paying attention, and he drowned a few feet from me. Erroneously, I thought that was my parents’ job, but they made it abundantly clear that I should have kept an eye on him. I was his big brother, after all. They weren’t wrong, and the guilt has consumed me ever since.
Their mother came by to pick up Ben earlier, and with that, Charlie had no valid excuse not to come to the party with me. Regardless, I thought I’d have to use my convincing skills, but she surprised me by agreeing to come without me having to ask twice.
We had an early dinner, and now I’m waiting for her to get ready. I never asked if she’d bought any of those sexy tops she was looking at. They were nice, but I’d prefer if she wore a dress again. I love her legs; plus, a dress would give me easier access. I’m already over our bet. Life is too short, and I’m not going to keep punishing myself over nothing. God knows I already do that plenty with reason.
I’m nursing a beer while I wait. The only good thing about not being able to drive until the sling is off is that I don’t have to worry about my alcohol intake.
I turn when I hear Charlie come down the stairs. Those old wooden boards creak so loudly that even the neighbors must hear when one of us goes up and down.
My jaw drops as I drink her in. She’s not wearing jeans—thank fuck—but a short black pleated skirt with a spiked belt looped around her hips. Her top is a vintage Highlander T-shirt with the movie’s catch phrase “There can be only one” typed across it. There are a bunch of headless dude icons and one with his head still attached, holding a sword. Man, I need to get me one. It’s awesome. But what really completes the look and causes a stir in my jeans is the leather jacket and the over-the-knee fuck-me boots she’s wearing. I won’t be able to leave her alone tonight, or jackasses will be all over her.
“Hi. What do you think?” she asks with a cheeky smile. She knows perfectly well she looks hot as sin.
“Okay, I changed my mind. Let’s stay home so I can get you out of those clothes stat.”
She chuckles, shaking her head. “No way, Jose. I didn’t spend an hour getting ready for you to destroy my look with your caveman urges.”
I cross the distance between us in two long strides and pull Charlie flush to my body. “Oh, babe. You’ll know how caveman I can be when I bend you over that couch and fuck you until you can’t remember your own name.”
“What are you saying, Troy? Is that your declaration of defeat?”
The “Yes” is on the tip of my tongue, but when I do say it out loud, I’m going to make good on my promise and pound her into oblivion. Damn it. Thinking about it is making my cock rock hard in a painful way.
“Hmm, no. This is my declaration of victory when you come to your senses and admit you can’t resist this sexy machine.”
A bubble of laughter escapes her throat, dousing the furnace inside me.
“Okay, Mr. Sexy Machine. We’ll see how the evening goes.”
I step back and then hold up her right hand for inspection. It’s still a bit red, but the swelling has gone down. “Does it hurt?”
“Not so much. It was a good call putting ice on it when we got back.”
“I can’t believe I missed the punch. I would have loved to have seen that.”
She pulls her hand back as her face twists into a scowl. “It felt good punching her in the moment, but it doesn’t erase the ugliness that came out of her mouth. Words can’t be unsaid.”
“I know. I’m so fucking mad about what happened. I can’t believe Brooke would be friends with someone like that.”
Charlie tilts her head to the side as if she’s scrutinizing me. This is the moment when I should tell her about my past with Brooke, but I really don’t want to get into it right now.
“She’s your ex, isn’t she?”
Well, damn. So much for not talking about it. “Yeah. We dated in high school and through my first year of college.”
“Why did you break up?”
“She went to school in New York, and the relationship fizzled with the distance.”
“She’s back now.”
“Charlie, Brooke and I broke up over two years ago. There’s nothing going