“You’re joking, right? How the heck am I supposed to know that? I didn’t go snooping around in your mail for God sakes. That’s a federal offense. Even I’m not that stupid.”
“Madison could have told you. She always got the mail.”
She doesn’t say anything for a half a beat, so I glance over. Her phone is perched in her hand while her thumbs tap at the screen. I knock the damn thing out of her hands. “No cheating!”
“I wasn’t …” She laughs.
I missed her laugh. I can’t tell her that. She’ll get the wrong idea and clam up. So I end this game quickly.
“Besides the University of Tennessee, I applied to Indiana University, Texas A&M, Duke, North Carolina, and Xavier. None of them rejected me.”
“Why didn’t you leave?”
I shrug. “Being a couple hours from home was one thing. Being a state away was too far. Maddy was still in school. What if she needed me to come home and kick some douche bag’s ass? I needed to be close for her.”
“She did okay.”
“I know. Her crush on Graham kept me out of jail.”
Emily snorts. “Please. You didn’t smack Bryce around.”
“Um, bullshit. We fought in her room. I still don’t think he’s good enough for her, but I’ll bite my tongue. He makes her smile. Don’t tell her I said this, but I don’t think I ever seen my sister this happy. He better not fuck it up like he does everything else, or I will murder him.”
“I don’t think he’ll mess up. Bryce really does adore Maddy. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine that’s the same boy who beat the crap out of Robbie Sanders freshman year.”
“I forgot about Robbie Sanders. That dude was a prick though.”
“Yep.”
“Looks like I’m getting the bigger bed.” I smirk.
“W-what?”
I laugh as I pull up to the beach house. “Don’t frown. I won fair and square.”
“That college question was a low blow and you know it. Psssh. I hardly call that win fair or square.”
I shake my head. “Still a sore loser I see.”
I stretch out of the car the same time Maddy pops her head out of the window and yells down at us. “You made it! Come on up. We’ll get the bags in a minute.”
After Maddy’s grand tour, I head back down to my car and start lugging up the bags. Bryce helps. He rolls his eyes at all the pink luggage and says, “Dude, did she pack her entire closet?”
“I don’t know. This is the reason I don’t take chicks on trips.”
He shakes his head. “I’m glad your sister doesn’t pack like this.”
“That’s because she’s sensible. Also, our parents wouldn’t be having that.”
He grabs one bag, but Em must’ve been it during one of our rest stops and forgot to zip it. All this shit spills onto the pavement. Bryce and I drop down and start picking up the items that litter the driveway. As we’re placing things back into her travel bag, I can’t help but notice a buzzing sound. “Is that your phone?” I ask.
Bryce shakes his head. “Not mine.” He looks around and then stumbles backward. “Oh shit! Man, I’m not fucking touching that!”
My stare lands on the vibrating dick bouncing along the drive. What the hell? I’m not touching that either! We both back away from it like it’s a plague.
I’ll do a lot of shit. A lot. But handling a chick’s vibrator in front of my sister’s boyfriend was not going to be one of them. “Fuck. Go uh … get … Em.”
“I can’t. Sorry, man. This is just wow TMI.” Bryce can’t seem to stop laughing, which only makes me want to punch him.
A car pulls into the driveway and parks on the left. I glance at it for a second, then go back to watching the vibrator buzzing toward my back-passenger tire. Sarah’s voice carries. “I need to pee so bad. You might have to carry me.”
“Sunshine, I’ll carry you, but you better not pee on me. What the hell are you two idiots staring at?” Graham asks.
I squeeze my eyes shut. Bryce is still laughing. I’m going to need to man up and grow a pair and just grab the damn thing. But all I can think is fuck she had that in her. She planned on using that thing while she was here? How the hell am I going to share a room next to her knowing this?
Suddenly Graham must have looked down because he says, “Aw, Jesus. I don’t want to know who’s that is or why it’s fucking on and jumping about.”
Sarah comes over. I glance at her with pleading eyes, and she sneers. “You know going through a girl’s bag is like a huge no-no. Never know what you’ll find.” She scoops it off the ground and heads up the stairs to the beach house.
