“Oh, I think you said good night all right.” Jax’s frown didn’t even waiver. Ever since he’d gotten that badge he’d become too freaking serious. “If I’d walked away she probably would’ve been back in your lap again in less than two seconds.”
“I doubt that. Your flashing lights kind of killed the mood.”
“Not that much,” Jax said, glancing down to Brendan’s crotch where it was pretty obvious that his mood had in no way been killed.
“You’re an asshole,” Brendan said, putting his truck in gear. “I’m going home now. Happy?”
“Extremely,” Jax said before he turned around and walked back to his truck.
* * *
When Paige walked into the house and told her parents why there was a county sheriff truck in front of their house, they both thought it was hilarious.
“Mrs. Forns called the cops on you for making out?” her father asked, trying not to laugh. Paige didn’t feel the need to describe to her parents in graphic detail what she’d been doing with Brendan.
Abby on the other hand was a completely different story.
“You almost had sex with him in his truck?”
“I didn’t almost have sex with him,” Paige whispered into the phone. “We were just, you know, making out a little aggressively.”
“Sweetie, straddling a boy is just a little bit more than
aggressive
.”
“I don’t know how it happened. One second I was sitting next to him, and the next I was on his lap.”
Paige hadn’t been lying when she’d told Brendan she was tipsy, but she’d been fully in control of her actions…in a way that she wasn’t in control of them at all when he was around.
“So he just picked you up like it was nothing?” Abby said a little dreamily.
“Pretty much.”
“And then what happened.”
“Well after he got my bra off—”
“After he what?” Abby interrupted.
“I didn’t even notice it was gone.”
“So the hot mechanic has magic hands? Nice.”
“I know,” Paige said unable to stop her own grin.
“What happened after that?”
“After that, a deputy sheriff, who is thankfully Brendan’s friend, pulled up and put a stop to his
magic hands
.”
“Wait, what?”
“My parents’ neighbor called the cops on us.”
Abby was gone, laughing so hard that she was snorting through the phone.
“It isn’t funny, Abby.”
“No,”
she said, trying to talk.
“It really, really is. Oh God, Paige, I’m crying. This is…there are just no words for what this is.”
“I’m so glad that I can be a constant source of entertainment for you.”
“Believe me, so am I.”
The Case of the Disappearing Bra
T
he school’s baseball teams didn’t use the field during the summer months, so the county league got to use it for their games. Brendan had spent more hours on this field with Jax and Shep than he could count. From sixth to twelfth grade they’d practically lived on this field during baseball season, and for all of them, it was another home.
Brendan pulled into the parking lot and parked next to Shep’s black ’67 Mustang. Brendan and Jax had helped him restore it ten years ago and it was Shep’s pride and joy.
Brendan got out of his truck and opened the back door. Sydney jumped down next to him as he grabbed his baseball bag from the backseat. She followed him as he walked to the dugout. Out of the ten guys who were on the team, five were already there. Brendan walked down to the end of the dugout and dropped his bag onto the bench next to Shep.
“Hey, Syd,” Shep said, rubbing her head.
“Do you need me to pick anything up for this afternoon?” Brendan asked, leaning over his bag and digging through it.
“Nope. Everything’s good to go. The steaks are already marinating. Is Paige still coming?”
“Yeah.” Brendan’s head snapped up. “Why wouldn’t she be?”
Brendan had been a little nervous about the events of the night before. He hadn’t been embarrassed that Jax had caught them, but he was concerned that Paige might’ve been. He hadn’t seen her today, and there was only so much a person could infer from text messages. So there was a part of him that was just a bit anxious.
“I was just asking,” Shep said, his eyes narrowing on Brendan. “You guys have an interesting night?” he asked as he bent over to tie his cleats. Except he didn’t really ask the question; there was an implied undertone in his voice.
“Damn it. I thought Jax was supposed to keep his mouth shut when it came to sheriff business.”
“I do keep my mouth shut.”
Brendan turned to see Jax’s customary frown. Jax dropped his own bag onto the bench and sat down.
“You and Paige got busted by Jax when he was on patrol?” Shep looked up and grinned.
“I thought that was what you were talking about.”
“No, I was talking about that huge hickey on your neck,” Shep said, pointing to a spot on his own neck, just below his jaw.
“Doesn’t surprise me with the way you two were going at it,” Jax said.
“So you did catch them?” Shep excitedly asked, slapping his thigh with his hand. “That’s just too good. Where were they?”
“In his truck out front of her parents’ house. Mrs. Forns called it in.”
Shep howled with laughter.
“Thanks,” Brendan said, looking at Jax.
“What?” Jax shrugged his shoulders. “It’s going to be in the paper. You know they report everything they find in the police reports. Doesn’t matter how uninteresting it is. And with the way Paige was riding you, that’s going to be interesting news.”
“You put that in the report?” Brendan asked, outraged as Shep continued to laugh.
“No. I just said you two were kissing,” Jax said, finding his own cleats and putting them on. “You’re lucky I didn’t fine you two for indecent exposure.”
“Nothing was exposed,” Brendan said a little too loudly. The other guys in the dugout looked over at them. “We were still fully dressed,” Brendan said, lowering his voice.
“Yeah, ten more seconds and that would’ve been a completely different story.”
“If anything, Jax saved your ass last night,” Shep said, standing up.
“Yeah, you should be thanking me,” Jax said as the corner of his mouth twitched.
