So me getting hurt is a very real possibility here. I’m scared shitless to make myself any more emotionally vulnerable than I already have been. Even thinking that Alyse could be something long-term makes my lungs seize up. But not enough to want to stop.
“Wow. I had no idea,” he says, taking a seat beside me.
I don’t respond, because there’s nothing really to say.
“Of course I don’t want to see you hurt, Ash. Do you…do you think Alyse could?” What he’s actually asking is, do I like her enough to open myself up to even getting hurt?
I fucking hate feeling this exposed. “Yes,” I answer quietly. “I’ve always had a thing for her.”
“I remember. I thought I was going to have take you down on the Fourth that one year.”
I laugh sardonically. I didn’t think I did a very good job of hiding my unholy attraction to her back then. “I didn’t know you knew about that.”
“Yeah, well, it was hard not to notice how you two disappeared for a while. Then you all showed back up, you and Conn pissed and Alyse embarrassed. Didn’t take a genius to put it all together. I never missed the way you looked at her that summer. You’re lucky I downplayed it with Livvy or I would have been required to beat the shit out of you.”
“Nothing happened,” I say quietly. But it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying.
“Nothing?”
“Connelly and his big fucking mouth,” I mumble.
Gray chuckles lightly and we fall into silence, allowing that day’s events from long ago to roll through my mind.
“Jesus, asshole, put your tongue back in your mouth before someone catches you.”
“Fuck off,” I tell my twin, unable to tear my eyes away from the ethereal vision in a white-string, barely there bikini currently floating on top of the pool. Her eyes are squeezed shut against the sun’s bright rays. Her hands are stretched out, gently pushing the pool water back and forth. Her nipples poke against the thin fabric of her suit, making my mouth hurt with the need to taste them.
“She’s jailbait, brother.”
That she may be, but it doesn’t stop me from liking her more than I should or wanting her anyway. Alyse and I have been apparently not so subtly dancing around each other for the last two months now, ever since I came home from college for the summer.
I’d met Alyse a couple of times last summer, but dismissed her because of her age. She may now only be seventeen, almost eighteen, but. Hot. Damn. What a difference a year makes. There’s not one red-blooded male who wouldn’t be attracted to her. I’ve had the fortune to be able to spend quite a bit of time with her these past two months since she and Livia have frequented our new in-ground pool. In addition to being stunning, she’s also smart and funny and more mature than girls my age, let alone hers. I look forward to spending time with her more than any other girl I’ve ever known.
“Thanks, but I don’t need your two fucking cents.” I slam my beer and throw the empty in the trash before jumping in the pool close to her, enjoying her screams as my splash drenches her.
“Hey!” she laughs, splashing me back once she gets her footing.
I circle her like prey and she pivots with me, following my every move, smiling flirtatiously.
“You look fucking hot, Alyse,” I whisper, edging closer to her, but not close enough to touch. My hands itch to pull her into me so she can feel just how hard she’s making me. When she was here last weekend, we had a few stolen minutes where I made it to second base and the only thing I’ve been able to think about all week is getting my hands and mouth back on her. That, and the possibility of rounding home plate.
“Actually, the pool cooled me off,” she responds flippantly.
“Yes, I can tell.” My gaze drops to her dark, beaded nipples. When I finally look back at her face, she’s bright red, but lust swims in her golden eyes.
“Oh,” is all she says.
“I want to kiss you, Alyse,” I growl lowly. I flick my eyes over to Conn who is watching my every action intently. Fucker. Quickly glancing around, I see that Gray and Livia must have gone inside, so at least they’re not witness to my lack of restraint.
“You do, huh?” She’s acting coy, but there’s no mistaking how her breaths have picked up.
“Fuck yes.”
She starts swimming around me, teasing, “Is that all you want to do?”
Fuck Conn. I couldn’t care less about his disapproval. I firmly plant my feet on the pool floor, reach out, and grab her waist, yanking her flush to me, our bodies now touching from knee to chest. There’s no way she can miss my desire for her. “No. Not even close.”