Graham’s mouth hangs open. “Right. Well. That just happened. I need a drink. You two clowns done dicking around? Ha, get it? Dicking around.”
Bryce flips him off. “You’re hilarious.”
I don’t need a drink. I need a bottle. “Sarah’s probably telling them we were snooping,” I say.
Bryce holds up his hands. “You saw that shit just fall out. I didn’t need to know that was in there.”
“Classic. That’s Em’s bag? Ha ha ha.. Yeah, you two are both not getting any tonight.” Graham is still laughing and making his way up the stairs.
Bryce shoves Emily’s bag into my chest and hurries up the stairs.
This trip is going to kill me.
Chapter Ten
Emily
Sarah rushes into the front room and shouts, “Em, I saved your friend.”
She waves around my vibrator. What. The. Hell. How did she get that? Usually I’m cool as a cucumber with girls and talking about the Vibe. But if she has it, it means the boys saw it. And it’s currently pulsing in her hand, that means one of them … Oh, dear God.
Sarah tosses the Vibe to me. As I catch it she walks over to the sink and starts washing her hands. “I’ve never seen Bryce and Kyle utterly lost in all my life. It was priceless. I guess your bag took a tumble and your wonderful toy was skipping along the drive. Poor Bryce had this look like he was about to shit himself. I swear Kyle was about to have a heart attack. This completely made my day after that long ass car ride.”
Maddy folds her arms. “Yeah, about that. How did we all get here before you when you left before all of us?”
“Hold that thought. I have to pee really bad I feel like I’m holding back Niagara Falls.”
“Closest one is the bedroom on the left,” Maddy says.
While Sarah is taking a tinkle, I head to my room and wash off my pulsing friend. Well, after I shut Vibe off. Once I’m done cleaning him, I toss him on the bed. I mean, it’s not exactly a secret now, is it? Who gives a shit if Kyle and Bryce see it?
I reenter the kitchen. Graham and Bryce huddle around the island. Bryce looks like a tomato. Graham laughs as soon as he sees me. “Em. Best laugh ever. Never disappoint on the entertainment value.”
“I swear I wasn’t going through your things, Emily. It all spilled out when I was grabbing your bags,” Bryce mumbles. He looks like he’s about to be sick.
“Shit happens.” I shrug like it’s no big deal. It’s the only thing I can do to save some sort of face in a situation like this. I leave the house and head to the car.
Kyle is muttering to himself. “Zip. Zip. Zip.” I stand beside him, and he jumps, “Fuck!”
“Need a hand?”
He groans. “Why did you bring that thing with you?”
I elevate a brow. “My toys are my business. Not yours.” I grab a few of my bags and glance over at him.
“Jesus, there better not be more!”
I glance at him and smile. “If there were?”
“You’re breaking a lot of rules here, Em.”
“What rules? You didn’t say anything about grabbing my bags.”
“Not talking about the bags here, babe. But that’s always been a rule.”
I laugh. “Don’t worry I won’t tell your mama or daddy.” I make my way up the stairs, and he follows.
When we walk p
ast the front room and down the hallway where our bedrooms are, I enter the one I claimed. Kyle grumbles. “Hey. This has the bigger bed.” I drop my luggage on the bed next to my vibe.
“God damn it! Put that fucking thing away!”
“It’s just a vibrator, Kyle. Grow up.”
“Grow up?” He slams my door shut and starts coming toward me. I back up into the dresser, and my breath hitches. His arms cage me into place. “How the hell am I going to sleep knowing you’ll be in here using that fucking thing? Huh? It’s like you’re purposely trying to torture me because now I can’t get the image of you getting off with that plastic dick. Or who the hell you think about when you shove that damn thing in you.” I notice his muscles flex.
“I didn’t think you’d care,” I say practically breathless. I don’t know what’s going on with me.
His eyes flick from mine and down my body. Then he backs up and runs a hand through his hair. “I’ll get the rest of your things.” He leaves.
