Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
For Ethan’s game, I wore my dark blue Football God jersey with black shorts. My hair was back up in pigtails with the gray, blue, and black ribbons. Using black eyeliner, I made those black grease marks footballs players put under their eyes, and with white eyeliner I spelled out Go within the black mark on one cheek and Team on the other.
When I was all set to go, I made my way next door. Keelan answered the door. His eyes did a slow descent and he whistled. “Looking good, Shiloh.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
He stepped aside for me to come in. Knox and Creed were sitting on the couch. Both looked in my direction when I entered. Knox’s brows shot up when he saw me, but Creed’s eyes narrowed.
“Colt!” he yelled before standing.
Keelan chuckled as he sat on the couch next to Knox. “This should be entertaining.”
Creed came to stand in front of me, arms crossed over his chest.
I frowned. “What?” I knew I looked ridiculous, but was it really that bad?
Colt walked into the living room from the hall that led to his room. He noticed me and smiled. As his eyes took in my outfit, his smile dropped.
“What?” I repeated with a little bit of bite.
Colt looked to Creed. “Fuck Ethan, let’s just stay in and watch a movie.”
What?! “We can’t do that. He’s our friend and we promised him we’d go to support him.”
“I agree, fuck Ethan,” Creed said, siding with his brother.
That made me glare at both of them.
“I bet this makes you wish you had gone out for football instead of swim, now doesn’t it?” Knox said and chuckled. Finding what he said funny, Keelan chuckled, too. Creed and Colt scowled at their brothers.
I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth to calm myself. “I don’t go back on my promises. If you’re embarrassed to be seen with me like this, then we don’t have to go together, but I’m going regardless of how absurd I look to support my friend.”
All four of them went quiet. My eyes dropped to the carpet as I tried to keep my hurt from showing.
“You got it all wrong, baby girl,” Keelan said, making me look back up at him.
Before I could ask him to elaborate, Colt stepped toward me. “I know you find it hard to believe, but you’re extremely beautiful, Shiloh,” he stated and rubbed the back of his neck—his nervous habit. “You could dress up like a clown and still look gorgeous. We aren’t embarrassed to be seen with you. We’re just…”
“You’re wearing another man’s jersey, looking hot as hell, and we don’t like it,” Creed said bluntly.
My brows shot toward my hairline. “But this is my jersey. Not Ethan’s.”
Creed shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It has his number on it. You might as well be advertising to the whole school you two are dating.”
Staring at Creed, I squared my shoulders. “What about not caring about what people think? Ethan’s seen the jersey and loved it.”
“We know. He’s been gloating about it since last night,” Creed grumbled.
I didn’t back down. “I’m not changing.” Creed and I glared at each other, neither one of us wanting to give in.
Colt sighed. “We better get going or we’re going to be late.”
Creed broke the stare-off to frown at his brother. “Fine,” he said and dove for me.
I yelped as I was thrown over his shoulder. “You better not drop me!” I yelled as he carried me out of the house and over to his truck.
The bleachers were packed when we got there. Thankfully, we managed to snag a good spot toward the top on the home team’s side of the field. The only problem was the small section of bench available—it was only big enough for two. The twins didn’t see anything wrong with it and both sat down before Colt wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his lap.
I didn’t know much about football. Colt and Creed did their best to explain how the game was played and what things were when they popped up throughout the game. It was a little confusing, but I still had fun. After the game ended, we waited around for Ethan and a few of the twins’ other football friends to come out of the showers. Excited, I kept my eyes glued to the locker room door. I didn’t want to miss Ethan’s reaction when he saw who else was waiting for him.
As soon as he came out, he spotted us right away and began heading over. He noticed me staring at him and I tilted my head to the right. His eyes moved in that direction and I had the pleasure of watching his face light up when he spotted Isabelle standing a few feet from us. He beelined for her with a big smile on his face. He invited her to hang out with us and our group moved to the student parking lot. Once we got there, our group almost doubled as more football players joined us. I couldn’t remember most of their names. Daniel was the only one whose name I remembered. That was because he was in our gym class and had played volleyball with us the other day.
I was flanked by the twins as we all talked. Well, all the guys were talking about the game while I tried to get to know Isabelle. She was about my height and had long, straight, dirty blonde hair. She was a little shy and had a genuine sweetness about her.
“I like your nails,” I told her. They were painted yellow with black stars.
“I like your jersey. Is that Ethan’s number?” she asked as she eyed it.
I smiled because it was a good sign that she remembered Ethan’s number. “Yes. I lost a bet with the guys and had to show up as their personal cheerleader.”
“Oh,” she responded, which made me remember what the twins had said about what wearing Ethan’s number would imply.
“It’s all in good fun. The guys are just friends,” I said, hoping she’d understand.
