Keep Me (17 page)

“Yeah? Well, let’s let her decide then!”

After putting Luca down for the night, I stepped out of the bedroom where he and I would be sleeping and ran right into a Grayson sibling debacle.

“Let who decide what?” I jumped right in.

Riley glared at Marcus, the rage evident in the tightness of her features. “You planned this didn’t you?”

“Planned what?” I interceded. I was super curious now.

Marcus, wearing loose fitting pajama bottoms and a sleeveless ribbed cotton undershirt, sauntered over to me with a newspaper in his hands.
Was he trying to melt me?
“I swear to Christ I didn’t plan this, Ry.” He lay the folded paper before me, the colorful ad centered on the black and white page.

I stared in disbelief. “Are you shitting me? They’re
here
?
Tomorrow
? What the hell are the…”

“I know, right? It’s like a sign. We have to go!”

Riley’s arms were wrapped around her chest like a boa constrictor. All she had to do was start tapping her foot and she’d be the picture perfect mother hen. “I’m not condoning this… this…
debauchery
! Find someone else to sit for Luca if you two are going to go groupie around with some indie nothing of a band that no one’s ever heard of.”

Marcus tilted his head like a sullen boy but barked back, “The Airborne Toxic Event is not a
nothing of a band
, Ry. And it doesn’t matter, I didn’t ask
you
to come with me, I’m asking Tessa.” He turned back to me with the most hopeful glimmer in his eyes. It was heart-melting. “What do you say, Tess? Wanna go?”

Did I ever! After singing with Marcus in the car earlier and feeling every single one of those words course through my veins I couldn’t think of anything I’d like more. I’d yet to see them live because I wouldn’t dare ask Zack to accompany me to something he had no interest in. That kind of thing was unheard of… yet I had to suck it up and sit in the bleachers for tons of baseballs games every year. I wanted to do this for me, for a change, but it would piss Riley off to no end if I flat left her for Marcus and then had the audacity to ask her to watch Luca. Especially since she was already wary about Marcus and I spending time together… alone.

“As much as I’d love to, I can’t leave Riley alone. It wouldn’t be right.” It sucked always having to be the voice of reason.

“She won’t
be
alone. She’ll have Luca. Come on, Tess, I’ve been dying to see them with a
real
fan. I don’t know anyone else who’s as stoked about them as I am.” His excitement matched that of a young boy.
Oh my God, it was cute!
He scowled at his sister, tossing the newspaper at her. “Riley, you goddamn soggy biscuit. Tessa needs to unwind, you said so yourself. This is perfect! For God’s sake, I’ll take her as a friend, not a date… totally innocent.”

I was suddenly uncomfortable. A: I felt like they spoke about me and my drama behind my back, and B: I really hated that Riley was going to such great lengths to keep Marcus and me apart. She had to know I didn’t like feeling controlled. Taking a deep breath to wash away my unexpected resentment toward my friend, I conceded, “Forget it, Marcus. It was a nice gesture and it would’ve been fun, but…”

Riley’s statue-like stance finally broke. “Oh, fuck it! Go. I’ll watch Luca and you guys can
rock on
to that crap you both like.” She waved her finger in Marcus’s face. “But I’m warning you, if you knock her up and I have to explain to my niece or nephew that his or her parents were acting like total hippies at a concert the night he or she was conceived… I swear to God, I’ll rip your balls off.”

Marcus grumbled something under his breath and I just giggled. “It’s not a date, remember? We’re just friends and friends don’t get each other pregnant. So I think we’re in the clear. Right, Marcus?”

He was holding back… his face was practically turning blue from keeping it in. “Right. Friends. Just friends.”

He left me with that and a sly, adorable wink as he walked up the steps to his bedroom. I ached to follow him, but that wouldn’t exactly prove the whole
friend
point, would it?

Even after a restless sleep, I was still annoyed with my sister. It didn’t matter that I won and that Tessa was going to that concert with me tonight…
as friends
. This shit was getting out of hand and I was really keyed up over the way Riley made Tessa cower like a child. Who the hell did my sister think she was? I mean, I’m a grown man—I can go to a concert with whomever I choose, whenever I choose! And Tessa could make her own decisions about me. She didn’t need Riley feeding her bullshit about the type of guy she
thinks
I am.

I was finally ready to make a new name for myself. Like for instance, I’ve never taken a girl out on a date. Apparently, you can’t consider hooking up in a club or bar and taking a girl back to your place a date. At least that’s what I’ve been told. Tomorrow night, Tessa would break my first-date cherry. Yeah, yeah, I know. I promised it wouldn’t be a date, but that was lie number one. Well, actually, lie number two. The first lie shamelessly slipped through my teeth when I told Riley I hadn’t planned this.
Oops. Sue me!
I would’ve never pegged Tessa for an Airborne fan, but I knew about the concert for a while. In fact, I had all intentions of asking Tessa to go
before
everything happened last weekend, but then Riley started sticking to her like stink on shit. She was a good friend and I’m sure Tessa felt protected and cared for with her around, but I wanted to be the person she leaned on. I could comfort her if she’d just let me. I intended to prove that to her this weekend.

She needed good friends in her life—that part Riley
was
right about. And it seemed Tessa wanted to play the friend card, so a friendly gentleman was what she was going to get. At least for today and part of this evening. Again, it was all part of the plan… since I had no doubt I’d have her begging me to touch her by the second song in the opening act.

“Morning, sunshines.” I said as I walked into the kitchen and met Tessa and Riley sipping their coffee beside a bright-eyed Luca.

