He finally looks at me, his eyes blazing with intensity. “But you’re like a sister to me.” His voice is void of emotion.
“If you had a sister, would you ask her to feed you cake and lick her fingers?” I lower my voice, afraid Duke will come back and hear me.
He shrugs. “I was shit-faced. I forgot who you were.”
“Ahh, okay. So, sober Sam thinks I’m his sister, but shit-faced Sam thinks I’m …”
He lasers his heady, intense gaze on my lips. “Shit-faced Sam will never go anywhere near you again,sis.” He sets his mug on the counter and follows Duke down the hallway.
I’m writingout each item on the paper notebook. My handwriting looks sloppy because Duke is driving like a maniac.
“Do you have to hit every single pothole?”
“Add watermelon. I want some cold watermelon. And popcorn, for movie night.” Duke has his hand on the steering wheel of his truck.
I’m in the passenger seat, my feet tucked under me, crisscross-applesauce style. Sam is in the back, silently brooding. He hasn’t said a word to me since vowing to never be around me drunkeveragain.
I scribblewatermelonandpopcornonto the growing grocery list.
“Ooh, and condoms. Safety first. Don’t want to end up like Holden.” He chuckles.
I roll my eyes. “Holden and Rosie are so happy that it’s almost annoying. You’d be lucky to end up like them.”
“I’m sure they are, Dolls, but the one-woman family life isn’t for me. Look at us, heading out to the lake for the weekend on a whim to wakeboard in front of cute girls. They’d have to find a babysitter, plan it all out.” He shakes his head. “Happy for them, obviously. Just glad it’s not me.”
Sam is silent in the back seat. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him what his opinion is on the whole ball-and-chain thing, but two can play the ignoring game.
“Are there any cute guys meeting us there?”
“No one you’re allowed to talk to.”
“You can’t expect me to stay single forever. I’m twenty-three years old.”
“And no one around here is good enough for you. If I find someone who is, I’ll let you know.” His voice is firm.
The ridiculous, over-the-top protective-older-brother routine has gotten really old.
After Cain nearly raped me at eighteen, Duke has had a hard time loosening the reins on my dating life. All my brothers have. They’ve never given out their approval to any man. I’ve gone out on a few dates with guys; they just never like it.
Duke especially feels a deep sense of guilt over what happened to me and for Holden going to prison for three and a half years. He knew I liked Cain and didn’t see a problem with it. He hadn’t known the creep had a past of taking advantage of young girls. He’s never forgiven himself.
But it’s been five years since that traumatic night, and my vagina has practically grown cobwebs. At this point, I’m embarrassed that I’m still a virgin. The few guys who have dared to take me out despite the Redford brothers’ reputation werescared off before it got further than kissing. I can’t say I blame them.
I also have a heaping amount of trauma from what Cain did. I was innocent and naive, but even now, I don’t trust my own instincts when it comes to dating and men.
I glance up at the rearview mirror, taking in Sam’s profile. He has a cut jawline with a sexy five-o’clock shadow. The waves of his copper-brown hair are overgrown.
I wonder who cuts his hair.
Whoever she is, she’s a lucky bitch. I sigh in despair and look out the window at the passing trees. I’m determined to have fun this weekend. I can flirt with a man without it going too far. Duke can’t watch over me the entire three days. I set my jaw, committed to getting out of my comfort zone and let loose. I brought a cute little pink bikini that shows a lot more of my butt than I’m accustomed to showing.
I’m going to wear it with confidence, and I’m going to flirt with some guys who don’t give me the hot-and-cold act.
6
SAM
Dolly Mae Redford is wearing the hell out of that tiny pink bikini. It’s a damn good thing I’ve already got a decade of experience under my belt of ignoring her because she’s showing more of her smooth skin than I’ve ever seen. She usually wears the kind that look like shorts and a sports bra, sometimes even with a big T-shirt over it. I don’t know when she started buying bikinis with cheeky bottoms that look like underwear.
