23. EARTH TO ARCHER DELTONA

23

EARTH TO ARCHER DELTONA

Jaden

"I'm never going drinking with crazy ass Martin again. I'm still fucking drunk, the fuck?" Caleb plops beside me on the couch.

"You're a fucking light weight," I say nursing a minor headache.

"You look like death yourself, dickface."

"Death? This pretty face?" It hurts when I try to grin too hard.

"What are you two moaning about?" The very fresh, very alive voice of Archer makes me want to kick his nuts. I love the guy, but he wasn't this annoying before he and Sunshine started having their secret sleepovers. I don't even know why they try to hide that shit and why she is always sneaking out of here in the morning.

They say they aren't doing anything, but honestly even if they were, that would be great for us. But they maintain their innocence. It made me happy when I heard news of her and Archer's sleepover made that fuckers ears.

That will fucking teach him. Summer is still ours. She may be on loan to him, but she is ours, and in the end, she will come home where she belongs. That's the truth, that's what I believe. It's the only thing that's helped me maintain my sanity when I see her hanging on his arm.

Archer freaked us all out with his incident, but I understood fully.

"You don't have to talk so loud, dipshit. Make us food. Something spicy." Caleb groans.

"You should stick with what you're used to and stop trying to compete with Martin. That guy's insides are made of iron." Archer looms over us, shaking his head like a disapproving father.

"You are not our daddy motherfucker. Now chop chop and make us wings," I say

He shakes his head. "Fucking drunkards."

"I would be sober too if I was cuddling Summer every night," Caleb calls after him and I chuckle silently.

Footsteps sound and Harvey comes to drop next to us.

"You bitches look like hell."

The TV turns on next and me and Caleb groans in pain.

"What is your problem, man?"

"Are you hungover like little bitches?" Harvey taunts but lowers the volume.

"I am removing Martin from our circle of friends. He is going to kill us," I say.

"That leaves us a friend short, since Arch won't go out anymore."

"Like Cal said, we would be sober too if we were spanking Summer's ass every night," I joke.

I see a reaction from Arch. I don't know how to describe it or decipher what it means. But I'm too hungover to care at the moment. But I do wonder, I am curious how her and his relationship work. They text each other when he needs to sleep? We haven't really gotten a chance to really ask him; school has been hectic for all of us, and he's being very scarce with the details.

"Lucky fucker," Caleb says. Harvey remains silent but looks angry.

"Who shitted on your cereal, Ford?" I nudge him.

He turns with a glare, and I lift my hands. "Whoa, killer, what is up with you?"

"Who the fuck said anything is wrong with me?" he stings, and I raise my eyebrows.

"Well, clearly something is fucking bothering you. So fucking spill. Is it the reason you came back early this morning?" Caleb says and Archer stiffens.

Harvey looks over at Arch with a strange look before Arch looks back down to the wings he's seasoning.

What the fuck is going on with these two? Does it have to do with Summer? Or it's something else. But then again when has anything not been about Summer in this house where our substantial emotions are concerned? I keep my trap shut, waiting to see if they come out with it.

"Nothing is bothering me, I'm fucking fine, and get off my dick," Harvey bites at Caleb.

Caleb and I look at each other. Harvey is unusually aggressive. Definitely Sunshine is involved.

"Do you two have beef or some?" I ask.

Harvey just keeps scrolling through the sports channels, head rested on his hand.

"We have no fucking beef. I don't know why Harv is being a bitch." Arch walks over to us and the sound of the microwave relaxes me. Food will be ready soon.

"Can you guys drop it?" Harv says.

Caleb and I share another look, we aren't imagining this shit here. Something is definitely up. But by the look of Harv and Arch's eyes, only Harv knows what's up with him. It's like he's mad at Arch.

"What the fuck is going on with you two. Is it about Summer?" Caleb leans forward, eyes lucid now. I open mine keenly too.

"Not every fucking thing is about Summer. Nurse your fucking hangover and stop asking me shit." Harvey gets up suddenly and heads upstairs.

Well, that was weird.

We all stare at where he disappeared. What the fuck?

"I'll go," Archer says heading upstairs.

***

Archer

My heart beats fast in my chest, hoping it's not what I suspect. I have to keep it between us like Peach said. I don't want to lie to them, but I also just want to enjoy whatever this is. She looked regretful a little, but I know it's forward from here. And it's been so hard to not rub it in their faces.

I knock once before I push the door open finding king Ford with a joint on his lips and his laptop on his lap. He doesn't even look up to see who it is. Closing the door, I approach carefully standing at the edge of his bed with my hand in my pockets.

"Yo, bro, what's up? You good?"

He doesn't answer immediately, but he looks up to me. He expels smoke, looking at me like he sees into my soul. I hold his gaze even though I am not certain of what he sees.

"Were you going to tell us?"

Oh, fuck. I furrow my brows hoping he is just suspecting, and he isn't sure.

"What are you talking about?"

He shakes his head. He is pissed.

