Complicate Me (The Good Ol' Boys #1) (28 page)

She looked at her phone. “Almost eleven.”

“Shit, she can’t go home like this.”

“I… don’t… feels… so… goods… Bo...” Alex mumbled, leaning her tiny frame against my chest and hiding her face in the nook of my neck. “You… smells… good…”

I chuckled. I couldn’t help it, even being drunk as shit and smelling like vomit, she was still adorable to me.

“Don’t worry about it. She called her parents a while ago saying that she was crashing at my house.”

I sighed in relief and kissed the top of her head.

“I’ll take care of her,” Cole claimed.

“The fuck you will,” I roared, standing up with Alex passed out in my arms. I faced Aubrey. “Thank you.”

She nodded. “Don’t mention it. Just get out of here before the boys see you and her.”

“Will you at least text me and let me know she’s all right,” Cole hollered from behind me as I walked away.

“She’s all right. Consider this your text message, motherfucker!”

I gently placed Alex in my truck and buckled her seatbelt. “Baby, what did you do?” I murmured, sweeping all her hair away from her face, making sure it didn’t have throw up in it. It was just on her clothes and I needed to get her out of them. I got in my truck and looked at my face in the visor mirror. Not much damage, my lip was a little swollen but not enough to where Alex would notice. I took a deep breath and drove her to the only place that ever felt like home to me.

Our abandoned house.

“Mmm,” I groaned when I felt something hard beneath me. I opened my eyes to Lucas sitting above me.

“Shit. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

I laughed even though I was disoriented as all hell. “I’m thirsty.”

He handed me a bottle of water. Surprisingly it was cold. I drank half of it down in a few gulps while trying to look behind him. Everything just appeared fuzzy to me. “Where are we?” I asked, squinting my eyes.

“Our place,” he simply stated, grabbing the water and taking a few sips for himself. “How do you feel?”

“Funny,” I beamed.

“You’re drunk.”

I frowned and pouted. “Nah uh.” If I were standing, I probably would have fallen over. I decided to lie down because the ground was on the move. “What’s that smells?”

“You,” he laughed, placing a shirt by me.

“I need helps. Will you please help me’s?”

He nodded, easing me up. I immediately placed my hands on his chest. “Whoa, tell the floor to stop moving.”

He laughed again. It vibrated his entire body. He felt so good that I wrapped my arms around his torso. “You smells good and feels nice. I’m going to stay right here… mmm… kay…”

“I need to change you before you can lay down again.”

“In your arms?”

“Of course.”

I smiled into his shirt. “Mmm kay.” I hugged him tight one last time and stepped away, swaying. I closed my eyes and put my hands up above my head, and he swiftly pulled off my dress.

When I heard him hiss I opened my eyes to find him staring at me with lust and desire. I was drunk, but I could see it clear as day. I don’t know what came over me. We were in our place, our home, our safe haven.

Away from everything and everyone.

Away from the lies and the truths.

Away from expectations and insecurities.

Away from it all…

It sobered me up enough to know what I wanted.

Him.

I stepped toward him and he stepped back, shaking his head like he knew. “Don’t,” he warned, in a tone I remembered all too clear.

I stepped again, except this time I reached for the strings of my bikini top.

“Alex,” he coaxed with a look I had never seen before.

“You’re leaving tomorrow,” I stated, untying the strings to my top and then bottoms, letting it fall down my body to the ground. 

I stood there in front of him with a familiar yearning in both of our intense stares.

Naked.

Vulnerable.

Exposed.

I whispered, “Make love to me. I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.”

I saw a look of pure unadulterated fear and confusion reflected through his stare as he looked at me. Except he wasn’t looking at my naked body like I assumed he would. His eyes never wavered from mine. They were bonded together by the severity of my words and what I wanted.

What I needed.

It all seemed to happen so fast after that.

He was over to me in one stride, roughly grabbing the back of my neck and colliding my lips with his in the most forceful and passionate kiss…

Of my entire life.

My boys were gone.

Lucas was gone.

Though Austin remained. A huge part of me was gone, too.

My innocence.

My virtue.

My virginity.

Half-Pint left with my boys. Brown eyed girl left with my Bo.

They left yesterday, and I could barely look at myself in the mirror today. There was no going back for me. I already felt lost and alone without them, without him.

I couldn’t believe I lost my virginity like that. I couldn’t believe I gave it to him so easily. I couldn’t believe it was gone.

Like them.

Like him.

Alex… Alexandra… she remained.

With a choice that I made…

With a guilt that I inflicted…

With a hurt that I caused…

With a regret…

That would forever haunt me.

“What the fuck, man?” Jacob badgered. “Come out with us.”

“I’m all right,” I yawned into the couch, channel surfing.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Jesus Christ, Lucas, we’ve been here for almost four months and all you do is watch TV and go to class.”

I shrugged.

He took a deep breath, leaned over and turned off the TV.

“What the fuck?” I shouted.

“Exactly! What the fuck?” he repeated with his arms out in the air. “What’s your deal, man? You don’t want to do shit. We’re in college! A fraternity! Chicks throwing their pussy at you without you even giving them a second glance! What’s your problem?”

“Right now? You,” I stated, not amused.

“What happened to the Lucas from high school? The one who fucked any girl that would spread her legs for him?”

“I’m over that.”

“No shit.”

I sat up, shaking my head. “What do you want from me? I don’t get involved in your business. Do I tell you not to go out and bring home the randoms you do every night? No! I mind my own goddamn business, the same exact way you fucking should.”

“At least someone’s getting laid around here. Between Dylan fucking moping around everywhere and you with your…” he pointed at me with his hand. “Who the fuck knows, I’m dying of boredom. These are supposed to be the best years of our life.”

I arrogantly smiled with wide eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t get that memo.”

