| |
Scout
Sixteen years old
The trouble with boys is that they love to exclude girls, unless of course it comes to having sex. At least that’s the case with Nav, King, River, and Saint. Lev is the only one who doesn’t seem to mind when I hang around but Nav doesn’t even know I exist.
I glance around the Foxs’ pool. It’s packed with bodies. Teens sip beer from Solo cups, seniors make out in the hot tub, and there’s not a parent in sight. It’s totally unfair that the twins are rich, good-looking, and this popular. Even as freshmen, the Fox brothers could have any girl—or guy—they wanted. Then again, they look like the kind of models you see on Instagram. All dark hair, sculpted cheekbones, brooding eyes, and bodies you just want to lick.
“Fun party.” Nova sips beer from her cup and wrinkles her nose before setting it down on the ground beside her lounger.
“The best,” Violet says, nodding along to “I Like It” by Cardi B.
“It’s okay, I guess.” I shrug, my gaze darts to the closed door of the pool house.
Hello? Who throws a party and completely disappears?
“Did you see Nav earlier tonight?” Nova leans across my lounger—probably because the music is so loud.
“Oh my God, he looks so good in swim shorts.” Blythe’s eyes roll back in her head.
I scowl and toss my empty cup behind me onto the perfectly manicured lawn. “Yeah, I noticed.”
“Scout, you have to make a move,” Nova says. “Before someone else does.”
“He doesn’t know I exist.”
Violet chokes on her beer. “Are you crazy? Everyone knows you. Behind Charleigh Waters, you’re the most popular junior in our school.”
“Maybe, but Nav still sees me as a little kid.” I sigh and lean back in my lounger as I watch the debauchery in the hot tub. My skin gets all prickly and hot when I think about kissing Navrin Fox like that. “They all do.”
“Then go find him and show him you’re not.” Violet sits up and grabs my wrist, clearly unaware of her own strength.
“Um, easy for you to say,” I complain. “River’s only been begging for it since you were twelve.”
“Firstly, that is so not true.” Violet rolls her eyes. “We were together for like a million years before he finally popped my cherry. Secondly, I bet if you asked Nav to do yours, he’d be all over you like a rash.”
Nova nods enthusiastically. “Yes. You should really go find him and give him your virginity as a birthday gift.”
“It’s absolutely time. I’m willing to bet you’re the only hymenally challenged sixteen-year-old on the planet,” Blythe says, smiling at a senior who eyes her as he walks past. Thanks to her caramel skin, pale blue eyes, and insane curls, it’s hard not to stare at how gorgeous she is.
Bitch.
“Um ... hello?” Nova waves her hand. “Not all of us are total sluts.”
“Oh, sweetie, we all know you’re saving yourself for Saint.” She pats Nova’s hand and smiles conspiratorially. “Why don’t you give him an early birthday present too?”
“Oh, ew!” I protest, screwing up my nose at the mention of my brother having sex.
“His birthday is not until January,” Nova says matter-of-factly, and then she bites her bottom lip and smiles sheepishly.
“Whatever,” Violet says. “The point is, it’s time for Scout to show Navrin Fox that she’s ripe for the taking.”
I roll my eyes, unable to contain my smile. It’s not as if I haven’t thought about it. Just this morning, I let my hands roam my body as I closed my eyes and imagined Navrin’s hands touching me, but actually acting out that fantasy? I stare at my friends’ eager faces and Daddy’s words drift through my head. “If you don’t go after what you want, Peaches, someone else will.”
As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. I want Navrin Fox, and I’m going to make sure he never so much as looks at another girl without thinking of me, because I always get what I want.
I open my camera app and check my reflection. Makeup, hair, and outfit are all perfect. I have so got this.
“Fine, I’m going to give him a birthday present he’ll never forget, but I need another drink first.”
There’s plenty of beer all around us, but I’m after something a little stronger and a lot less ... pedestrian.
Blythe grins. “I think I saw him head into the pool house.”
“Go get that man, you little whore.” Nova giggles and I shake my ass to Drake’s “Nice For What” all the way to the pool house, hoping to find another drink, and—with any luck—I’ll find Navrin alone.
The doors are closed, the blinds drawn, and as I stare at the shadowy silhouettes of bodies beyond, I think I understand why.
Oh, eww. People are having sex in there.
I glance around for my brother, for Nav, but I can’t see them amongst the partygoers outside.
I reach for the handle, but before I can open the door someone grabs my wrist. I whirl, prepared to volley a whole string of insults at the moron who dared touch me without permission, when I come face-to-face with a pair of golden eyes.
Lev. A little flutter of ... excitement stirs in my chest, but I shove it down as I stare up at him.
“You don’t wanna do that, Cub.”
“What are you talking about?”
He bites his lip, glances at the party around us, and then at the door at my back. “Come on, you know what goes on in that pool house, right?”
“No. I ... I just wanted a drink.”
Lev’s mouth turns up in the corner and he inclines his head toward the crowd of seniors on the lawn. “Keg is that way.”
“Eww, I’m not drinking beer. Gross.”
