Chapter 6

Chapter Six

DANE

T empted to lay Nick out and for being a drunk asshole, I grit my teeth and clench my fists. But I have to think about my dad's campaign. Anything I do might reflect negatively on him. He's warned me over and over to keep my nose clean.

Funny, the rumors about me sleeping around doesn't bother my dad. He doesn't believe it taints the family's reputation, considering it more like a rite of passage so you know the qualities you want and the ones you don't.

A few weeks ago, I was reeling over Lettie and her over-the-top flirtations with Nick. Instead of telling Nick the real reason I was in a piss-poor mood, I told him I was tired of having sex with random girls. I was ready to find someone to settle down with, and I guess he took it as I had sworn off sex.

Needing to focus on anything but Nick, or Lettie, my cheeks puff out before I let out a whale of a breath. This is Timber Thrills, and I'm going to have a good time. Nick isn 't ruining my fun. So, when I walk through the midway alone, collecting myself, I see the rifle game where you have to squirt the water in the tiny hole. I have to play, and I know I will win because I always do. Greathouses win.

The employee dressed in safari green gives me my pick from three prizes—a pink squirrel, a ladybug, and a Yoda stuffed toy.

I can't go back with a ladybug for Lettie. The guys would give me shit, even though they know we're just friends. Lettie also loves Star Wars, so the employee pulls the pink squirrel off the chain and hands it to me.

Rejoining the group at the tower, I give Hannah the squirrel, and she presses on her toes and kisses me on the cheek. "You're sweet."

Lettie stands behind her, inhaling and exhaling long breaths. Her lips are tight and trembling.

Is she upset that I gave my prize to Hannah?

Before I can reach her, security rushes past us. The girls are all standing on their tippy toes while my gaze follows the guards, and my vision lands on Nick, pissing off the side of the platform.

He yells, "What else was I supposed to do? I know I'm not the first to pee here. I can't lose my place in line."

Security realizes he's with the rest of the tall guys, so they come to us and say, "Is he with you?"

Devon says, "Unfortunately."

"Well, he 's banned from entering Timber Thrills for the year. So, I guess one of you will have to go with him."

"We came in a bus, and he can get there on his own," Devon responds.

"Fuck you. Some teammates you claim to be. What happened to We Are One ?" Nick spews our basketball team motto.

Devon gets in his face. "Because you need to learn a lesson. How to represent our college and how to treat women."

I place myself between them. "Nick, we'll see you on the bus." I glance at Lettie, and I'm surprised she doesn't follow him. In fact, she doesn't say a word to him, turns her back, and crosses her arms, talking to the others.

A few minutes later, we're dropping two hundred feet, with Hannah on one side of me and Lettie on the other. Hannah squeezes my arm, and Lettie screams, unable to contain her excitement.

One thing about being an athlete is we're always hungry and race to the Treehouse Pizzeria, a unique dining spot where they have to climb ladders to reach the treehouse seating. Despite there being a downstairs area, Lettie wanted to have an adventure together.

It's hot and humid and time for water rides. We bought fast passes for the three big water rides and rented lockers for our clothes. The girls remove their tanks and damn, Lettie has a mouthwatering rack. I try not to stare at her lightly tanned chest. It's not like I haven't seen her in a bikini a thousand times, but each year, she makes it harder and harder for me not to notice.

Or not to drool.

I mutter under my breath, inaudible to the group. "She's my best friend. She's my best friend. Her rockin' body and infectious laugh doesn't make a difference to me."

Except they most certainly do.

Hannah looks cute in a lavender suit. It's the same style as Lettie's, just a different color, yet they look completely opposite. Hannah looks sporty, and Lettie looks like a fucking ripe peach in that coral bikini top.

I gulp, swallowing what little moisture is left in my mouth.

The Alpine Crusher ride fits three people in a log with the heaviest in the back and the lightest is in front. When the employees arrange us, I'm in the back, Lettie, and then Hannah. There are little indentations with bars to secure us going across our knees. But as we ascend in the log, Lettie tips her head back.

"Thanks for letting me hang with you."

I graze her arms with my fingers. "Always, Lettie Bug."

She tilts her head and even upside down, she's beautiful, with the blue sky as her canvas. I have to get these feelings under control because the one thing I can't live without is a person, and it's Lettie. Ruining our friendship over "urges" as my dad calls them is not an option.

My dad's words run through my head as our log makes its way to the top. Earlier in the summer, I told my dad I was confused over my thoughts about Lettie. And when I cal led him to see if I could get out of attending the campaign event last night, he made it seem like Lettie would never see me as a boyfriend, but the one word that stuck in my head is suitable.

"You're confusing your friendship with love. Romantic love is different. It's where you can't wait to rip each other's clothes off. Lettie doesn't see you that way. I don't mind you tasting all of the flavors but soon, you need to find a suitable partner in life before the NBA. I love Lettie… I do, but you're confusing history and friendship with love."

Who's more suitable for me than Lettie? She could care less if I become a professional basketball player, more interested in having fun, late-night texts, and early morning memes.

The log does a nosedive, and my body propels forward. My hands reach to brace myself and end up around Lettie's bare waist. It feels like an electrical burn as my thumbs swipe over his silken skin. In that split second, I feel her sigh and imagine her moaning at my touch, but the fire extinguishes quickly when sheets of water rain down on us. She touches my hand softly, cackling, and it feels like sunshine.

As we exit the ride, all the guys notice the girls' pebbled nipples through their bathing suits. Lips are being licked and dicks are thinking about getting wet. How do I know? Because I'm a guy, and I live with these guys. Well, they can dip their sticks somewhere else. Lettie is off limits.

I hang my arms over Hannah and Lettie, guiding them to the giant water slide. The rest of the team files in behind us and up the steps to wait our turn.

"I'm scared," Hannah says to Dane with wide eyes.

The imposin g candy-striped structure looms in front of us, the tallest slide this side of the Mississippi. Its steep incline defies the laws of gravity, and it's not for the faint of heart. As we climb the stairs to the top, my heart races with both fear and excitement as the rest of the team files in behind us.

Looking down, I can't help but wonder if it's possible to plummet to my doom with the angle being so slight.

"Just do what they say. Cross your ankles and cross your arms over your chest and don't raise up." I bump against her. "You got this."

Hannah shakes her head.

Lettie says, "I'll go first, and Dane can go after Hannah, so he can reassure you. He's good at making people feel good." She gives Hannah a hug, not upset at all about me winning Hannah a stuffed squirrel. "And I'll jump up and down when you get to the bottom."

"Okay," she says as she straightens her spine and takes a deep breath.

"Here goes." Lettie lies on the candy-striped slide, and her body glides over the small hump before her feet dive, and she yells all of the way down.

She better wait on Hannah. Lettie can't sit still so she has always run from ride to ride at every county fair. Her ADHD gets worse when she's having fun. In the confusion this morning, I had forgotten to ask if she had taken her medicine.

The first t ime I asked her why she doesn't take it on the weekends, she said, "Because I never want to forget who I really am."

I still think about it. What would it feel like to take medicine and be someone your body doesn't want to be? Fighting against yourself.

Hannah is shaking, so I put my palms on her shoulders. "I'm right behind you."

She slides with her eyes closed tightly and thirty seconds later, I skid to a stop at the bottom, Hannah's smile extends from ear to ear. "I did it. I did it." She jumps into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist. Instead of relishing a woman's center grazing me, I glance at Lettie.