Chapter 23

When Shorty told me Josiah came back, I was happy for her, but then when I found out about his episode and attacking her, acid churned in my stomach, threatening to make an exit.

When Seb called, not Shorty, and told me what happened between her and Josiah, I wanted to kill someone, literally. The idea of her own brother putting his hands on her, made my body thunder with rage. Yeah, and I'm pissed she didn't tell me, but I understood she didn't want me to worry.

After speaking with my parents, they thought it would be a good idea for her to come over and give her one day to enjoy herself despite everything that had happened. Luckily, they were out of town and wouldn't be home until morning.

And man was I happy she agreed to come over because holy hell. When Shorty came out looking sexy as sin in that suit, it took all the strength I had not to rip it off her. The suit fit perfectly around her curves.

Jesus.

Scrubbing my hands down my face, I walk her back to the house so she can leave her clothes in my bedroom and then we make our way up to the roof. This is one of my favorite things about the house. Dad installed an indoor swimming pool at the edge of the roof and it's surrounded by glass windows. There's a small bar set on one side along with chairs and small tables. The dim lighting illuminating the pool gives it a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere.

Watching Shorty's tiny feet dangle in the water as she takes in her surroundings makes me want to keep her forever. She looks so beautiful in the moonlight, at peace. The bruises have cleared up, and her physical wounds have healed.

I wonder what she thinks about our lifestyle. Would she accept me this way? Is this something she would want down the road? Because this is exactly how I will treat her when I marry her.

Oh, yeah. I plan on making her my wife.

The guys easily warm up to Shorty. She pulls you in without much effort. Her smile, her soft voice, and the love she has in her eyes is what attracts me to her. Even when we were kids.

She had a lot of sass even then, but the soft side of her is what made me realize she would be the one for me.

She's it for me.

She's my everything.

She's my home run.

Call me young and foolish, but my feelings for her are real and strong. Too strong — I can barely hold back from having her all to myself.

"You keep staring at her like that, she's going to think you're Hannibal Lecter." Jag sits next to me and takes a swig of his beer.

"Fuck off." He laughs as I shoot down the rest of my Jack and Coke, keeping my eyes on Shorty.

"How is she?" I remember the look on Jag's face when he saw Shorty lying in her own pool of blood.

"So far, she's doing good. She's a fighter, always has been." But I still worry about her.

He nods.

"You know, I always thought someone like Addy would be the girl you should be with. But I was wrong. Shorty's good for you."

Wyatt, Ash, and Jag plunge into the pool like cannonballs, drenching Shorty who is still sitting on the edge of the pool.

Why won't she go in the pool? She loves the water.

I leave Jag behind and walk over to my girl.

"Hey." I sit beside her and lean back on my hands.

"Hey." Her feet sway in the warm water.

"Are you afraid of the water?" I ask jokingly.

"No." She gives the sweetest laugh.

"What is it then?" She looks away as if she's embarrassed.

"I can't swim." She bites her lower lip, waking up the big boy in my trunks.

"Oh. Well, you can hold onto me. I remember how much you loved the water when we were kids. "

"Yeah, that's because I stayed in the shallow end, and I had Starlight to protect me from drowning." She laughs.

"Come on. I'll be your floaty." I drop myself in the water and move my body between her legs, placing my hands on each side of her.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes." She smiles with a hint of lust in her eyes.

She takes my hand as I lower her into the water by her hips, and her body tenses.

"Shh. It's ok. I've got you." Gently taking her hands, I pull her toward me as we move deeper into the water.

"Paddle your feet like a dog," I instruct her, keeping her head above water. She looks so cute trying to swim but struggles to keep her curls from getting wet because they'll frizz out once they're dry. But I don't care; I dunk her several times and she screamed as if she's afraid I would let her drown, but I will always keep her safe.

"Let's try and do a back float," I tell her while reminding her to breathe naturally.

"Relax and bend your knees and lift from your ass."

She laughs and says, "You can't just say butt, can you?"

"Why? Ass sounds better." I give her a wide grin; I love hearing her laughter.

After a while, she masters floating on her back.

"My skin is getting all pruney. I need to get out of the water." Shorty glides back toward the wall and braces her forearms on the edge of the pool.

I spin her around, catching her by surprise. She lets out a squeal when I grip her ass and set her on the edge of the pool. I lift myself up in midair with both hands on each side of her body and kiss her softly. She leans in by wrapping her arms around my neck and deepens the kiss.

"Get a fuckin' room!" Wyatt yells, while Jag boos and Ash cackles like an idiot.

Shorty giggles against my lips. I plant one last kiss on her lips before I pull myself out of the water.

Six o'clock rolls around, we decided to order several pizza's versus going out. I go inside to use the bathroom, and when I come back outside, Shorty is in the water with her back against the pool wall.