He gives me an all-out grin now. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were too good for beer.”
“Then you’re an idiot,” I say, as I lean against the door.
“I guess I am.”
I shrug and smile up at him. “Happy birthday, by the way. I didn’t see you earlier.”
“I was busy.” His gaze narrows. A fresh cut bloodies his lip, but at least the black eye he was sporting last week has faded into a yellowish green. He and Nav look the same, but they couldn’t be more different. Navrin avoids fighting at all costs, but it seems Lev is determined to seek it out. He always lets his opponent hit him at least once, but I’ve still never seen him lose, not even in grade school.
“You have a little ...” I reach out to swipe the blood from his lip with the pad of my thumb, but he hisses and jerks his head away.
God, what the hell is wrong with me? It’s no wonder Nav’s never made a move, I’m so fucking awkward.
I glance at my Prada heels and tuck my hair behind my ear. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s just ... I’m ...” Lev shakes his head. “I’m fine.”
Silence settles between us. My skin is hot and itchy as I struggle for the right words to fill the void. “Are you having a good time?”
“I am now.”
I frown. Is he crazy? “Everyone is here. You’re the most popular guy in school. How could you not have been having fun before?”
“I think you’re mistaking me for Nav.” He smiles and the crack in his lip opens, a bead of fresh blood staining his lip. Lev winces and drags his thumb across his mouth, smearing red over his face like a warrior with the blood of his victims.
“You know, you really should stop getting into fights.”
He laughs, but it’s without humor. “Yeah, I should really do that.”
“I don’t get it. Navrin doesn’t walk around with a permanent black eye.”
“Nav doesn’t have my anger issues.”
“Anger issues?”
“Not all of us are as clever as he is at controlling emotion,” he says through gritted teeth.
I frown. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing.” Lev shakes his head and straightens. Until this second, I wasn’t even aware he’d been leaning in. “Look, stay here. I’ll get you that drink.”
“G and T—”
“I know, Cub.”
I grimace at the nickname. When the boys first signed up for peewee football, I wanted to join too. I even made Mom buy me the uniform, but the boys laughed at me, said I was more of a cub than a bear, and the name stuck. Only, no one calls me that anymore but Lev. “Thanks.”
He opens the door and slips inside before I can see what’s going on behind him. Then he pokes his head around the wood and says, “Don’t open this door.”
I roll my eyes and fold my arms across my chest. Several minutes later, he returns stinking of weed and boy sweat, a solo cup in his hands. He offers it to me, but before I can take it, he lifts the cup to his lips and downs half.
“Hey,” I protest.
“Just had to make sure it wasn’t too strong. Can’t have you falling over, you little lightweight.”
“I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”
“Can you now?” He grabs my hand and pulls me around the side of the building, just a few feet from the party. Inside the pool house, someone shrieks, and my cheeks color as I slowly come to the realization that the reason Lev didn’t want me in the pool house is because people are having loud, obnoxious sex in there.
Eww.
“Is there an orgy going on in your pool house?”
“Yep.”
Another terrible thought shakes loose. “Please tell me my brother is not in there.”
“Your brother’s not in there,” Lev deadpans.
“Lev!” I smack his arm with my free hand. “That wasn’t even remotely convincing.
He chuckles. “I’m a bad liar.”
The worst. I lean against the side of the building and glance up at the stars overhead. It’s a perfect spring night and Lev’s eyes twinkle with mischief in the moonlight. My heart stutters, and I swallow down the butterflies in my stomach.
Not the right twin, Scout. God. Could I be any more of a whore?
I bite my lip and wrack my brain for something to say. What comes out isn’t exactly TED Talk worthy. “So, seventeen, huh? You’re practically an adult now.”
His expression turns serious. “Just one more year and I can get the fuck outta here.”
I frown. Dread and something I don’t recognize twists my stomach. I suck in a hard breath as I study his face. “You’re leaving?”
“Eventually.” His brow creases as he looks at me. “Are you ... shit, Cub, are you tearing up?”
“What? No. Of course not.”
His arched brow tells me he doesn’t believe me. I glance at the drink in my hand and take another sip to give my mouth something to do to prevent it from gaping.
Lev steps closer, pressing me into the wall.
Um ... okay.
“Jesus, Cub. Your brother’s going to fucking kill me, and I don’t even care.”
“Why would Saint kill you?”
“For doing this.” He cups my face in his large hands and leans in. My heart races as I stare up into his golden eyes. I never noticed how pretty they were until now, with his face just inches from mine, his gaze beseeching, and his lips so near I can feel the warmth of his breath tangling with my own.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“Going to hell,” he says, and then his lips are on mine, his tongue slipping into my mouth. His body is so much bigger than mine, and as he leans into me, his hardness presses against my abdomen. Without really knowing what I’m doing, my hands encircle his back, the cup falling to the ground with a soft thud. I thread my hands in his hair as I open my mouth wider, thrust my own tongue deeper, and grind against his erection.
