Cricket (Cricket Kendall Book 1), page 33
“Hey, gorgeous.” Katy smiles at me. But the smile drops as she takes in the guys.
“You guys know each other?” Chloe asks me, her eyebrows raised.
It takes me another stupid second to put two and two together. “Oh! Katy’s your girlfriend?”
Katy frowns at Chloe before she turns to me. Her eyes narrow on Cas. “You’re seriously dating this asshole?”
Theo barks out a laugh and scrunches his nose up at Cas. Cas looks uncomfortable and runs a hand through his hair. I lean into him and put a hand on his chest. “Aww, he’s secretly a little sweetheart.”
Luca tilts his head, chuckling softly. “Are you officially dating now? Em didn’t say anything.”
Before I can shake my head or answer, Paisley scoffs loudly. “She’s dating all three of them. It’s disgusting.”
Hearing her finally say something brings me an insane amount of pleasure. I can’t make excuses for her anymore or give her the benefit of the doubt whenever she and her friends are jerks to me. I get a wicked smile on my face and flip her off.
Theo snickers and throws me over his shoulder, slapping his hand on my ass again. At least he’s holding my dress down for me, the devious little bastard. “Let’s get out of here before you cause some real trouble.”
“Wait, I forgot my bag somewhere!”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Hollis grins and holds it up.
Cas holds the door open for us, and I’m facing the inside of the bookshop as Theo walks out holding me.
Within minutes, we’re on the road and on our way to Hawthorne’s house. I roll my window down and hold my hand out so I can feel the air run through my fingers. It’s warm and sunny out. Totally perfect for a pool day.
The guys have been quiet since we got into the car. I break the silence and sigh. “I’m worried things are going to be awkward with Luca.”
Theo glances sideways at me, and Hollis reaches forward to lightly rub my shoulder. He leans forward and whispers. “I’m sorry. It’s our fault.”
“Why didn’t you just deny what Paisley said?” Cas whines softly.
“What?” I furrow my eyebrows. “I meant because of Emerson. Things just seemed so off with them this weekend. I don’t really give a fuck about what Paisley said.”
Hollis and Cas look at each other, and Hollis blinks at me. “You don’t?”
“Seriously? It’s a waste of energy to respond to her at all, especially when everyone else at school is already saying the same thing.” I roll my eyes.
“We weren’t sure if you’d heard people talking or not,” Theo says.
I snort in amusement and rest my head on my elbow against the window, enjoying the feel of the sun on my skin. “I don’t need your stupid wolf ears to hear when people are calling me a slut.” When I peek my eyes open, all three guys are looking at me with sympathy and Theo is still tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. I give them all a genuine smile. “It’s okay! I swear, I really don’t give a shit!”
“It really fucking sucks to hear people talk shit about you though. Because you’re the coolest girl ever, and we have so much fun with you. Those people have no idea what the hell they’re talking about, and we’re just making it harder for you to make other friends.” Cas frowns.
I reach my hand back and grab his. “I don’t need other friends. I have you guys!” A tiny voice in the back of my head adds, until you find your mates, at least. But I push it away and smile wider. “Plus, I really like Brennan and Erin. I get such a good feeling from them. They want to be friends with me.”
Theo reaches over to ruffle my hair. My magic feels crazy and bubbly. I realize I’m touching all three of them at the same time. Hollis pulls his hand away first, and Cas and Theo slowly let their hands drop. They have crazy weird expressions on their faces.
“Um, what the fuck was that?” Cas asks.
I shrug, embarrassed because it felt really good, whatever it was. Hollis and Theo share a quick, sneaky glance. I turn my head to Hollis. “What?”
He stares at me blankly, but he’s such a terrible liar. All I have to do is raise an eyebrow, and he sighs in defeat. “When we were in your room, after the first time we all shifted in front of you. It happened then, too.”
I bite my lip and give Cas a teasing smile. “That’s right. When you guys punched Cas for hurting my feelings.”
“That was Hollis. I just yelled at him.” Theo laughs.
I want to try touching all three of them again, but they’re acting so weird. I fidget in my seat. “What did it feel like?”
