Brody returns a few minutes later. I turn to find him walking towards me, his shoulders squared and rigid. His expression is unreadable, almost as if he’s purposefully wearing a mask to stop me from seeing the emotion in his face.
“Are you okay?” I ask him, watching as he slides back inside the booth smoothly. Brody doesn’t respond immediately, his eyes fixed on the table between us.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
When he speaks, he tilts his head up to hold eye contact with me. The green in them darken as he studies my eyes, his entire expression a hidden mask. I shift in my seat uncomfortably, squirming underneath his intense stare.
“Why do you do that?” I mumble, dropping my gaze to my food instead. I pick up a chip and nibble on the end, grateful to have something to fiddle with. I always feel less nervous around people when I have something in my hands.
Weird, right?
“Why do I do what?” Brody replies, reaching for his cup. He places the straw between his lips before taking a drink, green eyes never leaving mine. I could feel him follow my every move and it caused my palms to grow clammy.
“Why do you stare at me like that?” I question quietly, my words timid. Brody raises his brow at me in response and I immediately regret my words.
This is Brody Baxter.
I can’t speak to him however I please.
“I can stare at you if I want to stare at you.”
I barely have time to react as a chip flies to the back of my throat causing me to splutter and choke. My hand flies to my mouth and I gasp, finally managing to swallow the health hazard. My eyes begin watering, red from the strain of almost dying. I quickly reach out for my drink, washing the chip down and grimacing from the burning sensation in my throat. I look up uneasily to find Brody watching me intensely, his lips turning up into a smirk.
They twitch for a few seconds before he bursts out laughing, the skin around his eyes creasing.
“Hey! I almost died, okay?” I grumble in protest, crossing my arms over my chest. I clear my throat once again and give Brody my best stop teasing me glare.
“Bella, it was a chip.”
“Did you know forty percent of food related deaths are caused by chips?” I lie, my words rolling off my tongue easily. Brody’s laughter dies down gradually however his lips remain turn up into an amused smirk.
“Did you just make that statistic up?” Brody asks me, his tongue flicking out to lick his bottom lip. My eyes linger on them a second too long and I feel my cheeks heat up, reddening quickly.
“Uh-huh.”
I tear my gaze off his lips and instead look back up at his eyes, realising I can now hold his stare without having a panic attack.
Small steps Bella . . . small steps.
“You’re crazy Bella Winters.” Brody responds fondly, shaking his head. His hair falls over into his eyes and I suddenly get the urge to feel how soft the strands are. My eyes widen at my thoughts and I quickly sit on top of both of my hands in fear that I’d actually do it without realising.
“What are you doing?” Brody asks intriguingly, noticing the disappearance of both my hands. I look down, thinking hard about my answer.
“Uhm. . . I’m sitting on my hands.”
“Of course you are,” Brody smiles, giving me a curious look. I mentally slap myself for being such an idiot.
“So Brody, you never told me how you know Jedd?” I ask desperately, wanting to get off the subject of my awkward behaviour. I don’t really have an explanation for it, it just happens. Brody’s eyes darken slightly and I frown, leaning back in my seat.
“I don’t know him.”
“But you questioned me about him before. . . ” I frown, my eyebrows creased together in confusion.
“Yeah. . . I did.” Brody says quietly, scratching the back of his neck. He glances up at me briefly from under his dark lashes before sighing heavily.
“Is Jedd your boyfriend?” He suddenly asks, taking me completely by surprise. My mouth immediately falls open with shock as I realise Brody is genuinely serious. . . He thinks Jedd is my boyfriend.
“You think Jedd is my boyfriend?” I ask, the shock clear as day in my voice. Brody stares at me intently, his eyes burning holes through mine as he studies me. —”Well is he?”
I let out a nervous chuckle, confusion still written across my face.
“Brody, I’m on a date with you. I wouldn’t do that if I had a boyfriend and Jedd is my brother.” I explain quietly, feeling my cheeks heat up once again.
Why does Brody want to know if Jedd is my boyfriend?
My stomach does a little somersault and I mentally squeal on the inside, my lips twitching to smile. Brody’s shoulders immediately relax at my words and his eyes lighten considerably.
“Why would you think that?” I ask, breaking the silence between us. I’m both intrigued and slightly shocked that Brody confused Jedd for my boyfriend. I mean . . . he’s my brother. That’s gross.
“Because every time I’m around you, you mention Jedd. There was the time at the gym and in the school parking lot.”
I nod my head at his explanation. Huh, I guess I do mention Jedd a lot.
“Yeah, he’s my older brother. We’re really close.” I repeat, nibbling on the corner of my burger. I’m more interested in the conversation Brody and I are having right now to be honest . . .
“That’s cool.” Brody responds, his eyes twinkling at me. My body is heating up from his stare and I shift uncomfortably in my seat, feeling his eyes drink me in shamelessly. He sits back, resting his arm over the seat of the booth before speaking again, his voice now smooth and calm.
“So Bella Winters. You don’t have a boyfriend.”
My eyes widen once again and I open my mouth to speak but no sound comes out. I quickly snap my mouth shut and instead shake my head, my hair bouncing around my shoulders.
“No I don’t.” I whisper, feeling insecure. I’ve never had a boyfriend. No boys have ever been interested in me before.
“Why do you want to know?” I ask him, locking eyes with Brody. He continues smirking at me, green eyes twinkling with amusement.
“Because Bella, I think you and me are going to be seeing a lot of each other from now on.”