Great, just great.
“Does no one knock when they come to this house?” I ask. No one answers.
“Go get dressed, Summer,” Xander says quietly, his tone demanding. I roll my eyes, but walk to my room, grabbing my clothes to change into. I head for the bathroom, taking a quick shower and brushing my teeth.
I dress in a figure hugging pair of jeans and a peach knit sweater, giving my hair a quick iron so it stays in place. My hair is neither straight nor curly, so I choose to go with one or the other.
When I walk out, conversation ceases. I see Dash is now here as well, leaning against the wall, knee up.
“Where’s Ryan?” I ask, since he seems to be the only one missing. I see Reid scowl, his eyes flashing.
“Don’t worry your little head, he'll be here,” he snaps, his expression shuttered.
Okaaaaaay, then.
“Charming,” I mutter to myself as I walk towards my brother.
“Morning, Summer,” Dash says, his eyes roaming all over my face and body.
“Hey, Dash.” I offer him a small smile. He looks hot wearing a pair of dark jeans and a black T-shirt.
“I’m gonna do some grocery shopping,” I tell them, searching through my handbag for my car keys. The pantries are practically bare and the fridge only has leftover pizza, beer and some limes.
Which I assume are for tequila shots.
“Wait, I’ll come with you,” Xander says.
“I think I can handle going to the store without a babysitter,” I tell him, giving him my best ‘I dare you to say otherwise’ look.
“Yeah, but do you know where it is?” He smirks, leaning back against the fridge.
“Surely it can’t be that hard to find,” I say, rolling my eyes. I finally find my keys and pull them out.
“I can take you,” Dash offers. My eyes find Reid, who looks delicious himself in a snug pair of worn jeans and a black sweater. I swallow hard. His body is just phenomenal. Broad shouldered and lean hipped, the man has the perfect amount of muscle. When I glance up into amused blue eyes, I cringe. The last thing I want is for him to think I’m interested in any way.
I clear my throat and tear my gaze away from him. “I’ll be fine, but thanks, Dash,” I say, waving to them before walking out of the house.
I glance around the neighbourhood quickly, before getting into my car. Pulling out my phone, I look for the nearest supermarket, which turns out to be only about five minutes away. I frown when I see the neighbour peeping over the fence, blatantly staring. He quickly ducks when he sees me looking. I shake my head and drive off, deciding to detour and get familiar with the area.
Reid
“You sure it’s safe for her to go out alone?” I ask Xander, not so sure about it myself.
“She’ll be fine, it’s just down the road and no one knows who she is.”
“Yet,” I say, knowing it’s what everyone else in the room is thinking.
“No one will mess with her,” Dash says confidently. Too confidently, and that’s his weakness. I try to keep one step ahead, while Dash relies on his reputation way too much. It’s true, I’m probably being paranoid. But we do have enemies, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
“That a gamble you willing to take?” I ask the room. Xander curses, and instantly goes into his room, coming out minutes later fully dressed.
“I can go keep an eye,” I offer. The minute the words come out of my mouth I regret them. It’s not my job to babysit her. Nor should I want to. Fuck.
“I got it, she’s my sis, my responsibility,” he says, but he’s wrong. She’s all of ours, because Jack made her be. Xander leaves in a hurry, now worried about Summer. I’m sure she’s fine, there’s just a few things she doesn’t know about this town.
About her father.
About us.
I think someone needs to update her, and quick. But hell, what do I know? This is their decision to keep her in the dark, and it’s not really my business. I suppose if she was mine, I’d want to keep her safe and away from all of this, too.
Then why do I feel slightly guilty?
“Where’s Ry?” Dash asks, looking up from his phone, pulling me from my thoughts.
“At the gym, I’m heading there now before work.” Ryan and I own our own bar, Knox Tavern. It’s just a small pub, but it’s ours and we do okay for ourselves. I’d like to think my mother would be proud of us if she were around.
“Alright. I’m gonna stick around and wait for Summer.” He's trying to appear casual, but I see the way his eyes flicker to mine before he looks back down at his phone.
“You know she’s off limits, right?” I can’t stop myself from asking.
“Do you?” he replies.
“Not my type,” I answer without hesitation. Dash mulls my comment over, before nodding in agreement.
“You’re right about that. Summer’s a good girl,” he says, a wistful smile on his face. It pisses me off. Fuck! She’s only been here one night and she’s f**king with my head already. With my control.
So what if she’s hot? I’ve had a lot of hot. Sweet, not so much, but only because I generally go for women who know what they're getting into with me. They have no misconceptions of love, romance or forever. They use me, and I use them. We both have a good time, no harm, no foul.
Summer seems like the romance kind. The kind of woman who would try to change a man like me.