I brace myself. My brother is a sadistic fucker. I have the scars to prove it. If Deke thinks he’s going to kick my ass, he’s wildly mistaken. Cracking my knuckles, I never take my eyes off this dickhead.
“My boy said for you to come see him. He’s gonna take care of you.”
Fuck that.
“Is that all?” I grunt out.
His grin turns wolfish. “He said you’d probably give me shit about it and if you did, to tell you that you don’t have a fuckin’ choice.”
“Yeah, man. Got your message loud and clear.”
“I told her to suck my dick,” Terrence says, laughing. “And this bitch squats down in front of my desk like she’s gonna fucking do it.”
“Did she suck it?” Roan asks.
“Fuck no because Miss Sanchez is a cockblocker. Eleanor lied and told her she dropped her pencil when Miss Sanchez asked her what she was doing.” He shakes his head. “I would’ve let her too. Who the hell turns down getting their dick sucked?”
Roan laughs because that fucker never says no to head. I’ve walked in on Sidney blowing him more times than I care to. For only being sixteen, he gets more head than most grown-ass men. The dude has game, that’s for sure.
“You know who I want to suck my dick?” Cal asks from his lawn chair, sprawled out on it like he’s the king of the damn public pool.
“Ms. Frazier?” I laugh when he throws his flip-flop at me.
“No, but not gonna lie,” Cal says with a wicked smirk, “I’d be into it.”
We all groan because just thinking about our principal on her knees sucking dick is enough to give me nightmares.
“Nah, I was thinking that girl in art class with the big fuckin’ attitude,” Cal says. “Moaning Lisa.”
We all chuckle.
“No one wants to see you get a boner over this shit, man,” Terrence gripes and dumps his Coke into Cal’s lap, snorting with laughter.
Cal jumps to his feet and sways, drunk from whatever liquor he managed to smuggle into the pool. He’s pissed, fisting his hands like he’s going to level Terrence’s ass.
“She doesn’t want your pencil dick,” Terrence says, backing away.
“I don’t have a pencil dick and you know it.”
“No one wants to hear about your threesomes,” I groan.
“Do you do each other?” Roan asks, taunting them. “Who tops? I think Terrence looks like he tops.”
Cal starts bitching out Roan now, but my eyes are on the gate. Roan’s twelve-year-old sister, Roux, has just been dropped off by Ms. Frazier and is walking toward us, her backpack slung over her shoulder. Roux’s a cool kid. Her home life is shit, but she has us and we look after her. Sometimes, she looks so fucking sad, though. It kills me. I know it kills Roan too.
Today, she’s frowning and her shoulders are hunched. Something’s wrong. If her idiot brother wasn’t in a shoving match with Cal’s drunk ass, he’d notice. I rise, ready to yank apart these idiots, when Cal storms past Roan right toward Roux.
She looks up, realizes his intent, and darts her amber eyes my way. It happens in slow motion. Cal grabbing her arm and dragging her toward the deep end of the pool. I fucking leap over several loungers, dead set on killing his ass for touching her. I’m almost there when he shoves her into the water.
“What the hell?” I snarl as Roan whizzes past me to jump into the water.
Cal flashes me his stupid, arrogant smile and I lose it. My fist flies out before I can stop it. The second my hand hits his face, I know I’ve fucked up. The sickening pop brings clarity to the situation.
“Jordy!” Roux squeaks out as she climbs out of the pool, drenched as fuck. “You punched Cal!”
Terrence is gaping at us and Roan is frowning as he follows her out of the pool. Cal’s bleeding all over the fucking place.
“You bwoke my nose,” Cal whines in a nasally voice, still swaying. “We were just horsing awound.”
While Roan and Terrence tend to our drunk-ass friend, I swivel around to face Roux, who looks like a drowned rat.
“You okay, Little Hoodlum?” I take her glasses from her hand and set them back on her nose. “Did he hurt you?”
Her smile is sweet. “No, but you hurt him.”
“Nobody fucks with you, Roux. I’ve got your back.”
“Thanks,” she murmurs. She stares at the pool, frowning hard.
“What’s wrong?”
“Now we don’t get to swim.”
Guilt kicks me in the goddamn balls.
“Oh shit,” I grunt out. “I can stay with you. They don’t need me.” I glance over my shoulder to look at Roan. “I can watch Roux while you deal with that fuckface.”
Relief flashes in his eyes. “We’ll be back.”
Once they’re gone, Roux sits down to pull off a worn, soaked tennis shoe. “I’m not a baby.”
I stare down the little girl with the big coppery eyes. “Yeah, you are.”
“I can swim and I can handle Cal. He’s always like that.”
“I don’t like him or anyone putting their hands on you,” I bite out, anger bleeding into my tone. “I gotta protect you, Little Hoodlum.”
She gives me a sassy look. “I guess you can be my bodyguard.”
“Mouthy like your brother,” I tease. “Go get changed so we can swim.”
Her grin makes all the dark, aching parts of myself light up with happiness. As she bounds off toward the restrooms, I can’t help but take her joke seriously. I’ll be her bodyguard and protect her. God only knows everyone besides Roan seems out to get her.
I’ll be damned if I let anyone hurt her if I can help it.
Even if it means breaking one of my best friends’ noses.
I will protect her from everyone.
Roux
“Stay still,” Charlotte chides, blowing in my face.
I laugh but obey my makeup artist. “Don’t make me look like a ho.”
“The only ho that’ll be at the party is Tarrin.” She curls her lip up. “I swear she makes it her goal in life to fuck everyone she knows.”
“I heard she fucked Mr. Banner.”
“Ew, he’s married.”
“She fucked Lucy’s boyfriend of three years. I don’t think she cares.”
Charlotte brushes on some mascara, frowning hard. “If she even thinks about fucking Ryan, I’ll rip her ugly black extensions out of her hair.”
“You think they’re extensions?”
“I follow her on Insta. She hashtags some place that does hair extensions like they’re going to notice her and somehow make her a famous influencer.” She starts swiping mascara on my other eyelashes. “Just because you call yourself an Instagram model, it doesn’t mean you’re actually a model.”
“She’s pretty,” I say, playing devil’s advocate.
“Until she opens her bitchy mouth.”
“Instagram doesn’t have to hear her.”
“Lucky them.”
We both giggle.
Tarrin Hopper is on the cheerleading squad with Charlotte. They pretend to like each other when they’re face to face, but they’re really arch nemeses. Tarrin, no matter how much makeup she cakes on or how many guys she sleeps with, will never be as popular as Charlotte. No one is. It comes naturally to her. Everyone loves Charlotte.