Finding Home (12 page)

Twelve

The weekend at the cabin changed everything.  The drama of the first night was almost forgotten by the rest of our time there.  We spent Saturday fishing and hiking around the lake and I was sad when we left Sunday morning.  We’d escaped from real life for a bit and the life we returned to in Carver was different than when we left.  We were together now.  We were all in.  There was no more question. 

“Jesse wants to hang out tonight.  You up for that?” Brandon asked me after I’d gotten off work one evening.

“Yeah.  Of course.  Who knows how long he’ll be in town before he disappears again.  I’d like to see him before he’s gone again.”

“I don’t think he’s going anywhere any time soon,” Brandon said, and I watched a smirk spread over his face.

“You don’t?”

“Hell no.  Not as long as Riley’s here.”

“Get out¸” I said, slapping his arm.

“I will not get out,” he said, nudging me back. “Because I’m right.”

“They’re both over it.  Riley’s got Evan and I’m sure Jesse’s had his share of girls since he’s been gone.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.  In fact,” he said, grinning again. “I do believe he only asked us to hang out so he could also ask Riley over without being obvious.”

“So, he’s using us then?”

“That would be my guess.”

“No, he’s not.  He wants to see us.”

“Of course he wants to see us.  Just not as much as he wants to see Riley.  I just wish they’d hit it one more time and be done with it.”

“Brandon!” I gasped. “Don’t say that!”

“It’s true.  The sexual tension between those two is palpable and it’s not gonna go away unless they do the deed.”

“Classy, Brandon,” I said and he just started cracking up.

We got to Jesse’s a couple of hours later and he seemed excited to see us and I refused to believe we were just a ploy in his game to spend time with Riley. 

“So, that’s some crazy news, isn’t it?” Jesse asked when we walked into the game room of the giant shed at Jesse’s house, greeted by the smell of the pizzas he’d ordered.  He was hitting pool balls around the table and I just looked at him, obviously confused at his question.

“What are you talking about?”

“You don’t know?” Jesse asked and it was his turn to look confused.  I looked to Brandon and he seemed as clueless as I was. 

“Know what?” I asked.

“I thought she would’ve told you.”

“Told me what?  Who are you talking about, Jesse?”

“Riley,” he said, knocking a ball into a corner pocket. “She’s engaged.”

“What?” I gasped, walking over to Jesse, and pulling his arm so he was facing me.

“She’s engaged.”  I stared into Jesse’s face, searching for any sign of what Brandon had said about Jesse’s true feelings for Riley.  He’d said it so matter-of-factly and his voice was giving nothing away, but when I stared into his eyes, I thought there might be a little bit of truth to Brandon’s suspicions.

“When did this happen?” I demanded, suddenly forgetting about the whole Jesse/Riley drama and focusing on how annoyed I was at hearing the news from Jesse and not Riley.

“When Evan came to town,” he said, referring to Riley’s boyfriend who lived in Kansas City.

“That was like a week ago.  How come she hasn’t told me yet?” I asked not to anyone in particular, but to myself. “When’s she gonna be here because I’m gonna let her have it.  How could she do this to me?”

I folded my arms and flopped myself on the couch, staying like that while Jesse and Brandon played pool, until Riley arrived.  She walked into the game room and I glared over at her.

“Someone’s not too happy with you,” Brandon said when Riley walked in and then I heard Jesse laugh.  I decided I wasn’t going to just sit there.

“I’ve never really been mad at you, Riley,” I began. “Not even when you left Carver without telling us.  Nope.  I’ve never been mad…not until right now.”

“I take it Jesse told you?”

I saw the way she looked over to him, but he didn’t acknowledge her at all.  He just continued focusing on his pool game. 

“Yes.  Jesse told me.”

“Sorry.  I thought you would’ve told her by now,” he chimed in.

“I had to hear it from Jesse.  Not from you and that is why I’m mad at you.  How could you not tell me?  It’s been like a week since you got engaged and I had to find out from
Jesse
of all people…which is totally weird in its own right.  Why didn’t you tell me?” I continued to pester her.

“I haven’t really told anyone.  I’m sorry.”

“And why not?  This is incredible news!  You’re the first of us to get married.  You should be shouting it from the rooftops,” I exclaimed, my anger being taken over by excitement. 

“I’m not married yet,” she said with an uneasy laugh and she seemed nervous.

“Don’t be dumb.  You know what I mean.  This is fantastic.  We have so much to start talking about. I mean…I’m assuming I’ll be a bridesmaid, and Laura and Holly too.  We’ve got to get them both down here so we can start planning.”

“Take a breath, Mandy,” she said, rolling her eyes at me and I knew she was annoyed with my over exuberance.  I wasn’t surprised though.  I got excited easily.  They were all used to it. “But, yes, let’s try and get everyone together and we can do some planning.”

I didn’t say anything, but I cracked a little smile at Riley as I started stirring up the logistics of getting everyone together to start the planning, and I knew my frustration was gone. 

“Speaking of planning, my mom’s wedding is sneaking up on me.  How much do I have to pay you guys to help me with the centerpieces?” she asked.

“No charge,” Brandon said as he leaned in to take another shot on the pool table.

“You know we’re here to help,” I told her, always up for a wedding or any other celebration. “Besides, it’ll give us some practice for your wedding.”

“I’m in,” Jesse added.

“Thanks.  I appreciate it,” she said and I told myself Riley and Jesse didn’t stare at each other too long even though they totally did and I decided Brandon and I needed to get some fresh air.

“Let’s go get some drinks for everyone.  We were just waiting for you to get here to start eating,” I said, walking over to Brandon and taking him by the arm. “Gimme a hand.”

