Page 14 of Further To Fall

My sandwich fell from my hand.

Me:You said next week.

Austin:If you don’t loosen those muscles up today, you’ll feel even worse tomorrow. I’ll meet you at your apartment at 6 tonight. We can go for a short run and then I’ll stretch you out. You’ll be golden by tomorrow, promise.

I groaned and let my head fall to my desk for a moment.

Me:The life of a superhero, the work never ends.

Austin:See you tonight, superhero.

Me:Tonight, torture master.

I popped four Advil in preparation.

6

Austin

The sun glinted off Liam’s pool as I took a pull of my water. No beer for me since training was back in full swing. The sound of Carter’s laugh had my eyes searching her out. Her head was tipped back, a look of pure delight on her face as she clutched Taylor’s arm in reaction to a story Liam was telling them. Her strawberry-blonde hair cascaded down her back in waves, stopping short of her delectable ass in miniscule bikini bottoms. I gripped my bottle of water tighter. This girl would be the death of me.

“Careful, don’t want Liam to catch you looking at the girl he thinks of as a baby sister that way,” Ford said from the lounger next to me.

I hid my grimace by taking another drink. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ford chuckled. “Sure, you don’t. You two seem to be getting awfully chummy.”

“We’re friends.” It surprised me more than anyone that the statement rang true. Carter and I had been spending more and more time together. Our weekly training sessions were often extended into getting a quick bite to eat afterwards. We ran together two or three times a week. I enjoyed her company. I just needed to remind myself not to ruin it by trying to fuck her.

“Looks like you’ve got a little drool there from staring at your friend’s ass,” Ford replied, pointing at the corner of my mouth.

I smacked his hand away. “Like you’re one to talk. You’re constantly ogling those two.”

Ford tipped his head and let his sunglasses slide down his nose as he studied Carter and Taylor with a mischievous grin. “Fair point, well made.”

His leer caused a burning in my gut that I didn’t want to study too closely, so I got to my feet. “I need another water, you want anything?”

“Naw, I’m good, man,” he responded with a devilish smile in my direction.

Such a dick. One of my best friends in this world but still a dick. I slid open the door to the house and went in search of the coldest water I could find. If all else failed and Carter’s ass kept tempting me all damn day, I’d have to jump into the freezing-cold Pacific to calm my cock down.

Ice-cold water in hand, I headed back outside and towards the girl who had my body rebelling against my brain. She was gesturing animatedly while recounting some tale from her first month as a teacher. All that smooth, ivory skin on display, I couldn’t resist. I reached out my almost-frozen bottle, touching it to Carter’s bare back.

She shrieked at a decibel that might have caused my eardrums to rupture and whirled on me. “What in the world?!” Her eyes narrowed on the offending item in my hand. “That was just cruel!”

I chuckled in response. “Come on, it’s just a little water.”

“I’ll show you just a little water!” And with that, she shoved at my chest with all her slender-framed might.

The chilly pool water was a shock to my system, but I came up to the surface with a grin, pulling at my lips. “You little minx!”

Hands on her slightly flared hips, she met my gaze dead-on with a smile of her own. “Come on, Austin, it’s just a little water.”

“Yeah, yeah. At least help me out, would you?”

Carter reached a hand down to me. No matter how often I tried to drill into her head in our training sessions not to trust everyone she came across, she just couldn’t help her innocent and slightly naïve nature. As soon as my hand closed around hers, I gave a firm tug.

Carter’s eyes widened as she catapulted into the pool beside me. She came up spluttering and hissing like a drenched kitten. Just as adorable, too. “Austin Lyons, I am going to murder you, and no one is going to find the body because I listen to too many true crime podcasts!”

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