"Don't fucking lie to me, Deltona. I know Summer's moans anywhere."

My mouth hangs open. Well, fuck me then.

"What—?"

"Are you going to deny it? Lie? And…why are you even lying about it?"

"It wasn't her," I try.

"Are you trying to tell me you haven't fucked another chick in six months and now suddenly when she is back in your life, you are fucking some random chick?"

Fuck.

"You can't tell anyone," I say.

"Why?"

"Because she asked me not to. She is spooked, okay. She has some feelings to sort on it and you know she…still has that other guy."

"You mean Logan, her boyfriend."

"Fuck yourself." I step back. I don't know what his problem is but I'm going to punch his stupid face if he doesn't shut it. The presence of Logan is just an ugly stain on what we have, and I wanted to pretend he doesn't exist.

"I don't understand why you'd hide it from us though."

"Because she asked me to. And don't pretend like you wouldn't keep it quiet too if you were in my position."

He pulls another drag one before he passes it to me. I take it and sit on his bed.

"I fucking hate you," he says

I chuckle. "If I were you, I'd hate me too."

He chuckles.

"Give me back my blunt and get the fuck out of my room, you lucky asshole."

I pull a large one before I hand it back.

"Ey, don't hate the player." I shrug. And he flips me off.

Before I leave, I turn to him, serious now.

"Please don't tell them. She is really vulnerable, and I don't want to scare her away or piss her off."

"Whatever." He takes his laptop again and tunes me out.

I leave, heading back downstairs. Caleb and Jaden now playing Fifa.

"So, what's up with that grouch?" Jaden asks.

I shrug. "Pussy deficiency," I say and they laugh.

"Shouldn't you be King Kong then?" Caleb asks from the other side.

"I can live just fine without fucking."

"And you really can, can't you? You haven't had any in what now?" Jaden teases.

"Six months, four days, and 10 hours," Caleb answers. We both turn to him because that is disturbing. He shrugs. "Remember it was us with her the last time before…"

"Yeah."

I head to the kitchen. In all truth, I feel like that old relationship for me and Summer is left in the past and this is a new thing we are starting. As fucked up as it's starting but I am not backing down. She is going to drop that loser, and I will have her back fully then maybe she and the others can work on their shit too. Our family needs to come back together.

But I need to pace it. I need to go against my urge to remove my competition with immediacy. Summer and I are grown now, and I need to give her room to make her own decisions. As much as I want her to dump that loser today, she needs her space to sort herself out and come to terms with the inevitable.

But this time it's going to be different.

"Oh yeah, that time you swindled me out of my day," Jaden bitches.

In high school, we had an informal roster for having her overnight or sneaking into her house. We didn't want to crowd her, or to traumatize her parents.

I think a parent can get over their child doing the nasty with one person, but I don't see them getting untraumatized by finding their young adult child getting spit-roasted. Harvey and her were caught by Caleb's parents at Caleb's house once. Caleb had gone to a robotics competition out of state and his parents were supposed to be gone.

They found our dear Summer riding Harvey into next week. Thanks to the surveillance footage, Caleb's mother's face was a meme we used all year in the group chat. It was hot as fuck and funny as shit.

Smiling, I take out the veggies in the fridge and shake my head.

It's barely been two weeks since I got Summer back, but I'm already better. There's spots of happiness and I feel a little lighter.

And harder. My body's still soaring high from the night we had. I've been hard all morning. After all that, I still want her. Her moans and whispers fill my head. My sweet Peach.

If I was a more noble guy, I would have said no but this was Su, I'd want her even if she turned out to be married. Of course, I'd have to kill the guy, but I'd still take her and I'd still give her everything I have and more.

All she has to do is ask and she has all of me. Our parents didn't really understand how we can all share a girl so seamlessly. It always puzzled everyone. And I've broken a few noses of people who ask shitty questions. Our high school experience was very interesting though. It's honestly a wonder any of us got the good grades we did.

But it was always just one of those things that came naturally. When she joined our school in tenth grade, we all wanted her. It went from playing for who will ask her on a date to competing on the small scraps she'd throw at us. If she so much as smiled at one of us, the others weren't hearing the end of it.

She was skeptical at first of our intentions, but she found the whole thing hilarious. She ended up as a fifth member of our little group and when year-end came, we all went camping. And that's when everything changed for us.

She thought it would be just sex, but we were dead serious. By the new school year, she was fully ours. I remember the never-ending questions from her parents, her father chasing us out of his house that day she invited all of us to dinner because she didn't want to hide it from her parents and we also didn't want to hide us, none of us were ashamed.

Our relationship was bliss and we all wanted everyone to know. After some hesitation, everybody had to be on board or fuck off. Our fathers and her father who had met a few times in the business world became actual friends.

Even if she drives me insane. Living without her almost rendered me in a straitjacket. Fuck. I don't know what I would have done if she didn't come. I was spiraling, bad

"Earth to Archer Deltona!"