11. Avery
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Avery
“We’re going to be late. Let’s go,” Will hollers from the same spot he’s been standing in near the front door for the last five minutes. “The rest of the team is going to kill us if we’re late again.”
We were supposed to leave ten minutes ago for their softball game. We’re all taking a little longer to get ready than expected.
Well, everyone other than Will is taking a few extra minutes. I swear that man’s brain actually has a clock built into it.
Lyla looks up at me with wide eyes, and we both burst out laughing. “We’re coming,” I holler.
She shoves her handful of snacks into her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder. Miles meets us at the front door after bounding down the stairs.
“Where’s Owen?” Will asks, clearly at the end of his patience.
“Right here,” Owen says, walking down the stairs at a much more leisurely pace than his younger brother.
“Finally,” Will grumbles, stomping out the front door toward his truck.
“Somebody’s cranky,” I say quietly, but he must hear because his head whips back in my direction.
I know he’s aiming to a death glare, but it really just comes across as smoldering and hot as fuck. I don’t know what it is about the man, but his grumpy, standoffish ways really turn me on.
Get a grip, girl!
Lyla climbs in the backseat, getting herself buckled in. I scootch into the middle seat next to her. My buckle isn’t even in place before Miles obnoxiously slides in beside me, slamming my hip against the side of Lyla’s booster seat.
I push against his thigh with all my strength, but he doesn’t budge. Jerk.
When Will starts to back out of the driveway, Miles moves over just far enough to wedge his seatbelt between us. I’m still glaring at him, but it doesn’t last long when he winks at me.
The corners of my mouth tilt upward, even when I fight against it.
“Maybe I just wanted an excuse to touch you again,” he whispers in my ear.
I really hope it was quiet enough that no one else heard. I hold my breath for a beat, but no one else shows any signs of hearing what was just said.
“Stop,” I mouth to him.
“I don’t want to,” he mouths back.
Oh lord. This man is fun. And sexy. And kind of adorable.
I pull my eyes away from Miles only to find Owen staring at me through the mirror on his visor that’s pulled down.
I have no idea what he’s thinking, but he doesn’t seem mad. Still, there’s an intensity in his stare that is lighting me on fire.
After my kiss with Miles, my brain has been a whirlwind because I kissed brothers. Yes, brothers.
I don’t regret it. It’s just a lot to process.
Aside from the kiss itself, I’ve been fixated on the way he talked about it just being fun and alluding to how he would want it to happen again.
Could that be the solution to the ache that’s building every time I see Owen, and I can’t touch or kiss him the way I want to? Would it satisfy the need inside me screaming that one kiss with Miles wasn’t enough?
I’m only here for the summer, but maybe we could just enjoy the time while I’m here.
Just fun. No attachments.
Would that be enough?
Maybe…
The second the truck slid into park, Lyla bolts from the car. She barely has time to grab her backpack before she’s sprinting for the field.
“Lyla,” Will groans, white-knuckling the steering wheel.
Miles laughs at my side. He gives my leg a firm squeeze just above my knee before climbing out of the truck. Grabbing his duffle from the bed of the truck, he heads toward where Lyla is doing cartwheels on the grass.
Will follows behind him, still grumbling about her needing to be safe.
I’m grinning like a fool because this family makes me happy. Despite everything that should make me run for the hills, I’m smiling an awful lot lately.
Unbuckling, I scoot across the seat to the door Miles left open. Owen is standing there, taking up all the space between the side of the truck and the door.
I don’t even think about what I’m doing; my body just moves on its own. I twist on the seat so my thighs are now on either side of his hips.
His large hands settle on my bare thighs. One of his fingers teases at the frayed hem of my denim shorts.
“What are you doing?” I breathe out because my mind can barely formulate a coherent thought with his hands on me like this.
“Fuck if I know,” he says, shaking his head like he’s just as confused as I am.
Well, that’s some comfort, at least. Right?
His grip on my thighs tightens for a second before he slides his hands up to my hips. “Come on, angel.”
He lifts me from the truck like I weigh no more than a feather, setting me before him on the dirt lot.
Reaching down, he retrieves his bag from where he must have set it on the ground. He takes two steps toward the field, then pauses.
He looks at me over his shoulder, giving me a wink before continuing to walk away. I have to lean back against the truck to keep from melting to the ground.
What the fuck?
How am I going to stay away from these men if they’re going to do things like that? My heart is pounding, and certain parts of mine are tingling with awareness.
While things might not be the same between all three of the brothers, they have all contributed to this confused, horny state I currently find myself in.
“Ugh…” I groan, pushing off the truck and making my way toward the field.