Chapter 16: Ride

Lexi

My mind was reeling as I sat through dinner with Brady's mother. He'd said he had more to tell me but that he needed me to meet his mom first, and I could respect that. She obviously knew his big, fat, wolfy secret since she didn't appear to be alarmed sitting next to him at the dinner table, so why should I be?

In all honesty...I was fascinated.

Okay, it took me a minute to get over the fact that one of my most attractive crush could morph into a giant dog, fine whatever. But once I realized that the world I lived in really wasn't the world I thought I lived in, I could hardly contain my smile. Magical things did exist and were really just well hidden. Things that people wrote off as fairy tales, folklore or in some opinions – horror stories – were very real. How could I not be at least a little excited about that?

I looked across the table at Brady as we ate, sharing a look with him. He offered me a crooked grin that clearly told me he knew he was still skating on thin ice with me. I smiled back and speared another piece of zucchini off my plate. I wanted to start interrogating him right there at the table, but I figured I should probably wait until we had some privacy. Even though his mom knew, I wasn't sure how much she knew.

"Excited for school tomorrow?" his mother asked.

I shrugged. "I guess. I don't like waking up early, but I don't mind school. I'm not looking forward to all the tests I have to take, ACTs, SATs, all those to get ready for college. My dad already has me signed up for an ACT class this fall two nights a week."

"That's an exciting time though. I only went to a community college myself. Have you thought of where you want to go?"

"I've thought about California. Maybe somewhere closer to my mom since I've been here with my dad for almost a year."

Across the table, Brady sucked in a breath. "Wait, you're leaving?"

I glanced up at him in alarm. Was he about to snap? I tensed and glanced nervously over at his mother. She didn't seem too alarmed, but I was still worried. What if he shifted into a huge angry wolf at the table and killed us all? I swallowed nervously and tried to stay calm.

"I...I'm looking at schools in Washington and California. I haven't decided where I want to go yet."

He huffed quietly and glanced at his mom before looking back at me. "So you're just going to leave? Just now when we—"

"Just now when we what?"

"Brady," his mother said quietly, shaking her head. "Don't do this now."

"This is bullshit, Lexi. I just found you and now you're leaving?"

My rage boiled inside of me as I tried to remain calm in front of his mother. But his tone and words were all too much for me after the tumultuous day we'd had together. Just because he was a freaking werewolf didn't mean he got to tell me what to do.

"My father has dreamt of sending me to college since I was born. It's been my dream to go to college since before I can remember and I'll be….nothing is going to change that."

"Lexi, you can't just-"

"I need to get an education! Besides, it's none of your business," I said calmly. "Why do you care where I go to college?"

Brady stood up and threw his napkin down on his empty plate. I refused to look at him, instead calmly taking a sip of my water. I was beyond mortified that we were having this argument here in front of his mother, but I guessed she was used to his bratty fits and temper by now. I couldn't let the fact that his mother was sitting there stop me from speaking my mind and defending my choice to want to go to school. Who was he to even have anything to say about it?

"Brady, sit down. You're making a fool of yourself," she said quietly.

"So that's it then? Next year, you're just going to...to leave? You're going to go two states away for four years?"

I looked up at him and felt my pupils shake in my eye sockets. I was so unbelievably pissed. "Where I go and what I do is my business. You have no right to get upset with me over my college plans. We are friends, Brady. Why do you care?"

He shook his head and began pacing in front of the table. If he thought his little temper tantrum was going to affect me he was bound to be disappointed. If anything his huffing and pacing and baby fit only reminded me of the little boys I'd babysat while back in California. I didn't put up with it then, I wasn't putting up with it now.

"Brady, please sit down," his mother pleaded quietly.

"Mom, not now!" he snapped.

"That's nice," I practically growled. Humiliated, his mother stared at her lap and shook her head.

"I care because...because I do, alright?"

"It's none of your business."

Brady gave me an incredulous look. Disgusted, I turned to his mother. "Mrs Fuller, could I possibly be able to trouble you for a ride home?"

