One Trip Around the Sun (9 page)

Thankfully, class is over quickly. I stuff the syllabus into my bag, stand up, and throw it over my shoulder. I feel a breath on my neck and the brush of fingers across the bare skin of my hip where my shirt crept up. I pull my shirt down as goose bumps cover my skin.

“Hey, Flower.” Brady leans over my shoulder from behind and then walks past me. He stops at the door to look at me.

I narrow my eyes at him. “Flower?”

“Yeah, like in
Bambi
. You remind me of Flower.”

“Bambi, huh? I pegged you for more of the
Lady and the Tramp
type.”

He grimaces and places his hand over his chest as he walks backward out of the classroom. “Ouch. It hurts that you think so little of me.”

Chelsea quietly watches our little exchange and then turns to me after Brady leaves. “You know who that is, right?”

“Uh…yeah. Obviously.”

“No, Reese, I mean, like
, who he is
, who he is.” Her eyes are wide, and she’s holding my shoulders.

“Brady Fisher.”

“Yeah, and he’s hot as hell.”

“Uh…yes, I suppose he is.”

“And he’s rich as hell.”

“Uh…and I don’t care.”

“And he’s popular as hell.”

“Again, I don’t care,” I say, emphasizing each word.

“You kill me, girl! The hottest guy in school just spoke to you like he wants you, and you don’t care. How do you even know him?”

“He’s Kyle’s friend. Remember when we were at The Pit on my birthday? I talked to him then, and I also see him at the gym.” I want to say,
And when he touches me, I feel it between my thighs.

“Interesting,” she says slowly as if she’s contemplating something.

I tilt my head and shake it. I mouth,
No.
I know exactly what she’s thinking. “That is way too close to home. He’s Kyle’s friend. I have to get to my next class. See you at lunch.”

I’m starving by the time my third class is over. I’m so glad that I have an early lunch period. I really want to go through the lunch line and get pizza and a soda like everyone else, but I hate eating at school. I pull an apple out of my bag and head to my usual table to wait for Chelsea. About the time I decide that she’s ditched me, probably for Connor and her new friends from The Pit, she strolls into the cafeteria.

“What are you doing, Reese? I’ve been waiting for you.”

“I’m eating lunch because it’s lunchtime.” I wave my apple between us.

“Well, honey, you’ve graduated from the kiddie table to the grown-up table,” she says in a condescending tone.

She pulls on my arm, and I grab my things before she forces me to follow her.

“We’re juniors now, so we eat outside with the other grown-ups.” She drags me to a table full of people I recognize but don’t really know.

I take a seat next to Baylee, a girl in our bio class. I pull my apple out of my bag again along with a water bottle.

“Is that all you’re eating?” Baylee asks before shoveling fries into her face.

I look at her and don’t say anything. She arches her eyebrows, waiting for my answer.

“Stupid dick!”

“Fuck you, Stew!”

We both turn in our seats and focus on the two guys shoving each other near the table behind us.

“Reesey, how are you, girl?” Stew says as he drops into the chair behind me.

Garner Stewart, also known as Stew, annoys me every time he’s around. I met him at The Pit several weeks ago. He’s actually one of my new phone contacts—and one who will never get a call from me.

“I’m fine. But that’s not my name.” I realize that Brady is the guy he was exchanging insults with, and I quickly turn back around.

“Hey, excuse my ignorant friend. How are you, Reese? You’re looking very nice today.” Brady looks at his friend and back at me before blessing me with that wicked half smile.

I smile like a damn fool. “Thanks, Brady. I’m good.”

Baylee looks at me in disbelief.

The bell rings, and everyone else gets up, collecting their garbage and their belongings from the table. I hang back for a minute and check my schedule since I didn’t bother memorizing it before school started.

Brady startles me when he pulls out the chair next to me and sits. “Reese, I know you didn’t ask, but you really need to eat. I’ve seen you working hard at the gym, and what you just ate for lunch isn’t enough. You need to eat more than that.”

Awkward!
“Well, Brady, I had no idea that you were paying so much attention to me.”

I continue looking down at my schedule because I’m one hundred percent mortified right now. I don’t even like to eat at school, so I definitely don’t want to talk to the hottest boy in school about my daily caloric intake. I want to say something smart-ass, but I just can’t find the words.

“You have no idea, Reese.”

He’s standing over me now, and I can feel him looking down at me, but I don’t look up from my schedule. I’m just too embarrassed. If I didn’t know better, he’s more than flirting with me today.

There’s no way, no freaking way, that he could be interested in me.

Okay, focus, Reese.
“Back to your concern, my ass disagrees with you.”

That should make him uncomfortable, so he’ll go the hell away.

“I’m not joking. You need protein.”

Or maybe he won’t.

I stand up and put my arms through the shoulder straps on my bag. After adjusting it, I finally make eye contact with him. “Are you trying to be funny?”

“Oh God, no! That is not what I meant, you dirty-minded little girl.” He smirks, clearly proud of me.

“Well, I think I have some in storage.” I pat my ass. “Besides, I don’t like eating here, and…this conversation is extremely awkward.”

“I’ll leave you alone if you let me bring you a protein drink tomorrow, and you’ll drink it.”

“My mother taught me never to take protein drinks from strangers.” I smirk as I walk away.

He walks beside me, waiting for an answer.

