“Don’t get mad at me for saying it, but Jane will start dating soon—guys you don’t even know. How terrible would it be if she dated Andreas, your best friend?”
“It’s because Andy is my best friend that I know he’s the last guy on earth I want dating my sister. He’s a player, Charlie. The worst kind.”
She holds up her hands. “Okay, okay. I’m not going to broach the subject again. What about Fred? Would you allow her to date him?” She quirks an eyebrow.
“He just made a fake severed head of her likeness. The answer is a million times no. She’s too young to be dating anyone.”
Putting her hands on her hips, Charlie stares at me hard. “Troy Wolfgang Alexander, I won’t tolerate that kind of Victorian mentality from you. She’s eighteen, for crying out loud. I’m sure she’s already dated plenty of guys, and you don’t even know.”
“I seriously doubt it. My mother is stricter than me. And Victorian mentality?” I chuckle. “At least you didn’t call me a caveman this time.”
“I don’t think Neanderthals cared much about who their sisters shacked up with.”
“Shouldn’t it be caved up?”
She throws her hands up in the air. “Ugh! You’re impossible. Just because of that, you’re on popcorn duty—and none of that microwave crap. I want the real deal.”
I don’t move right away, too busy staring at my gorgeous girl. My sexy nerd turns even more irresistible when she’s mad and bossy like that. I love it.
I love her.
The realization sets in my chest, but instead of becoming terrified, I’m centered, whole. My easygoing smile vanishes when I stride in her direction and slam my lips to hers, claiming her mouth in a possessive way. Her surprise only lasts a moment before she surrenders to the assault.
I’m taken over by a frenzy. I have to connect to Charlie skin to skin right now, or I’ll go mad. I yank at her clothes with only one hand since my arm is back in the sling. Mercifully, Charlie is caught in the same urgency as me and shrugs off her jacket and T-shirt on her own. We only break apart when it’s necessary to remove a piece of clothing. In less than a minute, I have her bent over on the couch, and I’m fucking her into oblivion.
38
TROY
I’m still trying to come to grips with the realization that I’ve fallen in love with Charlie fast and hard. I was friends with Brooke first before we went out, and it felt like a natural progression of our relationship. Everything with Charlie is brand-new, and I find myself way out of my depth. I’m only certain of one thing: there’s no chance in hell that I’m confessing my feelings to Charlie anytime soon. I don’t want to scare her away.
It’s no surprise that my protective nature has extended to Ben though. I can imagine pretty well what he must be going through because I also lived through it. Of course, it’s worse for him since he’s stuck in his parents’ house and can’t really escape the fights. If his school wasn’t in Littleton, I’d suggest he stay with us for a while.
He friended me on social media after we met, so I shoot him a message to ask how he’s doing. I was expecting a generic answer, so when he pours his heart out to me, I know I did the right thing by reaching out.
As the week progresses and Charlie doesn’t mention any of the things Ben told me, I suspect he doesn’t want to burden her with his problems. I’ve done that countless times before in order to protect Jane too.
On Thursday, I have a light schedule, but Charlie is stressed about some deadline for the paper. I know I’ve been keeping her busy, so I decide to make myself scarce and help Ben at the same time. I head to Littleton so we can hang out. The plan is for me to pick him up at school, and then we’ll go from there.
I’m a little early, so I park the car and head for the entrance to wait for him. It’s easier than trying to tell him where I parked. My head is down, eyes glued to my phone, when the sound of girls giggling catches my attention. I look up and find a cluster of them not too far from me, staring in my direction and whispering to each other. Ah, teenagers making me feel like I’m part of some boy band. I shake my head and return my attention to my phone.
“Hey! Quit staring at my sister’s boyfriend like he’s a piece of meat,” Ben shouts. “Shoo!”
I glance up just in time to see him motion the girls away with a wide gesture of his arms as if they were little birds. The sight is comical. His face is flushed red when he walks over, holding the straps of his backpack.
“I’m sorry about that,” he says. “Sometimes I wonder if there’s something in the water here that affects the female population of the school. They’re more boy crazy than normal.”
I chuckle. “It’s okay. They weren’t bothering me for long. I just got here.”
“Good.”
We walk back to the car, and I ask, “What do you want to do today?”
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a while, but I’ve been too afraid to go by myself.”
I quirk an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. “What is that?”
“Jane told me you helped her with her fear of heights by taking her bungee jumping. I’d like to try that.”
Shit. He’s a minor. No operator will allow him to jump without one of his parents present. I’d hate to disappoint him though.
I stop next to my car and wait for Ben to reach the passenger side to break the bad news. “You need parental consent for that since you’re under eighteen.”
“Got it.”
I frown. “You did?”
“Yep. It’s all square with the place we’re going.”
“Okay then. Let’s go.”
As Ben’s turn to jump approaches, I can tell he’s getting visibly tenser. It doesn’t help that quite a few people had the same idea to jump today. There’s a group of guys—probably seniors in high school, judging by their letterman jackets—making a ruckus as they wait in line behind us.
“It’s okay, Ben. Try not to think about how high you are. And before you jump, don’t look down.”
“Okay.”
A few minutes later, Ben is all strapped up and ready to go. Right before he steps on the platform, he glances over his shoulder, eyes wide with panic. “I-I don’t think I can do this.”
“Nonsense. You got this, buddy. Remember, don’t look down and let go.”
He nods and steps forward. The operator gives him more encouraging words, and after a few more steadying breaths, he jumps with his arms wide open as if he’s really letting go of his fear and fully embracing the experience. He shouts in excitement as he drops and doesn’t stop hollering when the cord recoils, sending him flying upward again. I take the stairs to wait for him at the bottom. He keeps bouncing up and down for another minute until he eventually loses momentum and swings to a stop.
There’s a group of ten kids waiting there as well, and after hearing pieces of their conversation, I realize they’re from the same high school as those guys waiting in line with us. This is a senior year dare.
Ben finally comes down, and as the operator helps him out of the harness, I notice a dark stain on the front of his khaki pants.