Lev’s hands trail down my back, over my butt, and he lifts me, forcing me to wrap my legs around his hips. With my weight supported against the wall, he dips his head and kisses my collarbone and lower still until he’s taking my nipples into his mouth and sucking them through the fabric of my Louis Vuitton dress. I gasp, this is new ground and I’m so unfamiliar with the sensations in my body. He grinds his hardness against my center, causing my insides to tighten and my panties to grow damp. Lev doesn’t stop; he dry fucks me against the wall until we’re both panting, my body taut with need and my lips swollen from his hard, desperate kisses.
An involuntary moan escapes me, a whimper, a sound so pathetic he raises his head and studies my face.
“I’m going to fucking make you come, Cub. But you have to be quiet.”
I nod, unable to form words. His hand comes up and covers my mouth, a finger slipping inside. I suck. He groans and grips my ass harder with his other hand. Lev pumps his hips against me, furiously, and pleasure steals the breath from my lungs.
I moan beneath his hand. I beg and plead with my eyes, and when heat and euphoria surge through me, my whole body seems suspended in midair by a thread hovering on a knifepoint, just waiting to be severed. It’s as if time stops, and all I see are his golden eyes, all I feel is hard, warm muscle against me, and all I taste is his palm pressed tight to my mouth as I lose myself in the release.
And then the tears begin, fat droplets down my cheeks. My center aches. My heart thrums against my rib cage, beating out his name. But it’s all wrong.
I don’t want this. I don’t want Lev Fox.
I want Navrin, the boy who makes me laugh with his terrible jokes and sweet smile. Navrin, whose heart is good and kind, and everything his brother is not.
I didn’t want a dry hump against the pool house with Lev Fox. I wanted to give my virginity to his brother, who would be tender and treat it like it was sacred. Like I was special.
Oh my God. What if someone saw us?
“Jesus. Did I hurt you?”
“Put me down.”
He shifts and I slide down his body until my feet are once again firmly on the ground. I sniffle and walk around him, but he grabs my arm and pulls me back. “Scout.”
“Don’t touch me.”
“Hey, I don’t know what just happened.”
“You just ... I don’t ... I don’t want you.” I sneer.
Lev’s face shuts down into the mask he gives everyone else. He’s never once looked at me like this. “Funny, that orgasm said differently.”
“I didn’t ... I didn’t want it to be you.”
“You didn’t want what to be me?”
“My first kiss,” I shout.
He laughs, and it’s anything but funny. “Well, it’s a little late for that isn’t it? Been there, done that when I was fucking nine.”
“That doesn’t count. It wasn’t exactly voluntary.”
“But this was, wasn’t it, Cub?” he whispers, his eyes turning from dark and scary to smoldering with heat. “You loved riding my dick just now. You loved the way my hands squeezed your ass, and how your little pussy clenched when I rubbed it just right.”
“You’re sick.”
“Maybe.” He shakes his head. “Don’t worry, Cub. I’ll remain your dirty little secret. No point in telling Saint and getting my ass kicked for a few seconds of meaningless fun.”
“Hey, you guys seen—” River glances between us, and then glares at Lev. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Oh my God! Where the hell did he come from? How long has he been standing there?
“It’s fine. Cub was just telling me how much she adores me. Happy birthday to me, right?”
Oh shit. It’s Lev’s birthday, and I just ... God, I’m such an asshole.
River’s brows crease. “I think maybe you’ve had a little too much to drink, don’t you?”
“I can handle my liquor, River.”
River runs a hand over his blond hair and chews his lush bottom lip as he stares at me. “Does Saint know you’re here?”
“Saint is busy fucking three girls in the pool house with King,” Lev bites out. “Which, I’m guessing, is where I should have been this whole time.”
I deserve that, but it doesn’t stop his words from slicing through me like a hot knife through butter. Internally I flinch, but I refuse to let Lev see the affect his words have on me. Also, gross. Like I need a play-by-play of my brother’s nasty sexual exploits.
I swallow hard, straighten my spine, and direct my next sentence at River. “I’m no longer feeling well.” I shoot Lev a pointed look. “River, will you tell Violet that I went home?”
He wets his lips and glances between the two of us again. “Sure, as soon as I find her. You right to get home by yourself?”
Lev folds his arms across his big chest. “The fuck’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means people are drunk, and there’s a lot of crazy shit happening tonight,” River says, scowling.
I turn and head past River, toward the garden where we’ve thinned the hedges over the years separating the Foxs’ property from ours.
“Shit,” Lev says behind me. “Scout, wait. I’m sorry. Can you just talk to me?”
He grabs my arm and I whirl around to face him. “What the hell do you want from me?”
“I want you,” he says through his teeth.
“Well, I don’t want you. I’m in love with your brother, you idiot!”
He steps back as if I just dealt him a physical blow. If the hurt in his expression wasn’t enough to ruin me, I notice Nav standing in the door to the pool house, his T-shirt in his hands, his mouth slackened in shock as he stares at us. Charleigh Waters is part-naked and draped around his big, beautiful body.
Fuck.
With tears in my eyes, I turn on my heel and run through the gap in the hedge before I can make a bigger fool of myself.
I hate Lev Fucking Fox.