“We have a game on Wednesday Ella, be there for seven.” Coach Spears says to me bluntly before wondering off. I watch him leave, my eyes wide with shock —
“My name is Bella!” I yell angrily before stomping on the floor hard. I curse under my breath unhappily, frowning. I do not want to do this job, at all.
“You’re cute when you’re angry.”
I turn to see Brody leaning against the caged fence, a bead of sweat running along his forehead. He’s clutching a water bottle and staring straight at me, a small smirk on his lips.
“You know, I won’t be your little secret for long if you carry on stalking me.” Brody scoffs, pushing himself off the fence effortlessly.
“Stalking you?” He questions. I nod confidently, holding my head high.
“Bella, this is my football team. You’re the one stalking me,” he smirks, handing me his water bottle. Without another word, he wonders past me, heading towards the sports building.
“What do you want me to do with this?” I yell after him, frowning. He doesn’t even stop to turn and instead yells over his shoulder.
“You’re my assistant, sort it out.”
I let out a gasp, my eyes widening at his cheeky behaviour.
“How dare you!” I yell, running after him. Within a few seconds, I’m by his side, a permanent glare on my face. His lips are turned up into a small smile however he doesn’t stop to look at me.
“Earth to Brody!” I yell, running alongside him whilst waving my hand in front of his face. He carries on ignoring me and lets out a small chuckle, running a hand through his hair.
“Brody!” I yell in disbelief, shoving him hard. He immediately stops and turned to face me, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
“You have quite the voice considering you’re so tiny.” Brody smirks, his eyes travelling down my body. I glare at him further, my hand perched on my hip. I hold his bottle up towards him, stepping up as far as I can go on my tip toes. Before he has a chance to react, I empty the contents of his bottle on his head, shaking it to get every last remaining drop.
Brody stands in shock, water dripping down his face and onto his clothes. His jaw drops and his mouth hangs open in surprise. I grin happily, dropping his bottle beside him onto the floor. I turn and skip away, unable to stop myself from giggling.
Once I’m a few steps away, I turn to find Brody stood rooted to the same spot, green eyes twinkling with amusement. He’s shaking his head at me, beads of water glistening over his skin. I bite down on my lower lip and wave at him, letting out another giggle.
Without warning Brody suddenly charges towards me and I scream, turning to run away from him. It’s barely a second later when I feel his hands circle around my waist, tugging me backwards towards him. His hands yank me towards his firm body and I giggle loudly, struggling to get his hold off me.
“Let go!” I laugh, turning around to look at him the best I can. His eyes are shining brightly, the gold fleck’s shimmering in the sun. His grip on my waist tightens and he drops his head to the crook of my shoulder, in level with my ear.
“You shouldn’t have done that Bella,” he said jokingly, his smooth voice sending shivers down my body. I giggle again nervously, biting hard on my lower lip.
“What are you going to do?” I question, feeling my heart thump against my chest hard. Whenever Brody is around me, I’m unable to control my feelings or emotions. It’s a constant whirlwind of different thoughts and I can’t quite figure out how I feel about him.
Brody doesn’t reply and suddenly I find myself being lifted off the ground, strong arms around me. I turn my head, my eyes widening in fear.
“Brody Baxter! Put me down!” I protest and Brody shakes his head, continuing to walk in the opposite direction of the school. He takes long strides and I turn, watching as we go further and further away from the building.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask, adrenaline running through my body. My mind is buzzing and feels light headed yet. . . carefree. Moments of silence pass between us and I stop protesting against him, letting Brody carry me effortlessly. He’s mirroring my smile, the dimples on his cheeks deepening. I study his face in awe, unable to believe how beautifully striking his features are.
“Are you done checking me out?” Brody asks me, breaking the silence between us. I feel a blush creep up my neck onto my cheeks and I look away, tightening my hold on his neck. Being so close to him causes his scent to ravel around me completely and I decide I like it.
“School is the opposite way,” I remind him, nibbling on my bottom lip nervously. It doesn’t seem like Brody is slowing down and he ignores my remark, continuing on his journey. We’re reaching the back of the school that’s completely surrounded by woods.
