Page 74 of Ruse
“What’s next?” she asks, hopeful eyes looking at me.
That’s when the gravity of what we’ve just done hits me like an ice-cold bucket of water. There is no going back now. The way I feel about her, the way I know she feels about me, this is real. This is what it is supposed to feel like. Those emotions I’ve suppressed so deep inside of me, well there’s no hiding them away now.
They’re front and center on the tip of my tongue, taking over every inch of my mind.
Before I answer her, I grab her waist and jump back into the water, kissing her while we’re under. Coming back up to the surface, I brush her hair away from her face and cup her chin in my palm, tenderly running my thumb over her bottom lip.
“I don’t know Nyx, but I do know one thing.” She nods expectantly. “I don’t want to fight it any longer, consequences be damned.”
ChapterTwenty-Four
PHOENIX
Autumn.
The only time of the year better than summer for us Malibu Cove residents.
Cool gentle breezes, ever-changing falling leaves, delectable, spiced lattes, and football.
It’s all about football. High school football.
Our All-American reigning state champions are going for their fourth consecutive title, which coincides with Brooklyn and Fitz’s fourth year on the varsity team. Coincidences don’t exist in Malibu Cove. I once heard a rumor that Coach Rivers purposefully held back a student or two during his tenure, making them repeat their senior year in order for them to remain a part of the team. Rumors of course, but given the importance placed on the guys and this team, the televised games, the pro-team stadiums in which the postseason games are held, it’s all plausible.
Lucky for Fitz and my brother, their futures in the majors are too important to jeopardize.
So, what better way to kick off the start of the season, the end of their high school career and beginning of their pro-level career, than with a rager in their honor.
The moment he entered the room wearing one of Brooklyn's old football jerseys, his hair unruly and not in its usual perfectly gelled state, holding a glass of bourbon in his manicured hand, and announced we were hosting a party Saturday in honor of my brother's first win as a senior, and potential draft season, I knew my father was up to something.
He only ever throws these lavish parties for his clients along with his business partners and associates, or when he’s concocting a plan. This feels like the latter.
That the game has yet to happen, and the MC Sharks have yet to win, or that the scouts won’t be coming to watch until the second half of the season, doesn’t bother him in the slightest, nor stops him from arranging the event tonight. It’s a given that every time the Sharks play, they win. Especially against tonight's visitors, the Montecito Monarchs.
Brooklyn didn’t seem bothered by the idea of my father’s party, but something just felt off to me. It’s like he was trying a little too hard to make nice. Not to mention, this week has been chock-full of weird experiences and unusual behaviors even for my father. Not only has he been moodier than normal, but he’s also even seemed slightly paranoid, always looking over his shoulder and asking where Maverick is. Both Maverick and Brooklyn have spent little time at the house this week meaning we’ve yet to discuss what happened between the three of us last weekend.
We’ve had dinner as a family twice, which if you ask me is terribly awkward now that Mav and I are well, whatever we are. After our discussion about what that night really meant, not to forget the hot as fuck pool sex we had, he assured me he doesn’t want to fight, whatever it is we were previously fighting against.
After leaving Chad and Tate standing there humiliated, with their jaws dropped and tails between their legs, Mav and I came home and spent the night together. It was his idea to go for a “swim”, which turned out to be just what we needed. It started off with innocent touching, nothing erotic about it, yet it instilled in me the same pleasurable feelings having him inside of me had.
The two of us naked together in the warm water, kissing as my hands roamed all over his chest, his fingers caressing my skin, I couldn’t help getting so aroused. I needed him again, so I had him. Not only did he fuck me like I’d never been fucked before but having him in my mouth as I watched him come apart because of me, well let’s just say it’s the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever felt.
But then it became so much more and that is when I realized that night, despite its drastic turn of events, was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, and ending the night at his side, was everything.
My feelings for him flourished while I lay with him curled up in his arms, and although he hasn’t outright declared the way he feels about me, I know he cares.
Though something tells me he’s kept his distance on purpose, because neither one of us is ready to admit what we feel, nor for our parents to discover what is truly happening between us. At least not until we’ve figured it out.
Regardless, I must admit there has been a recent shift between ourfamily, especially where my father is concerned. The glares he’s given Maverick the times I’ve seen them together in the same room are terrifying and make me wonder if there is something else going on that I don’t know about. Or if Brooklyn has told my father anything about what happened that night.
Since the altercation between Maverick and Brooklyn, the times he has been home and not crashing at Fitz’s house, my brother’s been even more distant and broody.
Which brings me to the current scene in front of me where all of that becomes irrelevant.
Friday Night Lights.
The game is about to start and Olly, Darcy and I are sitting front row on the home side bleachers, watching the cheer squad, Dee front and center of course, spell out the words MALIBU COVE as they chant asking us to “give them a letter”.
The announcer comes on over the intercom speakers, letting everyone know we have five minutes till kick off. The visiting team exits from the visitor’s side tunnel, making their way onto the field in their crimson and gold uniforms, the silhouette of a butterfly etched in black on their helmets.
