of the cooler in the back seat, but Preston already told me he’d break my fingers if I tried. He said we’re too close to home to get arrested for having an open container in a moving vehicle.
His phone rings and Calvin’s name pops up on the car display.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” Preston answers by pushing a button on the steering wheel.
“Hi, Calvin!” I scream.
Calvin lets out a deep, raspy chuckle that has my stomach tightening. What was that? I’ve never had that tingling from Calvin before.
“Hey, Piper. You sound wasted. My brother being a bad influence again?”
“Hey, I’ve been good this weekend. It’s Piper who’s the bad influence. She’s been drunk all weekend.”
My mouth drops open as my eyes widen at him. How dare he throw me under the bus! He’s the one providing the alcohol!
“Only because you insisted,” I point out.
Calvin laughs. “You two seriously need a leash, you know that? It’s like the blind leading the blind.”
I shrug and Preston tilts his head to the side like he’s considering Calvin’s words.
“Anyway, I just wanted to see what you two were up to tonight. I don’t have any work to do and all my buddies went on a whitewater rafting trip without me because I had a business dinner, which just fell through. I’m on my way home if you want to hang out.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. We’re leaving the beach now. How far out are you?” Preston asks.
“About an hour,” Calvin answers.
“That gives us just enough time to get cleaned up. We’ll have dinner and find some kind of trouble to get into,” Preston says, smiling at me.
“Pres, I’m a lawyer. My troublemaking days are over. But dinner sounds good. I’ll see you in a bit.” Without a goodbye, he hangs up.
I don’t know why, but I’m suddenly feeling awkward about seeing Calvin again. And what was that tingle that came over me when I heard him laugh? Calvin has always been good-looking, and by good-looking I mean he’s drop-dead sexy just like Preston. The Young men are luckier than most and their genes are amazing. I guess I just never saw Calvin that way because he was so much older than us. He’s only four years older, but growing up, that may as well have been a lifetime. He was leaving high school just as we were getting started.
He and Preston look a lot alike. They both have dark hair and icy blue eyes. Calvin is just a little taller than Preston though, and he’s more cut than bulky when it comes to muscles. Calvin is more lean and cut where Preston is thicker.
The thing that always had me on team Preston, though, was how differently they acted. Preston is wild and free and always down to have fun despite the cost. Calvin is more responsible. He never does anything without giving it serious thought and making a pros and cons list. Preston grows out his beard, goes months without a haircut, and dresses in whatever he grabs in the morning. Calvin wears expensive suits, always keeps his facial hair trimmed low to the skin, and his dark hair is always neatly styled. One brother is always lax and chill while the other is uptight and serious. Clearly, I’ve always leaned toward relaxing and having fun.
I’ve been so lost in my mental comparison of Preston and Calvin that I didn’t realize we were already pulling into Preston’s parents’ driveway. He looks over at me and his brows pull together. “Are you sick? You look a little funny.”
I wipe the expression off my face. Sick. Yes, I’m feeling sick! I think I just got turned on by Calvin’s laugh! I need to get away from him before he figures this out. “I’m fine. I’m going to go shower.” I quickly get out of the car before heading across the street to my parents’ house.
I speed walk straight to the front door. Once I step inside and close it behind me, I lean my back against it while I catch my breath. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s probably just a little mix of confusion due to drinking all day, getting hit in the face with a volleyball, and too much sun. Hell, maybe I have a concussion.
I hear my mom banging around in another room, so I walk through the living room to the kitchen, where she’s loading the dishwasher.
She looks up at me and smiles. “Hey, hon. How was the beach?”
“Preston drilled me in