I listened to my iPod as I did my chores, humming along with the music and keeping an eye on the clock. I must have looked at the stupid thing a million and one times, and it hadn’t moved at all. It was the longest day in the history of recorded time.

Finally, it was time for Ralph and my mom to leave. They gave me the standard spiel about no wild parties, remembering curfew, blah, blah, and blah. It was all I could do not to shove them out the door. There was barely an hour before Brody got there. I still had to shower and do my hair and makeup.

I’d just finished up when my phone chimed.

Brody: I’m here. Should I come to the door?

Me: Yes.

I ran around my bedroom like a crazy woman, throwing dirty clothes in the hamper and swiping the makeup bottles from the counter into the vanity drawer. Scanning my room one more time for stray underwear or bras, I heard the doorbell ring. One last look at myself in the mirror, and I decided I looked about as good as I was going to. I hurried into the hall and padded down the stairs to let Brody in.

I opened the door and let my eyes roam over him. “Hey, Ace. You look nice. What’s the occasion?”

He grinned the crooked way that sent my blood pressure through the roof. “I’m taking this incredible girl out on a date tonight. I just stopped by to cancel our plans.”

“Ha. You’re so very funny.” I pulled him inside.

“Are you sure it’s okay that I come in? You’ve told them about us?”

A twinge of guilt stabbed my heart. “They aren’t here. Come on. I’m almost ready. I just need to get my boots on and then we can leave.”

“I’ll wait here.”

I stopped on the bottom stair and turned to look at him. “Why?”

“You’re going to your room?”

“Yeah, so?”

“I’ll wait here.”

“Jeez, Brody, it’s just a room. I think we can stand to be in the same bedroom together. We have before, not to mention the backseat of your car and in your bed. Come on.”

He followed me upstairs. “This part isn’t so bad. The view is spectacular.”

“You’re such a perv.” I laughed.

I went to my closet to grab my boots. Brody stood in the middle of my room, looking around. “Hot pink and black stripes, huh? Doesn’t it make you a little dizzy?”

“You’re funny tonight. A real comedian.”

“I half expected there to be posters with all sorts of sayings all over your walls.”

I grabbed my boots out of my closet. “Nope, I just wear those across my chest,” I said, and then held in a groan.

What a way to invite him to look at my boobs. Could I have been any more obvious?

“Speaking of which…” He walked behind me, gently turning me around. “I didn’t get a chance to read tonight’s message.”

Watching his face as he read my T-shirt, I could feel my cheeks heat with a blush as his eyes roamed over my chest. Any other time, I wouldn’t have thought anything about it. People read my shirts every day, but knowing he was looking, watching him, made it seem personal, like he was reaching out and touching me.

He grabbed each side of my shirt close to where it tucked into my pants, pulling it taut. “You know, now that I think about it, I kinda agree with Jenna. You need to start dressing normal.”

I tilted my head to the side. “You said you liked them.”

“I do. I just don’t know that I like other guys reading them.” He let go of my shirt and moved his hands to my hips, sliding them slowly up my sides. He hesitated when his fingers brushed the sides of my breasts, before moving upward to cup my face. I forgot how to breathe.

I was sure I was going to pass out. Brody Victor just passed second base, and we hadn’t even kissed yet. How was that possible? Of course, I wasn’t sure skimming his fingers over the side of my breasts, through my shirt and bra, for a mere second, counted as second base. I didn’t really know what the bases were. I wasn’t a guy. And I’d had people accidently bump into me who got more of a feel than that. But that was… just delicious. He’d intentionally touched me, his gaze locked on mine. And my stomach dropped to my toes. I still wasn’t breathing.

He stepped closer to me, backing me up against the wall. One hand on either side of my head, he leaned down, his face close to mine. The length of our bodies touched. I dropped my boots. They hit the floor with a dull thud. Wrapping my hands around his arms, I made a moaning sound deep in my throat when I felt his muscles flex. I ran my hands up to his shoulders and across his back, feeling his muscles contract under my touch.

He leaned in closer to me, his mouth skimming my skin just in front of my ear, sending shivers through my body. “Willow?”

I think I said, “Yeah?”

“We’re going to be late.”

“Mm-hmm.”

He kissed my shoulder, moving up my neck, across my jaw, stopping when he reached my lips. His mouth was so close that his breath tickled them, and my tongue slid across to moisten them. Brody cursed under his breath and grabbed my hips, pulling me even closer against him.

The front door opened, and Ralph’s voice boomed through the house, followed by my mother’s softer voice. My heart skipped a beat, and then another. And not in a good way.

“Did you park in the driveway?”

“No. In the street,” Brody said.

“Thank God.” I moved to the door and clicked the lock closed. “Just be quiet.”

I stood at the door and listened. Someone came up the stairs, the floor creaking when they walked past my bedroom. Judging by the sound of the footsteps, it was Ralph. I squeezed my eyes closed, praying they’d just forgot something and would leave.

My doorknob rattled, followed by a knock. “Willow?” my mother called.

“Yeah?”

“What are you doing in there?”

“Just reading,” I lied, rubbing my hand over my face.

“Open the door.”

Crap.

Grabbing Brody’s arm, I pulled him toward the door. I positioned him behind it before unlocking and opening it, standing in the doorway so my mother couldn’t walk into my bedroom.

“Why’s your door locked?” she asked.

“Oh, um…” I put my hand on the top of my head; the other held the door so tightly my fingers hurt. “Someone knocked on the door earlier. I didn’t know who he was. It freaked me out a little so I locked my door.” I let my hand drop from my head and shrugged. “What are you guys doing back so early?”

My mom flicked her hand like she was waving my question away. “We just forgot something Ralph needed, and I forgot my cell phone, like always. We’re leaving now. We’ll probably be late. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Okay. Have fun.”

“Yeah, right,” she grumbled. She hated going to work functions with Ralph. She knew what people thought of her. It didn’t matter if they said it to her face or not. She could read it in the way they talked to her—or didn’t talk to her. She’d always be the gold-digging hussy that snagged the most eligible bachelor in Middleton.

I held my breath until I heard the door shut. “Stay here.” I crept downstairs, looked out of the window, and saw Ralph drive away.

That was too freakin’ close.

Despite Brody’s worry that we’d be late, we made it to the movie theater in plenty of time to get our tickets and popcorn with lots and lots of butter.

“I’m glad we have the butter thing in common. It would have been a deal breaker if not.”

Brody grinned and squirted more butter on the popcorn. “What are we seeing?”

“Beyond the grave.” I gave my best impression of a ghost’s voice. I didn’t quite pull it off judging by Brody’s laughter.

“I thought you didn’t like horror movies.”

“No. I don’t like watching them in the backseat of your Jeep, in the dark, in an isolated field, surrounded by nothing but woods. That,” I pointed at him, “by the way, is a scene in most horror movies, and it never turns out well for one or two of the actors.”