“Are you stalkin’ me now, Gracie?”
My heart jumped as I shot my gaze over my shoulder. The voice and body merged into Brax as he ran up behind me, and slowed to my pace beside me. He wore black shorts, black Nikes. Shirtless. He was absolutely shirtless. The hazy hue of the morning and his skin contrasted sharply to the black ink marked into his body and I found it hard to look away. His legs were long, his thighs muscular, his shoulders broad and he was light on his feet. His stomach was as chiseled as it’d felt when I held onto him while riding on the back of his bike. I sighed and shook my head, and took another quick peek at him. Godalmighty, he took the breath from my lungs.
“You scared me, dope,” I said, and kept running. In that quick look I noticed one side of his chest had a verse inked into it, leading up and over his shoulder with various works of art down his arm. On the opposite rib cage, another verse.
Brax laughed. “You didn’t tell me you were a runner, Gracie.” Runnah. He closed in on me and bumped my shoulder with his. “Or I’d have looked for ya.”
I picked up my pace a little. “I’m not a runner, really,” I glanced at him. His eyes were directly on me. “I just like to run.”
“How fast are you?” he asked, and pulled a little ahead of me.
“Fast enough,” I answered. I quickened, passed him.
Our breaths mingled as we ran, and Brax glanced at me. “To Rigley Commons,” he challenged. It was the main school centre park, a large grassy area where students reclined among statues and a mammoth fountain. “First one at the fountain—”
I shot out ahead of him and took off, pumping my legs and arms as fast as I could. I knew he’d catch me, but I’d give him work for it, anyway. I was fast—but I knew he’d be faster. I didn’t look back, or to the side of me. I just ran as fast as I could.
Brax caught up. Slowed. Taunted.
“Pretty slick move there, Sunshine,” he said, pacing just barely ahead of me to cock his head and look me in the eye. “Know what we call that in Southie?”
We both crossed the street and hit the outskirts of the park, the grass, and the fountain was dead ahead. I reached over and gave Brax a shove. “A cheater!” I hollered. He stumbled, and I shot forward in a burst of energy. Again, I didn’t look back, I just focused on the fountain. Almost there—
My body suddenly left the ground in a swoosh as Brax dumped me over his shoulder and continued running. I squealed. “Brax!” My head bounced off his rock hard back until finally, he flipped me in his arms, and we were at the fountain. I looked up at him, mischief and deviltry in those crazy eyes. He leaned close to the water. “Know what we do with cheaters in Southie, Sunshine?” His breathing was somewhat rough, but not too labored to just have sprinted with a full grown person in his arms.
“No!” I pleaded. “Brax, no!” I wiggled and squirmed and tried to maneuver out of his arms. Those biceps and hands were like bands of steel. He wasn’t turning me loose.
He held me over the water, and I squealed louder. “We dump cheaters in the drink!”
“No! I swear!” I laughed and writhed and twisted. “Please!”
“Jesus fuck, girl,” he grunted as I tried to wiggle loose. “How much do you weigh?”
That did it. I pulled an old trick on him that I’d learned with my brothers growing up.
I went totally limp.
“Shit!” Brax grunted again and almost dropped me. When he tried to get a better hold on my full weight, I made my move. The moment my legs slid down far enough, I wrapped them around his and we both went down.
“Ugh, this fuckin’ grass is wet!” He pushed me to my back and followed me over, arms braced on either side of me. That shocking face stared down, just like it had almost three weeks before, and I was just as taken aback. His dark waves, damp from sweat, crazy flipped in all different directions, and the half-moon scar at his cheek intrigued me, made his irrational looks more appealing than frightening. Before, I’d been scared. Now I smiled up at him. I could even say I trusted him. More than I’d trusted anyone outside of my family in over a year.
“What are you grinnin’ at, gorgeous?” He braced on one hand, and with the other pushed several damp strands of hair from my face.
Brax’s fingertips against my skin, his mere presence, set my insides on fire and high alert, and I realized how badly I craved his touch. And I definitely wanted his mouth on mine. I didn’t care that it was six in the morning, or that we were sweaty and lying in dewy grass in the park’s center and anyone could walk or drive by at any time and see us. I wanted him to kiss me, long and deep, kiss the breath out of me …