My Lucky Charm (10 page)

Brandon

I thought Tyler had embarrassed me, but my parents get top prize. As soon as I pull out of the driveway, I glance to Leah.

“I’m sorry about my mother. She’s most likely been d
rinking this evening, and I only broke things off with my last girlfriend a month ago, so I think you caught her by surprise.”

“You don’t have to make excuses, Brandon. She judged me by my
appearance and it’s OK. I’m getting used to it.”

He takes my hand. “No, it’s not OK. My parents should be kind to you. They’ll love you once they take the time to get to know you. I hope you’ll give them another chance.”

“Of course. I never knew changing my hair color would offend people so much, but you didn’t judge me by it, so that’s all that matters.”

Not much is said until he parks next to my car. It seems like forever since I left here with him, yet I don’t want to say goodbye.

“I had a great time with you,” he says. That heart-stopping grin finally returns, and it sends my stomach into somersaults and my heart on a race.

He slides his hand along my neck once again, sending a tingling from my core to every extremity. Pulling me to him, he kisses me hard, and I grip the
front of his sweatshirt, trying desperately to get closer without throwing myself across the jeep and straddling him.

Get a grip, Leeza.
I release his lips and feel the tingle in my own. My heart pounds, and there’s an aching sensation between my thighs. He’s dangerous to my restraint.

“I better go. My mom will worry.”

“When do I get to meet her?”

I sigh, knowing I have to tell him
soon. I refuse to lie to him. “Maybe Monday. She’s going to love you and a little too much probably.”

“I hope that’s not why you don’t w
ant me at your house. I would never be interested in your mother.”

He chuckles.

“OK, she’s not that bad, but you’re really cute, and she’ll want to tell you all about it, so I’m just warning you. Also, if my aunt Dottie is around, you’ll probably get your cheeks pinched.”

He
’s laughing as I open the door.

“
Thanks for the amazing date,” I say.

“Bye, Leah.” He winks
and I melt. This is going to get complicated.

Leah

I’m in the sunroom eating lunch
. I have one of my knees up, my bare foot in the chair. I’m thinking hard about what my friends will think of me after they know the truth. Paul walks in and breaks my train of though.

“
Leeza, there are three strange cars out by the gate again. I hope you plan on staying in today.”

“Yep, I have a lot of homework.”

“Good. You need to be here where you’re safe.”

I roll my eyes. “OK,
I get it. I’ve been thinking, and I know you’re right about the safety thing. Billionaire’s kids don’t attend public school.”

“I’m glad you’re coming around.”

I tear a piece of croissant off from my chicken salad sandwich and put it in my mouth before I stare out the window. Our property seems to go on forever. I don’t even know how many acres we have, but I’m pretty sure it’s at least ten.

“Paul, do you think the kids around here will treat me worse once they know
the truth?”

“No. It might be a
mess at first as they process it, but in the end, I think they’ll adapt and not treat you that differently. But you have to accept that there will always be people who are not your friends. They’ll try to attach themselves to you because of your wealth and father’s fame, or they’ll be jealous.”

“I guess I didn’t experience that as much back in LA since all my friend’s pare
nts made a lot of money.”

“You’re already making fri
ends, so you have an idea of who you can trust. Um, Leeza, have you thought about talking to your dad again?”

Paul looks away and seems uncomfortable, so I don’t know why he’d even bring this up.

“I don’t know. I’m angry. Wouldn’t you be? If your mother cheated on your father with a guy as young as you and the whole world knew, wouldn’t that piss you off?”

“I never tho
ught about it that way, but yes, it would. I think I’d eventually forgive her. I mean, it’s been over a year.”

“Maybe someday.” My phone vibrates on the g
lass table. I grin when I see it’s a message from Brandon.

“
Who’s putting that cheesy smile on your face?”

“Brandon. You might as well know that he’s now my boyfriend.” I read the text again.

