Page 21 of My Never
Sydney squirms in between us.
“What are you talking about? We’ve gotta keep up with her! She’s the youngest in our group next to Trystan.”
Brynleigh winks at me with all her cute spunk on full display, and I have to remind myself that she’s safe with all of us. I put away my overprotective, big brother brain, and tell myself she is old enough to be out here having fun. She deserves to have some fun.
“Hey,” I get her attention. “You enjoy tonight. I can’t remember the last time I saw you let loose.” I see her blush and look over Trystan’s way. He nods at me.
“We’ll make sure she has a good time. You know she’s safe with us.”
I nod back at him, knowing I’d trust him with her life. I turn back to Bryn.
“You finally get rid of the loser, Brynnie Mae?”
She rolls her eyes at me and smiles viciously.
“You know I hate when you call me that.”
“You’ll always be little Brynnie to me too,” Colin teases.
“As long as you never call me that at the office.”
“Can you two leave that grown-ass woman alone and load up the bus?” Trystan calls while Garrett claps his hands to get the show on the road.
“The Lieutenant has spoken! Load up, ladies!”
I decide to bring up the rear, allowing my fingers to brush across Ava’s forearm when she passes by. Her eyes pop up to mine, and she looks about to say something, but Holly grabs her hand and pulls her out the door and onto the bus. I shut everything up and test to make sure the door is locked.
???
Ava
My skin still feels electrified from the skim of his fingertips across my forearm right as we were leaving. Sitting here in the blacklight glow of the bus, I keep feeling his eyes on me. I’ve caught them traveling the length of my legs a few times, and the magnetic pull to him has my heart racing in ways I didn’t expect. Ways that I shouldn’t even entertain. I still want to smack the smug smirks off of his face, but I won’t deny that my heart skipped a few beats when I saw him switching into that pink shirt earlier. We all squealed like a bunch of teenagers watching the hot lifeguard take off his rashguard at the pool. Mark is a fine specimen of a man. Definitely trouble. If we weren’t at each other’s throats all the time, I’d say he’s my kind of trouble.
I shake my head to dispel the thoughts when Brynleigh hands me a can of hard lemonade. She smiles, but I notice she’s about as distracted as I am. I have yet to figure out her source of distraction though. She plays her cards close to the chest. She’s a pretty smart girl for twenty-four. I really enjoy having her around. Maybe we should invite her around more often.
“So, why did they ask if you got rid of the loser earlier? Are you dating a loser?” I ask curiously.
Brynleigh giggles and rolls her eyes just like she did at her brother.
“Ted isn’t a loser. Nobody will ever be good enough in Mark or my father’s eyes.”
“Wrong.”
Both our heads turn to Trystan who is listening rather intently. Brynleigh looks like she wants to argue but doesn’t get a chance.
“Your brother and father happened to notice quite a few red flags. From what they told me, he needs to go.”
“You get no say in this matter.”
“I’m aware. Just clarifying the subject matter for you from what I’ve heard is all. You deserve the best, Bryn.”
The air between the two makes me physically uncomfortable, but I’m saved when Mark steps into the mix and grabs my can, shaking it to see how empty it is, and when he finds it not as empty as he expected it to be, he frowns and pushes it back toward me.
“Am I not drinking fast enough for you?”
“I need you amenable enough not to jump down my throat tonight.” He digs around in the cooler and hands me a fresh, cold one. He takes back the half empty one and finishes the rest, and for a multitude of reasons, it feels a tad intimate, like something a boyfriend or husband would do. I just stare at him.
“Don’t sit there and blink at me like that,” Mark mumbles, only loud enough for me to hear.
