Full Count (The Catcher Series Book 1) (10 page)

            “Sky…we can
’
t,” I whimper,
unable to process a full thought. I don
’
t want to argue
with him. He
’
s right that I want to kiss him and be with
him and whatever else. It just complicates everything around us. My head is in
such a fog I can
’
t even say anything else.

            “B, if you really don
’
t want me
to kiss you then get in my fucking Jeep,” he demands, towering over me awaiting
my response. His eyes still as they glare into mine, but they
’
re
so genuine as if no matter what I choose nothing between us will suffer.

            How I feel when I
’
m around
Skyler is like being a bird. I
’
m able to take the quickest
route to love through him. I feel like I can go anywhere with him and still be
free.

            Finally I make my decision and jump up to connect our
lips again. Luckily he catches me around my waist and under my butt to hold me.
He turns me so my back is pressed against his muddy Jeep as he pulls my legs to
wrap around his waist.

            I
’
m going to die. This is better
than any daydream I
’
ve ever had about me and Skyler. Can
he feel how much I freaking want him? I
’
ve never felt this
much for anything, even softball. His kiss deepens as he runs one of his hands
along my leg lathered in mud. I
’
m only fourteen and
already know what it feels like to have Skyler Swanson turn me on. I
’
m pretty damn lucky.

            After a few minutes of trying to breathe through the
sea of rain surrounding us, Skyler releases his lips more permanently from mine
as he still has me against his Jeep. Our lips are red and swollen from making
out. I
’
m also worried he can feel the throbbing ache
between my legs, but I have to pretend that it
’
s just in
my head. I can
’
t figure out what he
’
s
going to do next, but I hope this isn
’
t
over.

            “That
’
s it?” I giggle,
innocently hoping to feel his lips on mine and his hands all over me again. I
feel like I
’
m in a romantic comedy, and I saw what
happened after Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling made out in the rain.

            “I would kiss you in more places if you weren
’
t fucking covered in mud. Maybe if this was chocolate…” his
voice teases. The way he
’
s looking at me makes me wonder
if he
’
s just going to pretend the mud
is
chocolate;
he clearly wants to devour me. I can
’
t believe he wants me
this badly. What I will give to feel his tongue on my skin. I would definitely
die right here.

            “Okay, gross,” I laugh after focusing on the
realistic aspect of that concept. With his tongue licking me all over or not, I
would still have to be lathered in something I hate. It would only be enjoyable
for him, and I would be screaming for him to get it off me while I cringe.

             “Sorry… ice cream?” Skyler tries again with a guilty
smirk.

            “That
’
s more doable,” I grin.
His face muscles loosen, almost into a smile. Sky having a relaxed forehead,
level lips, and dark eyes is basically his expression of happiness.

            By the time we return to the cabin an hour later,
Skyler and I are covered in mud. The inside of his Jeep is destroyed - only
took me a week to get the new car smell out. Score! The look on Skyler
’
s face says he couldn
’
t care less. My mom,
on the other hand, is a completely different story. Her face is like a ghost
when Skyler and I return covered head to toe in mud. She must
’
ve
been passing by the front hallway and saw us through the window because she
storms outside to scream at us for being childish and whatever else she thinks
will make us listen. Nothing will. I learned to tune her out years ago. We just
walk around to the side of the house to turn on the hose and rinse off more
thoroughly than the rain is doing. I still hear her yelling until we
’
re completely out of sight. It just makes me laugh; her efforts
of getting me to listen are about the same as me getting her to love me as much
as she loves herself.

            After we get most of the mud off our skin, we enter
the laundry room through the garage so we can change into dry clothes. I strip
myself of my brown dyed tank top and watch Skyler
’
s eyes
brighten as my neon bra is fully exposed.

             “Ugh, I forgot I can
’
t change
in front of you anymore,” I grunt, grabbing a towel to wrap around my shoulders
and cover my chest. I
’
m so used to him being my friend and
somewhat brother-like figure my entire life, that I managed to forget we just
made out for forty-five minutes in the rain while covered in mud and pressed up
against his Jeep. The kissing makes me think I
’
m in a
fantasy, so in reality Skyler should be able to handle seeing me shirtless in a
small room.

             “What? Why can
’
t you?” he
questions as if he didn
’
t notice his boyish reaction to me
taking my shirt off. I kind of love it, but I
’
ll never let
him have that satisfaction.

