for?” I asked Kade, although trying to see him over Xander’s arm was a little difficult.
Kade grinned and I had a feeling he was purposely teasing his big brother. “Just for today. I head back tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” I said.
“Why?” Xander snapped. “Why is it too bad?”
I patted his broad chest. “Because you won’t get to spend much time with your brother.”
“Oh,” he said, relaxing a little.
I could sense the rivalry between them. Rivalry and maybe a little jealousy. “I bet you two were quite the handful when you were younger.”
Kade was the first to laugh. “I wasn’t. Xander was.”
“Not true,” Xander protested. “You did just as much shit, but you got away with it.”
“Because you were too big and obvious about it,” his brother shot back.
I managed to extract myself from Xander’s grip as the trail began to narrow. I began to fall in line behind him with Kade behind me. Xander grabbed me and practically lifted me, plopping me in front of him with Kade bringing up the rear.
“Did you guys get into a lot of trouble?” I asked.
“Xander did,” Kade quickly answered.
“Will you shut up?” Xander snapped.
“He was always in trouble. Not when we were young, but when he turned about fourteen, he kind of took the rebellious thing to a new level. He was always doing shit to piss off our dad.”
I turned to look over my shoulder at Xander.
He shrugged. “I never did anything that bad.”
“One time, he purposely broke the lawnmower. My dad was gone, and my mom had no idea how to fix it.”
“You guys lived on base?” I asked.
“Yep, and if the lawn isn’t cut, you get in trouble. Our dad was pissed when he got in trouble for it.”
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Xander argued.
“Yes, it was, and you know it,” Kade retorted.
“You could have mowed the fucking lawn,” he shot back.
Kade chuckled. “But that was your job.”
The two bantered back and forth. Kade revealed more about Xander than I had ever known before. Their relationship made me a little sad. I never had a sister or a brother to have that fun banter with. I didn’t have a person in this world that knew me like that. There was no one who had shared my childhood.
We made it to the lookout, each of us a little out of breath.
“I need to take a leak,” Xander said, looking around.
I laughed. “There are no bathrooms up here.”
Kade nudged me with his shoulder. “Sweetie, he isn’t looking for a bathroom.”
Xander walked off, disappearing into the trees.
I was a little shocked. “Oh. Okay. Wow.”
“He likes you,” he said.
“What?”
“My brother likes you. I’ve never seen him like that.”
“Like what?” I pressed. I didn’t want to interrogate him, but I was going to pump him for as much information as possible.
“He’s possessive of you.”
“That’s just how he is,” I replied.
“No, he isn’t. I’ve stolen a couple of his girls before. He didn’t care. He pretended he did. I think if I touched you, he would remove my arms.”
I had to laugh. “Xander and I are just friends.”
“He has never had a girlfriend to introduce me to, at least not in the last five or six years. I was beginning to wonder if he was headed over to the other side and didn’t want to tell me.”
My eyes widened and I laughed. “He’s definitely not switching teams!”
He grinned. “I didn’t think so. The fact he wanted to hang out with you and spend time with you in general says a lot.”
“No girlfriends?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
He shook his head. “None that he has ever mentioned and certainly never introduced me too. He’s a private guy but I would have known if he had a girlfriend.”
“He’s a good guy. I have a feeling he’s misunderstood.”
Kade nodded slowly. “Absolutely. I’m glad he has you. I hate the thought of him being all alone.”
“Aren’t you alone?”
“I’ve got my brothers. And I hate to admit it, but my dad stays in touch with me. Him and Xander don’t talk.”
“What are you telling her now?” Xander asked, coming back into the small clearing.
“I was telling her you were the victim of a small penis,” he said totally deadpan.
I almost choked. My cheeks flamed red. Xander looked at me with that sultry smile. “Yep,” was his response.
He didn’t argue or deny it. The three of us knew it was bullshit. I was certainly not going to jump to his defense and praise the size of his penis in