She gave me a small smile and Ethan inched closer to Isabelle. “Are you hungry?” he asked her.
Wanting to give my friend a little privacy, I moved away, bumping into Colt. He gave me a smile and wrapped his arm around my lower back, pulling me even closer. His eyes flicked over to Ethan and Isabelle, who were now walking away toward Ethan’s car. Yes! I felt so happy for Ethan, but it was short-lived when Cassy and her friends showed up.
“Hey, guys,” she practically purred as she hung an arm on Daniel’s shoulder. Cassy didn’t even acknowledge my existence. Amber, standing next to her, was glaring at Colt’s arm around me.
Cassy stared at Creed with a predatory obsession in her eyes. Seeing that gave me the overwhelming urge to put myself between her and Creed. Then I glanced back at Amber. The desire to stay by Colt’s side was just as strong.
“I’m having a party tomorrow night, are you gentlemen coming?” Cassy asked. I liked how she’d excluded me from that invite. Not that I’d ever go to her party.
“Can’t. We have to work this weekend,” Colt said.
She gave a flippant wave of her hand. “Your brothers own the place. I’m sure they’ll give you the time off.”
What?
Creed completely ignored Cassy and looked to me. “You ready to go?”
I nodded and the two of them said their goodbyes to their friends, while Cassy stood there fuming.
Once in Creed’s truck, I asked, “Knox and Keelan own Desert Stone Fitness?”
Both of their shoulders slumped.
“Does it really matter?” Creed asked with a bored tone, which I’d realized he used when he didn’t want you to know what he was truly feeling.
“It doesn’t,” I said a little defensively. “I just don’t understand why you both didn’t tell me.” I was a little hurt. Then I felt like a hypocrite. I didn’t share everything with them. Maybe they had their reasons.
“We didn’t tell you because most people bug us for free memberships or discounts when they find out,” Colt explained.
“I would never do that.”
I caught Creed smiling through the rearview mirror. “We know that now.”
“I don’t own a swimsuit,” I said as Creed practically dragged me into their house after we got back from the game.
“You don’t need a suit. Just go in your underwear. That’s just as revealing as a bikini,” Colt said over his shoulder as he walked ahead of us.
Knox and Keelan were still on the couch but playing video games. At the mention of underwear, they both glanced in our direction.
“But I’m not wearing any underwear,” I said with all the seriousness I could muster.
Colt stopped walking to turn and look at me, eyes wide, and Creed’s hands on my shoulders stopped pushing me forward. Knox and Keelan were very quiet as they watched us, their video game playing on without them.
“I guess you could go naked. I doubt anyone here will complain,” Creed said from behind me.
I whirled around. “Creed!”
He just smirked down at me.
“I’m wearing underwear,” I grumbled. He held this cocksure smirk that told me he knew I had been teasing them and he had successfully turned the tables on me. I crossed my arms over my chest. “If I had known you two would be making me go swimming later, I would have worn granny panties.”
Creed’s head fell back and his laughter filled the room. “Only you would want to go swimming with us in granny panties.” He spun me around and started pushing me forward again.
“My, someone has a big ego ,” I mumbled as I dug my feet into the floor, stopping us from moving toward the back door just off the kitchen. “I’m not going swimming in my underwear,” I said firmly. I wasn’t embarrassed of them seeing me in my underwear. That wasn’t the issue.
“A night swim sounds like fun. I think I’ll join you,” Keelan announced as he stood up from the couch. “I can give you a shirt to wear to go swimming in, Shiloh.” He tossed his controller on the couch and headed down the hallway on the right side of the living room.
Colt glanced over at Knox. “Does that mean you’re coming, too?”
Knox turned after switching off their video game and shrugged. “Why not?”
Keelan returned and held out a black T-shirt to me.
“Thank you,” I said, feeling relieved. I took it and let Creed lead me to the bathroom to change while they went to their rooms to put their swim trunks on.
I stripped down to my underwear. I was wearing my Harley Quinn set that was half black and half red and had black sequin diamonds on the red sides. Using toilet paper and a little water from the sink, I wiped away the black marks on my cheeks. I removed the ribbons and took my hair out of the pigtails. I slipped Keelan’s shirt on and it was large enough to end at mid-thigh.
His shirt smelled good. It was a perfect mixture of masculine and laundry detergent. I opened the door to Colt and Creed waiting in the hall. Both were shirtless, wearing their swim trunks. I folded my arms across my chest, feeling a little nervous when their eyes dragged over my body.
As if noticing, Colt held out his hand to me. “Ready, babe?”
I nodded and put my hand in his.
