Page 3 of Heartless Summer
I suck in a deep breath before steadily releasing it as guilt slices through me. “You don’t have anything to apologize for,” I grumble, feeling like an asshole. As much as I want to keep this girl all to myself, that’s not possible.
Just as I crawl on top of her, the front door opens before being slammed shut. We jump apart like the guilty teenagers we still are as my brother stalks into the room before grinding to a halt. He stares at us with narrowed eyes before grunting out a barely discernable hello and continuing to the kitchen.
A dull red stain floods Skye’s cheeks as she hastily straightens her clothing and smooths her long blonde hair. I grab a pillow from the other side of the couch and strategically place it over my boner before lounging against the cushions.
“I didn’t think you’d be home until five,” I throw out casually.
“Unfortunately for you, I was able to finish up early and take off for the day.” He glances at me from the tiny kitchen at the back of the house as he grabs the handle of the fridge and yanks it open. There’s a rattle of bottles as he rummages around inside. “Didn’t realize I needed to give you a heads up before I walked in the door.”
“It would have been nice,” I holler back, giving Skye a wink to help lighten the thick tension now permeating the air.
My brother shoots me a glare before pulling out a beer and popping off the top. He lifts the glass container to his lips before taking a long swig.
Once he’s downed half the golden liquid, he says, “Maybe you should screw your girlfriend in your room from now on instead of the living room. How about that?”
“Jeez, Mase,” I mutter with a scowl. “What died and crawled up your ass?” When Skye shifts away from me, I wrap an arm around her shoulders before tugging her closer. It’s ridiculous that I feel the strange need to protect her from him.
He grunts before swinging away.
“Maybe I should take off,” Skye says in a small voice that only I can hear.
“No, it’s fine. He’s just in a bad mood from working all day.” My arm tightens around her, making escape impossible.
When her teeth scrape against her plump lower lip, my gaze drops to the movement, and even though my brother is stomping around in the next room, my dick turns rock hard. I’m so focused on her mouth that I barely hear the landline ring in the kitchen. A few seconds later, Mason fills the doorway.
“Coach wants to talk with you.”
Unable to resist, I drag Skye to me before pressing a kiss against her. “I’ll be right back. Don’t you dare go anywhere.”
“All right.”
“For fuck’s sake,” my brother mumbles. “Let’s go. He’s not gonna wait forever.”
I rise to my feet and shoot Mason another dark look before grabbing the phone from him. Instead of taking the call in the living room so he can hear what’s being said, I stalk into my bedroom and slam the door shut behind me.
Without my football scholarship, I wouldn’t have the money to attend college. We live on a shoestring budget and are barely scrimping by as it is. Even with Mason busting his ass, sometimes working sixty hours a week, there’s no way he could afford to pay for tuition on top of everything else. The money Claremont is giving me has been a blessing.
Trust me, I’m grateful for everything my brother has done so I can play ball. I can’t imagine where I’d be without him. I probably wouldn’t have gotten recruited by a top Division I school with almost a full ride and a real shot at making it to the pros.
So, yeah…I have a lot of love for my brother. But I fucking hate the way he treats Skye. The funny thing is that it wasn’t always this way. There used to be a time when Skye, Mason, whatever girl he was seeing, and I would go out on double dates. He’d joke around with her like she was a little sister, and we had fun together. All that changed a couple of years ago.
Mason changed.
He became bitter.
He’s dropped plenty of comments about me being too focused on her when I should be concentrating all my energies on football. Does he really think I don’t understand that making it to the NFL is what will finally give us our financial freedom?
I’m doing everything in my power to make it happen. I realize the sacrifices he’s made and I’m working as hard as I can to do my fair share around here. The guy needs to chill out. Skye hasn’t gotten in the way of anything. She makes me more determined to achieve everything I possibly can.
Once alone in my bedroom, I place the phone to my ear. “Hey, Coach. How you doing?”
A gravelly voice rumbles over the line. The guy sounds like he’s smoked Marb Reds his entire life. “I’m good. Looking forward to getting you boys here for training camp.”
I nod, torn between wanting to go and being away from Skye for so long. “Looking forward to getting there.”
“I think we’re going to have a competitive team this year. Should be a good season.”
“I hope so. I’d love to get a Championship ring my freshman year.”