             “Because I
’
m up here and you
can
’
t stop staring,” I exclaim, slapping his arm
playfully.    Shaking his head, he snaps out of his trans. “I
’
m
sorry,”
he stutters.

            I
’
m fourteen, so they
’
re only B cups, but still.

            And then the laundry room door to the kitchen flies
open. Oh, great. Now my brother and my crush can see me in my wet bra. Perfect.

             “Put a shirt on for God
’
s sake,”
Rex demands, shielding his eyes.
I have a towel on. Sheesh.
“I just came
to find out why none of us were invited to go muddin
’
.”

             “It wasn
’
t planned. We just
went. You can come next time,” Skyler explains coolly, not letting on that we
did anything more than play in mud.

             “There won
’
t be a next time.
Mom is pissed,” Rex enlightens us.

             “
Shocker,
” I sneer, throwing my
hands up and exiting the small room to go find dry clothes. I ignore my mom
when she sees me in the kitchen and resumes her scolding from earlier and head
upstairs to my shared bedroom. After I shower and change into sweatpants and a
t-shirt, I leave my room and run into my dad in the upstairs hallway. “Oh, hey
Dad,” I quickly greet him as I try to scoot past him.

             “Bianca,” he casually acknowledges me. As I hit the
first step down, he adds, “Did you have fun playing in mud?”

             “Yeah, I did,” I go on the defense slightly. I
’
m not sure if he
’
s going to be Switzerland
in this instance or on my mom
’
s team. He usually chooses
Switzerland but it
’
s always a gamble.

             “Make sure you help Skyler clean his Jeep tomorrow
if it
’
s not raining,” he orders.

             “You
’
re not mad?” I wonder,
trying to read his stern face. Skyler might as well be my dad
’
s
kid for how similarly they (don
’
t) express their feelings.

             “Did you get mud in the house?” he asks.

             “No,” I answer him. Between the rain and the hose,
we washed everything off before we got inside. The only evidence of muddin
’
in the house is on our stained clothes and maybe a little mud
still in my hair.

             “Then you have my answer,” he replies with the
slightest grin that tells me he wants me to enjoy being a kid. He
’
s
always been the biggest advocate for us creating memories as long as they aren
’
t illegal.

10 Skyler Swanson

I wish Buzz wouldn
’
t have left me alone with
Alex in the laundry room. He acts like he
’
s all cool in
front of her but as soon as she leaves everything gets fucking awkward again
like my last interrogation. This is becoming too regular.

            “Where
’
d you guys go?”
he questions me.

            “Just down the street away from the houses. Like
halfway between here and the main road to go into town,” I tells him.

            “The idea of you watching Bianca shirtless is
disgusting,” he blurts out.

            “She was changing out of her muddy shirt!” I exclaim.
“And I
’
ve seen her change hundreds of times. In case you
forgot, we
’
ve all been friends since we were fucking born.”

            “Okay, jeez. Lay off,” Alex pleads, backing away from
me like he
’
s scared I
’
ll hit him. I
won
’
t just because it
’
s him. If it
was anyone else it
’
d be a different story. He
’
s like my brother.

            “
You
need to fucking lay off,”
I
demand.
“She
’
s one of my best friends, and so are
you. I
’
m not picking one or the other. We all grew up
together. Don
’
t start this sibling rivalry shit now.” I
storm out of the room before he can retaliate with anything and run up to my
bedroom to shower in my parents’ bathroom and change clothes. When I come out I
hear Buzz talking to her dad, Allen, in the upstairs hallway. It
’
s
a short and sweet conversation, unlike the one her mom tried to fucking have
with her. Buzz and I cross paths as I go to my bedroom and she descends down
the stairs in loose fitting sweatpants and a Rockettes softball shirt of hers.
The number 27 plastered on her backside makes me remember how close we all were
before Alex and I entered high school. My jersey number is always seven and
Alex
’
s is two, so when it came time for Buzz to choose a
number, she combined them.

            Knowing I
’
m as significant to
her as her own brother means so much to me but she
’
ll
never know that because I
’
ll probably never tell her. I
’
m too scared of jinxing it and losing her forever. She doesn
’
t know it, but she trumps anyone in my life. She
’
s
always been the most real and my best teammate by challenging me to be better
while Alex just rolls with everything. Even Benny won’t stand up to me.