“Are you planning on dumping me in there?” I ask jokingly, letting out a small nervous laugh. I turn to face him and he’s staring at me intently, his head cocked to the side. He lets out a small chuckle before shaking his head, his hair falling into his eyes. As we reach the start of the woods, he gently places me back down, steadying me on my feet. I frown and look around, studying my surroundings.
“Why are we here?” I question him, intrigued.
“You don’t want to be seen with me in school so I thought I’d bring you here instead.” I feel a pang of hurt at his words and the frown on my face deepens.
“It’s not that I don’t want to be seen with you Brody, it’s because — ”
Brody holds out his hand, cutting me off. He gives me a small smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes before holding out his hand.
“Don’t worry about it, I understand.”
I nod silently, unable to lift the guilty feeling from the pit of my stomach. I look down at his hand that’s stretched out, waiting to hold onto mine.
“Take my hand Bella,” he instructs firmly and I nod, nervously chewing on the inside of my cheek. I place my hand in his, feeling the spark run through my body the second our skin touches. I suck in a deep breath and look up into Brody’s eyes, wondering whether he can feel the same spark. He’s staring at me intently, his expression unreadable.
I so badly want to ask him if he feels it too.
“Come on!” Brody smiles widely, the sparkle in his eyes returning. I nod in response, following him as he enters the start of the woods, leaves crunching underneath our feet.
“Do you know your way around here?” I ask nervously, peering up at the tall trees that are covering us in a shadow. Brody nods, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.
“I like to come here mainly in the summer. It’s one of the only places in town that’s completely deserted. It helps me to think clearly and sort through my thoughts,” Brody explains, stepping over a fallen tree trunk. I mirror his actions and glanced around again, studying it more carefully before nodding.
“I understand what you mean. There’s a nice level of calm in here,” I say quietly, feeling my heart slow down to a more relaxed beat. It isn’t thumping quite so crazily against my chest anymore and my breathing has also levelled out.
“Why me?” I suddenly ask, turning to look up at Brody. He barely hesitated before responding —
“Why you?” He questions further, swinging our locked hands between us. I chew on my lip nervously. “Why did you kiss me?”
Brody stops walking abruptly and I also come to a halt. He’s looking down at me, green eyes fixed on mine.
“Because I like you,” he whispers, reaching up with his free hand. I close my eyes and suck in a breath, feeling his fingers brush a strand of hair away from my face and tuck it behind my ear. I blink and looked up at him, feeling myself choke up with emotion.
“But why? Nobody likes me.”
My voice is full of insecurity, quiet and broken. Brody looks down at me sadly, his eyes wide as they searched mine. He drops my hand and instead wraps it around my waist, pulling me towards him.
“Bella, I don’t care about your social status in a beaten up High School building. That doesn’t bother me at all.” He starts, a confused expression filling his features. His hand comes up and rests on my cheek, brushing away a single tear I didn’t even realise had fallen.
“You are beautiful and funny Bella, I really do like you,” he whispers, his face inching closer to mine. I can feel my hands trembling my by sides and I close my eyes, tilting my head up.
The moment his lips press against mine, I completely lose track of time once again. Sparks soar through my body and I can feel the fire growing inside me, building up in my stomach. His kiss is more intense than the first one, lips firm yet soft. They mould against mine and move in perfect sync, causing my brain to melt into a puddle.
His tongue suddenly flicks out without warning, asking my lips for entrance. I feel my legs weaken underneath me for a few seconds before Brody’s hand firmly presses me against him, letting me use his body as support.
Fireworks explode in me as he kisses me passionately, his tongue sending waves of pleasure through my body. When he pulls back, his eyes are slightly hooded over and his lips twitch up into a smirk —
“Please don’t faint,” he teases me, green eyes twinkling with amusement. I roll my own at him, shoving him playfully.
“Stop teasing me,” I mumble, acting like I’m annoyed at him. I bite the corner of my lips to stop them from spreading into a wide grin because the truth is, I’m not mad or annoyed at him. . .
Not even close.