Crazy Thing (The Brighton Family #5)

Chapter 32

32

ZIGGY

“ C ome on, slow poke,” Darius jokes. “My grandmother can bike faster than that.”

“That’s because she doesn’t have a grumpy boss who keeps her chained to a desk all day.”

“Oh, I could chain you to my desk all right.”

I roll my eyes as I catch back up with him.

We’re pedaling and laughing and teasing each other, as we ride our bikes into town. I’m on my vintage bike, and he’s on a newer ten-speed he found in his garage. Now that we’ve made it into the heart of town, everybody’s staring at us as we roll by.

Darius doesn’t seem to care. In fact, he looks like he’s actually enjoying himself. I know he didn’t plan on it—at least not when I conned him into riding bikes with me—but right now he reminds me of the fifteen-year-old Darius Brighton who I had a crush on years ago.

Boyish. Charming. Easygoing. I like it.

But it makes me realize that I’m also attracted to the grumpy, gruff side of Darius, too .

He’s just not Darius without all of his pieces, both light and dark and rough edged.

My legs are burning by the time we arrive in town. I bike a whole lot when I’m in Honey Hill; it’s my primary way of getting around. But I’m no match for Darius’s mega strong quads. Especially since all my limbs are deliciously sore from last night. And now that I know what those thighs look like beneath those pants…Well let’s just say, I veered off the bike path more than once today.

We make it to the diner in one piece, and we lock our bikes onto a pole out front.

As I’m double-checking my lock, Darius pulls out his phone. In my peripheral vision, I notice him aiming it at me. Then the click of a shutter fills the air.

“Did you just take a picture of me?” I ask, stepping toward him and self-consciously pushing sweaty hair back from my temples.

“Who, me?” he asks innocently, quickly stuffing his phone into his pocket. “You’re imagining things.”

I’m not buying it. “Let me see.” I reach for his phone.

He ducks, holding the phone out of my grasp. He grabs my hand as we stroll toward the entrance to The Pancake Village.

I’m momentarily distracted by the way his large, warm fingers feel closed around mine. When he pulls open the door for me, I shake my head to clear the fog.

“Darius, show me the picture.” I grab at the phone again.

He slaps my ass as we enter The Pancake Village.I gasp, then break into a fit of uproarious giggles just as I step inside. I’m so loud that all eyes in the diner turn my way.

Oops .

My gaze flits around the restaurant crowd and I accidentally make eye contact with my little sister .

Double oops .

I knew that Darius and I might see people we know, but I sure hadn’t considered running into Daphne this morning. I would have liked to have figured out what Darius and I are doing on my own before being forced to explain it to others.

But here’s my baby sister, seated at a small square table right in the middle of this restaurant, staring at me in shock. Well, shock’ s not the right word. More like excited surprise. Seated across from Daphne, Felix is staring at Darius with an identical expression.

Then, the two of them start eagerly waving us over. Eesh!

I turn to Darius, ready to offer him an out. “If this is too much…I mean, if you’re not ready to deal with family…Or if you want to stay in our own little bubble…” I’d be happy to follow him outside and bike back to my bus that’s parked in his driveway in the mountains.

But Darius only grips my hand tighter, pulling me along as he marches toward his brother.

Anxious and blushing, I stumble after him, weaving between chairs and ducking to avoid prying eyes. All the while, Felix and Daphne are shoving aside glasses and silverware, hastily making room for us at their table.

None of this makes sense. I feel like I woke up in an alternate dimension today.My brain is struggling to compute what’s happening. Are we seriously getting ready to have a double date with my sister and his brother?

Daphne smiles brightly when we reach their table. “Good morning!” Her eyes are bouncing between the two of us with unspoken questions. I ignore those questions and instead give her a little wave as I bite back a smile.

“Good morning,” Darius responds, completely unfazed by all the weirdness.

“Wanna join us?” Felix offers, patting the seat of the chair beside him.

Darius doesn’t hesitate as he possessively throws an arm around my shoulder. “Sorry. No can do. We’re on a date.”

Felix and Daphne stare at each other, with spasming eyelids and twitching nostrils and poorly repressed grins. It’s like they’re communicating a secret language that only the two of them understand. I make a note to ask her what that’s about later.

Felix nods at his brother. “Okay. Good to know.”

The server finishes clearing the table right beside Felix and Daphne’s. The woman offers it to us.

We snatch up the table. Our own table. The rest of the restaurant is full, so it beats joining my sister and her fiancé.

But still, it can’t possibly get any weirder.

Darius helps me into my chair. Then he chooses the seat right next to me, rather than the one across the table. I grin at him as he hands me a menu before cracking open his own.

I feel Felix and Daphne’s eyes on us the whole time. It’s like they can’t stop staring.

But Darius is not paying them any mind, so I don’t either.

