by Nikki Ashton
“And you did not just say OMG.” I laughed and took a drink of my beer.
“What’s wrong with that?” my beautiful girlfriend asked.
Damn, and wasn’t that a shocker – Bronte, my girlfriend. Couldn’t imagine not being with her though. Admittedly, it had gotten a little harder since we’d gone public. Not in our relationship, but rather the fact that my mom was nosey and interfering, and my sister was an even bigger pain in the ass than usual. She and Bronte liked it when we double-dated, me not so much. I liked it when me and Hunter went out on our own for a few beers. I enjoyed our once a week at Stars & Stripes, or when we into Jennings Bridge and went to a club. Not any longer though. It wasn’t Bronte or Ellie who’d put a stop to it, but fucking Hunter. He wanted to spend every damn moment he could sticking it to my sister.
The thought of that should have grossed me out, but I wasn’t that precious about Ellie; she was my annoying little sister that was all. I knew he’d thought I might be, but only because I’d known what had happened, would happen. I knew she’d entice him with whatever it was women enticed us men with and he’d become too addicted to want to hang out with me – and I was right. Call me Nostra-fucking-damus.
As for me and my little Lollipop, Bronte. Well, she was damn amazing and if being with her meant not so many boy’s nights, I’d probably live.
“Carter, I asked you a question.” Bronte leaned across the table with her eyes full of fire. “What’s wrong with me saying OMG?”
“What’s wrong is that you’re not seventeen.” I grinned, using my regular get out of jail one that I knew made her panties wet.
“And that’s not going to work,” she replied, scowling at my smile.
“Why not? It usually does.”
I gave her another one, just in case she hadn’t been watching properly.
“I got it the first time,” she snapped. “And it was just as shit then.”
“Woah,” I said leaning back into my chair. “Who the hell stole your pickle this morning.”
Her eyes narrowed on me. “You. You’re the one who stole my pickle, you huge big ass hair.”
“What the fuck have I done?” I threw my hands into the air.
“What have you done, you stupid pickle stealer? What have you done? Well if you don’t know Carter, I’m not going to tell you.”
She pushed her chair back, and pushed out of it, almost sending it toppling over.
“I’m going home, and I don’t want you to follow me.”
Tears were welling in her eyes and I didn’t think I’d ever seen her look so angry. We’d fought hundreds of times, but she’d never ever cried before.
“Hey, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” I asked getting out of my own chair.
“Don’t,” Bronte barked. “I told you I’m going home.”
“How you going to get home? Ellie is DD and she’s currently humping Hunter somewhere.”
My sister and my best friend had disappeared over a half hour before. Apparently, both needed the bathroom and hadn’t been seen since. So, unless they’d both eaten some dodgy shrimp, my guess was they’d found a quiet corner to fuck in.
“I’ll call my dad, or Shaw, he’s home for the weekend.”
I reached out to her, but she batted my hand away. “Leave me alone, you douche.”
“Bronte, what the fuck is your problem?” Frowning I shook my head. “I didn’t realize is was the time of the month.”
Bronte’s eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. “You did not just say that to me,” she gasped.
“Well, yeah I did, because you’re being a little bitch.”
“Oh, God,” Ellie groaned coming up behind Bronte. “What now?”
“He,” Bronte ground out and pointed at me, “is a pickle stealer and I hate him.”
“What the hell is a pickle stealer?” Hunter asked coming around to my side of the table while he tightened the belt on his jeans.
“Have you just been fucking my sister?” I growled not sure who else to take my frustration out on.
The bastard grinned and gave Ellie some damn adoring look that he’d suddenly perfected whenever she was around.
Where the fuck had my best friend gone?
I scratched the back of my neck and looked over to Bronte. Tears were now rolling down her cheeks and the sight of them cracked my heart open.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” I asked softly.
Her bottom lip trembled, and her chin wobbled as she took a deep breath.
“Us is what’s wrong, Carter. Us. And that’s way I’m ending it, as of now. We are over.”
My heart stuttered and my dinner was in danger of making a reappearance as her words sunk in. It couldn’t be over. We’d been great together, I felt we were going somewhere. It’d been only two days ago that we’d talked about her maybe moving in with me.
“Bronte, no,” Ellie said. “Why?”
“Come on guys, just sit down, forget that Carter is a douche for an hour or so and everything will be fine,” Hunter offered.
Bronte shook her head. “Nope. I’m sorry, but that’s it. We’re over.”
She then turned and ran across the bar. I moved quickly to go after her, but Hunter grabbed my hand.
“Let Ellie go. Go baby, go after her.”
Ellie nodded. “I’ll be back. She’ll be fine.”
“What the hell was that?” Hunter asked. “You argue tons, but she never breaks up with you.”
I stared over to where Ellie was chasing after Bronte and shrugged.
