Looking for Trouble

by Stacey Lewis

  Cringing away from him, I make a gagging sound. “You’re such a pig. I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last guy on Earth, and it was up to us to procreate.”

  Clay laughs loudly. “Never say never, sweetheart.” Shaking his head, he starts to walk away. “Let’s go, time’s a-wastin’.”

  Against my better judgment, I follow him to his car. At the beginning of his senior year, Clay’s parents bought him a sleek black car. Since then, he’s added blue racing stripes and fancy chrome wheels. Acting surprisingly like a gentleman, he reaches around me to open the passenger door, shutting it behind me before walking around the rear to get in himself. As soon as the car starts, it’s obvious the stripes aren’t the only addition. With a sheepish look, he turns down the blaring radio quieting the thumping baseline somewhat, though I can still feel the vibrations through the seat.

  “Sorry,” he says with a shrug. “I like my music like I like my women—loud.” He winks, and I don’t know what to do with a Clay who’s not just a vulgar jerk. He’s making jokes and I want to laugh. It’s a new side of him, one I actually like, and I don’t know how to reconcile it with the Clay who makes me want to commit murder on an hourly basis. I can’t help but stare at him as he turns the radio up just a little before he puts the car in gear and takes off. We head for the apartment he shares with Max and Emmett, silent but for the curse-filled rap music playing too loudly to encourage more talking.

  Five

  When we pull up to my apartment, Max’s “great pumpkin” is parked in front. Kat’s eyes dart over to it, stuck as she pulls her bottom lip through her teeth. I’m not sure exactly what she’s thinking, but I figure it’s something along the lines of why didn’t he show up to get me? I had to hitch a ride with the asshole brother. She’s still sitting in the passenger seat when I shut the car off and get out. Just the closing of my door startles her, but her eyes are still locked on his car.

  I pull her door open and reach out a hand for her to take. When she doesn’t move, I crouch down to look at her. “Are you planning to sit here all night? I told you he was probably here and just sleeping.” Big eyes meet my own and she finally unbuckles. Ignoring my offered hand, she unfolds her lean body and slides past me, careful not to touch me more than she has to. Normally I’d tease her, but for some reason, seeing her so out of sorts stops me.

  Kat walks ahead of me up the stairs, and I realize she has a really nice ass. Usually, she’s careful to stay out of my range, but right now, at this moment, it’s practically in my face and I can’t help but stare. Stare, salivate, imagine it in my hands. What the fuck is wrong with me? I shake my head trying to clear the image of her curves filling my hands and try to replace it with anyone else’s. It doesn’t take long for us to reach the top of the stairs, and thankfully her butt is no longer right in my line of sight, I breathe out a sigh of relief as we walk down the hallway.

  She stops outside the door, hands tucked into the pockets of her dark skinny jeans and shoulders hunched against the cold air coming through the breezeway. Max has brought her over enough times that she should feel comfortable just walking in, but she never does. When I open the door, she waits for me to walk in first. I step inside, listening for Max’s soft snores, but the sounds coming out of his room are definitely not from him sleeping.

  For reasons I can’t even begin to understand, I immediately try to usher Kat back into the hallway, but she doesn’t follow my lead. “What are you doing?” she asks. There’s no way for me to answer this without her finding out exactly why my little brother didn’t show up at school on time. Stupid bastard, I think, mentally shaking my head at his idiocy.

  I struggle for something to say that’s not Max is boning some random girl, and you probably don’t want to know about that, but I come up empty. The most I can do is open and close my mouth a few times. Kat continues to study my face, scrutinizing me closely. The longer I go without explaining, the more concerned she becomes.

  “Is something wrong with Max?”

  She tries to step around me but I block her. “No,” I start, but the situation gets the best of me. I start to laugh, thinking of all the things I could say in reply. “Max is finally ‘doing‘ something right,” or “the only thing wrong with him is that she’s not making enough noise.” The possibilities are endless. Kat’s eyes narrow in frustration. She shoves me as far as she can, which albeit isn’t very far, but it’s far enough for her to dart past me.

  Not thinking, I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her back … right into my front. Her body fits perfectly against mine, and her soft curves against me have my cock taking notice. This is not the time for that. I can’t get a stiffy with my brother in the next room having sex. That’s all kinds of wrong. Not to mention, this is Kat. I start thinking about football plays, I mean, they’re non-sexual.