“Morning to you, too. We thought you’d never grace us with your presence.”

“Ry, it’s nine thirty, not two in the afternoon. Don’t start with me already.” Pain. In. The. Ass. Were all sisters this irritating? Or was it just the cock-blocking ones?

I avoided the fresh smell of the strong brew and opted for the blender and an energy boosting protein shake. I wanted to be on my game today. I couldn’t be zapped out mid-day after fizzling down from my caffeine high.

“So what’s on the agenda for today, ladies?” After the noise of the blender no longer overpowered the room, I looked over my shoulder and addressed my date for the evening. “Tess, the concert starts at eight. I want to be on the road at seven, okay?”

She nodded as she picked Luca up out of his little booster seat thingy. “Sounds good to me. I’ll need to start getting ready around six.”

Riley interceded, “Well then, we better get cracking, peeps. The suns out, it’s a beautiful day and that boat is calling my name. Go throw on your bathing suits and meet back in the living room ASAP.”

Was she always this damn bossy? “Thanks for the itinerary, sergeant.” I eyeballed her as I walked out of the kitchen, chugging my frothy breakfast of champions.

I instantly felt like a dick. It wasn’t like me to stay mad at her and I hated to think I wasn’t adhering to our own version of bros before hoes—we used to call it ‘sis before tits’—but Riley, of all people, should’ve known what it was like to want to be with someone. She’d been holding out for a husband and a kid and a white picket fence for as long as I could remember. What if I wanted that now, too?

Shit!

I glared at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were unusually wide and possibly dilated, though my vision was too blurry to tell. My heart jumped into my throat.
Marriage? Whoa!
I took a step back, and a very deep breath. “One step at a time, dude.”

We wound up converging in the living room, according to Riley’s schedule, and within minutes we were down by the dock, loading onto the pontoon boat I rented for the weekend. Growing up, my parents owned one and we would tube off the back of it all day long. I remember a time when my sister brought Tessa for a few days and Dad allowed Riley to take my friend Kyle and me out on the lake without him. Tessa had worn a pair of cut off denim shorts and a bikini top, and I think I sported a boner the whole entire time. I watched like a salivating dog as she applied tanning lotion to her already bronzed curves and I made it a point to be on my most funny-little-brother behavior, because I loved hearing her laugh, knowing I was the reason for it.

It was no different all these years later, except now I knew what it felt like to caress those beautiful curves. My hands ached, hungry to touch her again. Did she feel the same way? Or was she totally indifferent to my charms now? It was time to find out.

Luca was tucked safely in his mother’s arms, looking like the orange life vest was swallowing him alive. I stripped out of my T-shirt and flexed every muscle as I applied a generous helping of SPF 30 over my upper half. Trying to remain nonchalant about it, I swiveled to face Tessa and looked up from rubbing the lotion into my abdomen. The moment I lifted my head I caught her focusing on me. She immediately gulped—it was freaking visible for God’s sake—and then quickly turned away.
Nope! Certainly not indifferent. Score one for little bro.

“Hey, Tess, can you get my back?” Why not goad her?

Gazing over the edge of the boat and focusing on the lapping water she said with a shy smile, “My hands are kind of full, sorry.” Girl had iron-clad willpower. If she asked me to rub something on her back I would jump at the chance to get my fingertips on her silky skin again.

“‘kay, guys.” Riley bellowed from the padded tanning deck. “Let’s roll. Marcus, you mind taking the wheel first?”

“Nope, on it! Tess,” I wanted to call her ‘pretty girl’ so bad, but Riley might have a canary if she knew I had a nickname for her. “Let me know if at any time you think Luca’s not feeling it, ‘kay? I’ll slow down, go back home, whatever the little guy needs.”

She smiled and gave me a thumbs-up, “Aye, aye, Captain. I think we’ll be good. He’ll probably fall asleep on my lap… it’s almost nap time.”

The girl knew her son—within twenty minutes of gliding across the stillness of the lake, Luca was conked out in Tessa’s arms. I took the opportunity to stop the boat, feeling my skin scorching from the hot sun.

“Hey! Why’d we stop? I’m getting my tan on.” Riley shot up from her lounging position.

“Just hot, I need to take a quick dip.”

Riley stood up and removed her shorts. “Yeah, me too. I’ll join you and then take over driving for a little bit if you want.”

“Okay, cool.”

I dove in first, letting the crispness of the water cool me off. Riley followed after me, remaining submerged and swimming further from the boat. When she popped up, smoothing her long hair off her face she yelled up to Tessa, “Hey, Tess, you hot? Wanna jump in? I’ll come in and take Luca.”

“Nope, I’m good for now. I’ll get wet on the next stop.”

Wet.
Little words like that coming from her mouth made parts of me that should be shriveled up because of the temperature of the water stand at attention.

After drenching myself and taking a quick, private whizz, I took a seat at the bow next to Tessa and a sleeping Luca. She extended a plush towel to me, and the simple act of kindness made me smile. “Thanks, pretty girl.”

She gave me a wink and I knew that even though we were both playing a game, our intentions were exactly the same.

“So, excited about tonight?” I scrubbed the towel down my front and spread it on the seat beside her before sitting down on it.

“I haven’t been to a concert in forever so, yes, I’m actually really excited.” Luca rustled around in her arms and she readjusted his position. She had to be hot with him snuggled so close.

“Wanna give him to me for a few minutes? Or how ‘bout we lay him down under the canopy and give your arms a break?” I never imagined I’d be this comfortable around a kid, but Luca was the man. He and his mother had the same effect on me—I’d do anything to make them happy.