None of them will meet my eyes, and they’re all blushing to some degree. So, either really good, or really bad. I’m assuming it’s the former, and they’re too embarrassed to say something in front of me or each other.
“Look, we’re here!” Theo coughs as he turns into Hawthorne’s driveway.
I giggle at his awful transition into changing the subject. But I let it go for now. After he parks, Hollis opens my door for me. When I walk around the other side of the car, Cas smiles at me.
His dimple is adorable as ever, and his eyes are both soft and teasing. He clears his throat. “You look beautiful, and you have nothing to worry about.”
I’m grinning like crazy. Theo laughs and shoves Cas’s shoulder. “Cheesy motherfucker.”
“Yesterday, you said ‘Cricket is always here in my heart.’ I don’t think it’s possible to be any cheesier than that.” Hollis chuckles.
I put a hand over my heart and flutter my eyelashes at them. “Good news. I love cheesy.”
They laugh and lead me inside. Theo walks in without knocking. He calls out a greeting, but I don’t hear anything in response. The guys obviously do because Theo grins at me. “Rylan’s out by the pool already. He’s excited to meet you.”
I feel a nervous flutter at the thought of meeting someone new, but I slap on a smile and follow Theo and Cas to the backyard. Hollis walks behind me with his hand on the small of my back. We walk through a set of beautiful, glass French doors onto a large, covered patio. The pool is fucking huge, too. There are several chairs under the covered area and tons of lounge chairs around the perimeter of the pool. Off to the side, it looks like there’s also a big hot tub and a fancy-looking grill.
Theo grabs my hand and leads me closer to the pool. I notice a guy lying in one of the lounge chairs, reading a book. He jumps up when he sees us. He grins and looks me over, but it doesn’t feel like he’s checking me out in a gross way. He’s kind of cute, maybe in his mid-twenties, with dark brown hair and light green eyes. He’s a little leaner than the guys and just as tall.
He holds his hand out to me. “Hey! Nice to finally meet you. I’m Rylan.”
Before I can reach my hand out to shake his, I’m pushed roughly into the pool. It surprises the crap out of me, and I get water in my nose. When I break the surface, I cough and stare angrily up at the guys. Hollis, Cas, and Rylan look shocked. But Theo is smiling like a little punk, so I fix my glare on him.
When I get to the edge of the pool, Hollis and Cas reach down and each grab one of my hands to pull me up. I’m fuming. I don’t take my eyes off Theo while I wring water out of my hair and magically dry myself. I fling the few drops of water still on my hand at him and shake my hair out before smiling at Rylan.
I hold my hand out again and say, “Hey, I’m Cricket—”
Theo fucking pushes me into the pool again. When I break the surface, I scream. “What the fuck is wrong with you!?”
Theo cracks up. Hollis and Cas look like they want to punch him, and Rylan still looks completely baffled. I use my magic to pull Theo into the water with me. I’m able to do it fast enough he doesn’t expect it. When he comes up out of the water, he coughs and brushes his hair out of his eyes before smiling at me.
I splash water at him and quickly swim to the edge where Hollis and Cas are waiting to pull me up for the second time. After I’m dry, I smile sweetly at Rylan. When Theo climbs out of the pool, I use my magic to push him back in. Cas and Hollis snicker. The next time, I let Theo get all the way out of the pool before pushing him in again.
Theo grins at me from the water and swims over to the opposite side of the pool. I snort and call over to him. “Oh yeah, I totally won’t be able to get you over there!”
“Yeah! Get him, babe!” Cas puts his hands on my shoulders from behind me and snickers.
I push Theo back into the pool again. Hollis and Cas laugh, and I turn around to high five them.
This time when Theo breaks the surface, he laughs. “Alright, fuck! I’m sorry!” He swims back over to our side and pouts up at me. “Please let me get out now, little witch.”
I giggle and nod at him. Once he finally climbs out, dripping water all over the place, he gives me a wolfish grin. Rylan bursts out laughing. I nearly forgot he was there.
When he calms down, he waves his hands at me excitedly. “Holy fuck, she’s even better than I expected!” He throws his arms around me in a bear hug. “Welcome to the family, witchy girl!”
