What the older girls had over Jill was the confidence and experience to wear appropriate swimwear. You could tell that Jill was trying way too hard to look sexy and had worn a bikini that revealed too much skin. If I can be so bold … leave a little mystery.
“I think you might sunburn,” I offered while looking for some suntan oil.
Cassidy tapped my shoulder, and I turned to see her shaking her head.
“Please!” I whined.
“Part of my job as your security is to protect you from yourself. Go swim until you’re presentable,” she ordered and pointed down.
My eyes traveled south and confirmed I had a problem. I took her advice.
When I came out of the water, I decided I hated Brook. She’d made the executive decision that Jill had to wear my t-shirt as a cover-up. Of course, that left me without a shirt, which seemed to make Cassidy happy.
“I want you to meet one more person,” Brook said, and I turned and froze for the second time today.
There, standing in front of me, was the girl from the park who I’d assumed was in college. Turns out, her name was Destiny Crown. Her family had moved here because her younger brother Don wanted to play both baseball and football at Lincoln High. I’d met Don at practice, and he seemed like a great guy. He was going to try to make the team as either a tight end or wide receiver.
“I thought that was you yesterday. Sorry I couldn’t be there this morning, but I had something come up. I hope you’ll give me another chance tomorrow.”
“Cassidy!” Brook called.
“Oh, shit,” was my witty response as I tried to track the little ninja.
In self-defense, I dove into the pool because I was a much better swimmer than Cassidy. She almost got me. I made this Matrix-like move to avoid her jumping on me, then was out of the pool and over the Andersons’ six-foot privacy fence in a flash. No way could Cassidy catch me if I ran.
When I got home, I told my mom she needed to go over the Andersons’ and get my clothes and car. My relief was short-lived when she brought back Zoe, Brook, and Cassidy. Cassidy wasn’t happy. I stepped out to the drive and gave her my left hand so she could grab my thumb and take me to my knees. I knew this was better than what the alternative would be.
“Talk,” Brook ordered.
“When I was running yesterday, I met Destiny in the park. I thought she was older. We didn’t really say anything to each other. We … just … uh …” I trailed off as I glanced at my mom.
“Please. Don’t stop on my account,” Mom said.
“We had oral sex, and I told her I expected her to show up this morning,” I blurted out.
Cassidy let go of me.
“I thought he’d done something bad,” she stated.
“He slept with one of my cheerleaders,” Brook complained.
“Actually, three,” I said without thinking.
Zoe slugged me. Cassidy just shrugged.
“You really didn’t have any idea who she was? You just hooked up with a random girl in the park?” Brook asked.
“When you say it like that, it sounds sort of bad. I did stop things before having actual sex,” I said.
“Because he didn’t have a condom,” Mom said under her breath.
Make it stop! Everyone realized that my mom was right.
“I love you all,” I tried.
“If you don’t want him, I’ll take him,” Cassidy offered Brook.
Mom made me go back to Mrs. A’s to face the music. That, and since I’d paid for dinner, I might as well eat. Yuri, Roc, and Phil showed up with the food; Jan must have told them to deliver it from my restaurant. I was glad to have some backup. Mrs. A gave me back my money because they’d put it on my tab. Being an owner did have some benefits.
It didn’t take long for the freshman and JV cheerleaders to figure out that Phil was single. They separated him from his friends, and I watched as they worked their magic on him. Yuri and Roc grabbed recliners on either side of me as we watched my inept brother.
“Do you think we should go save him?” Yuri asked.
“Leave him alone. He has to learn sometime,” Roc said.
I just looked at the two of them and shook my head. I remembered when they both were just as bad around girls as Phil was. Yuri had had the whole female population at Lincoln High avoid him because of the remarks he’d made. Phil seemed to get agitated, and I thought he was about to bolt when Jill stepped forward.
“Uh oh,” Yuri said as he watched Jill talking sweetly to Phil.
“She’ll have him wrapped around her little finger. You should go save him,” Roc suggested.
No relationship was ever completely equal. I’d hoped Phil would find some equally clueless girl, and they would discover the world together. If Jill got her claws into him, he was dead meat. I could imagine him flying off into jealous rages if anyone talked to her, and they would. No girl that good-looking would fail to attract attention. For the most part, it would either be players or douchebags. They wouldn’t care that Jill was dating someone else.
I was about to go save him when I realized what he would think if I did. Phil would hate me for it. I had some insight into what Mom must have felt when she saw I was dating Tracy. She’d tried to dissuade us. Mom even said she knew I wouldn’t listen to her advice. Now that I look back on what Tracy put me through, I should have.
“Let’s see how this plays out,” I said.
“Train wreck,” was Yuri’s prediction.
“Probably, but I’m not going to stop him. He would never talk to me again if I did,” I explained.
We watched as Jill touched Phil’s hand. You could see all the blood drain from his head as it gathered elsewhere. I expect all the other girls realized he’d just been claimed. I wasn’t sure whether he knew it or not, but Jill had decided on her man.
◊◊◊
Brook decided that Cassidy was out of luck. I had to step in front of Brook because I was afraid Cassidy might hurt her.
“When are you going to spank me? I was a bad girl,” Cassidy whined.
“He’s the forgiving type. Plus, you already said your dad wouldn’t allow anything to happen between you two,” Brook said as she stood behind me.
“Don’t provoke her,” I warned.
I hated it when a girl would try to get you into a fight. Cassidy had been acting funny for a couple weeks now. I didn’t want to have to fight to protect Brook.
“Dump them. Dump them all. I’ll talk to my dad and get it worked out. You know you want to,” Cassidy almost pleaded.
“I think she just needs to get laid,” Brook chirped.
“Ow, ow, ow, throwing hand, throwing hand, throwing hand …” I begged.
Cassidy gave us a hard look and stormed off.
“I better go fix this,” I said.
“Yepper. And then you’re taking me out tomorrow somewhere nice to make up for tonight,” Brook said and gave me a kiss to remind me why I liked her.
◊◊◊
I jogged after Cassidy. When I caught up, I scooped her up and ran to my car.
“Get in, woman. I owe you a spanking,” I said, waggling my eyebrows at her.
The Demon got us home in less than a minute. I ran around the car and pulled Cassidy’s door open. She thought I was being a gentleman, but I had other plans. She squeaked when I reached into the car and hauled her out. I tossed her over my shoulder and swatted her butt.
Somehow, I don’t think she was impressed, because she giggled.
I took her upstairs and tossed her on my bed.
“Now, I’m giving you fair warning. I plan to do unspeakable things to you if you stay. This is the time to tuck your tail between your legs and just admit that you’re scared. If you stay, you’re not leaving until I’m done with you,” I warned.