“Okay, fine—as long as it’s still sealed.” I wink and walk away, leaving Brady grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

At my locker, I exchange my lunch bag for my algebra book before heading to class. I choose a seat in the back of the room and pop a stick of gum into my mouth. I’m answering a text from Matt when someone takes the seat next to me.

I look up and smile. “Brady, it’s been too long.” I quickly throw my phone into my purse.

He flashes his gorgeous smile. I’ll never get enough of that.

During class, I feel him staring at me. After what seems like forever, he still won’t look away, so I place my finger on his chin and turn his face toward the teacher. Somehow, we make it through the rest of class without any other distractions from one another.

After the last bell of the day rings, I race to my locker, drop off some of my things, and gather the books that I need to take home with me. Noticing that Chelsea is busy socializing, I don’t bother waiting for her. I follow the crowd of kids to the student parking lot and jump in my car. Then, I mindlessly drive home.

I change into my gym clothes and drive to the gym.

Now, here I am, at the gym and on a stupid treadmill. I’ve grown to love this place, but today, I have no desire to be here. I know that skipping one day leads to skipping the next and the next. It’s a cycle that I just can’t entertain, considering that I look and feel better than I ever have.

I jack the volume all the way up on my iPod. I’m trying not to look at the time every two seconds, but I’m failing miserably at my attempt. So, I pull out the trick that my mom uses. I throw my towel over the display. The only thing left to do is to check out all the freaky people around me, and there is no shortage of them. There’s the lady with the flawless hair and makeup.

Really, lady?

When someone takes the treadmill next to mine, I keep my eyes trained ahead—that is, until a hand is on my controls, turning the speed up.

I spin my head around to the body connected to the arm. “What the—”

“Quit being a wimp. Run with me.”

“I don’t run. Thank you!” I press the button to turn the speed back down.

“You do today.” Brady mouths,
Run
, to me, and he turns the speed back up.

I mouth,
Fuck you
, as I slow the speed again.

He laughs but turns the speed right back up.

I run for a second, and my boobs bounce. I don’t want to bounce in front of Brady, so I jump and plant my feet on the rails on either side of the treadmill. “I can’t. I don’t run.”

“You can’t just humor me for a few minutes? Look at me when we run, and match your breaths with mine. You can do it, Reese. If you learn to breathe right, it isn’t so bad.”

“You are so fucking annoying, Brady.”

“Oh, that mouth—I love it.”

I ignore his comment and hop back on, keeping speed while syncing my breath with Brady’s. After one minute passes, I want to stop. A minute and a half passes, then two, and then three. I’m only going to five, no matter what.

At five minutes, I jump and plant my feet on the sides of the treadmill again. “See? I told you, I suck.” I’m embarrassed, and it’s all Brady’s doing.

“Are you kidding? That was great.”

I grab my towel and dry my face. I hate sweating in front of boys. This is exactly why I hate the gym.

He turns to face me and steps off his treadmill. “Let’s go box.”

“Box? I can’t even run for five minutes, Brady. Are you trying to humiliate me today?” I step off my treadmill and take a drink of my water.

“That’s bullshit. I just watched you run for five minutes, and you did great. Look at it this way—you can pay me back for making you run.”

“Now that you put it that way, let’s go!”

It’s obvious why Brady has his pick of women. It’s difficult to say no to him.

He takes me into a room that is closed off from the rest of the gym. A boxing ring is in the middle of the room, and bags are hanging from the ceiling along one wall.

He leads me to a long wooden bench. “Sit.”

I do as he says, and he begins wrapping my hands with white tape.

“Whoa. We’re not wearing gloves?” I say, shocked.

“Yeah, we are, but the tape keeps you from getting blisters from the gloves.”

“Okay, you had me worried for a minute.”

His proximity is making me feel anxious. I like it.

“Worried for
you
, of course,” I add.

“So, you’ve never boxed, right?”

“Other than the few fights my sister and I had when we were kids, no.”

He smiles and then slides the gloves onto my hands, tightly fastening the Velcro straps.

I nod my head and pound my fists together like the pros do. “I’m ready to rumble.”

He laughs as he starts wrapping his own hands. “We’ll see about that, Flower.”

“I’m going to beat you up just for that stupid nickname you gave me.”

He motions for me to follow him to the boxing ring.

“You don’t like it?” He pulls the heavy rope up and places his gloved hand on my back.

I duck under the rope and step into the ring. I purposely don’t answer his question. I don’t like the name, but at the same time, I don’t want him to stop using it.

He slips a puffy foam thing over my head.

“You’re not going to hit me in the head, are you?” I ask.

He shakes his head and puts an identical helmet on his head. By the look on his face, he’s amused by my questions.

I watch Brady dance around the ring as if he’s facing a real opponent.

“This is kinda cool. Are you good at it?” I walk toward him until I’m standing directly in front of him.

“Yes, I am the best.” He smiles that cocky half smile.

All I want to do is the opposite of fight with him.

“What are you thinking?” The words just come out of my mouth.

“Oh, Reese, you’re such a girl!”

“What? You’re so quiet, and that smile tells me you’re thinking something.”

“Don’t worry about what I’m thinking, girl. Let’s box.” He holds his gloves out between us.

I smack mine down on his. Then, I wink and jab him in the gut.