Brando

brANDO

Parker holds her hands out to me, wiggling her fingers like she did when we were kids, and I grin as I take them and let her pull me close. I lower my nose to her hair, reveling in the soft feel of it, even though I can tell it’s been whipped around from her reckless biking. With as much as I want this moment to last forever, there’s something I have to know.

Placing my hands on her hips, I suck my teeth to get her attention, then arch an eyebrow when she looks up at me, that damn, dreamy smile still on her luscious lips.

“Who was the guy?”

She looks taken slightly aback, confused even, and waits for me to elaborate.

“The one that you were on stage with. Who was that?”

Parker looks even more confused now, and I grin. “I caught the play.”

She looks at me with amusement dancing in those pale, brown eyes of hers, and I suddenly feel my cheeks turning hot. I can’t tell if she likes the fact that I snuck back for that, or if she considers it stalkerish.

“How did I do?” she asks, reaching up to push my hair away from my forehead.

“Great,” I reply honestly, my voice dripping with so much sugary admiration I’m sure I’ll give us both diabetes if I don’t reign it in. “You were honestly the most beautiful Juliet I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Oh? And exactly how many Juliets have you been watching?” she teases as her hands slide down to rest on my forearms.

“Just one.”

Parker’s smile softens, as do her eyes. She looks so content with my answer, almost as if she’s dying to believe it, but doesn’t know if she should or can.

“He was just the winning nerd that got picked because he put on the best performance in auditions,” she assures me with a shrug.

I rub my eyes tiredly, then crack my shoulders, doing my best to keep a smile on my face as my hand goes back to her hip.

“Do you need to sleep?” she inquires, tilting her head curiously.

“Sleep is for the weak,” I reply with a laugh, but then I have to bite down to keep from yawning almost immediately after.

“Yup, you do.” Parker hops down from the counter, letting her right hand slide into mine, interlacing our fingers together as she gives me a gentle tug to follow her.

“But—”

“No buts,” she says, cutting me off. “Catching up on the twenty years we’ve spent apart can wait until you’re good and rested. Besides, I have something I want to ask you, but I want you fully lucid when I do.”

Just ask me now, I shout internally at her. Anything that Parker wants to know, I’m sure I can answer—even half-asleep. I’m actually pretty angry at myself for suddenly feeling so tired. I drove the entire way here almost completely on adrenaline alone, and now that I finally have Parker again, I’m crashing.

I follow her into her bedroom, then over to her bed where she lies down and gives me a firm tug, almost knocking me off of my feet. I chuckle as I let her pull me down into the spot next to her, then lay on my side for a moment to look at her.

“Hey, do you remember the playground?” I ask her with a grin.

“The one that had the half a slide and one broken swing?” she replies with a laugh.

“Yeah, remember how we always used to climb up to the stairs to the slide and just sit in the little house that overlooked the place?”

She nods, smiling fondly at the memory.

“That was the first place you kissed me.”

“Excuse me, Brando Owens, but you kissed me ,” she corrects as she gives me a gentle, but firm shove. I laugh as I let myself fall onto my back, then rub my eyes again.

“Whatever. All I know is that lips were touching and neither of us complained,” I reply through a yawn and tired laugh.

Parker chuckles as she turns on her side and drapes her bandaged arm across my chest. “Go to sleep, and we can talk about who made that first move when you wake up.”

I close my eyes for a moment, almost content to just do as she says, but they fly open almost instantly.

“You’ll be here when I wake up?” I ask, glancing down at the top of her head.

Parker nods. “I’ve already been out for the day. Besides, where else would I possibly go?”