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2
TODD
“I’m going over to Lucy’s house, but I’ll be home tonight,” I tell my mom as she gets ready for her night shift at the hospital.
“Okay, hun. Please be safe on that death trap.”
“I’m always safe. Promise.” She leans in to kiss my cheek like I’m still ten instead of a month away from eighteen.
She’s wearing her teddy bear scrubs for her shift in the ER. I take in her tired eyes and stooped shoulders, feeling guilty she has to work so hard to keep us afloat. As a single mom, she has to provide two incomes for us to make ends meet. She also refuses to let me get a job to help out.
She always says my education is more important, that I need to focus on my studies so I can get into a good college. I know she’d be thoroughly pissed at me if I got a secret side job. Plus, she’d never take the money, so there’s no point in even trying. I do take odd jobs from neighbors, doing random chores to get some petty cash. Then Mom doesn’t have to worry about giving me fun money on top of our necessities.
I change into my trunks and slip some pants over the top of them. I really am careful on my bike. I always wear a helmet and try not to drive too fast. If anything ever happened to me, my mom would lose it. It would kill me to see her suffer more heartbreak than she already has.
My dad left when I was a baby, leaving Mom to raise me all on her own. She was barely out of her teens when she got pregnant, and her parents disowned her for the mistake. I’m the only one she has in her life now besides a couple of good friends. It’s made us much closer than you’d think. When you’re a young mom on your own, it’s kind of hard not to have a close relationship with your kid.
I give Mom a kiss on her cheek before I leave, then jump on my bike to go to Lucy’s. Ever since we were little, our group has done pretty much everything together. From birthdays and playdates to football games and going to the movies, we’ve been friends through it all.
Although, hanging out at Lucy’s pool is one of the worst things we do. Having to watch Megan strut around in a bikini is torture. I usually end up with a jaw ache and horrible blue balls by the end of the day. She’s just so beautiful and inherently kind to everyone. I love her warmth, the smiles—which are never far away—everything.
Not to mention the way she fills out a bikini like it’s her fucking job. I’m going to get a hard-on just thinking about it. And I’m about to watch her parade around in one for the next few hours.
Like I said, torture.
Pulling into Lucy’s driveway, I see several cars are already here, including Meg’s Pontiac. Lucy’s house is your typical fancy, suburban, two-story home. Her dad is a doctor, and her mom works from home. I can never remember what she does, though.
I walk up the front steps and into the quiet house, heading immediately to the patio door. It’s like an oasis back here with an inground pool, a jacuzzi tub, a water feature that falls into the pool, and trees around the edge that create a natural privacy fence around the yard.
I see the girls are in the jacuzzi while Cooper and Levi are bouncing a beach ball between them.
“Hey, Todd,” Cooper says, letting the ball fall into the water.
I nod my head at him when everyone’s attention falls on me.
I’ve never been one to be shy, except when Meg’s eyes are on me. Then my words evaporate, making it so I can barely string two together. It’s one of the many reasons I’ve never done anything about my feelings for her.
I quickly shed my T-shirt and pants, set my stuff on a chair with everyone else’s, then jump into the pool.
When I surface, I swipe my hand through my hair to get it off my face, catching Megan’s electric blue stare. Her teeth clamp down on her puffy bottom lip as her eyes scan across my chest. My cock immediately reacts to the fuck-hot sight. She looks like the girl on the cover of the Maxim I have stashed in my nightstand.
I clear my throat and look away, working to conjure up images of football stats to get my erection to go down. It works enough for Cooper’s words to filter through my brain.
“You wanna play?” He’s holding out the ball. When I nod my head, he chucks it at me. The three of us work to keep the ball from touching the pool, ribbing each other the whole time.
Since Levi is only a year and a half younger than we are, it doesn’t feel like having someone's little brother tagging along. He’s just another good friend of ours, even though he seems to attract trouble wherever he goes.
“Who’s up for a round of chicken?” Levi asks the group. The girls all shout their agreement, getting out of the hot tub to get into the big pool. I quickly turn around so I can’t see Megan’s dripping wet body.