I sneak up behind her. I get on my knees and lay flat on my stomach as I gently pull her head back and lower her in the pool, keeping her face above water. She smiles. "What are you do—"

Not being able to hold on any longer, I lean over her, sealing my mouth over her lips and holding the back of her head so she doesn't fall back into the water.

I pull back up for air. She spins around, resting her forearms on the edge of the pool, face flushed and fire in her eyes.

"I'm making up for all the lost kisses over the years." I wink and lean in to steal another kiss.

After a few more stolen kisses, Shorty and I climbed out of the pool and settled on the lounge chairs with the guys.

I skim Shorty's bare thigh with my fingers, causing goosebumps on her silky tan skin. I laugh to myself when she stirs in my lap at the same time my phone buzzes. I pull it out and groan when I see Addy's name on the screen.

"Everything ok?" Shorty's hypnotic voice reels me back in.

"Yeah, everything's good." I smile, hitting the ignore button. Addy has been trying to "work things out" between us, but there's nothing to work out. We haven't been a real couple in the last year.

"Yo, D!" Wyatt's words come out like a laugh.

"What?" I turn to the side and see Wyatt and Jag laughing so loud that even Shorty started to join in.

"Ash? What are you doing man?" Jag chuckles, taking a drink of his beer.

"Huh?" My brother stumbles away from the patio door with phone against his ear.

"What are you doing, man?" Wyatt asks.

"I'm callimh am uber." Ash half slurs.

"For what?" Jag asks, still laughing.

"I need a rice. I'm roo dfunk tp drive." He hiccups, swaying on his feet.

"Dude, you live here. You don't need to call an uber." Jag's hysterical laugh breaks free.

"He's so fucking trashed." Wyatt shakes his head, still laughing.

"Guys, just help him to his room. He needs to sleep it off." I shot back.

The guys disappear into the house leaving their laughter in the air.

Shorty sits on my lap, swaying her hips to Dua Lipa's "Levitating."

"God, woman. I need you to stop doing that." I groan, holding her hips in place. She giggles but doesn't stop moving.

Fuck me.

"Shorty. You're killing me." I bury my head against her back, trying not to take her right here, right now.

But the agony in my voice doesn't faze her because she continues to laugh her ass off and grind against my dick like it's her favorite toy.

I pull her close to my chest and enjoy the way her body molds into mine so perfectly. She relaxes against me, and it settles something within me knowing she's allowing herself to enjoy this moment.

"Stay the night." I whisper against her back.

She glances over her shoulder with a curious look. "I really should go home."

"It's really late, and I don't feel like driving thirty minutes each way."

She contemplates for a second, but gives in.

"Ok. Let me call Abuela to make sure it's ok with her."

Once Shorty's grandmother gives her the approval to stay over, we call it a night. When we walked into the house, with my hand on Shorty's back, I whispered in her ear, "I'll meet you upstairs."

She nods against me and walks up the stairs.

After cleaning up the beer bottles, and pizza boxes, I bound up the stairs, two at a time, and checked on the guys. Ash peacefully snorts while Jag and Wyatt are passed out on the floor beside the bed.

Closing the door behind me, I walk into my bedroom when a high-pitched shriek causes me to flinch.

Shorty is naked. And I mean butt naked.

"Shit. Sorry." I turn around and shut my eyes but can't help a small tug at the corner of my mouth.

I just saw her bare ass.

And what a nice ass it was.

I hear a door slam shut. When I turn around, Shorty is nowhere in sight which means she's in the bathroom and that I just fucked up. I forgot she left her clothes in my bedroom. I lay back on my bed, covering my face with my hands. Now I have a perfect image of her smooth tan skin, tight round ass, and firm toned thighs. I can only imagine what her tits look like.

Jesus. What the fuck is wrong with me?

I quickly sit up when I hear the bathroom door opening. She's wearing one of my T-shirts and it hangs low to her knees.

Holy fu—

"Sorry, it was on your bed. I didn't have anything to sleep in." She tugs at the hem of the shirt.

"It's fine. I like you in my clothes." I rake my hands down my face. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were going to be in here."

"It's ok. Should've excepted it since it's your thing to appear from out of nowhere." She starts to walk toward the door and smiles over her shoulder.

"Hey." I rush to stand up and gently grab her elbow, turning her to face me. "Thank you for spending the day with me. I really had a good time."

"Me too."

I close the space between us, pull her to my chest, and kiss her forehead. Looking down into her eyes, I lean in, placing a soft lingering kiss on her lips. When I pull away, I place my head against her forehead.

"You can either sleep in here, or in one of the guest rooms if that makes you more comfortable."

"Are your parents ok with me staying over?"

"Yeah, it's just like when we were kids."

"Donnie, we're not kids anymore."

"I know. Besides, they knew you were coming over."

She shakes her head in amusement.

"Good night, Donnie."

"Good night, Shorty."

She smiles and walks out of the room, leaving me alone and wishing she would come back.