Page 21 of Enticed

“Olivia, that’s enough. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were turning two today, not eighteen. Your brother gets to have one friend over to keep him sane around all the girls you’ve invited. Deal with it, or I’ll cancel this whole thing right now.”

I stick my tongue out at her just before she lunges to attack me. Racing around the house while laughing manically, I lead her outside before cannon-balling in the pool as my escape.

Minutes later, Liv’s friends arrive as I pull myself out of the pool. Perry, Amy, and Clara are here, of course, as well as a few of their acquaintances from school. Liv’s little foursome does everything together. They’re always having sleepovers at our house and probably can’t pee without being attached at the hip. They’re loud and annoying—and they’re the ones who mostly eat all the food—and I can’t wait until Olivia leaves for college so I don’t have to see them anymore and finally have the house to myself.

“Hey, Twiggy,” Clara comes up behind me and tickles my ribs.

“Knock it off, Clara!” I twist to get away from her as she scurries away laughing. Her nickname for me encouraged some weightlifting this year. One day I’ll be so buff that name won’t make sense anymore.

I’m not a small guy, but you can definitely still see my ribs through my skin. Taking after my dad though, I know it’s only a matter of time before I grow to be his size—strong, muscular, and just slightly scary. He’s told me though that it won’t come without putting in some time in the gym and football will help me get there.

“Who’s that?” Jacob comes up behind me, eyes wide as we watch my sister and her friends strip down to their swimsuits, Clara joining them after running away from me.

It’s a sweltering July day, and since Olivia’s birthday is tomorrow, she opted to have a pool party to celebrate.

“That’s Clara, my sister’s obnoxious friend. Although they’re all pretty obnoxious.”

“Yeah,” Jacob mutters as I turn to watch him gawking at my sister.

Jacob and I are no longer freshmen after this summer and girls are now in the crossfire of our radar, especially after a year of playing football and summer camp starting next week.

Except Liv’s friends. Those girls will NEVER interest me. They’re like my older sisters. Thank god my parents only had the one before I came along though. Soon the house will be quiet, granting me some silence since they’re here enough as it is. I couldn’t imagine having to live with them all.

“Dude, stop staring. That’s my sister.” I punch him in the arm, turning back to see what the fuss is about anyway. And then my dick comes to life at the worst possible moment—because he woke when Clara took her red tank top off, revealing a voluptuous chest barely concealed by a teal bikini. I wasn’t aware she was hiding all of that beneath her clothes. Clara usually runs around our house in baggy t-shirts and shorts, or clothing that doesn’t necessarily highlight the shapely body she’s grown into. Apparently she’s done some growing lately. Of course, I have too.

BOOBS! BOOBS! My brain fires off as my dick fights my swim trunks, itching to run across the yard to get a better look.

She turns to laugh at something one of the other girls said, showing us her backside as she unbuttons her jean shorts and slides them down her long, toned, and tan legs—bending over and revealing a matching bikini bottom that rises high on her hips and covers just enough of her butt to not be considered too skimpy.

“Uh, I’ll be right back,” I say to Jacob before reaching for a towel from the lounger beside us to conceal my hard-on, running inside to the bathroom in a panic as I feel that tingle in my spine I’ve come to recognize before I make a mess in my pants.

Clara Anderson just gave me a boner—in my backyard, in front of my friends and family—what the hell just happened?

???

I kissed her. Jesus Christ, why did I have to kiss her?

I’ve been so strong, fighting the urge to drag her back to my bed and fuck her into oblivion for months. And the one instance when she’s actually sober and I can sense her vulnerability and feel her desire for me—the woman I know she truly is behind that hard exterior she puts on for everyone else—I lose my cool and fucking kiss her.

Then when she asks why… I tell her I don’t know.

I’ve had a week to ponder my move, analyze how this is going to change things moving forward. And the only thing I can conclude—is that I want to do it again.

My dick gets hard just thinking about the feel of her lips on mine that day—how soft she was despite the challenging façade she displays to everyone else, how fast she was to give in to the moment, telling me with so few words that she’s curious about our connection too.

But there’s so many variables to consider, so many holes in a plan of how to give in to each other without destroying the world we live in. And I think that’s the thing that has been keeping us both from acting on it.

“Fuck,” I mutter to myself as I rub gel into my hands, tossing it lightly through my hair as I study myself in the mirror, analyzing my choice last weekend for the hundredth time this week. I honestly don’t know what came over me. I’ve fought her off for months each time I pick her up from Tony’s and she whispers filthy images in my ears. It’s been like all of my teenage fantasies come true—and then I snap like a hormone-enraged teenager and pounce on her the second I get the chance.

It was one of the first times we’ve openly flirted when she was sober, and hearing her banter with me, knowing it wasn’t the alcohol talking, was like an open invitation to push my limits.

Ever since that summer when Liv turned eighteen, Clara transitioned from my sister’s petulant best friend to a woman you take notice of. But her leaving for college and both of us growing up and moving on with our lives has prevented me from ever having to contemplate an opportunity to make a move on her—except for that one Thanksgiving vacation she visited back in college.

Now we’re both older, both adults—consenting and connected people that are fighting an attraction I know we’re too stupid to ignore.

And although today is the Date the Deputy fundraiser and I need to be on my best behavior around my boss, co-workers, and family—I can’t avoid her any longer. This week was a game of hide and seek, making sure I did everything in my power to avoid interaction between the two of us, hoping that time passing would help her cool off. I swear she was going to smack me when I told her I didn’t know why I kissed her. But I think her icy glare stung enough.

I just hope we can both keep our composure. Me, I’m not too worried about.

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