“I have no idea.” I turned to Hunter and felt a swell in my stomach. “I think she means it,” I said. “I think she’s really breaking up with me.”
Hunter grimaced and shook his head. “Nah, no way. It’ll be golden, you’ll see.”
As the door to the Stars & Stripes banged shut behind Ellie and Bronte, I had to wonder if he was just talking horse shit, because it certainly seemed real to my heart.
To be continued in The Jackpot Screwer, coming in 2021
shorturl.at/dtzP0
Body Like A Back Road - Sam Hunt
Look What God Gave Her - Thomas Rett
How Will I Know - Whitney Houston
Cowboy - Kid Rock
Tenderheart - Sam Outlaw
Good As You - Kane Brown
Sittin’ Pretty - Florida Georgia Line
Beautiful Crazy - Luke Combs
Speechless (feat. Tori Kelly) - Dan+Shay, Tori Kelly
Senorita - Shawn Mendes, Camilla Cabello
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Excerpt from The Jackpot Screwer coming early 2021
Carter
“Lollipop, open the damn door.”
“Go away you pickle stealer.”
I swung around to face my best friend. “What the hell is she talking about? Why is she going on about me stealing some damn non-existent pickle?”
Hunter shrugged but had a huge, teeth showing grin, which was totally unwanted. We were outside my girlfriend’s house because only an hour ago she’d ended our relationship. In the local bar of all places. I had no idea why, just that she’d accused me of being a pickle stealer and said we were over – she doesn’t even eat damn pickles!
What made it worse was that it all happened in front of my sister and best friend, who had recently started going out. They were sickeningly loved up and had just returned from a quick sex session. Where they’d had sex, who the hell knew, but while they both had satisfied grins I was sh
rouded in misery, trying to reason with Bronte.
“This is not funny dick head,” I hissed at Hunter. “If my sister ended things with you because you’d stolen her invisible pickle, I doubt you’d be smiling like that.”
“One I would never steal Ellie’s pickle and two what the fuck; Lollipop?”
“And?” I asked frowning at him. “You don’t have a cute nickname for Ellie?”
He colored a little and moved to bang on the Jackson’s door. “Bronte, just come out and speak to him.”
“What is it?” I asked giving him a nudge, my misery momentarily forgotten. “Tell me, I won’t repeat it.”
Hunter rolled his eyes. “Yeah right. It’s marginal who is the biggest gossip in this town you or Mrs. Callahan at the gas station. Anyway, if I have a nickname for Ellie, and that’s a big if, it’s between me and her.”
At that moment, my sister walked out of the house. She looked a little mystified and was shaking her head.
“She won’t come out and she won’t tell me what you did.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I protested. “Not a damn thing. I even told her how good her tits were looking.”
“Well, it’s a little bit caveman and not the most romantic of compliments,” Ellie sighed. “But even for Bronte, it’s a little harsh to dump you on your ass for praising her assets.”
“Exactly.” I threw my hands into the air. “She’s definitely hormonal, like I said.”
Ellie’s eyes hardened as she widened her stance. “You did not?”
“Yeah, she was being bitchy, so I said I didn’t realize it was that time of the month.”
Hunter winced. “Shit man, that was totally the wrong thing to say.”
“No wonder she dumped you.” Ellie glared at me before turning to Hunter. “Let’s go. I can’t deal with his stupidity any longer, plus Dad took Mom away for the weekend, so we have the house to ourselves, remember.”
My best friend grinned like he was the fox who’d stolen the fattest chicken from the coop. “Okay, let’s go.”
“So, you’re not going to help me?” I asked as they both turned and practically ran for Hunter’s truck.
“Sorry, but your sister needs my full attention.” He took Ellie’s hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the back of it.
“You disgust me,” I called. “You know that, right?”
Hunter flipped me over his shoulder without even looking back.
“Hey, Ellie,” I shouted.
“What?” she sighed, pulling up short and turning toward me.
“What’s Hunt’s cute little nickname for you?”
She shrugged her shoulders and answered. “Cutie pie, why?” at the same time as Hunter shouted, “Don’t tell him.”
“Why’d you tell him?” Hunter asked as he dragged her away.
“He asked,” Ellie replied sounding a little frustrated.
“Yeah well now he’s going to give me shit about it.”
“But I am your cutie pie.”
I rolled my eyes as my sister stretched up on her toes and kissed the life out of my best friend.
“Please, just go,” I called to them. “Leave me to my damn misery.”
Laughing and tangled in each other, they stumbled to the truck. When it finally rumbled away down the quiet street where the Jacksons lived, I turned back to the door. It felt impenetrable like the drawbridge of some damn castle and there was no way I was going to get through to the damsel.
However, I was never one to give up, and fisting my hand banged on it again.
…. To be continued