Besides, it’s hard to think of anything except for Darius, with how touchy-feely he’s being. He’s sneaking touches under the table and making me squirm while I’m trying to order. He's playing with my messy pink hair and holding it away from my face every time I take a sip from my straw. And he’s somehow always maintaining a hold on one of my hands as we wait for our breakfast to arrive.

I feel like a teenager again. Each touch makes my belly do this flip, reminding me of the rollercoasters I rode on that time my senior class had a trip to the amusement park.

Our food arrives, and Darius hungrily dives into his large plate of bacon and French toast. Meanwhile, I happily nibble away at my buckwheat pancakes.

“Oh, my gosh. You literally ordered a heart attack,” I joke when I look at his plate.

He smirks. “You’ll help me work it off later?” he whispers in my ear.

I shiver, blushing hotly and unable to fight my smile. “You might not live long enough to try. Here, have a bite of mine.” I slice up an extra large bite and feed it to Darius straight off my fork.

He taps his chest, right over his heart. “See, the bacon is canceled out now. What’s that give me? Two extra years?”

I laugh, smacking his arm. “More like two hours. I think you can do better than that. Here, open up.”

He does, but this time a big gooey drop of organic maple syrup plops onto his shirt. I suck in a breath. “Oops!”

I snatch up the nearest paper napkin, and I try my best to clean the sticky stain. But the cheap napkin just keeps falling apart and making an even bigger mess across the front of his shirt.

“Oh jeez, I’m sorry,” I mutter quietly.

But then his dark stare locks onto mine and before I can tackle the mess with a new napkin, Darius grabs my hand, brings it to his mouth, and licks my syrupy fingers.I inhale sharply at the flash flood of arousal that drenches my panties.

Then, we’re both dying with laughter.

Darius just keeps on flirting, unconcerned with our audience. I can hear the shocked gasps coming from my sister’s table every few seconds. Felix and Daphne keep exchanging looks that say, What the hell is going on here ?

I’ve just finished my last bite when Daphne comes up to our table. “I need to go to the bathroom,” she announces.

“Oh, I think it’s over there in the corner,” I tell her.

Daphne rolls her eyes at me. “That means you have to come with me.”

“Says who?” I frown.

“Says the girl code. Duh.” Then she grabs my hand, yanks me out of my seat, and unapologetically drags me with her across the restaurant.

I look back briefly and find Darius staring in my direction. Then, Felix blocks my view when he drops down into the chair I just vacated.

Okay. I guess the Brighton boys are going to have a discussion of their own, too.

Daphne locks me inside the sticky, stinky bathroom before she starts questioning me. “Ziggy! Oh my gawd. What is going on here?” she asks excitedly.

My teeth sink into my bottom lip and I feel my forehead crinkle with worry. “I honestly don’t know.”

“I thought you didn’t even like Darius,” my sister presses.

I shrug as my heart rate starts to kick up. “He’s starting to grow on me. Sort of like black mold.”

Daphne folds her arms and lifts an eyebrow at me.

I start pacing as I speak. “I don’t know, okay, Daphne? For years and years, I couldn’t stand him. And then we started working together and spending time together. And then we crossed the line—once and twice and again. And the next thing I know, I can’t stop thinking about him and craving him and missing him when he’s not around…” My feet stop. “Oh god,” I hear myself groan. I smack a palm to my forehead. “He’s driven me crazy! I’m going crazy!”

Daphne grabs my shoulders and shakes me. Violently. “ No, babe. You’re not going crazy. That’s the feeling of falling in love.”

And my whole world stops.

“Oh, god…” is all I can manage to squeak out as reality starts to creep in.

I’m falling in…Oh my…With…Oh my god…With Darius Brighton.

I’m falling in love with Darius Brighton!

My sister is grinning in my face like the Joker. “Ziggy!” She shakes me again. “I think it’s pretty obvious that Darius is falling for you, too. I’ve never seen him like this with anyone. And Felix said he hasn’t either.”

Now, I’m vigorously wagging my head from left to right. “That’s insane, Daphne. Things could never go anywhere between Darius and me. We’re just too different. We’re polar opposites. We live in different worlds.”

My sister tilts her head to the side, observing me knowingly. “You’re going to make this as difficult as possible, aren’t you?”

“I’m not the one making it difficult. It just is ,” I argue. “It’s impossible.”

Daphne sighs. “Well, at least do me a favor.”

“No promises,” I say hastily.

She glares at me again, curling her lips and flaring her nostrils.

Curiosity gets the better of me and I relent. “Fine. What is it?”

My little sister reaches across and gently squeezes my arm. “Enjoy this. Wherever it leads—or doesn’t lead—just enjoy this. You’re so intense and intentional about everything in your life. But for once, just have fun without worrying about the astrology or the synastry or whatever algorithm of the universe you’re always trying to figure out. Ziggy, you deserve to be looked at the way Darius is looking at you. So, enjoy it.”

I exhale slowly, allowing some of the tension in my shoulders to dissipate. I smile at my sister. “I…I think I can do that.”