Pathfinder

Part 1 - 11

ELEVEN – LEXI

I hadn't been sure what to wear, but I knew I'd be underdressed either way. The way Brody's eyes had seemed to take in every little detail about me, made me glad I had put in a little effort for once. Now, however, I wasn't sure if I should be here. We had just arrived at the party and Brody left me to find us something to drink. I stood on the outskirts and tried not to draw attention to myself. When a sandy haired guy, about my age walked up, with a smirk and leering eyes, I knew that I had failed in my mission to remain invisible. May as well chalk the whole night up as one big fail. I should have told Brody to take a hike instead of agreeing to come to this thing. This night had disaster written all over it.

"What's a sexy thing like you doing at a boring event like this?" He asked, with his eyes on my cleavage.

"I'm here with Brody."

He appeared surprised and then laughed, "Brody? Seriously? What is he up to? You're not his usual type."

"If you mean, because I have a brain, then you're right. I'm not his usual type." I tell him flippantly. I didn't like how this guy was moving further and further into my personal space.

The guy threw his head back laughing, before thrusting his hand out to me, "Paul Vincent, Brody's dashingly handsome, older cousin."

Begrudgingly, I took his hand and shook, "Lexi Green, Brody's..." I trailed off. Was I supposed to keep up the charade even with his distant relatives?

"Paul, I'll only ask nicely once. Remove your hands off of my girlfriend." Brody demanded, joining us. He handed me a glass of champagne, which I raised my eyebrows at, but didn't comment.

Paul dropped my hand and held up both of his, hands in the air, laughing, "Brody, damn it's good to see you, kid."

Brody rolled his eyes, "You're exactly ninety days older than me, Paul. If I'm a kid, then you're a kid."

Paul nodded, "Fair enough. Now tell me, where have you been hiding this gem and where can I get one?"

"Lex is one of a kind, sorry." Brody said, taking my hand in his. Before I could let Brody's words take root in my heart, his father interrupted.

"Oh Brody, there you are. I'd like you to come meet some people." Martin stated, but frowned at me. "Why don't you leave Lucy with Paul? I'm sure he can entertain her while you're busy."

Brody clenched his jaw, "It's Lexi and where I go, Lexi goes. I don't feel like schmoozing with your business associates tonight, dad."

Martin shook his head, "I don't think you understand, son. I've been trying to nail the Brooks account for months. Wayne Brooks is here with his family. His daughter is a year younger than you and..."

"And you want to pimp me out, even though I have a girlfriend?" Brody growled, squeezing my hand tighter than necessary.

Martin waved his hand in the air, in an impatient manner. "We both know you and Lacy aren't going to last."

"Her name is Lexi. Get it right or don't talk about her at all. Let's go, Lex." Brody hissed, pulling me through the crowd. He entered the first room that was empty. It looked like a library. Brody's house had a freaking library! He began to pace, as he muttered, "I am so sorry about my dad. He's even more of an asshole than I originally thought. There is no way he forgot your name either. He was doing that on purpose."

"Brody it's ok." I tell him and it really was. Martin Vincent didn't mean anything to me. Brody and I weren't in a real relationship, so what did it matter if his dad liked me or not?

"It's not ok! You haven't done anything to deserve such treatment. Then don't even get me started on Paul. I didn't know he would be here tonight or I never would have left you alone. Do you know that he's been rumored to have raped several girls? His dad, my uncle, buys him out of trouble all the time. It's disgusting. I might be a rich prick too, but I'd never do anything like that."

As he went to pace by me again, I grabbed his arm, stopping him. His eyes met mine. His chest was heaving from anger. Then suddenly, his eyes changed and I found myself being lifted and pinned to the wall. I instinctively wrapped my legs around him, just as his mouth swooped in to take possession of mine. I squeezed my legs, pulling him closer and making him moan into my mouth. I could feel the hardness growing inside his pants. It kept brushing against me intimately, making me feel things I'd never felt before.

We were both panting now. With his lower half still pinning me to the wall, he moved his hands up my arms, to my shoulders, where he pushed my jacket off. My sparkly black shirt had spaghetti straps. He pushed one strap off my shoulder, along with my bra strap, as his mouth descended on my neck and collarbone. He began to rotate his hips, rubbing against me intimately and deliciously. I'd never been so turned on in my life.

"Oh my!"

I heard the gasp and the outrage behind it, but it barely registered. Brody tore his mouth from mine and cursed, slowly fixing my straps back into place and lowering me to the floor. We turned as one and faced Brody's mother, along with her hoity-toity friends. Valerie Vincent glared, "Brody, this has to stop now. This girl is not the one for you. This behavior is unacceptable and completely unlike you."

I almost snorted, but managed to stop myself. Did this woman not know her son? He was far from an angel, but I didn't feel like now was the time to point that out. Especially when he instantly jumped to my defense, "Don't you start in about Lexi, Mom. I've heard enough from dad and neither of you are worthy to even mention her name. She's better than you. She's better than all of us."

I pulled Brody close, so I could whisper for his ears alone, "Brody, I think this has gone too far. I don't want to be the reason for this animosity in your family. We should stop pretending."

Brody's eyes seemed to drill into mine and then he said, "I'm not pretending anymore."

I thought he meant that he agreed. That he was going to come clean to his parents. That Brody and I were a farce. Instead, he cupped my cheek and lowered his lips to mine, kissing me sweetly. When he pulled back, I blinked at him in confusion, then he winked at me and turned back to face his mother, waiting for the next explosion.

It didn't take long. Valerie, stood to her fullest height, which was even taller than normal, thanks to her four inches heels. She looked down on both of us, "No son of mine is going to parade around with a clown. Purple hair for Christ sake. Brody, you either end this right now or...or..."

"Or leave this house and don't come back until you can see reason." Martin stated as he stepped into the room. A hush fell over the crowd. My gasp was the only noise in the room. How could they do this? They were ready to kick their own son out of the house because they didn't agree with his choice for girlfriend? I wasn't even his real girlfriend! Or was I? Brody had said he wasn't pretending anymore and then he'd still kissed me. Did that mean he wanted a real relationship with me?

Making a decision and hoping I wasn't going to be burning any bridges that I'd have to mend later, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I dialed Lucas and waited. When he answered, I glanced around the now crowded room. All of these people were so fake. They pretended to be friends with the Vincent's, but it was clear they were loving this. They were just waiting for the next tidbit of gossip. Well, I was about to give them some.

When Lucas answered, I said, clearly, so nobody in that room would misunderstand, "Lucas, I need a ride. Please come get me away from these disgusting people. They don't know how to be real and only know how to treat people like dirt. Their own son! I'll explain everything later. Thanks."

When I hung up, I saw Brody had lowered his head. He asked, "Lucas is coming to get you?"

"No, he's coming to get us. Come on. Let's wait outside." I tell him, pulling him from the room. We both ignored everyone who attempted to say anything further.