Sighing at him, Ari tried to hand the Coke he’d given to her to Mike. His kid brother grinned at her and shook his head. “Thanks, Ari, but I’ll get my
own.” His grin transformed to a glare when he looked at Charlie. “Don’t think I don’t know you did that deliberately so I’d have to give up the control.”
That was exactly why he’d done it. The brat had been hogging the game, and Ari, since she’d gotten here.
Ari wrinkled her nose. “Well, I’d suggest I give up my controller so you two can play each other, but we all know how that ends and I am not in the mood to clean up blood today.”
Mike grumbled and jumped to his feet. As soon as he left the room, Charlie slid in closer to Ari as he grabbed up the controller, his bare knee touching her bare knee. He tried to be cool as he checked her out in her short shorts and tank top. Aw man, thank God for heat waves. They were a teenage boy’s
dream come true.
Ari laughed, drawing his gaze up and he found her strange but beautiful eyes twinkling mischievously at him. “Are you done?”
Charlie laughed off the embarrassment of being caught checking her out and nudged her with his elbow as he stared at the screen, starting a new game.
“You did wear those shorts.”
She chuckled again and the sound hit him right in his good-for-nothing places. He sucked in a breath. Being fifteen and friends with Ari was hard on his libido. “Charlie, you’re wearing shorts.”
He frowned at his long board shorts. “Not the same thing.”
“Maybe it is for me. Maybe I find it just as distracting, but I don’t blatantly check you out.”
At the flirtatious note in her voice, Charlie turned to look at her again. Her cheeks were a little pink but she was still grinning at him. “You checking me out?” Whoa, he did not mean for his voice to go all low and suggestive like that.
Ari’s smile slipped and he watched her breath catch with a sense of elation. “Maybe.”
With no control over his actions, Charlie’s gaze dipped to her mouth. He had thought about that mouth a lot lately. Okay, more than a lot. Like, every
second.
“What, you haven’t even started a new game?” Mike complained as he sauntered back into the room and broke Charlie’s epic moment with Ari.
Ari laughed and shifted a little so there was more space between them.
Charlie sighed and contemplated fifty different ways to get rid of his little brother. “We’re just about to.”
“Well if you’re this slow starting, I’m putting ten bucks on Ari whipping your ass.” Charlie raised an eyebrow at him and Mike sighed. “Butt. Whipping
your butt.”
“I’ll take that bet,” Charlie replied, reaching over to shake his kid brother’s hand. Ari cleared her throat and the two Creaghs stopped to look at her.
“What?”
Ari shrugged. “You’re about to lose ten bucks. I mean, Mike at least has a fighting chance with me, but you…”
“You think Mike is better than me at Super Mario Bros?”
“Oh definitely.”
Mike laughed happily.
Charlie glared at them both and then turned determinedly to the screen. “Oh it’s on.”
… Charlie was shaken from his memories as a Shaitan approached his cel. The guard from last night. The Shaitan raised a hand and the glow around the bars
disappeared as the bars slid back into the rock to alow Charlie to exit.