“I hate both of you,” Brendan said, sitting down on the bench. “You both suck at being friends.”
“Aw, we love you too, man,” Shep said, grabbing his glove and going out onto the field to warm up.
“Why did you have to file a report?” Brendan asked, pulling off his sneakers.
Jax looked at him like he’d just said that the Red Sox were the greatest team in baseball.
“Because Delta Forns called it in, and you know that woman always follows up. You want me to get in trouble?”
“No, I don’t,” Brendan said, running his hands across his face. “Paige is going to kill me.”
“Why?”
“Because making out in my truck was my idea.”
“The way I see it, she’s just as guilty as you. Just make sure that next time you’re in the privacy of your own home.”
“Thanks for the advice,” Brendan said, not hiding his sarcasm.
“Anytime. And here’s another piece, don’t let her near your neck anymore,” Jax said, pointing at him. “That hickey’s huge.”
* * *
Paige, alongside her parents, made her way down to the field. The breeze making the gauzy, black fabric of her skirt wrap around her knees.
“Which team is Brendan’s?” Denise asked.
“The Stingrays. They’re wearing black and white,” Paige said, scanning the field.
She spotted Brendan crouched near the dugout. Jax pitched a ball to him and it sailed into his glove. All of the guys on his team were wearing black baseball hats with a white stingray over the bill, tight black baseball pants, and white jerseys that said Stingrays on the front and their last names over a number on the back. Brendan was number four.
“Paige,” Grace shouted from the bleachers behind home plate. She was sitting on the bottom row in front of Lula Mae and Oliver, Sydney lying at her feet.
After saying hello to Lula Mae and Oliver, Paige slid into the seat next to Grace. Denise and Trevor sat on the row above and started talking to Oliver and Lula Mae.
“Where are Mel and Harper?” Paige asked as Sydney sat up and put her head in Paige’s lap.
“Mel has to supervise the concession stand. The high school students run it and it switches off which teacher has to help. And Harper booked a client at the spa, so she’s going to join us at Shep’s house.”
“Oh.” Paige nodded and looked out to the field again.
Brendan was jogging over to them with a big grin on his face. Paige’s stomach flipped.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Morrison.” Brendan stopped in front of them and nodded to her parents. “Can I talk to you real quick, Paige?” he asked, holding out his hand.
“Yeah,” she said, reaching up and putting her hand in his. He pulled her up alongside him, his fingers lacing with hers.
“We’ll be right back,” he said to them. “Stay, Sydney,” he said when she went to follow. Sydney whined as they walked away but she lay back down at Grace’s feet.
“What’s up?” she asked as Brendan pulled her through the grass.
He turned to her when they were a good fifty feet from the bleachers. “This,” he said, pulling her into his chest. His hand came up and cupped the back of her head as he pulled her mouth to his.
She relaxed against him, putting her hands at his waist.
“Did you get in trouble last night?” he asked, pulling back only a fraction of an inch from her mouth. She couldn’t see his eyes because of his sunglasses, but his mouth said mischief.
“No.” She laughed. “Did you get in trouble?”
“With Jax? No. But I was worried about you being upset with me.”
“Why?”
“Because you ran into the house without your bra on,” he said as his mouth quirked.
“You have sneaky fingers,” she said, pinching his side.
“Ow.” He flinched but didn’t let go of her. “You didn’t have any complaints last night when you were sucking on my neck,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, well,” she said as her gaze traveled down. “Oh my gosh,” she said, seeing the purple bruise on his skin. “I gave you a hickey?” She reached up and lightly ran her fingers over the small mark.
“Yeah. I haven’t had one of those since I was eighteen. Apparently last night was full of high school flashbacks.”
“You going to give me my bra back?”
“To the victors go the spoils,” he said and grinned.
“Do you make a habit of collecting bras, Brendan King?”
“No,” he whispered against her lips. “Just yours.”
“Brendan,” Shep shouted from behind the fence. “Hurry it up, we’re about to start.”
“You should go,” Paige said, lightly pressing her lips against the hickey and pulling back.
“Not yet,” he said, suddenly frowning. “Paige I need to tell you something.”
Her stomach dropped. Those words accompanied with a frown never boded well.
“What?” she said, trying to take a step back.
Brendan’s hands dropped to her waist and he squeezed lightly. “Jax has to report all of the calls that he goes on.”
The blood drained from her face. “What did his report say?” she asked, trying to remain calm. If Jax put everything that he saw into his report, she was going to kill him.
“Just that he found us kissing. He left out the, uh, other details.”
“Oh thank God,” Paige said as the blood returned to her face.
“Paige, it’s still going to say that Mrs. Forns thought we were having sex. And it’s going to be in the paper.”
“I know.” She sighed. “But—”
“Brendan,” Jax was shouting at him now. “We have to start.”
“Go,” Paige said, letting go of him.
“You’re not mad?” he asked, taking a step back.
“Not at you.”
Relief washed over his face. He stepped back into her and kissed her before he turned and ran off to the field.
It shouldn’t have surprised her that the whole town was about to find out about their little indiscretion. Nothing stayed a secret around here, and she was going to have to get used to it; otherwise she was going to go crazy.
Paige made her way back to the bleachers and sat down next to Grace. The announcer came on over the P.A. system, introducing the teams, and then everyone stood up as three girls from the high school choir sang the national anthem.
“So, are they named after the fish or the hairstyle?” Paige asked Grace about the opposing team that was unfortunately named the Mullets.