Songs for Cricket by Laine, E. (ebook reader .TXT) 📕

on my feet. It took my quickness to avoid his torture as a kid. August loved to catch me off guard.

Though I got the door open, August blocked me.

“If you don’t move, we’ll all walk,” I dared. He didn’t move. I twisted and ducked under his arm. “Fine.”

Out of nowhere, Cooper plucked the keys from my hand and slipped into the driver’s seat beating all of us. Coop was pretty passive on most occasions, except when he was on the football field. So his move had shocked us.

While August stood there, I made my way to the other side and slipped into the front passenger side.

When August didn’t get into the back right away, I knew he was pouting. I rolled my window down and half crawled out to yell at him, “Come on, cry baby,” with the biggest cheesy smile I could muster.

After rolling his eyes, he finally got in the back seat, Shep sliding in after him.

August found a way to take control by calling out directions to Cooper. It wasn’t a far drive. We were on Greek Row in under five minutes.

I wasn’t sure what to expect at a frat house, but it wasn’t a white mini mansion with huge columns that came into view. A welcome banner clung to one post and blew in the breeze like the aftermath of a massive party had happened the night before. Then again, maybe it had.

Muted music vibrated in the air with a promise that maybe my night would change. A warm palm landed on the small of my back taking me out of the moment. I glanced back, and Shep was there. My stomach rose in my throat like I’d just gone over the steepest hill in a roller coaster.

He too was caught up with gawking at the place. I doubted he noticed where his hand was until he did. It vanished, and he stepped away. I pushed aside the crushing disappointment as a trio of girls exited the house with big smiles and bigger everything else compared to me.

One of them greeted the guys. Knowing they weren’t interested in talking to me, I walked briskly forward and, as predicted, was completely ignored. Fine. Whatever.

Inside held none of the majesty the outside did. A set of large, saggy, mismatched sofas filled the main area. A guy lay passed out on one. A couple of girls sat on the other huddled together as if they were trading secrets. Outside of that, only a few people milled about.

Dead ahead through glass sliding doors was the real party. The pool was at capacity, ringed with people cheering at what had to be some game involving a beach ball and copious amounts of alcohol. I headed directly there. Sweet smelling smoke wafted from the side suggesting someone had a grill or a smoker going. Music took center stage, and I was immediately greeted by a really cute guy holding a red plastic cup.

“Hey, welcome to Omega Psi Theta. You are?”

“Finley.”

His eyes skimmed over me. “Welcome to our place, Finley. They call me Billy. Make sure to let me know if you need anything . . . anything at all.”

They’d called him Billy. It made me curious what his name actually was.

“Finley, you want a drink?” Shep asked, coming up to stand next to me.

I felt the frown form on my face before I realized I was doing it. I gritted my teeth to bite back a snarky response. He was only asking because he and my brother were determined to block any guy from talking to me. I said nothing to either guy and made my way over to a cooler.

Inside held a variety of drinks from water to soda and cans of beer, which surprised me because there had been a keg closer to the door.

I chose a beer when Billy entered my personal space. He hadn’t been deterred by my unwelcome bodyguards.

“Want to join my team in a game of beach ball?” he asked.

I glanced over my shoulder at the pool. The blazing summer heat made it tempting.

“I didn’t bring a suit.”

He shrugged. “Most didn’t.”

Then I saw my brother and Shep headed our way and made a decision. I reached for the hem of my shirt, whipped it over my head, and grinned.

Billy seemed to appreciate everything he saw. Maybe things were looking up.

4

shepard

Finley’s shorts dropped before we could reach her. Then she ran in her bra and panties towards the pool. I couldn’t appreciate what I saw because I was too busy deciding the quickest way to kill the asshole staring at her ass.

“Welcome to Omega Psi Theta,” the asshole said with a smirk. He glanced in the direction Finley had gone. “It’s great to be back. Enjoy the view, fellas.”

He might have walked away, but August wasn’t having that.

“That’s my sister,” August sneered.

His mouth held open for a second. Then he held up a finger. “Twins?”

“The important thing to know is she’s off-limits.”

The bane of my existence stared at my best friend as if August had offered to buy him a beer and not warned him about hitting on his sister.

“I think that’s for her to decide.”

The guy casually walked off, and that’s how I learned his name. As I held August back and said, “He’s not worth it,” the crowd shouted Billy like he was some kind of god.

August jerked out of my hold and pointed at the pool. “See, that’s why I didn’t want to bring her. Shit like this.”

As much as she didn’t believe it, August truly worried about her as did I. If Billy’s thoughts about Finley were anything close to mine, I’d have to kill him.

“Let it go. She’s just going to make a scene,” I said.

He aimed his finger at me and grumbled, “You wanted her here. She’s your problem, and I’m trusting you.” His stare weighed heavy. He wouldn’t trust me if he knew. “I’m going to get a beer.”

Before he marched away, I said, “Where’s Cooper?”

That caused us