Their backyard was like an oasis and gave me the motivation to work on mine, which was just an embarrassing patch of dirt. In the center of their backyard was a rectangular pool with a stone-step waterfall on the side. Just as you stepped out the back door and to the right was a U-shaped outdoor cooking area equipped with a grill, mini fridge, and sink, all surrounded by stone tile high-top counters and four bar stools. On the left side of the yard was a large outside seating area with a wicker L-shaped sectional that curved around a table with a fire pit in the middle. Even though it was dark out, the yard was perfectly lit with landscape lighting surrounding the pool and the string of lights hanging from the rooftop over the outdoor kitchen.
Knox and Keelan were already in the inviting dark water. Colt let go of my hand with a mischievous smile and he ran toward the pool, flipped, and cannonballed into the pool, splashing his brothers.
Knox and Keelan wiped water from their faces, chuckling. “Show-off,” Keelan said and splashed water at Colt when his head popped out of the water.
As I took a step in the direction of the pool’s steps, strong arms scooped me up. I let out a yelp, drawing everyone’s attention. “What are you doing?” I asked as I circled my arms around Creed’s neck tightly. He gave me the same mischievous smile Colt had before he started running for the pool.
“Creeeeeeeed!” I squealed as he jumped off of the ledge of the pool. He tucked his legs in, turning us into one giant cannonball, and we hit the cool water, plunging deep in liquid darkness. We separated and swam to the surface. Laughter greeted me when I popped above the water.
“I’m surprised there’s any water left in the pool after that,” Keelan teased and Creed pounced on his back, dunking him under the water. Keelan easily threw Creed over his shoulder and they began to wrestle.
I laughed and I tried to swim away from them. Their wrestling was a little too close for comfort. An arm wrapped around my middle and jerked me in the opposite direction. I barely saw Creed’s body land in the water where I had just been as my back hit a muscular chest.
I was shocked to hear Knox’s voice rumbling from behind me. “Hey, shitheads!”
Both Keelan and Creed froze.
“You almost landed on Shiloh,” Knox explained.
Keelan and Creed broke away from each other, mumbling their apologies while looking contrite. Still in disbelief, I peered up at Knox over my shoulder. His gaze flicked down to mine for only a moment before he released me and swam away.
“You okay, babe?” Colt asked as he pulled me close. His hands slid up my back, under the T-shirt.
“I’m fine.” Having a mind of their own, my legs wrapped around his waist and he swam effortlessly while holding me above the water.
Creed swam up behind me and sandwiched me between them. His hand flattened on my bare stomach, making me jump. “Want to race? Four laps back and forth,” Creed asked.
Colt’s brows rose, looking intrigued. “What are the stakes?”
I rolled my eyes. “I think you two have a gambling problem.”
They both looked at me.
“You’re not going to race with us?” Creed asked. “We had to race on your turf. It’s only fair you race on ours.”
“You guys ran against Shiloh? Who won?” Knox asked as he and Keelan swam up to us.
“Colt,” Creed and I grumbled at the same time while Colt grinned proudly.
Keelan chuckled at our sour expressions. “Who was last?”
“We tied,” Creed answered and looked to me. “What’s it gonna be? Are you going to race?”
I laughed dryly. “Why would I enter a race I know I’m going to lose?”
Knox and Keelan murmured their agreement.
Colt’s hands shifted to my hips, fingertips touching the swells of my butt cheeks. “What if we gave you a five-second head start?”
I shook my head.
“Ten seconds,” Creed countered.
I sighed. “Fine. What are the terms?”
Colt looked at Creed to decide.
“We’re going out tomorrow night. Winner gets to pick what we do, losers pay.”
Colt and I both agreed and swam to one end of the pool. Knox and Keelan swam off to the side before Keelan counted down, “Ready…get set…go.”
I pushed off of the wall, taking full advantage of my ten-second head start. I counted in my head with each arm stroke I took, and I was starting my second lap before I felt them soar past me, going in the opposite direction, starting on their first lap. I pushed on, increasing my speed. They both caught up to me on the fourth lap and I knew I was going to lose. I wasn’t going to give up, though. I kicked and stroked with all my might. One second they were passing me with ease and the next I was passing them, and I finished the race when my hand touched the wall. I surfaced, panting, looking for Creed and Colt, who I assumed would be right next to me at the wall, but they weren’t there. The sound of splashing water caught my attention. I turned, finding them being held back by Keelan and Knox.
“That’s cheating,” Creed griped as he struggled against Keelan’s hold around his neck.
“Quit whining. Shiloh won,” Knox said as he released his hold on Colt.
Keelan released Creed next. “It would have been a dick move to make her pay and a gentleman would have let her win.”
“We wouldn’t have made her pay and she would have been pissed if we let her win,” Creed said.
I nodded, confirming that was true.
Colt sighed. “Shiloh wins this round. We’ll rematch without an audience next time.”