“What’s the deal between you and Rutledge?” Michael asked.
“Fuck if I know, man. Wronged him in another life, maybe?”
Nick laughed. “Not you. No way Cal Winters was anything but nice in any life.”
“Jack doesn’t believe that,” I rumbled.
“Asher,” Nick yelled and twirled his sweat-soaked towel over his head. “Get me another, will ya?”
“I’m not your fuckin’ towel boy,” Asher yelled back.
Michael and I chuckled.
Nick rolled his eyes and wiped at his face with the saturated cloth. “I don’t get it. Jamie does everything for you, bruh. I can’t get my cousin to do shit for me.”
“Guess you’re not his alpha,” Michael said.
“Oh, and you’re Jamie’s?”
“Somethin’ like that.”
“Both of y’all are doing it wrong,” I said and glanced at the cheerleaders. There was no denying Cara and I were related. She looked like a little female version of me with her nearly white-blond hair, blue eyes, and tan skin. “I ain’t gotta be shit, and my little sister is still sweet to me.”
Nick snorted.
“Yeah, and you’re gonna hate it when she starts datin’,” Michael joked.
“I’ll be in college. Daddy can deal with it.” Even as I said it, I didn’t mean it. I’d never stop worrying about Cara, and Daddy would never start. They didn’t need to know that, though.
When all this divorce business began, Cara and I had been so embarrassed at how ugly Momma and Daddy could be, we’d agreed to never say much on the matter to anyone outside of each other. She came to me sometimes, needing help understanding what was going on. And that was fine. I was her big brother, but I couldn’t really go to my thirteen-year-old sister in the same way.
“Fuck. Girlfriend, seven o’clock.” Nick grabbed Michael’s shoulder and turned them both as Sasha bounced closer.
“Hey, babe,” she said as she stretched onto her tiptoes, so I leaned low to kiss her. “You promised to call me last night.” She pouted.
“Right, sorry.” But I wasn’t sorry at all. I just didn’t want to deal with her, and I didn’t know how to tell her that without hurting her feelings or getting her pissed. For being a tiny thing, she had a mean streak twice her size.
“Yeah. Daddy made me hand over my phone as part of my punishment,” I lied and hoped she didn’t call me out on that very device being in my pocket right at this moment. If she believed the excellent reason made on the fly, I’d have almost a week without her incessant hounding. That’d almost make getting in trouble worth it.
“Oh.” She grinned and swished right and left. “Guess I’ll have to text Cara if I wanna talk to you.”
Fuck me. “Nah, babe. Don’t get my sister involved. It’s supposed to be a punishment. Daddy’ll get pissed.”
She ran her lip out. “Baaabe. What about when I need you? Yesterday, Carrie Anne started talkin’ about my split ends to all the girls, which was a bald-faced lie.” She pulled her long hair over her shoulder and stroked it. “I make Momma check my hair every week. Can you believe Carrie Anne said that?”
No. What I couldn’t believe was this conversation.
“I can, uh, talk to her for you, if you want.” No matter how ridiculous. “She shouldn’t be spreading rumors.”
“Awwww. Baaaaabe.” Why did it sound more and more like a whine when she dragged that word out? “I took care of it. You don’t have to step in for me.” She batted her eyelashes. “What will I do without you while you’re grounded?”
“I dunno. What did you do before me?”
Sasha snaked her arms around my waist and leaned in. Her petite body rubbed over my not-at-all-eager but unable-to-deny-the-friction cock.
“Won’t you miss me?”
Yes. The correct answer was yes, and yet I couldn’t say it. I’d lied to her plenty, but it got harder and harder to do. Not because of guilt but because of the hassle. Everything was a fucking hassle lately. School, college prep, putting up with Daddy and Momma, then putting up with them together, all this shit withJack, and now Sasha hanging on like a fucking yoke was getting to me more than usual.