            As I change into dry, clean clothes, I brainstorm
ideas for things we can do this weekend that will require the three of us to be
a team again. We just need to remember what it
’
s like to
be carefree kids, us against the world.

            “Is it supposed to rain all day tomorrow, too?” I ask
when I walk downstairs into the basement where all the kids are watching TV and
playing cards. I actually love that we don
’
t have wifi at
the cabin because it forces us to do things. The cable TV is for rainy days
like this; otherwise it
’
s hardly ever used.

            “
I don’
t think so,” Tiffany
answers chipperly.

            “
Then we
’
re
doing a summer olympics. Two teams of four,” I announce. “Me, Alex, Savannah,
and Buzz are one team. Benny, Baylee, Sam, and Tiffany are another.”

            “Swarrocket Olympics!” Tiffany exclaims, clearly just
as excited as me to get out of the house and do something fun. Her combining
our last names is a little ridiculous, but I figure it must be a fucking girl
thing because Baylee, Savannah, and Buzz all share in her laughter.

            “Great. Go make a sign to alert the media,” I suggest
sarcastically.

            Then I feel a nudge into my side. I turn around to
find Buzz wandering around the room behind me, and she whispers, “
Be nice,
” with a motherly glare. That
’
s the
vibe she
’
s trying to give off at least. But I think her
devilish eyes are sexy as hell. As she bends over to rummage through a stack of
movies, I have to look away or else I
’
ll be caught staring
at her ass. She totally did that on purpose.

            “We
’
re watching this,” Buzz
decides, configuring all the electronics to watch a movie. When the menu for
Final Destination starts playing, all the girls but her groan.

            “Why do we even have that movie?” Baylee whines,
bringing her quilt tighter around her body. She
’
s the
youngest one in the Ferrari family, two grades younger than Buzz, but she isn
’
t the baby of our group even though she acts like it sometimes.
My sister Savannah is the youngest one. To Baylee
’
s
advantage, Benny happens to be sitting behind her on the couch, and as soon as
she expresses being frightened he slides behind her and wraps his arms around
her. She instantly releases her tense shoulders and leans back into him.

            And the weirdest part is that no one fucking says
anything. I can
’
t be the only one who saw that, can I? He
’
s four years older than her. He
’
s going to
be a sophomore and she
’
s going to be in fucking seventh
grade. How the hell is Alex totally cool about this but he can
’
t
fathom me and Buzz together when we
’
re only a year apart?
Also, Benny totally looks like Alex, Baylee
’
s fucking
brother. This is disgusting on so many levels.

            “Benny will protect you,” Tiffany affirms, moving
closer to Sam. What the hell is going on? Why is she condoning this
soon-to-be-illegal couple? Also why is everyone pairing up because we
’
re watching a scary movie? Whatever. Tiffany and Sam together
is a typical pairing since they
’
re in the same grade; no
one ever questions them. They always bicker at each other, but when it comes
time to pair up for things, they
’
re each other
’
s go-to
’
s. Benny and I never thought it
was significant enough to fight over, unlike me and Alex regarding me and Buzz.
Which now that I think about it makes total sense since neither of us are in
the couple at hand. Obviously I
’
m going to fight for
something that I want.

            Alex is comfortably sitting on a recliner while
Tiffany and Sam are on the floor below the foot of one of the couches. Savannah
sits next to Benny who has Baylee between his legs. Savannah is even younger
than Baylee, but the look Benny has in his eyes when he looks at Savannah is
much more brotherly and nonchalant than when he looks at Baylee. Alex needs to
watch the fuck out for this
.
But I can
’
t worry
about it at the moment. They aren
’
t my siblings, and I
’
m not even sure what I
’
m seeing is really
what I
’
m seeing. I
’
m too worried
about the last person finding a spot to sit for the movie: Buzz. With everyone
else pairing up the way they are, they
’
re leaving me and
Buzz to be together. And I
’
m pretty sure everyone in the room
knows it. I know she isn
’
t scared to watch the movie; if
she was she wouldn
’
t have picked it. But it
’
s
storming and everyone else is fucking paired off, so after she hits play on the
DVD player and is walking back to find somewhere to sit, I silently glare at
her in hopes of her reading my mind. I
’
m sitting on the
smaller couch behind the view of everyone else in the room panicking that I
’
m going to miss out on this golden opportunity to be close to
Buzz without being reamed out later.

