I nod and give her a reassuring smile. “Never been more sure in my life.”
When I first mentioned to the girls that I want to lose my virginity to Brady, they all protested. They thought I wanted to have sex because girls in our grade were losing their virginities like it was nobody’s business. But after I told them how much I love Brady, they supported me.
I take hold of Brady’s hand. “Do you want to take a walk with me?”
Brady grins and links our fingers together. “Yeah, sure.”
We walk back into the house, and I head in the direction of the stairs. Peeking over my shoulder, I make sure no one noticed we left the party before we take the stairs up.
“This place is huge,” Brady comments as we stop so he can peek into the rooms and satisfy his curiosity.
“Yeah. The east wing is quieter, though. Aunty Jamie only uses it for guests.”
Brady’s always been the silent and introverted type, so I know it’s up to me to start the conversation.
When the music has faded to nothing more than a thumping beat in the distance, I glance up at Brady. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Yeah? What?” Brady turns his warm brown eyes to me. I first fell in love with his soft, kind eyes. Brady’s the kind of person who wouldn’t hurt a fly.
“We’ve been dating for a year, and I was wondering whether you’re ready to take the next step in our relationship?”
A nervous look tightens his boyish features, and I almost begin to regret asking when he swallows hard and then says, “First, I need to tell you something.”
A wide smile spreads across my face. “Okay, let’s go into the room so we can have privacy.”
I shut the door behind us, and I’m about to reach for the switch against the wall to turn on the light, but Brady’s hand darts out, stopping me. “Can… can we leave the light off?”
It’s not that dark with the curtains open, and knowing how painfully self-conscious he is, I agree. “Sure.” There’s a minute's silence, then I ask, “Do you want to sit on the bed while we talk?”
Brady nods his head, and when we’re both sitting, he takes hold of my hand. His eyes shine as they slowly meet mine. “I want my first time to be with you, as well. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Jade.”
My smile softens and I press a kiss to his mouth. “I love you, Brady.”
“I love you too, Jade.” A nervous expression flits across Brady’s face. Patiently I wait for him to continue with whatever he wanted to talk about.
He takes a deep breath and rising back to his feet, he nervously grips hold of the hem of his shirt. “It’s hard to talk about it.”
Thinking that he’s referring to us having sex, I give him a warm smile to encourage him.
Before Brady can say anything else, the door to the room slams open and bright light blinds me for a moment.
“What the fuck is going on in here?” Hunter’s voice is like a bolt of lightning.
My eyes dart to the doorway, and seeing Hunter with our friends right behind him, embarrassment washes over me like hot lava.
“N-n-nothing,” Brady stammers, his eyes wider than mine.
“Nothing, my ass,” Hunter barks. “Get away from her.”
Cowering, Brady rushes to the door without even looking at me.
“Hunter!” I jump off the bed and come to a stop right in front of him. “You’re overreacting.”
His eyes blaze down on me. “I’m pretty sure I’m not. Any idiot can guess what the two of you were doing up here in the dark.”
My cheeks are on fire and needing to make sure Brady is okay before I get into a fight with Hunter, I try to leave the room. Hunter grabs my arm, pulling me back. “You stay here. I’ll take Brady home.”
Not waiting to hear what I think or how I feel, Hunter leaves and rushes after Brady.
Shocked by how quickly the night turned into a disaster, my eyes dart over my friends.
Mila is the first to react and comes to place her arm around me. “Hunter noticed the instant you and Brady left,” she explains.
“He ruined it all,” I mutter, my embarrassment bleeding into disappointment.
Chapter 7
HUNTER
Things have been quiet with Jade, which I should be thankful for, but it grates me that even though we live in the same suite, we never talk.
Thinking of the devil…
I’m on my way to the library when I spot Jade coming out of the wide doors. Her attention is on a book in her hands, and it gives me a moment to steel myself before I have to interact with her.
“Hunter.” Hearing Melinda Roberts’ voice, I let out a groan.
I glance over my shoulder and seeing that she’s with her group of friends, which includes Jessica Atwood, my mood instantly sours.
Fuck, I’m not in the mood for this.
When Melinda reaches me, she tries to give me an intimidating scowl. “Jessica told me how nasty you were to her.”
I let out an aggravated breath and turning away from the group of socialites, I come face to face with Jade. Her dark eyes flick from me to the group behind me.
“Don’t turn your back on me,” Melinda almost screeches.
Right now, I’d rather face a hundred Jades before I have to spend a second with Melinda and her clique.
A frown begins to form on Jade’s forehead, and she comes to stand next to me, facing the girls. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”
Her words shock me, and slowly I turn my head so I can see her face.
Fuck, she looks pissed, but I’m not missing this for anything in the world.
I watch Melinda’s cheeks redden with outrage. “This is none of your business.”
Jade lets out a dark chuckle, and I wonder whether I should warn the girls their lives might be in danger.
“Oh, honey.” Jade smiles sympathetically at Melinda. “What you fail to realize is that Hunter Chargill is none of your business. Stop aiming so high. The fall back to earth might kill you.”
Melinda sneers at Jade. “What you fail to realize is that we have the same status. You don’t get to talk down to me.”
Jade takes a threatening step closer to the girls. “That might be so, but it won’t stop me from kicking your ass.”
Melinda flicks her hair over her shoulder and gives me an angry look. “We’re not done, Hunter. We’ll talk when your dog is on a leash.”
“Fuck,” I exclaim as Jade drops her book and pulls her arm back. I move fast and wrapping my arms around Jade, I yank her back before she can hit Melinda.
“Let go of me,” Jade hisses.
“Nope, it’s too early in the year for lawsuits.” I tighten my hold on her, pinning her back to my chest. My icy glare collides with Melinda’s. “You better leave if you don’t want your face rearranged.”
Luckily the girls turn around, and in a cloud of disapproving remarks, they leave.
Jade stops struggling, and I peek at her face to make sure it’s safe to let her go.
She gives me an annoyed look. “I wasn’t going to hit her hard.”
“Yeah, right.” Stepping away from her, I tilt my head. “Since when do you care about how people address me?”