easier to sort through with a clear head.
After a few minutes of intentional breathing, the ridiculous hour I went to bed last night catches up with me, and I start to doze. I’m jolted awake when the Suburban hits a bump in the highway, only to feel Brody’s arms around me, guiding me toward him. He’s angled sideways, his back against the window, and...now I’m lying on his chest, my arms wrapped around his torso because there is nowhere else for them to go. His arms close around my back, one hand rubbing up and down over my shoulder blades as if to soothe me back to sleep.
Despite the heat coursing through me at his touch, it actually starts to work, and I sink into him.
Take that, Aislynn,I think, hovering on the edge of consciousness.I have my own man.
The thing is, Idon’thave years of experience resisting Brody. I feel almost powerless against whatever this is, this force that is drawing me to him. And the longer I’m around him, the more I’m realizing, I don’t reallywantto resist. Ishouldwant to. There’s so much at stake. So much to lose if things go badly. Even if I wanted to stay in Silver Creek, I don’t know that I could. That I could find work enough to sustain me. But right here, right now, his arms around me, the sound of his steady heartbeatthumping under my ear, I can’t bring myself to care about any of that. I want to stay here forever.I want...
“Hey,” Brody whispers. “Wake up. We’re here.”
I shift, untangling my arms from around him, and sit up. Everyone else has already gotten out of the Suburban. I yawn and stretch my arms over my head. “Wow. I didn’t realize I was so tired.” I glance at his t-shirt, hoping I didn’t drool on him while I slept.
He grins and leans forward, folding up the seat in front of him so we can reach the door. “I promise I didn’t mind.”
He didn’t mind...holding me in his arms? I’m suddenlyveryawake. And a little turned on.
“So what happens now?” I ask as I climb out after him.
