“Oh, good choices,” Phillip says.
“And how’s college life?” Jadyn asks the same question Phillip asked me earlier.
I don’t get to answer her because he goes, “Maybe I’d watched too many raunchy movies, but I expected college to be a nonstop party.”
“I didn’t think you were a partier?” I say.
“I just mean that my reality wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned—especially being in a frat. My point is that, at first, college didn’t live up to my expectations. It was a big transition for me, I guess. To Jadyn and your dad, it was all one big adventure while I was still trying to figure out what kind of adventure I wanted to go on. If that makes sense.”
“Actually, it does. I feel like that, too. If it wasn’t for my roommate, no one would ever know if I went missing. And that’s a weird thing.”
“All that freedom,” Phillip says, “is a little overwhelming. My mother told me that it was a part of growing up. I rolled my eyes at her back then, but now, I get what she was saying. Because for the first time ever, I had no one to answer to but me. No one to check in with. No real curfew.”
“And when you’re not sure what you want to do or be, that can be a challenge,” Jadyn adds.
“So, what’s your advice then?” I ask Phillip.
“My advice is that you have four years to figure it out,” he says.
“Wow. That’s almost profound.”
He grins at me. “I don’t know about that, but it’s true. And I swear, your first semester will fly by, and you’ll be back home for Christmas before you know it. So, enjoy it. Let life unfold.” He stops and grins at his wife. “Clearly, we’ve been married too long. I’m starting to sound like you.”
“Maybe you should tell her to try to control the unfolding. That sounds more like the Phillip I know,” Jadyn says with a hearty laugh, poking fun at him.
“Hmm,” I say. “Maybe it should be considered a thoughtful unfolding. Being aware but not totally planning everything.”
“I like that,” Jadyn says.
“Either way, it’s good to have you here, Dani,” Phillip says. “It really is.”
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
“So, you want to do the honors this year,” Jadyn asks, “and go wake up all the kids?”
“Are you kidding me?! Of course I do. It’s like Christmas morning.”
Two minutes of torture.
Chase
After the early morning confetti toss and a birthday breakfast, Dani, Damon, and I head over to their house to work out. Dani goes up to change, so it’s just Damon and me down here right now.
“I heard about you and Lacey getting interrupted before the game,” he says as he loads weights onto the barbell.
I nod and then pull off my shirt.
“Damn,” Damon says. “I guess, not soon enough?”
“What do you mean?” I ask him, wondering what he’s referring to.
Obviously, he and Haley were gossiping about how Ryder had walked in on us.
“Dude”—he chuckles—“look at your chest.”
I glance down and notice the love bites—ones that are in the exact shape of Dani’s mouth. I quickly pull my shirt back on.
“Also heard sis got in trouble for being out with you last night. Those had better not be from her.”
I laugh easily because the thought of Dani anywhere near me again still seems laughable.
“Your sister hates me,” I say.
“While it’s true that she used to, it doesn’t seem like it anymore.” He pauses and then goes, “Speaking of that.”
I follow his eyes to see Dani coming into the workout room, wearing a pair of spandex shorts that must have been created by God himself—her ass filling them to perfection. The boobs I had my lips all over last night are pushed up tightly in a sports bra.
The girl is practically naked, and I fight the urge to cover her with a towel. She gets on one of the elliptical machines, like she always does, for two minutes of torture—for me, not her. She barely breaks a sweat.
After she’s warmed up, she likes to stretch. I watch that, too. Her hair is still in a braid, and I spot a tiny hickey and pray her brother doesn’t notice. I look closer and see another one, mostly hidden by makeup, just under her right ear. The spot my lips stayed at for what felt like an eternity.
When she turns around and touches her toes, I get a showcased view of her incredible ass.
I feel myself start to get hard. Shit.
Damon turns to me and goes, “Dude,” then looks at his sister. “That’s just wrong.”
I punch him in the shoulder. “I wasn’t thinking about her,” I whisper. “You brought up all the hickeys, which made me think about last night.”
When Damon turns his attention to a rack of kettlebells, I catch Dani’s eye. She gives me the kind of sexy grin that makes me want to push her brother—who wants details—out of the way and pounce on her.
Her grin makes me harder.
Shit. I cannot have a boner when her dad comes down.
There we go. The thought of Danny seeing me lust after his daughter has me calming down. He’d probably punch me.
Down, boy, I think, speaking to my dick.
“So, tell me more about what happened with Lacey,” Damon says.
“She forgot to lock the door when she got there. Ryder walked in on us. She was shirtless. So, he saw some boobs.”
“Probably the thrill of his life so far,” Damon says with a chuckle. “Boobs were all I thought about when I was his age. Hell,” he says with a grin as he does a set of curls, “I’m still into them.”
“It seems to be the first thing you notice about a girl,” I say with a laugh, knowing it’s totally true.
Damon sets the weight down and whispers to me, “Tonight, we’re going out. To the you know where in the you know what.”
“You don’t have to pretend in front of me,” Dani says. She’s obviously overheard everything her brother said. “It’s not like I don’t see the pictures.”
“You’re part of my private group on social media?” he asks her, looking horrified.
It makes me wonder exactly what kind of photos he’s been posting. I’ll be honest; I’m not on social media much. Really, the only person’s profile that I creep on is the girl who is now doing yoga moves in front of me.
“So, you in?” Damon asks me.
“Nah, I don’t think so. It’s going to be a busy day, and I’ll probably be tired.”
He looks from me to his sister and frowns. “Sure you will.”
Adding to the devastation.
Devaney
Damon finished working out and then went upstairs to shower and get ready for the rest of the day’s festivities.
“Do you have plans for today?” Chase asks me. He’s sweaty, and there’s a towel wrapped around his neck.
I strut over to him, taking the ends of the towel in my hands and pulling him toward me. “Only ones that involve you. I came home for your birthday, Chase.”