Brandon:
How’s my Lucky Charm today? I miss you already. That sounded lame, right? But it’s true. What are you doing to me, Leah?

“Two dates and you have a boyfriend?”

“He’s amazing. I think I can trust him. I’ll know for sure when I tell him my news, and I need to do it soon. I’m not telling him a bunch of lies, not to mention the urgency since the annoying paparazzi are snooping around.”

Paul sighs heavily. He needs to go bother Casey at the salon or something and stop worrying about my life so much. “Hey, Paul, you should ask Casey out on a da
te. She thinks you’re really good looking.”

His face lights up. “You think?”

“Definitely. She’d say yes in a heartbeat.”

“I’ll think about it. I’ll talk to you later, and don’t try to sneak off without me,” he says sternly, pointing a finger at me.

“I won’t. Peace out, Boy Scout.” I salute him and wink. He loves me. Now, back to my guy.

Me:
I’m great. I guess I’m lame since I miss you, too. I’d see you if I didn’t have so much homework.

Brandon:
Can we meet up in the morning? If you won’t let me come to you, can you come here? I’ll drive you to school? My parents will have left for work already.

Me:
A date before school?

Brandon:
It’s a date if I kiss you.

Me:
7:15? I’m guessing that gives you about thirty minutes to kiss me.

Brandon:
You’re killing me, Leah. This is torture. Did you forget that I can hardly resist touching you? Now, I have to wait until tomorrow.

Me:
Hee hee, sorry. It’s payback for how nervous you make me.

Brandon:
See you in the morning, Leah, but I imagine I’ll be pathetic and text you later.

Me:
So, you’re pathetic for liking me?

I know that’s not what he
means, but Tyler showed me how easy it is to torment Brandon.

Brandon:
NO! That’s not what I meant. Geez.

Me:
I know. Hee hee.

Brandon:
You most definitely are a troublemaker. My goal is to get you in my room again or maybe your room. The fantasies are endless.

Me:
Go take a cold shower, Bran. See you.

Bran:
Have I told you how cute you are?

Me:
Bye, Bran.

Bran:
I’m groaning loudly in frustration. Bye.

I look up from my phone and find my mother staring at me.

“Who’s making you this happy?”

“Brandon. We’re dating now.”

My mom is a piece of work. Her blonde hair is up in a messy bun, and there’s a sleep mask on top of her head. She’s wearing a black, silk robe and pink fuzzy slippers. “Mom, do you realize it’s one o’clock?”

She
tilts her chin in the air and takes a seat across from me. “I know, but I have nothing to do, so why get dressed?” she asks indignantly.

“Mom, I’m telling Brandon tomorrow. I’
ll tell my friends after that, so we won’t have to hide, but I hope you realize you’ll be trapped even more until the paparazzi go back to LA.”

“Y
es, but it’ll settle down, and I can start making real friends. Thank you, sweetheart. I think you’ll see how much better this will be for all of us.”

“
Yes, you and Dottie will be able to go out together, and maybe you’ll meet a man here in Boulder.”

She huffs. “Don’t get ahea
d of me.” Mom comes around and kisses my cheek. “When am I going to meet this Brandon?”

“T
omorrow, so you better get up in the morning and make yourself presentable. I don’t want him meeting you while you’re in your robe.”

“I better get to the spa and get a facial and my roots
done.” I watch my mother look at her reflection in the window. The sun is shining in on her, and she looks beautiful.

I hope I still look that good at forty-two. She easily passes for thirty, and I guess mon
ey can make that happen. “Don’t embarrass me, OK?”

“Sure, sweetheart. I’m going to take a swim.”

Off my mother goes, back into her own world. She puts me first overall, but in her day to day life, I’m in the background.

Brandon

I barely slept last night and couldn’t eat dinner. My stomach’s in knots, and I’m thinking about feelings and shit. All these weird things are happening to me that I’m not comfortable with. For instance, the word “love” keeps popping in my head out of nowhere.

