Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Rome
“ H ow come whenever we return home, you guys always have food and are huddled around the TV?” Ash asks.
“Shh!” Max hushes his brother as the movie hits the final heart-wrenching scene.
I’m beginning to realize that smiling around this group is effortless. I don’t think I’ve grinned this much in months, and I can thank Chrissy for that.
Gwen plops beside Chrissy and wraps her arms around her waist with a big smile. I glance over at Ash and grin when I find him looking at Gwen, almost in a daze.
My attention floats to Chrissy, and my heartbeat hammers in my eardrums. Today has been one of the best days I’ve had in a long time. When Coach told us about this mentorship, I was ready to get it over with. Little did I know it would bring Chrissy and me closer together. I know she didn’t ask me to hang out today because she noticed I was in a rut. She asked because she cares about me and our friendship.
Friendship . . .
I’m beginning to despise that word. The thing is, though, even if Zack wasn’t in the picture, I’m not sure I would go after a girl like her. Not because she isn’t everything I want, but simply because she is more than anything I could ever imagine.
It’s plain and simple: I don’t deserve a girl like her.
The credits roll, and my gaze is still fixed on the wildflower beside me.
“Can I talk now?” Ash asks with a hint of sass in his tone.
“Do you have something nice to say?” Max asks with an arched brow.
“To you? Never.”
I snort out a laugh as Gwen snickers.
“Then no, dear brother, you may not speak.” Max stands and starts to clean off the table.
“Oh, come on?—”
“Can you guys hear that? It sounds like an annoying breeze.” Max pretends to listen for something, and I laugh.
“You’re supposed to be on my side.” Ash side-eyes me, and I snicker harder.
“Rome, I have an opening for a brother. Are you interested?” Max offers, and Ash’s jaw drops.
“You son of a bitch!”
He chases Max into the kitchen, and the two girls and I start cackling at the scene playing out before us.
“Rome! Help! There’s some crazy ghost chasing me!” Max hollers as the two of them run around the kitchen island.
“This ghost is going to haunt your ass for all of eternity!”
“What about Gwen? You’re supposed to be with her!” Max fires back, and Gwen doubles over.
“Who do you think is going to help me?” Ash shouts with a playful grin.
“She loves me too much!”
“Where are my blondies? Help your favorite lawyer!”
Chrissy falls against my shoulder and laughs harder when Gwen speaks up. “Pickles, no!”
Pickles charges in after Max and Ash and joins the fray. Max’s screams get louder as Ash runs away from that ball of chaos.
“Pickles, help me get Max!”
The three of them burst into the living room as Ash gets Max into a headlock and digs his fist on top of his head. “Gotcha, sucker!”
“This is cruel and unusual punishment.” Max struggles to get Ash off his back as Pickles starts to bat at his nose. “I’m suing for brother abuse.”
“You know you love me,” Ash says, planting a big kiss on Max’s cheek before letting him go.
Max rubs it off his face with faux disgust. “Yeah, yeah, but you owe me.”
Pickles crawls to Gwen’s side as she catches her breath.
“Look what you did to my girlfriend. She can’t breathe because of you.” Ash gestures to Gwen, and she starts laughing again.
“Stop! I can’t handle anymore.”
Chrissy rights her posture as the three of them go back and forth. She turns to face me, her dazzling eyes meeting mine, and color rushes to my cheeks. “Welcome to our crazy family, Carter.”
She ruffles my hair, and I allow my shoulders to relax.
“Did you have fun today?” she asks with hope tinging in her voice.
“Today has been a blast. Thank you again.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and squeezes me. Without thinking, I hug her back and rest my chin on her shoulder.
“Anytime, but you know what this means now, right?” Her breath is warm against my ear.
I take in a deep breath, soaking in her scent before responding. “Tell me.”
“You can never get rid of me. I’m going to bother you until the end of our days.”
The idea sets my heart into overdrive, and my stomach flips.
“You could never bother me. It would be a pleasure to have you bother me until we part,” I whisper in her ear.
Her back arches under my palms before she releases a puff of air.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, all-star.”
“Don’t say I never wanted it, Wildflower.”