Chapter 20
SIENNA
Back in Theo’s room after a long shower, I can’t wipe the smile off my face. After winning the water balloon fight, no thanks to me, we had an early dinner, and I ran to the shower afterward. Okay, not exactly, but I did excuse myself politely. After today's events, a cold shower was needed.
Watching Theo run around in a soaked T-shirt that basically fit him like a crop top was enough to make me need a shower.
Thinking about the way he effortlessly threw me over his shoulder and hauled me back to our barricade had me swooning.
I shouldn’t be surprised, given his muscle mass.
I never thought of myself as the type of woman who would be turned on by a man doing something so barbaric as throwing me over his shoulder, but I feel a rush of heat between my legs at the thought of it happening again.
Theo’s words replay in my mind. I’ll be sure to remind you of that next time, he had said. The idea of there being a “next time” with Theo makes my stomach flutter.
The last time I had butterflies over a boy was in the sixth grade in English class when Jake Copperfield came to sit next to me. He was the one boy everyone had a crush on, and he chose to sit next to me. Obviously, I got butterflies.
What I felt for Theo today feels like more than just butterflies.
Yes, my stomach flutters every time I see him, but Jake never haunted my mind the same way Theo does.
His swim trunks barely hang off his hips.
At one point, I was hoping they’d fall so my curious mind could finally get the answers it needed and move on.
Sadly, that didn’t happen, and I’m still left wondering what he looks like under all the clothing he’s been so insistent on wearing. After almost a full week at a lake house in the middle of summer, I have yet to see him without his shirt on.
There were no rules about looking at one another. I’m trying to find a middle ground here.
“You ready?” Beth’s voice snaps me out of the mindless scrolling I was doing on my phone. I must be jumpier than I thought because she raises an eyebrow at me as though she caught me doing something I shouldn’t have been doing.
Which is ridiculous, considering I’ve just been lying in bed, scrolling through social media…Okay, on Theo’s social profiles. I guess internet-stalking your fake boyfriend isn’t the most appropriate pastime.
The guys have planned a movie night for tonight, another tradition they do every year. They’ve been downstairs setting up the living room for the past few minutes. The smell of buttery popcorn has wafted upstairs, and my stomach growls at the savory scent.
Dropping my phone on the side table, I join Beth at the doorway.
We’ve opted for our usual movie-night outfits.
I’m in a loose yellow tank and athletic shorts, and Beth is wearing the same loose tank in red and leggings.
We bought the tanks on a buy-one-get-one sale a few years back at our favorite athletic-wear store.
They are so comfortable that we declared them our official movie-watching attire.
Wrapping her arm around mine, Beth asks, “Thinking about Theo’s abs?” She finishes her question by wiggling her eyebrows at me.
“Thinking about Alex’s?” I counter as we begin our descent down the stairs.
“Fuck no. He’s not even my type.” She juts her nose up a little to make a point.
“We both know that’s not true,” I say, lowering my voice as we reach the bottom of the stairs.
“What’s not true?” Theo asks. I hadn’t noticed he was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and I say a silent prayer he didn’t overhear any other part of our conversation.
“Nothing to concern yourself with, Theo,” Beth says over her shoulder as she makes her way to the living room.
Theo and I follow Beth into the living room and take up a spot on the far edge of the large sectional.
The sectional is so large that Theo looks average-sized as he takes a seat next to me.
Even with his legs stretched out on the chaise, his feet don’t reach the end of it.
I’ve ensured I’m sitting close enough to him to keep up our ruse but not close enough that I become tempted to act on my shower thoughts.
My strategic distance is rendered useless when he throws a blanket over our laps and reclines back, swinging his arm around my waist. I lean in just a little to sell our relationship to the others.
No other reason, of course.
Roman has already taken up a spot in one of the two recliners near the fireplace. Beth is seated not far from Theo and me, with Leo on the other end of the sectional. Alex stands before all of us, holding a remote and a pillow in his hands.
Without warning, Alex launches the pillow toward Roman, who’s been focused heavily on his phone screen for the last few minutes. His phone flies out of his hand, and his head shoots up to see who threw the pillow.
“Get off your phone, old man. Work will have to wait.” Roman squints his eyes at Alex but doesn’t respond.
