Brady raises his eyebrows. “I’m the one hiding you in my room, aren’t I? That wasn't Finn’s idea. It was mine.” His chest puffs out proudly.
Hiding out at Brady’s house makes the most sense. There would be no hiding in Finn’s trailer unless I was sleeping duct taped to the roof.
I reach out, running my hand through Brady’s hair until it sticks up. “Next up, skydiving.”
He tries to fix the mess I’ve made of his hair. “Maybe I’ll do that to celebrate graduating law school.” He leans back against his headboard. A small section of hair that he missed pokes up.
I climb onto my knees, using one flattened palm to balance, and fix the rest. When I’m done, Brady wraps his hands around my waist and pulls me into the mountain of pillows. At home I have two pillows. Brady has six.
He slides down until our bodies are parallel. He props himself up on an elbow, and I copy him. Using his knee, he nudges the bag of chips we’ve been sharing until it’s between our chests.
Grabbing a couple more, he pops them into his mouth and chews. “This will be two nights in a row you’re sleeping in my bed.”
“You’ll never wash your sheets again.”
Brady laughs. “That depends on whether or not you get your period on them.”
I roll my eyes and laugh.
“I know, I know. It’s stupid. I’ll learn all about it. I’ll figure out how to buy tampons and whatever else. I don’t have any exposure to it. It’s not like my sister’s around.”
“Exposure…” The word rolls around my mouth. “Do you think exposure is what makes us do things? Or not do things?”
Brady licks salt from a finger. “I think it primes us.”
“Primes us?” I dig around for a big chip. We’re getting to the bottom of the bag, and most of the chips have turned into fractions.
“Yeah. Like it preps us. Maybe we’d never think to do something, but then an experience pushes us closer to action, or farther from it in some cases.”
“Do you have an example?”
Brady thinks. He’s cute when he thinks. His lips pull at one corner and his eyes squint.
“My sister. My exposure to her means I’ll never, ever do drugs.”
“Brady, you were high last night.”
A flush spreads on his cheeks. “I mean hard drugs. And last night was... I just wanted to know what it would be like. It was offered to me all the time at parties, and I never said yes. I was too afraid someone would take pictures and use them against my dad, or me someday. I’m going to be a lawyer, but what if I do decide to go into politics? Imagine having to defend something you did a long time ago. That would suck.”
“So Finn was the lucky guy who got to be with you?”
“I trust him.”
“You don’t trust me?” My hurt feelings creep into my tone.
Brady sighs. “It wasn’t like that, Lennon.”
When I don’t respond, he continues. “I didn’t want you to see me either. What if I acted stupid? And, in case you’re wondering, I did. Finn told me. I was paranoid. I did not chill out and play video games, like my Trinity friends.”
“Brady, no matter how you act, I’ll always—”
“I know. I know that, okay? But I didn’t want that image in your head.” Brady reaches across the eighteen inches that separates us. His warm hand cups my shoulder, and his fingertips graze the length of my arm. “Not when—”
A knock halts his words. The sound is muffled, too far away to be his bedroom door. Alarm widens his eyes. I imagine I look similar. We wait, and the knock comes a second time.
We both sit up and climb off his bed.
“It might be my mom. I better answer it before your mom does.”