She looked up at me, then at Brady. He let out an irritated growl and stomped to the door nearby that led to a patio on the back of their house. I listened as the glass door slammed, the noise ricocheting off the walls.

"I can take you home, sure," she replied sadly. I gave her my best apologetic smile and followed her through the kitchen to the garage.

The ride was mostly silent; neither one of us knew what to say. I sat in the passenger seat of the plush SUV as she drove and stared out the window at the trees around us. It was almost dark, so I knew my dad and Patrick would be home soon. I silently prayed that we beat them to my house, for I was in no mood to explain my current predicament. Brady's mother dropping me off would surely raise a question or two with my dad and Patrick. I quietly told her where to turn, and soon, we were sitting in my driveway. Neither one of us had said a word the entire time, nor could I remember a situation that awkward.

She sighed and leaned on the steering wheel. "He'd never hurt you. You know that, right?"

I turned and looked at her curiously. "How do you know?"

She shook her head and stared out at the windshield. A light rain had begun to fall and was sliding down the glass in front of us. "He'd never forgive himself, that's why. He just wouldn't. He couldn't bear to hurt you. I know my son."

"Well...he has already hurt me, Mrs Fuller. I hate to break it to you, but your son is a bit of a...an..."

"He's an asshole. He's his father's son. No doubt about it. They're so different, yet...sadly, so much alike."

"He doesn't like to talk about his dad," I said slowly. "I'm guessing there's a reason for that?"

She nodded. "There is. Brady's father is...selfish, arrogant, and can be real hell to live with sometimes. But...he can also be passionate, caring, and can love me so hard it's hard to comprehend sometimes. There are times I want to smack him for the things he says, but then...then he can turn around or say or do something that makes me fall in love with him all over again. I...I never know what I'm going to get with his father."

I huffed in frustration. Was she crazy? How could she handle that all the time without going insane? I'd barely survived six months of his mood swings and fits, and I was ready to slap him a lot already.

"How do you handle it? I'm...I'm not sure I can. We're friends...good friends. He wants more from me, but I'm not sure that I can give it to him. Especially now..."

"Now that you know his secret?"

I nodded slowly.

She licked her lips and shrugged. "I know it's tough living with someone who had a secret like that. Like his. But I can say that I'm sure Brady would make it up to you in a heartbeat. He's a lot to handle at times, but he'll also love you so fiercely you'd never look back. I know because he's my son – I know his good sides and his bad sides. Lexi, I know that boy inside and out, and I know if you gave him a chance you wouldn't regret it."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked back a few tears. "I don't doubt that. I just...it's a lot to handle. It's a lot to take in at once, and I feel like there's so much I don't know yet."

"Then give him a chance to tell you," she said gently. "Give him a shot to at least tell his side of things. Will you do that?"

"I don't know if I can."

I didn't see or hear from Brady for days after that, which was fine; he might have been upset with me, but I was pissed as hell at him too.

So there.

We were sitting at lunch on Friday, having just finished the first week of our senior year. Claire leaned over and frowned at me, her dark eyebrows knitted together in concern.

"Earth to Lexi?"

"Huh?" I asked, turning around. I had been staring out the window at the rain, thinking about what Brady was doing right now. It had been raining all week, so he wasn't able to work on the carriage house. I had to admit I was mildly horrified when he didn't immediately call me and beg me for forgiveness after our fight at his mother's house. What was up with that? He was so hot and cold sometimes, it made my head spin. I didn't like arguing with him or dealing with his mood swings, but…I didn't exactly like being without him either. I felt that same strange longing I had for him while he wasn't around.

"I said Quil is taking me to a movie tonight in Port Angeles. We'd adore having a third wheel if you'd like to come," she added sarcastically.

"Oh great, a pity invite?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's just Quil," she added in all seriousness. "He wouldn't care if you came along. Seriously, do you want to come?"

"Don't pity me," I laughed softly.