He didn’t argue and soon we were outside, leaving Jesse and Riley behind.  I held Brandon’s hand the whole way to the house and part of me was afraid they might be following us.  I wasn’t trying to hide anything, but I didn’t know how we were going to tell Jesse and Riley.  I knew they’d be surprised, shocked probably, and I wasn’t quite sure I was ready to discuss it with them yet.  I was enjoying this time with Brandon.  It was our little secret and I kind of liked our secret. 

“I still can’t believe she didn’t tell us.  I mean…she’s one of our best friends and this is huge news.  How could she not tell us?” I knew I was rambling as we walked and I just heard Brandon chuckle.  “You think this is funny?” I said, stopping and turning to him.

“No.  I just think you’re really cute when you’re all fired up.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the way he was looking at me.  It still felt strange having him say those kinds of things to me.  It was hard for me to accept that someone was as into me as I was into them. 

“I’m glad I amuse you.”

He tugged at my arm, pulling me to the side of the house into the shadows where I knew no one could see us.  His body pushed against mine as I leaned against the siding, his hands sliding around my waist. 

“When did you become so pretty?” His voice was soft as his eyes traveled over my face, locking on my eyes for a moment, before I was blushing and too shy to hold his gaze.  I looked away, but then I felt his lips on mine, kissing me sweetly. 

“I’m not pretty,” I mumbled, looking down again.

“I wish you weren’t so hard on yourself.  I wish you could see in you what I see.  I just can’t believe I’ve known you almost my entire life and somehow I’m just now seeing how beautiful you are.”

I started laughing then.  A hearty laugh that caused him to look at me curiously.

“That is rich, Brandon.  No one has ever called
me
beautiful.” I was still laughing, but it couldn’t hide the sting in my heart at saying the words to myself. 

“Well, that’s because they’re as stupid as I’ve been and I’m telling you now that you are beautiful, Miranda Dalton.  Inside and out.” His finger tip trailed down my cheek and then my neck before traveling down my sternum and pointing to my heart. “I’ve never known anyone with a heart like yours.  So kind.  So good.” His voice was soft and he was looking down, the tone in his voice, uneasy. “And for whatever reason,” he said, his eyes finally looking back up and meeting mine. “You think enough of me to even give me a chance.  Even after all the crap I’ve done to you.  The teasing, the crude jokes, the total disrespect.” He stopped, pausing for a moment as he continued looking at me with apologetic eyes and a cracking voice. “You’ve decided to try and give the world’s biggest asshole a shot.”

“You’re not the world’s biggest asshole.  I mean…you’re close,” I grinned and we both started laughing. “But, I think you’re a pretty special asshole.”

He laughed even harder and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to him, my body crushing against his as his mouth met mine.  His kiss, so soft and gentle at first, caused my entire body to tingle.  I loved the way he made me feel and I found myself melting into him.  His lips found my neck then while his hands found their way under my shirt, tickling the sensitive skin of stomach.  I let out a little giggle, which seemed to excite him because his fingers started moving quicker, causing me to laugh even harder through the kisses. 

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused me to freeze and I could’ve sworn I felt all the blood drain to my toes.  I felt Brandon’s head whip around as fast as mine did and we were met face to face with Jesse and Riley who were just staring at us like a freak show attraction.

“Looks like we’ve been caught,” Brandon said and when I glanced up at him quickly, he had a typically smug smile on his face.  I wished I had the confidence he did, but I was mortified that Jesse and Riley had found out like this and not knowing what else to do, I hid my face in his chest.

“And how long has this been going on?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah,” Riley chimed in. “Is this a new thing or are you two involved in some torrid love affair?”

I knew I couldn’t hide forever, and I finally pulled my face away from Brandon.  I still couldn’t look at them though.  I looked at Brandon instead and the way he was staring back at them with no apologies or shame, I couldn’t help but smile. 

“Well, I’m not sure I’d call it torrid,” Brandon said. “But it is pretty hot.”

With what little courage I could muster, I pulled away from Brandon, holding his hand and staying close to his side and I couldn’t help but notice the way Riley was staring at me with buggy eyes.  

“Aren’t we a hypocrite?”

“What’re you talking about?” I asked her.

“You just went off on me for not telling you I was engaged and yet you didn’t tell us about you and Brandon.  That’s a bit of a double-standard, don’t you think?”

“No.  It’s different.  Totally different,” I answered quickly, but realized my defense probably had no merit. 

“Seriously, why didn’t you tell us?” she asked, looking between us.

“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders, not really knowing why we hadn’t said anything. 

“It was actually kind of fun keeping it a secret,” Brandon grinned and I couldn’t agree with him more. “But now that it’s out in the open, you can all get to know Brandy.”

“Brandy?” Riley asked with a confused expression that probably matched mine and I looked over to Brandon, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

“It’s our couple’s nickname.  Every great couple has one.  Like Brangelina or TomCat.  Well, maybe that’s not such a good example. They did break up and Tom Cruise is a total psycho, but you get the point.  Although, I haven’t quite decided if I like Brandy or Mandon better yet.” 

Brandon was such an idiot and even though Riley rolled her eyes, we all started laughing.

“Good luck with this one, Mandy,” she said, smiling over to me.

“I think I may be crazy,” I laughed, knowing this whole situation might be crazy, but when I looked at him again, I knew being with Brandon was probably the most sane thing I’d ever done in my life. 

~~~

“Do you think they’re upset we left early?” I asked as we drove away from Jesse’s house in my P.O.S.  He was getting some new rims put on his truck so we were stuck driving my hunk of junk.  I didn’t mind though.  I loved my little car, despite the way Brandon teased me about it. 

“Hell no, they’re not upset.  Jesse’s probably thanking me as we speak.”

“Why?” I asked, glancing over to him quickly.

“You are so cute, Mandy,” he said and I could tell by the tone in his voice he was about to point something out to me. “You really don’t get it.”