Leah is making me insane. I’m a guy. My stomach is not supposed to have butterflies in it or whatever that is girls say. It’s wrong, yet I can’t help any of it.

She’s all I can think about, and she’s pulling in my driveway right now. I’ve been sadly staring out the window for fifteen minutes.

I wait for her to knock before I open the door. Luckily, Tyler has to be dragged out of bed by his ankles, so
his face has already hit the carpet, and he’s just getting in the shower. That gives me a little time with her before he starts interfering.

Her eyes are blue and bright, and
her smile is doing that weird thing to my stomach again. Shiny, pink lips are calling me to kiss them, and my hands are itching to slide into that adorable, silky hair of hers.

I’m in lov–
No!
What’s happening to me?

“Hi,” she says before kissing my cheek.

“Sorry, but I need more than that. It’s been almost thirty-six hours.” I cup her face and kiss those lips. They taste like bubble gum and sugar, soft and plump, feeding my need for Leah. Her mouth is warm and wet and makes me want her with more urgency, so I kiss her harder, our tongues swirling and stroking.

I reluctantly let her go when I sense we need a deep breath. She licks her lips and gives me a bashful grin.

“Um, I was going to tell you that I put lip gloss on, but I’m sure you’ve figured that out already.” Reaching out, she runs her thumb across my lips to remove the remainder of it.

“
Bubble gum.” It’s all I say before I grab hold of her thumb and lightly kiss it, staring into her eyes the entire time. Seeming at a loss for words, she nods at me slowly. I’m so glad I have some effect on her since she’s already stripped my world as I know it.

“Hey, Leah,” Tyler says. “Damn, you look good today.”

“Tyler, I swear you better stop hitting on my girl.”

“Chill, bro. I’m complimenting her. Chicks like compliments, right, Leah?” he asks, winking at her before he strolls into the kitchen.

She giggles. “He’s only doing this to get at you, so don’t let it bother you.” Her face buries against my chest, so I hug her tight, realizing this is the best hug I’ve been able to give her.

“
So, are we going to walk into school together?” she asks.

“
I was hoping so. What do you want to do?”

“I want to, but I don’t want to make things difficult for you.” She looks away, so once again, I turn her face back to me.

“We’ve already discussed this. My real friends will accept this and be nice to you. I’m proud to be dating you. What about your friends? Are you worried about what they’ll think?”

“Parker and Sierra will be happy for us. I guess
Gabe, Troy and Jarred are my friends, but I don’t know them well enough to say what they’ll think. Well, I don’t think Jarred will like it. I don’t have any other friends.”

She sounds sad about this. “I’m your friend now, and I know Anthony will like you. I have other friends, too
, who aren’t assholes like Cole.”

“OK, but would you care
if we sit apart at lunch? Maybe take it day by day?”

“That’s fine. It’ll be hard not to have that time to be near you, but we’ll
see how today goes. It’ll all work out. You’ll see.”

Leah

I was lucky to escape Paul this morning. He freaked over me driving, but once he knew Brandon would be escorting me into school, he finally let me go.

S
trolling in, everyone stares at us. Brandon walks me to my locker and then to class. He pouts over us having to separate, and it’s really cute. Wrapping me tight in his arms, he kisses my temple.

I can’t let us get
deeper in this relationship without telling him who I am. Denying him of that is the same as a lie. “Bran, I need to tell you something very important about my family and me. Not now, but after tutoring today.”

“OK. Should I be worried?”

“I don’t think so. I hope it doesn’t change anything between us.”

“
Baby, I don’t see how anything could change the way I feel about you.” He takes hold of my pastel hair and twists it around his finger. “You’re pretty special.”

Seeming vulnerable, he drops my hair and walks away. I watch him
, so I can stare at his toned butt, not having had very many opportunities to admire it.

He looks over his shoulder and gives me a whopping grin as if he knew all along I’d be checking him out. I shake my head and give him a wave before I walk into class.