“How about we do two on two? Todd and Meg, you guys go against me and Natalie first,” Cooper suggests, looking directly at me with a smirk on his face. I might kill him.
I glare at Cooper so he knows I’m pissed. He grins in return, the bastard. Being my best friend, he knows about my crush on Megan, which means I know he’s doing this on purpose. It also means I’m going to kill him for pushing us together. She deserves so much better than me.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
“You don’t have to be my partner if you don’t want to be,” Megan says, looking down at the water. I hate when she gets that little frown line between her eyebrows. It usually only shows up when she’s feeling bad about something. What’s worse is, usually, I’m the cause.
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.” I crouch down in the water, gesturing with my head for her to climb on my shoulders.
She stands there for a second, contemplating if I mean what I say, so I grab her arm, pulling her closer to me. The electricity that’s always there when I touch her shoots up my arm. I have to grit my teeth to stave off the bolt of lust running through me.
I hear her sigh as she pushes on my shoulders for me to go under so she can climb on. When she’s settled, I stand up and grab her thighs to keep her balanced.
Sweet mother of God, this is horrible. Her center is pressing against the back of my head. It takes every ounce of strength I have not to run my rough palms across her silky skin.
“You guys ready?” Sara asks. She’s playing referee this round.
I nod my head, as usual, while Cooper says, “Ready.”
“Three, two, one, fight!” Sara yells. Cooper and I step closer while the girls do their best to knock each other down. My muscles are straining as I try to keep us upright. My hands slide on Megan’s water-covered thighs, her smooth skin an incredible heaven I never thought I’d get to experience. Suddenly, my hand slips up indecently high, my fingers brushing against the fabric of her bikini bottoms. I get distracted by how close my hand just got to her center.
Her quick intake of breath tells me it affected her as much as it did me, which further distracts me, allowing Natalie to get the best of the both of us. We both go falling into the water with a splash.
I come up for air, spotting Megan popping out of the water as well. She looks like one of those swimsuit models coming up out of the water, making my already tight trunks even tighter.
“Sorry,” I manage to squeak out through my lust. I’m not sure what I’m apologizing for—feeling her up or losing—but she smiles, shrugging her shoulders while a blush creeps into her cheeks.
“It’s fine.”
Blowing a breath out of my nostrils, I step out of the way of Levi and Sara as they get ready to go next.
I pretend to watch the fight when I’m really watching Megan talk with Lucy. Everything about her is alluring. Her intelligence, her body, her genuine kindness, all of it appeals to me. I have a hard time understanding why she’d ever want to be with a guy like me.
I’m rough around the edges while she’s as smooth as honey. I live on the wrong side of town because it’s all we can afford, and she lives in a house like Lucy’s. I don’t have any money to spend on her when she deserves to be spoiled rotten.
We don’t make sense. I know if she got to know the real me, she’d run in the opposite direction. It would be better if we just don’t go there. I still can’t help myself from imagining what it would be like if we got together, though. I mentally shake my head to stop the images. I don’t know why Cooper continues to push us together, but you can bet I’ll be talking to him about his matchmaking schemes.
When Cooper’s team wins, we decide to play a round of volleyball next. The rest of the afternoon goes by without any more accidental touches or awkward moments. Despite it being a good thing, I’m a little disappointed.
Megan’s actually been keeping her distance today, which is weird. Catching her staring at me during our hangouts is one of my favorite things to do. I’ve only caught her gaze once today. She’s also stayed as far away from me as she can when she normally sticks pretty close.
It’s like she’s attempting to pull away from me. I should be glad about that, but there’s a part of me that’s worried. I’ve always found a certain level of comfort knowing Megan returns my feelings. Today is the first time I’m sensing maybe she doesn’t anymore.
Oh, fuck, what if she’s started dating someone?
Can I handle her dating some other idiot instead of me?
I don’t have many options here. If I’m not going to date her, then she’s fair game for any other douchebag who wants to try.
I’ve never had to deal with this before. I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle it if she brings a guy into our friend group. It would kill me to watch some asshole put his hands on her instead of me.
Can I move past my fears and ask her out?
The slither of jealousy seems to beat out my nerves despite how hard my heart is beating.
I’m officially screwed.
