Page 28 of Seeking Her Studs

“Are you serious, Blaire?” Her eyes go big as her head snaps towards me. And then she looks at Colt, seemingly asking for approval.

He cocks an eyebrow at me. Okay, maybe I laid it on a little thick, but can we all just play nice and pretend this is the truth?

I smile back at Colt in a way that I hope says, ‘Are you really going to ruin your little sister’s day and say no?’.

A slight look of exasperation passes over his face before he brings his face back to his steely neutral.

“Go ahead, Kaylee.” Colt finally nods. “But nothing too crazy. Only things appropriate for camp.”

Kaylee claps in excitement and starts to skip in my direction.

Reese takes a deep breath and starts to put the laundry back in the basket.

I throw my arm around Kaylee’s shoulder as we head to my room. I’m not confident Kaylee should look to me for much, but this is one department I can really soar.

After about 10 minutes of her running around like, well, a teenager in a couture shop, I finally convince her to actually try some things on.

She struts out of the bathroom with one hand on her hip wearing a pale green Oscar de la Renta sundress. The silky fabric falls loosely on her athletic build while making her legs look a mile long. It suits her complexion wonderfully. The green brings out the pale pink of her cheeks.

“I was thinking of this for the goodbye dance,” she does a twirl and I giggle at her excitement.

“Almost perfect,” I say as I bend down in the closet and pull out a pair of strappy silver heels. “See if these fit you.”

“Blaire,” she shakes her head. “I can’t.”

“You can!” I insist. “And you’re also going to take these earrings and this blush.” I rummage through my jewelry box and then run to the bathroom to get a pale pink Dior blush. I open her hand, place them in, and close it around them.

She goes to protest again, but I interrupt her.

“You can pay me back by giving me a couple of riding lessons when you get back. You’ll save me from the smug looks on your brothers’ faces by not making me ask them.”

She looks at me skeptically, but this seems to placate her. “Deal.” She extends her hand and we shake on it.

The truth is, it really is nothing to me. Actually, no, that’s not the truth. The real truth is that it is something, but something good. I really enjoy it. All of my clothes, jewelry, and makeup are expertly picked out for me with one goal in mind- to make me idolized. Because the more people idolize me, the more my team and anyone associated with me succeed. So the thought of all of that effort instead going toward a teenager who just wants to have a really great time at camp? Well, it feels like a more noble goal than anything else I’ve been a part of lately.

A knock sounds on the door before Briggs enters carrying a huge plate of food. He rests the tray down on the antique trunk at the end of my bed.

“I figured we could break the rules today and you could eat in here while you finish packing up, Kay.” Briggs smiles at her. Out of the three guys, Briggs has the softest disposition. He’s the biggest of all three of them. His body type is thick and towering compared to Colt and Reese’s lean athletic bodies. He might be intimidating if he didn’t almost always have crested eyes from smiling and Sunny following close behind him wagging her tail.

“Thanks, Big Rig.” Kaylee grins as she pops a sweet potato fry in her mouth. “What do you think?” She twirls in her dress, now with the shoes and earrings on. The shoes are a little big but not noticeable and she looks amazing in the full outfit.

“I think you look like a movie star,” he grins and looks between Kaylee and I. I laugh at his corny expression.

“Har har har,” Kaylee teases him. “Good one.”

“Admit you’re going to miss my jokes while you’re gone,” he says, unloading two plates from the tray and setting them out. He fills one plate with breaded chicken, sweet potato fries, and creamed spinach and hands it to Kaylee.

“I’m going to miss your cooking, that’s for sure.” She says, grabbing more fries and shoving them in her mouth.

“I’ll take it,” Briggs shrugs. “Anything you don’t eat?” He looks up at me expectantly as he gets ready to load the second plate, apparently for me.

“Oh, I have a green drink in my bag that I’ll just have,” my knee-jerk reaction answers for me before I can think about what I’m saying.

I see Kaylee put down a fry out of the corner of my eye.

Shit.

This is exactly why I’m not worthy of being any kind of influence on her or any young girl. The proof of that is that I basically just fry-shamed her. I didn’t mean to, but I’m just doing what I’m used to. There’s a running tally in my head at all times counting calories and already today it’s maxed out from breakfast. I became this way ever since I gained a little too much weight one summer and it sent my entire team into a tailspin. I was immediately coached by a nutritionist and a personal trainer to be hyperaware of my calories. I think back to that summer and realize it was when I was 16. The same age Kaylee is now.

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