Um, what!? I feel my eyes get wide. Cas jerks his head at Theo, and Theo’s face flushes bright red. He clears his throat. “Okay, put her down. You’re freaking her out!”
Rylan sets me down, and I furrow my eyebrows at Theo. “You’re the one trying to get me riled up in front of your family. Again!”
“But it’s so fun!” He gives me an adorable pout. “You got my shirt wet.”
“Alright, give me your shirt then.” I roll my eyes and hold my hand out.
He wiggles his eyebrows and takes his shirt off. Oh, holy god. His body is fucking incredible, and he’s still all wet. His hair is sticking to his forehead, and he’s got a smirk on his face like he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
“My eyes are up here, Cricket,” he says teasingly.
I snatch the shirt out of his hands, probably more dramatically than I really need to. I wave it in the air and use my magic, and then I hold it up to show the guys. It’s completely dry.
“Shit, dude...” Rylan stares at the shirt in shock. He gets a cheesy grin on his face. “You know, Elsa asked me to do some laundry before she got home. It would be amazing if you could maybe help me out really quick?”
The guys laugh. Cas puts his arm around me and growls playfully. “Fuck no! She’s our witch. Go find your own!”
“Speaking of Elsa, where is everybody?” Hollis runs his fingers through my hair as he looks at Rylan.
My stomach grumbles really freaking loudly just then. Hollis, Cas, and Theo snicker. But they promised me food, so we walk back inside with Rylan following us.
While Theo rummages in the fridge, and Cas looks through the pantry, Rylan leans against the counter. “Mom and Elsa are at the grocery store with the kids, and I’m pretty sure my dad’s at Theo’s house with Holden.”
Hollis leans against the island so he’s standing across from Rylan, and he pulls me back so I’m leaning against him. It makes me nervous that they’re already being so touchy with me in front of Rylan, but they obviously think it’s normal or okay. I guess I’ll just have to trust them.
Theo steps away from the fridge with a pile of food in his arms. Cas carries even more food over to me, if possible. They glare at each other as they set everything on the island behind me and Hollis. Hollis chuckles, shakes his head, and pushes me until we’re leaning against the opposite counter next to Rylan.
We watch Theo and Cas shove each other and bicker over all the fucking food they’ve laid out. I know better than to intervene when they’re being stupid and wolfy. I know Theo could easily make Cas stop with his alpha voice, so it’s obvious he wants to fight. Rylan keeps grinning back and forth between us.
Finally, Cas jumps toward me with a triumphant smile. “I made you this sandwich, Cricket!”
Theo shoves in front of him, waving his own sandwich around. “Eat my sandwich first, Cricket.”
I don’t know if I should be horrified or elated. I feel my face flush. “Are you guys for real right now?”
Their faces fall, and god, it makes me feel terrible! There’s no fucking way I’m choosing one of them first before the other. So, I reach out and grab both sandwiches. One looks like turkey with tomato and avocado, and the other is tuna salad with cucumbers. I stack them on top of each other and try to smoosh them together before taking a huge bite of both of them at once.
Luckily, it’s not a bad combination. I don’t know what I would have done if one of them made me a peanut butter sandwich. It takes forever to chew, but I swallow and smile at them. “Thanks, guys.”
Theo and Cas smile so brightly, like I just made their fucking day. Hollis laughs and moves from behind me so he can pull a glass out of the cupboard. He walks over to the fridge, pours lemonade into the glass, and hands it to me. While I munch on my sandwiches contentedly, the guys devour everything else still sitting out on the island countertop.
Rylan’s eyes twinkle in amusement as he watches them. “You guys know my dad’s grilling burgers and hotdogs later, right? And my mom is probably buying a crap ton of other stuff for us to eat too.”
Theo shrugs, his mouth still full. “We’ll be hungry later.”
“What about her?” Rylan points at me. “Mom will be pissed if you ruin her appetite.”
“Cricket’s stomach is pretty much a bottomless pit. She’ll be fine.” Cas snorts.
I hastily scarf down the rest of my sandwiches and drink the lemonade Hollis poured for me. After setting the glass in the sink, I bounce on the balls of my feet and whine at the guys. “Okay, hurry up! I wanna go and play!”