            Luckily Buzz and I are always on the same game plan
even without speaking, so she comes and curls up next to me. To have a
friendship like this at age sixteen, I
’
m incredibly lucky.
It doesn
’
t even matter that we aren
’
t
dating; we fucking understand each other and like to just be together. It sucks
that I have to hide any signs of happiness from my facial expression just in
case anyone turns around to watch us; it almost kills me. She gives me a small
close-mouthed grin as she leans into my side, and I feel her mold perfectly
into me like we
’re wet clay. Needing to give her something else
besides just the invitation to sit by me, I reach around her body and clasp my
hand over hers, intertwining our fingers and using them to pull her top half
closer to me. I just can’
t get her fucking close enough. Within minutes
she
’
s resting her head on my shoulder and nuzzling into me
to get more comfortable. I
’
m pretty sure she isn
’
t even watching the movie with the way she
’
s
lying on me. I
’
m trying to watch the stupid movie so that
I will be distracted from the heat she
’
s making me feel,
but I
’
m failing. I can
’
t tell you one
person
’
s name in the movie. All I know is that Baylee
fucking hates it and has been practically wailing into Benny
’
s
chest for the first fifteen minutes. I try to convince my body to forget Buzz
is pretty much sitting on me but then she moves slightly, reminding me of how
much I want her in that exact spot. When her head eventually drops to my lap so
she can lay down, I grab the pillow beneath my arm and quickly throw it under
her head so she can
’
t feel me get excited.
Damn her.
I lean over her and grab the
nearest blanket that
’
s on the floor to fan out over her
legs. When she looks at me with those amazing baseball field green eyes, God I
just want to kiss her all night. But I can
’
t, so I just
silently look back at her while running my fingertips along her back and
feeling her flinch when I hit a certain ticklish spot. I
’
m
not trying to tickle her, but she doesn
’
t know that and it
’
s fucking cute to watch her feel my touch.

            By the time the movie ends everyone is passed out.
Savannah lies next to Tiffany since her and Sam split partway through the movie
so they wouldn
’
t end up sleeping next to each other. Benny
has an arm around Baylee, which is just slightly fucking weird to me, but Alex
is sprawled out on his chair and doesn
’
t notice. He also
doesn
’
t witness me slide down on the couch with Buzz
squeezed next to me. We barely fit on the width of it, but it just means she
has to sleep half on top of me, which is fine with me. She pulls the blanket up
to her neck like a cape before resting her cheek on my upper chest, creeping
onto my shoulder.

            “Sky, I
’
m not sure this is a
good idea,” she whispers ever so quietly and glances in Alex
’
s
direction across the room. I barely even heard her, but apparently my arousal
heard her loud and clear. There
’
s nothing I can do to stop
it; the girl I
’
ve been falling for and have been best
friends with for years is lying on top of me about to fall asleep with me. It
doesn
’
t get much better than this.

            “Are you comfortable?” I ask her firmly in a deep,
quiet voice.

            “Yes,” she answers.

            “
Then it
’
s a good idea,
” I argue, wrapping an arm across her back.
Feeling her body touching mine and her hand graze my chest and abs makes it
impossible to fall asleep. I just want to lie awake like this for a few hours.
Finally I decide to kiss the top of her head and hint to her to stop moving and
go to sleep. “Good night, B.”

            “Good night,” she mumbles, and I watch as her eyes
slowly close while her body grows heavier into a state of rest.

            When I wake up in the morning everyone is gone.
Looking around the giant room, all I see is the sun shining in as it rises over
the lake. I
’
m the only one in the basement, and I know the
moment I go upstairs for breakfast that I
’
ll receive evil
glares. I put on my “fuck you” face and approach the kitchen where a buffet of
food is scattered on top of the counter. Alex is still grabbing food, so I hop
in line behind him and await my punishment.

            “How
’
d you sleep last night?” he
asks me. I can
’
t tell if he
’
s fucking
with me, waiting for me to say something about Buzz sleeping with me on the
couch.

            “Fine,” I reply. I don
’
t want to
risk anything by giving more details than necessary. Maybe Buzz woke up before
him and he didn
’
t even see us.

            “I can
’
t believe you chose the
smallest couch. You should
’
ve moved onto the floor,” he
states. Did he really not see Buzz sleeping with me? When did Buzz leave me and
how did I not notice?