Stupid Girl(26)

I felt my lips pull at the corners. “Were you an extra in Good Will Hunting? I’m just asking.” I widened my eyes, extra-like, star-struckish. “Oh my God, do you know Matt Damon? Mark Wahlberg?” I closed my eyes and sighed, then opened them and rapid-fire blinked. “Tell me you know Ben Affleck. Swear to God, I’ll die right here in this booth if you do.”

Brax stared at me, then threw his head back and laughed. Loud. He wiped his eyes with his knuckles. “Okay, smart ass. At least you got good taste. No, I don’t know them.” He leaned closer and raised his brows. “But I know someone who does.”

“Swell!”

Brax rubbed his chin with his hand, and shook his head as his eyes found mine. “What are you? Bednobs and Broomsticks? Mary Poppins?”

I pressed my lips together and shrugged. “Maybe.”

Our waiter showed up then, a cute guy, a little on the short and stocky side with blond hair, our age. He gave a nod to Brax. “Hey, man. How’s it goin’?”

Brax looked at me. “Swell. Thanks for askin’.”

I shook my head.

“Drink, ma’am?” the waiter asked me.

“Um, tea with ginger if you have it, thanks,” I said.

Brax looked at me, lifted one brow. “Same.”

The waiter left to get our drinks, and Brax leaned back and hooked his arms on the back of his booth. It pulled the material of his tee shirt tight across his chest muscles. He eyed me closely. “I’m pretty sure I’ve never been just friends with a ginger tea drinking virgin before. I kinda like it.”

Anger rushed to my throat and cheeks. I glanced around, then back to Brax. “Would you mind not announcing it to the whole restaurant?”

The throaty chuckle that came from Brax was contagious, despite my horror at how loud he’d just stated my alleged virginity.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I won’t say it out loud again,” he said.

I frowned. “Make sure that you don’t. And stop thinking about it, while you’re at it.”

His mouth pulled up. “No promises there, Sunshine.”

Our waiter returned, and I ordered fried oysters and fries. Brax ordered the same, along with the chowder. Chowdah. The waiter left, and Brax leaned back.

“So tell me about this ranch life of yours, Gracie,” he said. “You live far from here?” Fahr.

I drew a long pull of tea through my straw, and it was sweetened, with a hint of ginger, and perfect. “About three and half hours south. A little town, Jasper. Typical small-town Texas.” I shrugged. “Not much to tell, really. We broke horses for ranchers—”

“We?” Brax interrupted.

I nodded. “Me, my mom, my Grandpa Jilly, and my three brothers.”

“No father?”

Fahtha. I shook my head. “He left a long time ago. When I was three. I don’t remember him at all.” Well, only flashes of memory. Nothing worth telling, and more likely than not they were fixed memories from the handful of pictures Mom kept in her top dresser drawer.

Something passed in Brax’s eyes then; I wasn’t sure what it was. A glint of sadness? I couldn’t tell. “Damn shame,” is all he said.

Then he leaned forward, his tattooed hands rested on the table. “So let me get this straight. You get a horse. A wild fucking horse. And you get on it. And this horse, he runs around, bucking and crazy as all holy gates of hell, and throws your skinny little ass all over the place until what?”

The lights overhead were getting hot, so I slipped out of my denim jacket and set it beside me. I shrugged. “Until he either throws me off or stops bucking and follows my command.”

For a split second, Brax’s gaze softened, smoldered, just like it had when he’d flirted with that hostess. Fleeting, it faded quickly. “And how exactly do you make a wild horse ten times your size follow your command?”

“Simple. I squeeze my thighs around him.”

A very slow, very deliberate, and very wily and sexy smile broadened Brax Jenkins’ intriguing face. He laced his fingers together, and leaned forward. “Is that so, Gracie?” His voice, accent, was low, raspy. Ridiculously sexy. Totally fascinating.

Nutcracker!

I thought it, unable to help myself, then I smothered a laugh with my hand. Even though I felt the heat rising in my skin from my blunder and Brax’s insinuation, just saying the safe word in my head helped. I didn’t feel caged in or threatened. All I could feel was laughter bubbling up inside of me, all stemmed from that ridiculous conversation with Tessa, and the safe word. My eyes began to water, and Brax just looked at me, cocked his head, and grinned.

“Did I say something funny, Gracie?” he asked.