She shrugged as if to say 'I tried' and took a sip of her Diet Coke. Claire was the only person I knew who spoke her mind and drank soda out of a can with a straw. "I was trying to be nice and to hopefully snap you out of this self-pitying fog you're in," she stated matter-of-factly. "Did something happen that I haven't heard of yet?"

I shifted in my chair and shook my head. "No, I just...I had a fight with Brady Sunday night. He hasn't apologized...yet."

Claire made a snorting noise in the back of her throat. "Don't hold your breath. I think Regan is still waiting for her apology."

"I bet if I told him to do it he would."

Claire snorted again. "I bet he would too."

"Do you..." I was about to ask her about the wolfy secret, but the cafeteria was too crowded. Luckily she was busy on her cell phone at that point and didn't notice.

"So you don't want to come?"

"Nah. I have a date with some old movies in my basement."

"Suit yourself," she sighed. "I've got to get to AP Chem. Call me when you're done wallowing, alright, Blondie?" With that, she fluffed my hair and picked up her tray. I sat at the table alone and watched her prance away.

I let out a woeful sigh. I was most definitely not finished wallowing yet.

Later that night, I was sitting in my basement listening to the rain and going quote for quote with my 'Gone with the Wind' DVD. One thing was for sure: I knew I had something in common with Scarlett nowadays. We both apparently had a thing for mouthy assholes.

I sighed and sipped my Fanta miserably. An embarrassing amount of sugary junk food was on the coffee table in front of me, detailing my downward spiral into more self-pity and self-loathing. For the millionth time that week, I second guessed myself which I hated. I was a smart, confident girl - god damn it. Who was he to make me question a decision?

I guess I was angry that I'd admitted my plans for college so prematurely. I didn't know if I would go back to California – hell, I didn't even know if I'd go to a four year school. Maybe I'd take a year off. Maybe I'd travel. I didn't know. I didn't want to know. Wasn't that the beauty of having your entire life laid out in front of you? Wasn't that the best part of your teen years – the uncertainty?

Brady had lost his shit when I'd spilled the beans about going away to school. It was a little ridiculous though – what did he care? He and I both knew this thing we had together was a passing phase. He'd admitted himself that he was an asshole-ish man-whore. I was willing to bet that our little fling would keep him occupied another twenty minutes tops. So why was he flipping out about next year? It didn't make any sense at all.

I was just getting to the part in the movie where Scarlett begs Rhett to stay with her. It had never made me particularly angry before, but now it did.

"Fuck, Rhett," I growled at the screen. My hands searched for the bag of twizzlers beside me. "Fuck him. You don't need him. Let the asshole go. Ulgh...take your own advice, Lexi," I groaned to myself.

I was so engrossed in the final scenes of the movie and cussing out Rhett that I almost didn't hear the quiet taps on the sliding glass door that led out to the backyard. I peeled my eyes away from the large screen television long enough to realize Brady was standing at the door.

Shirtless.

And in the rain.

I jumped up and tried to keep my eyes from popping out of my head. "What are you doing here?!" I hissed quietly, more to myself than anything.

His mouth moved in answer, but I couldn't hear him through the rain and the sounds from the TV. Jumping up, I yanked the door open and pulled him inside. His bare skin was soaking wet and hot.

"I said I wanted to talk to you," he whispered.

"My dad and Patrick are upstairs. You have to be quiet...and...you heard me say that?"

He shrugged and shook his head a little, his inky short locks spraying water on me. I wiped my cheeks and glared up at him. He gave me an impish grin.

"Sorry. It's a dog thing."

"Right," I said quietly, chewing my lip. "Is Superman-eque hearing part of it too?"

He nodded. "I can hear, smell and see probably fifty times better than you."

"Nice," I said. "Why are your shirtless? In the rain? And at my house without a car?"

He eyed me as if to say 'duh'.

"Were you just...wolf-ed out?"

He smirked and brushed a bit of grass off his torso. My eyes lingered on his defined abs before ripping away to look him in the eye. "I phased, actually...is what we call it," he muttered, "and I ran over here. I have patrol in a few hours, so I just thought I'd come by to talk to you."

