Please tell me you’re coming home.
Come on, Blake, you know I didn’t mean it, please forgive me!
Blake, please answer me!
I started gnawing on my bottom lip. Not knowing how to handle this situation or how I should respond to Collin. I kind of wanted to let him stew a bit longer.
“As if you know the difference,” Noah ran a hand through his short curls. Tousling them attractively.
“Is Jaxson going to say anything,” I asked worriedly.
He stared at me intensely for a moment. “No, he knows better. Blake, why are you filled with so many secrets?”
I looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “What do you mean?” I asked stalling for time to formulate a credible excuse.
“I mean, you were still a virgin, yet you touched me and responded to me so…acutely. Like this wasn’t your first time. Jaxson told me he and Drake felt something odd course through them right before Drake sent Jax up here, and now I’m getting texts from my other brothers asking if I’m okay. You obviously live with Collin, and you guys say you’re in a relationship, but the vibe is all wrong. The way he treats you is abhorrent, yet you won’t leave him. He was physically manhandling you today. You evidently don’t want him knowing about a gift you may or may not have, even though he’s gifted. Not to forget, you must keep a second phone to have normal conversations with your friends. It’s just so suspect and wrong on so many levels,” he said ardently. “Then to top it off, as I sat here replaying the amazing thing we just shared, I found myself wondering how you got those scars on your body, and I knew. I knew without asking you.”
I stared at him in wonder and hope. “How did I get them?” I asked, not addressing the rest of his speech.
“You had a step mom, whose boyfriends cut you and threatened you. How did I know that? Or that the cigarette burn marks on your spine are from her mom!” His eyes were slightly wild as he looked at me attentively.
“You’re not wrong,” I said quietly.
“What is going on,” he took a few steps and drew me into his arms, his lips finding mine once more. “Tell me, please,” his breathing was heavy when he finally pulled away. He pulled me in close, my head resting in the middle of his chest. He was the shortest of all the guys, but at 5 feet 10 inches or so, he was still above average and a lot taller than me.
“I wish I could,” I sighed. “It’s just a lot, and I’m not even sure if you would believe me.”
“Try me,” he begged softly.
“Dinner time,” Drake came into the room. His gorgeous blue eyes were assessing me behind his black frame glasses. No judgement was evident, but there definitely was a deep inquisitiveness lurking in there.
I squeezed Noah’s hand in reassurance. “Soon,” I promised him.
Chapter 8
I followed the guys back down stairs and stopped in shock when I entered the dining room. Tamara was laughing uproariously at something a pretty blond was saying beside her. The long, bleach-blond hair, with carefully done beach wave curls, was too familiar.
“Hello, Blake,” Will’s cool voice said, pulling my attention away from the blond for a moment.
“Hello, Mr. Bell,” I stated.
“Welcome to our home,” he said as he looked at me with intense scrutiny. I had forgotten momentarily that the last time he had seen me was with my hair straight; with my hair now in curls, I’m sure I reminded him more of the girl I use to be.
“Grab a plate,” Jaxson said warmly. “I hope you’re hungry. Drake made his Chicken Picata with lemon cream sauce and homemade angel-hair pasta.”
“Thanks, famished actually,” I said stiffly as my green eyes finally met the cold blue eyes of the blond. Bridgette Mason was staring back at me. The blond who bullied me and tormented me relentlessly, since my sophomore year in high school. All because Collin Scott had showed a little bit of interest in me.
I dug into my food with gusto, even though I was wound up tight. I could feel Drake, Noah, and Jax looking at me repeatedly as if they were all trying to dissect me. Will just watched me contemplatively.
“Are you okay?” Gavin whispered quietly to me as the conversation turned to the big game tomorrow night.
“I know her,” I whispered back quietly. “Something just feels…wrong.”
“Bridgette?” Gavin looked at me flummoxed.
“Yes,” I explained. “She went to my old high school and use to bully me…a lot, and she used to date Collin.”
“That’s not good,” Gavin muttered.