I shrugged. "It got better. I met Lissa, who forced me under her wing. She was beautiful and popular, so I rose through the ranks as one of her crew." I snorted as I thought about how silly it all seemed now. Being pretty and popular in schooldidn't mean squat once you left. "I started taking care of my appearance and had quite the glow up."
My mouth twisted in thought as I considered whether to tell him this next part. In the end, I thought: what the hell? It was so long ago.
"I wasn't very nice during that time." Or a long time after, but he didn't need to know that. I wasn't that girl anymore. "In fact, I was a complete bitch, but only to those who deserved it. And believe me, she deserved it."
"It was a protective measure," Brian insisted. "You had a hard life, so it makes sense that you had a guard up." I hid a smile at his trusting conclusion to my behavior.
"What happened with your mom? I take it she's not in your life anymore?"
I shrugged. "She took off when I was seventeen. She told me she and her boyfriend were going down to Jacksonville to visit his cousin. She never came back." I heard Brian swear before his arm came down around my shoulders. I felt no emotion telling him this story, just like I had no emotion when I realized she wasn't coming back.
"I moved in with Lissa. That's why I stayed so loyal to her for so long. She took me in when I had nowhere to go. I was too old to be put in care and was turning eighteen soon anyway. Her parents didn't realize. I spent so much time over there; they wouldn't have noticed any difference. Plus, Lissa had her own little apartment in the garage, so they didn't care what she did or who she did it with."
"It must've really hurt when you found out that she slept with Simon."
"It did," I slowly agreed. The betrayal by Lissa hurt more than Simon's, that's for sure.
"Any residual feelings there?"
Surprised, I glanced at Brian. There was a look of curiosity mixed in with unease. His jaw was clenched, and his arm hung loose around my shoulders.
I grabbed his hand, tightening it further around my neck. I leaned in close to him and snaked my arm around his waist. I felt his breath shudder at my touch, his eyes hooded. "What I felt for him is nothing compared to how I feel for you."
I felt him breathe deeply again, and the doubt in his stare cleared. He folded down and leaned his forehead against mine.
"Fuck, Maria. You blow my mind." His breath fanned my cheek. "And I want to kick Simon's ass."
I grinned before covering the small distance and kissing him. His mouth immediately took over, moving in sync with mine, our tongues touching in reverence as we cemented another step in our relationship. He pulled back again, both of us breathing hard.
"Do you wanna…"
"Yeah," he breathed.
"...come to dinner tonight with Gail and Charli?"
He gave a groan followed by a deep chuckle. He kissed my forehead. "Yeah, baby. That sounds good."
Chapter 39
Maria
We didn't have set plans for dinner. As the group's unofficial leader, I planned on walking down the block and stumbling into whatever restaurant looked good and allowed walk-ins. Brian vetoed that plan and took us to a little hole-in-the-wall in Koreatown, where we dined on delicious Korean Beef Bulgogi, dumplings, and spicy kimchi stew.
Any qualms the girls might have had about Brian and me dating again seemed to dissipate over dinner. My guy was charming, funny, and attentive. He kept us entertained with tales of his unruly youth—well, as unruly as a boy who grew up in an affluent suburb with parents who enforced a curfew.
He took an interest in their lives; who they were dating, where they went last night—apparently, Charli had enjoyed a make-out session with a suit from Wall Street. He asked about the seminar and didn't even look bored when Gail started discussing the latest hairstyle trends in men's cuts. They'd even procured apromise that he'd be their model for a cut they really wanted to try.
I barely said a word during dinner. Instead, my gaze continuously fell on Brian. I was mesmerized by the way he held his chopsticks and the bob of his stubble-lined neck as he drank his beer, the way his firm, full mouth moved as he talked, and the deep timbre of his voice as he laughed with the girls.
He was just so virile. So sexy and manly. My foot brushed his leg—at first, it was unintentional—but I decided I liked the feel of his jean-covered leg against my foot so much that I caressed his leg again. This time, there was no mistaking my intention. His shoulders straightened, and his jaw clenched. I toed off my heel before sliding my naked foot under the hem of his pant leg and stroked his bare flesh.
He almost jumped a foot out of his chair before covering up his blunder with a cough. I hid a smile behind my wine glass as he swallowed hard. With my chin in hand, I leaned forward, elbow on the table.
"You were saying about your new work project?" I batted my lashes at him as he looked at me with eyes that blazed with a restrained desire.
He cleared his throat again but didn't remove his leg from my touch. "Yeah, um, the old mill down at Rangers Clearing." He stammered through his story, his voice raising an octave whenever he felt my toe rub his hair-roughened skin.
By the end of dinner, Brian had downed more water than someone trekking through the desert. His fingers drummed a fast beat on the table, and a flush had taken up residence on his cheeks.