"Wait...you turned into a wolf and...ran to my house? From your house in La Push?"

He shrugged. "Takes me eight minutes to get here wolf style, twenty by truck. What would you have done?"

I couldn't contain my amused smile. "That's awesome," I laughed. "Hey wait...I'm mad at you. What are you even doing here?"

His shoulders slumped as he looked down at me with a miserable grimace. "I know you are. And I'm sorry."

I rolled my eyes and stomped back to my nest of blankets and empty junk food wrappers. I stopped in front of the couch and whirled around. He sounded sincere. And it seriously pissed me off that he got to get away with being so moody. "Jekyll and Hyde much?"

"What?"

"You! You, Mr Hot and Cold. What the hell was that about on Sunday? And then I don't hear from you for a week. I don't have any experience with this kinda stuff, but you'd make a shitty boyfriend mister. You suck at being nice to people."

Brady made a face and frowned. "So...you've seriously never had a boyfriend before?"

"No. And...I don't intend to start, either."

He sighed miserably again and reached out to touch me. I dodged his hand and glared at him. "Don't think that coming in here all wet and shirtless and...godly is going to do you any favors. I'm sick of your girly bitchfits about nothing, Brady."

His eyebrows shot up. "I think it takes one to know one. You happen to be the queen of girly bitchfits."

I put my hand on my hip and gave him my best glower. "Yeah? Well the difference between you and me is that I'm a teenage girl and you're a grown-ass man. Now which one of us is entitled to have a bitchfit more than the other?"

"You're more grownup than you give yourself credit for."

I rolled my eyes and walked to the bathroom nearby, grabbing a towel. I emerged and tossed it at him. "Don't get your dog stink all over my house."

"You love my dog stink. You love that I can phase...don't you?" he asked timidly. He'd started that sentence out in a cocky tone but that had tapered off. I looked over at him and gave him a wobbly smile. As arrogant and needy as Brady could be, the fact that he could turn into a giant wolf was something out of a Disney movie.

"Maybe. I like the fairytale part of you, not the bitchfit part."

He put his hands out and shrugged. "I'm a package deal, babe."

"Babe," I snorted, rolling my eyes. "But seriously though, you can't throw fits like that. Fits like that will earn you a one way ticket out the door, alright? I like having a wolfy friend and all, but...not if he's going to be moody as hell and freak out for no reason."

"I know, I know…my temper. I've heard the same thing my whole life."

"Well then aren't you getting tired of hearing it then? Grow up," I laughed.

"Lex," he said softly, stepping closer, "you know I'd never hurt you, right? I couldn't...I..." he trailed off, shaking his head.

"Well, guess what? You already did," I snapped. I turned around and grabbed a twizzler off the coffee table and bit into it angrily. Being upset made me crave sugar, and I was sure as hell upset with him right now. How did he get to be so moody, and I couldn't be? It wasn't fair.

"I know I did, alright? Why do you think it even took a week to work up the nerve to come and talk to you, huh?"

"Because you lack balls, I don't know!"

"Just...please don't be mad at me. Lexi, I...I got upset because I finally found you, and you're amazing and I panicked, okay? I panicked at the thought of you leaving me already."

"What do you mean you 'found me'? What were you looking for?"

He stepped even closer now, his musky, woodsy scent making my head spin a little. "My perfect match. That's you – don't you see that? We're perfect for each other. We're both so...us. We fit. Don't you feel it?"

"I...I don't know. I've never...done this...whatever it is we're doing. I don't know what it's supposed to feel like Brady. Honestly, I just...I'm barely treading water here. Can't you understand that?"

"Ignore that. How do you feel when you're with me?"

"Right," I admitted before thinking. I winced and closed my eyes, scratching my head. "I mean...I don't know."

"Don't you feel like we fit together? Do you feel the pull?"

"Pull?" I snapped. "What pull?"

He cocked his head to the side and eyed me, inching closer and closer. "I know you do. Don't lie."

"You're a creep," I muttered.

