“No problem. Bye.” Why was he so concerned if Grant was home? Just add it to my suspicion. He'd tell me, right? If something was going on? I think about it, fuck if I know, something is going on with Scarlett and me, and I haven't told him.
I head inside, ready to sleep this shit day off.
Chapter 24
Deep Talks
Levi
Arriving home, I sneak inside and walk into Scarlett's room to check on her. She rolls over and looks at me with sleepy eyes. “Hey, sorry, I was just checking on you. Go back to sleep.” I give her a small smile, expecting her to close her eyes, but to my surprise, she sits up. It was almost like she was waiting for me. I walk over to her bed and sit on the edge. “What’s up, Letty?”
She plays with her nails before looking up at me. She places a strand of fallen hair behind her ear. “Do you like Jessica?” The question hits me, and the answer is too confusing. She gives me the puking face, then stops. “I’ll be nice to her, if you do.” She gives me a smirk and continues, “I don’t want to fake my niceness if you’re just gonna fuck and dump her.” I laugh.
“I’ve always played by the rules, been good. It feels good to mess around and take what’s being thrown at me. I’ve always given myself to everyone. It feels good to take what someone else wants to give.” She nods her head, and I know she is confused; her goody brother has turned into a playboy.
“I get it, wanting to feel wanted…” She trails off and looks up to me. “ I just want you to be happy, but I need something from you.” I sit straighter. “I need you to stop making Spencer feel like he needs to babysit me, sending him over when you're late for practice, and making him take me home last night. It isn't his job, just like it never should have been yours. I am a big girl, and I’m going to take care of myself from here on out, but thank you for taking care of me when I was too weak. I know I can’t give you back the time I have taken, but I’m giving you the rest of your life to be you, be free, fuck all the girls in school, except that bitch Ashley, I hate her, and Maddie. Otherwise, go for gold, smoke cigarettes, and sneak out. Also, I covered for you tonight, saying you had to clean up the field. What I am trying to say is, I am tired of being a burden, even if you say I’m not, you lie because you're a good brother, and I love you for that.” I can feel a knot in my throat, a sense of relief, and then a tinge of guilt for feeling that way.
“I know I won’t win an argument with you, so I’m going to agree to all of the above, but I’m still here. I know you are strong enough now, and I know you need your independence, but I’llalways protect you. I’ll just switch roles from parental guide to Playboy brother.” Scarlett gives a cheap smile.
“Okay, now, I need to sleep. I’m going to the beach in a few hours.” She lies back down and throws the covers over her face.
“Night, Letty, thanks for the talk, love ya.” She smiles and flips me off, a classic move. Lying in bed, I feel like a new man. I feel almost free; the only thing tethering me is Grant, and not for much longer.
I wake up to a knock on the door followed by Scarlett's voice; “Hey, I need to get my swimsuit out of the closet, and if you're hitting the gym, you should probably get up.” She goes into the closet and shuts the door behind her, coming out in a red and white polka-dot swimsuit with jean shorts and sandals.
“I’ve got to go; Maddie is waiting outside!” Excitement escapes in her voice, and it makes me smile.
“I’ll walk you out. I need coffee.” Getting out of bed, I throw on a t-shirt, and Scarlett turns to look at me and rolls her eyes.
“Tell Jess to lay off the suction; those hickeys look like sucker fish attacked you.” I flip her off, only I mean it, and follow her downstairs.
A yellow four-door Jeep is parked in our driveway with the doors open and a cute blonde sitting in the driver's seat. Her long blonde hair is pouring over her tan skin, and her bikini top is pushing her round breasts together, making me want to–Nope, off limits– Scarlet's best friend.She stands up in her seat and leans over, her short jean shorts with rips throughout catch my eye, as the frayed ends fall over the crease of her ass. Her stomach is firm and tan,so damn tan. She has a tattoo on hercollarbone and a choker necklace that makes me want to reach out and touch it with my hand.What the fuck am I thinking?With that thought, I go inside and spot Spencer sitting on his porch swing. I make my way over there before I pop a semi-hard on, right in front of my sister and her off-limits and not at all hot friend.
The girls pull out of the driveway, both waving our direction and smiling as music blasts from the jeep. I take a seat next to Spencer on the swing. “Hey, man.” Running my hand through my hair, I take in a big breath. “She was hot.” He smiles and takes a sip of his Red Bull.
He sits back on the swing. “Where is Scar going?” He watches as they pull away out of sight.
“To the beach for the day, I’m happy she’s going out on her own. We had a good talk last night, thanks for that by the way.” He nods his head and chuckles.
“No problem, man, so you stayed over, huh? No more quick fucks with Jess?” I lean back and think about our conversation.
“She wants me to stay committed to her and only her, I mean, she’s cool and fun to mess around with, but– I don’t want to be tied down. She deserves that if that’s what she wants. I don’t want to use her or do her wrong; I’m just so damn tired of being told what to do all the time. I don’t want to have to take care of anyone outside of making them come during a quick fuck.” I laugh, and Spencer shakes his head, knowing all I’ve done is take care of people. “I know that sounds fucked, man. I just wanna be free, ya know?”
“Not at all, I get where you’re coming from. What did you and Scarlett talk about?”
“She told me she wants to be more independent and is tired of being 'babysat’; she’ll be nineteen this coming year. I thinkshe’s doing it for me, but also for her.” Spencer sets his Red Bull on the table next to the swing and rubs his hands together, almost nervously.
“That will be good for both of you. Can I ask you something?”Fuck, how am I going to explain why I’m so protective?I nod, “Where is your mom?” Relief shot through me.How is saying your mom killed herself the least of our worries?
“Sara, our mom, killed herself almost a year ago. That’s why we moved here. She struggled for a long time, which is why I have been taking care of Scarlett most of her life.” His face shifts to pity and sorrow. “It's all good, man. We are going better than we were before, in a fucked-up way.” Trying to think of a change of subject, “I know I said I’d back off my sister, but all these deep talks with everyone has me needing some air, wanna crash the party?” Spencer smiles and nods his head.
Before I make it to the bottom of the stairs, he stops me. “I'm sorry about your mom, and if anything were going on, you'd tell me, right?” I nod and smile. “Meet you out here at fifteen?”
“Perfect. Let's go check out hot ladies at the beach!” I yell and run inside.
Chapter 25
Competition
