hoped that she would follow through with it. He was sick of thinking about her and nothing happening. “Well don’t say that I mentioned it.”
“And why is that?”
“Because of everything that happened, it’s been pretty awkward. She wouldn’t even give me her new number.”
Marla still wondered what had really went on between the two of them, but everyone wanted to keep their secrets.
Chapter 8
Clarke felt like she was being set up. Her mother paid for her a flight home for the weekend. She claimed it was to see Jared and Brandon’s last game, but she felt like there was more. Marla was acting strange, but it had been altered since that one kiss. She blamed herself for the lapse of judgment and had to admit that she missed her mom. They had never been apart that long. She missed her stepbrothers as well, but Clarke was not so readily available to admit that, even to herself.
She promised to make it though, hoping to get a hold of Senna before she came. Clarke was trying to find a place to stay so she wouldn’t be staying there. She wasn’t ready to just sleep in her room again, not with Jared and Brandon around. Clarke felt too much for them and the last thing she needed to be doing was staying so close to them. It was hard to forget the way Brandon had reacted or the way Jared had kissed her. The small acts had awakened her to her own need that she had pushed back for so long. Her stepbrothers made her have naughty thoughts that kept her distracted at school and up at night. She should have been worried about finding her first job or internship, but all she could think about was taboo to even let cross her mind.
The flight was long, with the plane being pushed back twice for some kind of technical reasons. When she finally got on board, her nerves about flying were even worse and she couldn’t have landed fast enough. She had told Marla that she would just get a cab home, but when she saw Brandon and Jared standing there, she knew that message hadn’t been heeded.
“Welcome home Sis.”
Brandon stepped forward and gave her a hug. It felt intimate and she pulled back a bit too soon for his liking. “It’s been a while Clarke. How have you been?”
She turned to Jared and was swept up into his arms. He leaned down to kiss her and her heart beat hard in her chest. Closing her eyes for a moment, she felt his warm lips on her cheek and wished that it had been on her lips. She wanted that kiss that she had gotten before, the mind-blowing one that took her breath away.
Clarke’s face was red when she moved away from him. “Good to see you two. I told mom I would just get a cab.”
“I couldn’t wait to see you. I am glad that you made it.” She nodded, glad that she had made it as well. There was a twinkle in his dark eyes and even Brandon seemed to be in a better mood than before. Something had changed since she’d been gone.
“Well I appreciate the ride. Can you take me over to Senna’s? I was planning to stay with her my few days in town.”
They were in the car and Jared made it clear that he did not like that idea. His hand stopped on the key. “You are not staying at the house?”
“No, I wasn’t planning on it.”
“You’re supposed to. Your mom is making your favorite and there is supposed to be a party afterwards.”
Clarke knew that it was going to be awkward not staying there, but she had figured her opposition would be from her mother, not from them. “It’s just easier and I haven’t seen her in a long time.”
Brandon was about to say something, but a stern look from his brother in the mirror made him sit back in the back seat. Jared didn’t want to come on too strong and scare her away again, though the plan hadn’t changed. The tactics had changed. They both were convinced that she was the mystical unicorn that was driving their luck.
“No problem. She lives on Reynolds, right?”
Clarke nodded and looked back at Brandon for a minute. “I will still be there