"Yeah, but you like me," he insisted. He was standing so close to me I was getting a little cross eyed. But as angry as I was and as much as I pretended to hate him, I loved it. He was right – I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame, and I loved it.

"I kinda do," I muttered before his mouth crashed into mine. I squeaked against his lips and tried not to panic as his mouth molded against mine. My mind was still screaming at me to be angry with him, but I couldn't get my body to agree as I wrapped my arms around his torso. I could feel the thick, muscled bands of his bare arms as he slid them around my waist, pulling me closer. I craned my neck back to kiss him deeper, but when I finally got my head on straight, I pushed the stupid idiot away.

"No," I insisted. "I'm still mad at you. Don't think that kissing me will work. Last Sunday was a hot mess, Brady. Admit it."

He shrugged. "I know it was. And I can't take it back – so at least let me fix it?"

"Kissing never fixed anything. Just ask Scarlett," I said, motioning to the TV. Brady's response was to dramatically roll his eyes and snort.

"Chick flicks don't know shit about us. Just...will you do something for me?"

"If it will make me want to forgive you, then no."

"It will make you hate me."

"Then fine."

"Come for a ride with me."

I frowned and wrinkled my nose, looking down at my ratty yoga pants and hoodie. I was in no condition to go anywhere, much less a ride. "A ride where? And on what?"

He took my hand and held his finger to his lips to urge me to be quiet. I shrugged and followed him out the basement door onto the back lawn. "Be quiet. Don't scream, okay? When I phase, get on my back and hold on. I can't talk when I am in wolf form, alright?"

I exhaled sharply and stared up at him in the dim light. A light rain was still falling, but it had almost turned to mist. Even in human form, he looked unearthly, standing in my backyard in only a pair of ripped khaki shorts. This was supernatural though, and I was tempted to get another taste of it. He didn't scare me; he fascinated me.

"Is that a yes?"

I could only nod. He grinned and kissed me quickly on the lips, a fast peck before I could protest. He then reached up and gently pulled the hair tie out of my hair.

"What—"

"Trust me – you'll enjoy it more like this. Come on Lex, let your hair down," he said with a wink. "Just get on my back. Don't you trust me?"

I crossed my arms and shook my head. "Actually...no."

He batted his deep brown eyes at me, and I felt my heart flutter in my chest. Brady's eyes flicked down to my chest, and I almost thought he was checking me out. But then I remembered what he'd said about his hearing.

"Did you..."

He gave me a tiny nod.

I smiled back at him, entranced. He'd just gone from asshole to magical, storybook asshole.

I was weirdly enchanted. "Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I trust you."

"Good," he smirked, turning around. His bare ass became visible in the dim light of the backyard as he pulled his pants down and tossed them into the bushes. I laughed and looked away, shaking my head.

I barely had time to mutter the word 'showoff' before there was a shimmering sound in the air and suddenly, I wasn't with human Brady anymore. A huge black wolf stared back at me, his eyes...expectant.

"Oh...right," I muttered. I reached my hand out experimentally, pausing. "Can I touch you?"

He nodded his huge head, blinking his dark brown eyes. His head lowered slightly as he leaned forward towards my outstretched hand. When my fingers made contact with his fur, I was surprised. I expected it to be terribly wiry and coarse, but it felt like a husky's fur. I ran my fingers through the downy fluff that covered his face, sliding my hand to scratch behind his ears. I laughed as his hind leg started twitching like a dog's would.

"Seriously?" I laughed.

He made a chuffing noise in the back of his throat and bobbed his head. I watched as he leaned down into a sitting position so that his stomach was against the grass, finally remembering that I was supposed to be getting on his back. Glancing over my shoulder in the direction of my house, I hoped my dad and Patrick wouldn't notice I was gone from the basement. Throwing my leg over his back, I held on tight as he stood up.

"This is amazing," I giggled, leaning forward to steady myself. Brady gave an excited growl before ducking into the woods with me on his back.

I think I could get used to this fairytale thing.

Thank you to Ninkybaby for beta-ing!

Hope you all liked it - let me know what you thought!