Page 62 of Rebellious

Bennett nods. “Yeah, I have it.” He pulls it from the bag and holds it up as evidence.

“Throw it here,” calls Drew, dropping the cooler and running down the sand. They can’t even wait to open the beer before playing. Maybe Bennett was right; we should spend more time with these two idiots.

Leaving the bags and towels where we dropped them, I run down the sand and hip check my brother out of the way. He grunts and rights himself, picking up speed, but I can outrun his slow ass any day. Spending my days on the cross-country team provided all the endurance I need to beat a pitcher who works out the least on the baseball team.

“I’m open!” Drew hollers, and Bennett rocks onto his back foot looking for his mark. In a single breath, he decides, cocking his arm back and sending the ball soaring through the air and right toward Fenn. And like I’ve done all Fenn’s life, I jump in front of the ball and knock it down.

“Motherfucker, Aspen!”

I fall to the ground, the hot sand burning my chest and filling my bikini top with thousands of grains.

“Do you have to be such a dude?” My brother walks past me to the ball, scooping it up. “We’re literally just throwing it around, not playing a game.”

On the ground, I rest my head on my arm, feeling a little nip slip I need to handle. “Don’t be such a sore loser. You can’t win all the time.” Especially at football. Fenn sucks. Bennett merely humors him by tossing the ball around. I’ve always been the one he practiced with, not Fenn or Drew. Well, I take that back. Cade is a big football fan, and most days, he and Bennett would be outside throwing the ball. But when it was just us, Bennett always played with me.

“Do you need help up?” comes a gravelly voice with a hint of amusement.

I push up on my hands and glance down at my chest. “No, but I could use a shield.”

Bennett brows crease and I clarify. “My top isn’t exactly covering everything it should.”

His eyes widen. “I see.”

I shrug. “And so will our brothers if I don’t get it situated.”

That seems to snap him out of it. “Turn around,” he barks at the guys.

“Why?” It’s always Fenn who can never do as he’s told. I think it runs in our family.

“Your sister needs a moment.”

My brother looks at Bennett like he’s grown two heads. “Fenn!” I yell. “Do you want to see my boobs?”

Fenn jerks back and makes this face like he’s smelled something rotten. “What? No?”

“Then you better turn around because I’m about to stand up and flash you.”

He makes a gagging noise. “Gross.” He nods toward the water on the other side of the island, obscured by brush. “We’ll go for a swim so you can—” he waves a hand up and down my body, “—handle that.”

“You’re the best,” I tease as he walks off, Drew leading the way to the water’s edge.

When they’ve disappeared, I look back at Bennett. “Do you want to turn around?”

His eyes tighten, but his gaze remains firm. “Do you want me to turn around?”

It would be highly inappropriate to high five him, so I go with, “No,” instead.

He nods, his throat working as if he’s trying to keep calm or keep from running away. I can’t tell which. The fact is, this is foreign territory between us. Seeing me exposed has always been against the rules. We’ve always had barriers. Bras. Glass shower doors. Baggy t-shirts. Never has Bennett seen my breasts unobscured. It’s a change, and one he needs to get used to if we’re going to continue the rest of the summer without rules.

Bennett holds out his hand for me to take, and the moment seems like it’s stuck in slow motion.

I smile. “You’re not going to pass out, are you?” I tease, hoping to lighten the tension in his body.

He doesn’t answer, his gaze holding firm, directly on my eyes. Looks like he’s handling it Bennett’s way. Taking a deep breath, I lift my hand and clasp his. Without a word, only a brief hesitation, he hauls me up, keeping his eyes trained on my face the whole time.

I look down first, hoping I don’t have like half a nip or a ridiculous amount of tit bulging out and being completely unsexy. That’s not the first impression I want Bennett seeing.

Fortunately, though, the dive I took in the sand pulled my entire top below both boobs. The fabric is full of sand, bulging under my breasts, and is actually serving as a nice little lift.

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