The only thoughts coursing through my brain was how incredibly hot and terrifying that all was. I’ve never seen Kyle all worked up like that. Ever. We didn’t even touch and yet, I’m standing here panting like we just went around or two in the bed.
Kyle hasn’t spoken to me since the whole bag mishap. That was two days ago. During meals his stare was at his plate or everyone else around the room. His eyes never locked with mine. Any time after that he seem to disappear with a pack of beer.
Today, I watch him from the island in the kitchen hammer back one beer after another. He practically sucked down a whole twelve pack by himself. I’ve seen lots of different types of Kyles. Drunk quiet Kyle was a first. I didn’t like him. This Kyle doesn’t look at me. He doesn’t even talk to me. He sucks!
Around nine, I call it a night. I’m not going to sit in a living room laughing and pretending I’m having a blast. I stalk off to my room and lay across my bed. I hear the ocean crashing into the beach. It’s calming.
I make my way over to the window. A few couples still litter the beach outside our house. One couple is laughing as their partner tries to spin them around and toss them into the breaking waves.
I want that. Simple. Playful. Full of love kind of relationship. I don’t think it’s possible. Not for me. We’re by-products of our parents, right? Carbon copies? If that’s true, then yeah, my fairy-tale relationship will be just a fairy tale. Sure, my parents aren’t divorced. They don’t fight. But they don’t hold each other’s hands. They don’t dance around the kitchen. They only kiss cheeks when they are leaving for work. It’s very dull. I don’t want that.
I pull myself away from the window and go back to my bed. As I lay down against the pillows, I hear a door crashing open and then slamming shut. I prop myself up and look around my room. Kyle comes over to my bed; he yanks open the drawer next to me and grumbles, “Tell me who it is.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to know. It’s driving me fucking crazy,” he slurs.
I’m confused. Is he talking about Vince? Or is he talking about who I fantasize getting me off while using Vibe?
His beer-coated breath fans me. Usually this scent repulses me but not with him. I’m turned on. His fingers skim my cheek and then brush along my lower lip. “Tell me.”
“Kyle, you should leave. You’re drunk.”
“You think I can sit in a room with you sober? It’s taking all of my energy to not cross the room, scoop you up, and have my way with you. Being here is torture for me. Especially when you’re parading around in these damn things.” His hands roam down to my pajama shorts, then he yanks at the material. They are very scandalous but so what. The girls he’s been with have worn worse. I know. I’ve seen him take them up to rooms at parties. At least my shorts cover my ass.
“What do you want?” I ask.
His hand runs up my thigh. “Pretty sure you know what I want, Em. You’ve known for a while. Tell me who you think about when you use this.” He grabs my vibrator and then skims it along my body.
“Stop it,” I moan as he teases me over my shorts with it.
“Tell me.”
“No. Get out.” I push him back and roll away from him.
He stares at me. There is a glint in his eyes, and I’m a little terrified. He drops my toy back into the drawer and shuts it. “I want you, Em.”
I’m stunned into silence. My hearts pounds hard. My throat feels like it’s closing because it’s hard to breathe. He’s everything I’ve wanted for so long, but I know once Kyle has slept with me, he will walk away. I can’t handle that.
A one-night stand with him will destroy me. I’ve always know that. My past one-night stands were nothing because I didn’t feel the butterfly magic with any of them. Sure, they were all hot to look at. But it was purely sexual and fun. There wasn’t this intense feeling that came from their touch. My heart didn’t feel like a jackhammer in my chest. Nope. That’s what Kyle does. Only him. That’s why I need to stay away from him.
Kyle and I have a long staring contest before he finally turns away. Without another word, he leaves. I collapse against the bed and try catching my breath.
Chapter Eleven
Kyle
I stretch out my legs getting ready for my run. My earbuds are pumping out “Till I Collapse” by Eminem. I tilt my head side to side, cracking my neck and then I jog down the stairs. My muscles are tight, and my head is pounding something fierce. Hangovers are the worst, but I need to keep in shape. Doesn’t really help that I got shit for sleep last night.