He does, however, toss his phone into his pocket after picking it up off the floor, then pull the lever on the recliner to lean back.
Once comfortable, he motions to Alex to get on with whatever it is he is about to do.
Alex’s comment reminds me that I still haven’t responded to my job offer.
It’s not like me to wait so long to respond, but every time I open my phone to draft the email, I can’t seem to find the words to accept the offer.
Considering I still have a few days to respond, I’m hoping tonight’s movie can help clear my thoughts.
“As winner of last year’s Kane Family Games, and the year before that, and the year before that—”
“Get on with it already.” Theo cuts him off, and I smile at Theo’s little eye roll as he says it.
“I have the highest honor of selecting our annual Kane Brothers summer camp movie-night extravaganza, uh, movie.” His hands are on his hips like he’s Superman, and I let out a chuckle.
“Do you guys really call it that?” I whisper to Theo.
“Fuck no,” he whispers back.
Alex clears his throat, leveling us with a look. “If you two are done. Drum roll, please.”
Theo, Leo, and I start patting our legs. Beth, only a few cushions down from Theo and me, doesn’t move an inch from her curled-up position under her blanket, and Roman lightly taps the armrest of his chair.
Alex points the remote at the TV, and on the screen, an old romantic adventure movie from the ’80s flashes.
Theo whoops and hollers next to me, impressed by Alex’s choice of movie.
I glance at Beth out of the corner of my eye, knowing the cult classic featuring a princess and a pirate is one of her favorites. It was a book first, after all.
I faintly hear Beth mutter, “Of course he’d pick this one,” and have to suppress my giggle at her annoyance.
From the other side of Beth, Leo claps his hands as he says, “Great pick, Alex. This one has an excellent soundtrack.” Leo raises his beer glass, toasting to Alex’s movie choice.
“Ladies, gentlemen,” Alex says, motioning to each of us, “grab some snacks and settle in. We’re about to go on a crazy, action-packed, romantic adventure for the next one and a half hours. The journey full of—”
“Alright, alright. Sit down and start the damn thing already,” Roman says, throwing a piece of popcorn at Alex. Alex catches it in his mouth and smiles as he sits down on the couch between Beth and Leo, reaching over Beth to grab a box of candy off the coffee table.
Theo leans as well, grabbing a bag of popcorn from the table.
When he does, his hand slips lower, from my hip to my lower back, leaving me frozen as a chill runs up my spine.
I’m still focused on where his hand touches my back, so I barely notice when he hands me a box of Milk Duds. My favorite movie candy.
I turn to him, about to ask if he knew this was my favorite, when he beats me to it.
“I got a little insider information,” he whispers.
His hand moves back to my hip as he leans back on the couch, getting comfortable for the start of the movie.
When I don’t settle in with him, he gently squeezes my hip, pulling me closer to him.
Against my better judgment, I oblige. With my legs swung to my right side, I lean into Theo and open the box of Milk Duds.
When he whispers in my ear to ask me if his hand placement is okay, all I can do is nod as I remember how to breathe properly.
A warning flashes through my mind that this situation might be on the verge of getting more complicated than either of us can handle.
I let the thought pass when Theo’s thumb lightly strokes my hip once, and I feel an ache low in my abdomen.
I imagine Theo isn’t spiraling as much as I am, as I watch him pop a few pieces of popcorn in his mouth.
For him, it’s easy. We are two friends, pretending to be in a relationship to help each other get jobs.
That’s all this is. He’s resting his hand on my hip to further convince his brothers we’re together.
Sure, his hand is hidden away under the blanket that lies over the two of us, but isn’t that what a boyfriend would realistically do?
Popping a few Milk Duds into my mouth, I try to focus on the opening scene of the movie.
Only an hour and a half of this movie and then we can retire to Theo’s room with the safety of the pillow wall between us for the rest of the night.
Right now, I’m hoping to get sucked into the movie, not having to think about my pending career decision or Theo’s current hand placement.
My attention is pulled from the movie when Theo’s hand moves under the blanket. His finger begins tracing small circles on my hip, just below the hem of my shorts. If focusing on the first thirty minutes of the movie was hard, I’m not sure how I’ll get through this last hour.