Theo scrunches his nose up, and Cas snickers. They clean up the mess they made. When everything is put away, Hollis grabs my hand and walks toward the door to the backyard.
When Rylan follows us, Theo smirks at him. “Don’t you have some laundry to do, Ry?”
“Yeah, but I’d rather watch you guys. It’s entertaining.” Rylan pouts. He grudgingly turns around and heads to the laundry room.
Chapter Thirty-Five
When we’re outside, Theo, Cas, and Hollis stop and stare at me without saying anything. It makes me feel defensive, so I put my hands on my hips and glare at them. “What?”
Cas and Hollis look at each other, and Theo grins. “Just waiting for you to get undressed, little witch.”
I feel myself blushing. Cas and Hollis seem embarrassed too. But I give them a teasing grin and raise an eyebrow. “You first.”
Since Theo already has his shirt off, he turns to grin wolfishly at his friends. Cas and Hollis laugh and pull their shirts up over their heads, tossing them onto a pool chair. Holy shit. Seriously, they should walk around shirtless all the time. That would be amazing. I know I’m staring at them way too obviously and for way too long, but damn. The three of them lined up like that look really fucking good.
Theo gives me a lopsided smile and snickers. “Geez, stop drooling!”
When Hollis and Cas snicker along with him, I glower haughtily. I slowly and sensually slide the straps of my dress over my shoulders and let the dress fall around my feet. I bend down slowly to pick it up and walk over to the pool chair so I can lay it next to their tee shirts. When I turn around, I can’t hide the smirk on my face. They stare at every inch of my body, their jaws dropped.
I put a hand on my hip and use the same high-pitched voice Theo uses whenever he’s mocking me. “Geez, stop drooling, guys!”
Theo and Hollis snap out of it and meet my eyes with sheepish smiles. Cas scowls and runs a hand through his hair as he continues to stare at me. I remind myself they can’t touch me the way I desperately want them to because of the alpha order thing. Even though the horny part of my brain is irritated, it definitely takes the pressure off this situation. I give them another flirty grin before walking over to the deep end and diving in.
It doesn’t take the guys long to join me, and soon we’re swimming and playing around. For the first few minutes, they seem hesitant to touch me. After I tell them they’re being ridiculous, they don’t hold back from grabbing me, dunking me, throwing me, and tackling me in the water.
I’m annoyed when I realize they’re a lot faster than me in the water. I always thought I was a decent swimmer since I grew up near the beach. And it sucks, because when I’m using my magic, I can usually beat them in pretty much everything else.
After they beat me in a stupid race for the fourth time, Hollis gives me a concerned look. “What’s wrong? Is your magic okay?”
“She can’t use her affinity in the water.” Theo laughs when I pout.
Hollis and Cas smile in surprise. I give them a look and grumble, “Don’t look so smug about it.”
“Fucking hell, let us enjoy the fact we found something we’re better at than you are.” Cas grabs me so he’s holding me while we tread water. He swims to one end of the pool and grins at Theo. “Here, catch her!”
Theo smiles mischievously and quickly swims to the opposite end so Hollis is in the middle. God, they’re idiots. They seriously want to play monkey-in-the-middle with me? I have to admit, it is pretty freaking fun. Cas and Theo throw me so fucking hard I barely have to use my magic. I only use it to step in the air out of Hollis’s reach so he can’t grab me.
I’m laughing my ass off, and Hollis is getting pissed. He splashes at me and Theo. “Fuck you guys, you’re cheating!”
“Don’t blame me! Cricket’s the cheater!” Theo gives me an excited grin like he’s proud of that before throwing me across the pool.
When I’m above Hollis, I make a show of stepping around the air and dangling my feet just out of his reach. He smiles up at me with this crazy, playful gleam in his eyes. While I’m taunting him, he turns his head to look at the patio. Distracted, I turn to look too.
Elsa, Margot, and Rylan are watching us. Rory stands by the edge of the pool, bouncing up and down excitedly. Before I can say hello, Hollis leaps up out of the water and grabs my ankle. He pulls me down hard into the water, making me shriek with laughter.