He narrowed his eyes at me and crossed his arms over his chest. “This is about Alex isn’t it?”

“Don’t talk about shit you don’t know,” I scoffed.

“I miss her, too. We all do.”

I wanted to say it was different for me. I wanted to say he didn’t understand. I wanted to say I loved her. I wanted to say a lot of things.

Mostly I wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up.

“You’re going to see her in a few weeks, we will be home for Thanksgiving break.”

Nothing mattered anymore. We both lived two separate lives now, her fears becoming our reality.

“Do you think she’s sitting around as miserable as you?”

I hope so.

“When was the last time you talked to her?”

“A few weeks ago,” I muttered. We didn’t talk that often. It was easier that way.

“And what?” he added.

“She said she was fine.” And for the first time I believed her. “How often do you talk to her?” I found myself asking.

He shrugged, shaking his head. “A few times a week.”

Ouch.
I tried to pretend that didn’t hurt like hell.

“Lucas, I know you and her have—”

“Don’t,” I ordered, not ready to hear what he had to share.

He cocked his head to the side and sighed. “Don’t what? What am I not supposed to say?”

“What you’ve known all along.”

We both stared at each other for I don’t how long, time just seemed to a stand still.

“I love you, Lucas. I love her, too. You’re my family. She’s like a little sister to us, she always has been. Do I need to remind you of that?” he scorned in a tone I didn’t fucking appreciate.

I leaned forward, sitting my elbows on my knees. “You mean more than you already have?” I challenged.

He jerked back. “That’s not—”

“It’s not?” I interrupted.

“No. It’s not.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“What, Lucas? You think you’re good enough for her? You think we didn’t see the bags under her eyes? The way she looked at you from across the room when all you did was flaunt your pussy party in front of everyone. You think that’s what love is? I sure as hell don’t. She’s a good girl, she always has been. She doesn’t need your shit, she also doesn’t deserve it.”

I sat there speechless. I couldn’t form the words that I wanted to express so deeply. It wouldn’t change anything. The damage was already done.

He nodded, knowing he got to me. “Exactly.”

I took one last look at him, leaned back into the couch, and turned on the TV.

“Hey,” Austin greeted from behind me. I turned to face him.

“Hey.”

He sat down next to me on the bench at the pier.

“Whatcha doin’ over here by yourself?”

“I don’t know. Sometimes I come here to think.”

I hadn’t seen Lucas or the boys since Christmas break. They were coming home for spring break in a few weeks, except it was college spring break not high school. So who knew how much time I would get to spend with them. I was excited nonetheless. We hadn’t talked about what happened before he left for school. Not one word. It was like it didn’t happen, except it replayed in my mind like a broken record. Apparently he didn’t have the same problem, but to give him the benefit of the doubt, Lucas always had the ability to hide things better than me. I hoped this was the case.

“About Lucas?”

I immediately looked over at him, stunned and dismayed.

He reassuringly smiled with an arched eyebrow and a mischievous look on his face. “It’s okay, Half-Pint, I’m not Jacob or Dylan. All I want is for you to be happy with Lucas, with Cole, shit even with a chick if that floats your fancy.”

I chuckled. “No girls.”

He laughed. “A guy can dream, right?”

I grinned, nudging him with my shoulder. “How long have you known?”

“Long enough.”

I nodded with understanding as I turned to look back out over at the water.

“The boys—”

“I know. In all fairness though, they’re just looking out for you. It’s what we’ve always done. It’s not coming from a bad place.”

“I know.”

“I don’t think you do, I know you, Alex. I’ve known you as long as I’ve known them. You and Lucas have always had a special bond. When I was a kid, I used to be jealous of it, not because I wanted you in that way or anything, you’re like my little sister and that applies to all of us. Except you and Lucas complete each other. You balanced each other out in a way that we all do for one another, but you had your own dynamic going on.”

I nodded in understanding. I felt like he wanted to say more to me and I didn’t want to ruin it by talking.

“I’ve always felt like the odd man out with the rest of the boys, I’m the youngest. I guess that’s why I try to do everything to the extreme. I need to make up for it or something.”

“Austin,” I murmured, completely surprised and taken aback. “I never knew you felt that way.”

“I’m good at hiding things, we have that in common. The boys have never made me feel like that by any means. It’s still there though. You know Lucas always tells me that we’re a lot alike, and I never understood what he meant until they left,” he paused, reflecting on what he was about to say to me. “Both of us wanting to be one of the boys.”

I gazed at the side of his face. “I’ve never thought that about you. Not ever.”

“And I’ve never thought that about you, but it doesn’t change the fact that you felt that way, does it?”

“No,” I half-whispered.

He sadly smiled and bowed his head for a few seconds, only looking back up when he was ready. “I graduate in a few months.”

“Three months,” I stated. I knew because I counted down the days until I would really be alone. It was a ticking time clock in my head.

He glanced at me, smiling, and it eased the worry I felt in my heart.

“You going to miss me, Half-Pint?”

“Always,” I bellowed, my eyes blurring.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his chest, kissing the top of my head and letting his lips linger. “I will always be here for you, it doesn’t matter where I am. I will always take care of you, and I will always love you. You’re my Half-Pint,” he vowed, his voice breaking.

I sniffed. “Ditto.”

“One day we won’t care what the boys think about us or what we do. On that day, we will both be extremely happy.”

I wanted to say I was happy, but I would be lying. It broke my heart that for all these years he had felt this way and I had no idea.

Did the boys?

“So… it’s Saturday night and Charlie’s throwing one of his raging parties. Let’s go,” he demanded, standing up and reaching his hand out for me. “No.” He shook his head before I could answer.

“I don’t want to hear your bullshit excuses about this or that. You will have fun with me. You will drink. You will dance. You will party. And that’s a fucking order.”