Page 39 of Catch Me

“Please don’t be mad at me.”

I turn away and shake my head. “It’s fine. I think.” He gives me a look, pleading me with his eyes. “It’s fine,” I say, trying again. Mostly I’m just trying to mean it.

Reid lets out a breath of relief. “Good. So,” He throws his arm around me. “I was thinking that since your mom and dad are cool with us being together now, maybe they can lift your punishment. My parents were wondering if you could come to dinner tonight.”

I bite my lip. Mom and I did say we’d try to start back on square one. “I guess we can ask.”

“I’ll ask,” he says. “She probably still likes me better.”

I elbow him in the stomach. “Not so fast, Seven. We had a breakthrough talking about sex yesterday.” I pull out my phone and type out a message to my mom, asking if I can go to Reid’s house for dinner.

“Brave,” Reid says. “Speaking of…” He trails off while leading me back to rest against a bookshelf. “You and I need to talk about you walking into a gang fight.”

“They weren’t fighting,” I protest.

He leans over, his hot breath hitting my ear. “Not yet.”

I squirm, feeling his breath coat my neck in tingling anticipation. It threads through my body, settling in my core until white hot heat burns there.

“That was naughty, Briar. Very naughty.”

“I’m sorry?” I say, trying to sound convincing. Those guys would do the same for each other. It just felt natural.

He takes my hands and pins them above my head. “That didn’t sound contrite enough.” His green eyes spark with mischief.

My body buzzes, and I feel my nipples harden under my shirt. My chest heaves out between us, brushing against his own.

He leans over, kissing a path from my earlobe down to my neck. My head falls back until the movement slides books out of the way. I lean against the shelving unit for support while Reid continues to place soft kisses on my skin. “I’m glad you wanted to be there for Cade, but next time, text all of us and head the other way. If something happened to you…” A shiver takes over his body, and he pulls away. “Okay?”

I nod, and his body leaves mine, leaving me flushed and cold at the same time in the absence of him.

I scowl, and he smirks. “Later,” he promises. “If your mom says you can come over.”

New goal: Convince Mom to let me go Reid’s house.

18

Reid helps me out of his car after football practice. Mom sent a reluctant text right before school ended that said I could go to dinner and come right back home. When I walk inside Reid’s house, I’m assaulted by memories of the first night I came home. How worried everyone was. How lost Reid looked. But the overall excitement I felt to seeing him alive, to seeing him mostly uninjured. I reach up on my tiptoes to kiss him, and he beams back at me. “What was that for?”

“Just because.”

“You two are the cutest,” I hear from down the hall which makes me smile. Mrs. Parker comes out from around the corner. “I’m so happy Pam decided to let you come over. I told her I’d watch over you, make sure you didn’t sneak off to have sex.”

My face blooms red, and Reid just blinks at his mother like he can’t believe she just said that.

“Well, I had to promise her something,” Mrs. Parker says. She starts off down the hallway. “Your dad’s going to be a little late. He’s with a client in Germantown. He said we could start without him.”

I used to think it was odd that Reid’s family ate so much earlier than other people, but I’ve been explained their diet schedule before. They actually eat six meals a day instead of the usual three. It helps keeps the metabolism going, I guess. So, they eat now and have a snack later. They also eat nothing past seven pm.

Reid doesn’t stick to it all the time. It’s kind of hard for him, considering he’s at school, but there are always healthy snacks around the Parker house.

During dinner, Mrs. Parker talks to us about school and to Reid about his next doctor’s appointment. We’re close to finishing when Mr. Parker comes home, but we all sit around talking for a little while longer until Reid tells his parents we’re going to do homework in his room. His mom releases us from the table, and we head upstairs without bookbags in our hands. Mine is still in his car, actually. “Homework?” I ask.

His lips tease up. “I love my mom,” he says.

“I thinkIlove your mom.”

Reid walks me into the room and shuts the door behind us. It’s easier getting away from parents at his house than it is at mine. We live in a ranch-style house, so all the bedrooms are on the same floor. Here, we can move upstairs, and his parents probably won’t even bother us.

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