All I kept thinking about was her lips. How much I wanted to sink into them. Stupid thoughts considering Emily looked half terrified of the mere mention of wanting her. Yeah, I might have had a few too many last night, but I remember my actions and words.
I head down the road. The beach with bikini-clad girls is to my right. I notice most of them checking me out. Some giggle as I pass. It would be very easy to pick one up and take care of my mountain of sexual frustration. My body doesn’t react to any of them though. It only seems to want one girl. The one girl who is off limits.
Hell, if I’m being completely honest, Emily ruined me. Since Christmas, anyone I hooked up with I had to do from behind. Because their face wasn’t the one I wanted. It was way easier to pretend it was. I’m positive being completely smashed help too.
A group of girls pours out of a house off to the left. Most of them wearing the same Greek logo either on their bikini, across their chest, or branded on the ass of their skimpy shorts. Three of them come my way. They look me up and down. One of them smiles. The other one waves. The last with a decent rack says, “Hey, handsome. You coming to the beach?”
“Not now, ladies.” I try to jog past them, but dark-haired one with the C-cup holds me up.
She pouts. “Too bad. We could have used your help.” She waves a bottle of suntan lotion in front of me.
I continue to jog in place. “Sorry, ladies. I gotta run. Maybe I’ll see you later.” More like I’ll be avoiding you forever. I swore to never ever hook up with another Delta girl as long as I breathe air. Those girls are trouble. At least the ones I know are a lot of trouble. Learned my lesson freshman year.
One of them got mad I hooked up with her sorority sister three nights after our bit of fun. I woke up to the word “Asshole” waxed across my chest. How? I was passed out post-coitus bliss and I felt a cool glop of something on my chest. I didn’t open my eyes because I assumed it was massage oil or lotion. I thought the girl was looking for another round of fun; who was I to stop her? It wasn’t until I felt like my skin was on fire that I opened my eyes and hovering over me was two of the girls I’d been with, holding a bottle of hair remover in their hands. I had to shave my chest for three weeks before all my hair came back.
About two miles down the road, I finally stop running and glance over at the sound so familiar to me. Thump thump thump. I watch as a basketball is dribbled up court and then flies in the air to the hoop. I watch the game a little
longer until my phone starts buzzing. I push accept call and I say, “What’s up, sis?”
“Where are you? Breakfast is ready.”
“Um … I’m like a ways away. I’m heading back now.”
“Did you run?” I hear the slight drop in her voice. We always used to run together. When I was home at least.
“Yeah.”
“Oh. Well, you could have told me. I would have come.”
“I’m jogging back now. Who cooked?”
“Bryce and I both made a breakfast casserole and biscuits.”
Thank God she didn’t say Sarah. You couldn’t pay me enough to get me to eat anything she cooked. Love my cousin, but she can’t even make toast without both sides being charred. “All right. I’ll be back soon. Don’t eat it all.”
“Can’t promise that.”
I hang up quickly after that. The song that I was running to returns right where I left off. If only Em and I were like this. I thought maybe we could. Probably didn’t help me coming into her room slammed. I’ve got to get her out of my head.
Breakfast was gone by the time I got back. So I hole up in the kitchen and make an omelet. As I’m cracking the eggs into a bowl, Emily enters the room. She rubs her eyes; her hair is sticking out in all directions. Her sleepy look is sexy as hell.
“Hey.”
She startles a bit, then looks over at me with wide eyes. “Uh … hey.”
“Did you eat?”
“No.” She plops down in a chair at the kitchen table.
I smile. “Want an omelet?”
“Are you offering to make me breakfast, Kyle?”
I nod. “Want one?”
“Sure. I could use a cup of coffee too.”
“Good luck.” While I’m whisking the eggs and seasonings together, I study Emily. “Sleep well?”
She smirks.
“What?” I ask.
“You’re talking to me. Took you a few days.”
I shrug. “Yeah well. I’m done ignoring you. Get used to it.”
Kyle (Scandalous Boys Book 3) Page 5