The WRONG Brother (Love You Forever #1) - Alexis Winter Page 0,13
shrug. “The three of us haven’t been together since Christmas. And other than holidays, it’s been since, what, that spring break in Florida?”
He nods. “Yeah, I think so. He’s usually only ever home for holidays and family functions. But now that he’s in the city with us, we should all get together for old times’ sake. I’ll call him later and we’ll set something up.”
Preston, Calvin, and I used to hang out all the time before Calvin went off to college. If one of us went somewhere, we had the other two with us. My brother wasn’t ever really part of the gang though. My brother is 10 years older than me. By the time I was old enough to do things, he was already out of the house and living his own life. Preston always used to give me shit and say I was the midlife crisis baby, but really, I think I was the glue that held our family together. Dad was always at work and Jake was old enough to do this own thing. That left our mom lonely and in need of someone to care for. That’s where I came in. I’m the baby of the family and wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Wanna play some volleyball?”
I smile wide. “You know it!” I finish off my beer and jump up, grabbing the ball and taking off toward the net. I stand on one side while Preston stands on the other. I throw the ball up and pull back my right fist, serving the ball. It flies over the net. Preston jumps forward, bumping the ball back to me before falling into the sand on his chest and stomach.
I run across the sand and bump it back, wobbling on my legs as I slide on the sand, but I manage to stay upright. The ball soars to the other side of the net and Preston can’t get up in time. It lands on the sand only a few feet away from him.
“Ha! One-zero,” I gloat.
He rolls his eyes but stands up and brushes off some sand before picking up the ball and tossing it to me to serve again. For several minutes, we manage to keep the ball in the air, but we’re both hot, tired, and covered in sweat and sand. Someone has to give up or we’re both going to fall over from exhaustion. I tap the ball over the net and Preston is right there, ready to spike it back to me. It’s so fast, I don’t even see it coming. The next thing I know, the ball is smashing against my face and I find myself on my back in the hot sand, pain radiating from my nose. I feel something wet and reach up to touch it. I pull my hand away with blood on my fingertips.
“Oh, shit! Pipes, are you okay?” he asks, rushing under the net and stopping at my side. He grabs my arm and helps me as I try to sit up.
“Is it broken?” I ask in a nasally voice as tears roll down my cheeks from the pain.
He gets right in front of my face and looks at it. “I don’t think so. It’s not crooked or anything. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” He takes my arm and pulls me to my feet.
He walks me back over to my chair and sits me down before handing me a napkin. “I’ll go find a baggie and we’ll get some ice on it so it doesn’t swell.”
I hold the napkin to my nose and lean my head back, trying to push past the pain.
Moments later, he’s back with a sandwich baggie. He opens the cooler and grabs a handful of ice. He zips it closed and hands it over. I take the bag of ice and hold it to my nose.
“I swear, if I have black eyes, I’m going to kill you,” I threaten.
He holds out a beer. “Peace offering?”
I take the beer roughly, snatching it out of his hand as I say, “Yes to the beer, no to the peace!”
He hangs his head. “I’m sorry. It was an accident. How about a hot dog?”
I crack open the beer and take a long drink, hoping the alcohol helps to numb the pain. “I want a hot dog and ice cream, and you have to do everything I say for the rest of the day. Deal?”