  Eagle cover three—I got the running back.

  Falcon blitz two—I cover the slot. Shit, that doesn’t help.

  Charlie Over Strong—I hit the tight end.

  Fuck me. This is just making it worse. I try thinking first about Livvie because I can’t stand that tramp, and even the fact that my brother is having sex a few feet away—anything to stop the rising situation in my pants. Luckily, Kat jerks away from me before my dick makes himself known, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

  Unfortunately, as soon as she takes another step forward, the noise from Max’s room is easy to hear. She freezes. All the color drains from her face as it falls. I feel shitty since I’m the one who brought her over. Don’t get me wrong, pissing Kat off and annoying the shit out of her are two of my favorite pastimes, but I’m not unfeeling. There’s nothing funny about seeing someone’s heart being broken. That shit’s messed up, and I’m not going to be the one to rub it in her face.

  I know she’s seconds away from tears, so I fall back on the relationship Kat and I have had since we met. Stepping up behind her, I lower my mouth to her ear and say in the sexiest voice I can, “Wanna go back to my room, baby? We can show them how it’s done.” I didn’t think it was possible, but her body stiffens even more at my words. With a swift intake of breath, she elbows me in the stomach. For someone so fragile looking, she has hella-pointy elbows and I cough out a rough breath.

  “Christ, Kat, was that absolutely necessary?” I wheeze, trying to get my breath back. Her breath catches on a sob, and I reach for her arm, but she shoves me away. Before I can say something, apologize for the way I tried to help, she runs past me, a hand over her mouth and tears filling her eyes. She doesn’t even look at me as she leaves. I’m left standing in the entryway, unsure whether to go after her or go beat my stupid brother’s ass.

  A few seconds later, his bedroom door opens and feminine laughter can be heard just before Max walks out, wrapping his arms around the waist of a slim brunette, one with massive tits and a tiny waist wearing only his t-shirt, from behind. Her tan legs look smooth from where I’m standing, toned. If I wasn’t fuming over his treatment of Kat, I’d be proud of him for landing such a nice piece of ass. The boy is screwing a girl who is way over his pay grade. However, his “best” friend just ran out of here in tears, so I’m not so inclined to pat him on the back and praise him for landing a girl who’s way out of his league.

  “So, this is why you didn’t show up to get Kat this afternoon?”

  They both stop when they hear my voice, and the girl whose name I don’t know looks up at Max with a raised eyebrow. “Kat? Who’s Kat?” she asks, her displeasure obvious. She’s clearly coming to the conclusion that Max used her to cheat on his girlfriend, and I have to duck my head so she doesn’t see my smirk. The little fuck deserves everything he’s getting, and more.

  Max is quick to placate her. “She’s just a friend, Soph, promise.” “Soph” doesn’t look convinced, and my brother pulls her further into his arms, murmuring who knows what into her ear. Whatever it is, it works, and again, I want to congratulate the shithead for his level of game. Any other time, I’d be giving him all
kinds of shit, but right now? Well, right now, all I can think about is the girl who left with tears tracking down her cheeks.

  The chick walks back into his room, leaving Max in the living room with me. He flops down on the couch, and I wonder if he’s just oblivious to the amount of rage coming from my side of the room, or in just too much of an after-sex fog to care. Watching my brother be so nonchalant about breaking a poor girl’s heart has me reevaluating the way I’ve treated women. As the oldest of three boys, I’m the one Max and Linc look up to. Is Max’s treatment of Kat because of what he’s seen me do? The thought leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. If that’s the case, I hope the fact I haven’t lived at home for three years means Linc has at least a chance at being a decent guy.

  “C’mon, man,” he whines, when he finally picks up on my mood, “Kat will forgive me for not showing. She always does.” He blows it off like it’s no big deal that he left a friend in the lurch, that he just bailed on her with no notice, no explanation, nothing.

  “Are you fucking serious right now?” I fume, struggling to keep from punching him in his whiny mouth. “I gave her a ride over here, asshole. She knows exactly why you didn’t show up and what you were doing instead.” I laugh mirthlessly. “You’ll be lucky if she forgives you before graduation. Yours, not mine.”

  Max finally clues in to what I’m saying and he jumps up from the couch. “Kat is here? Where is she?” He starts to look around, like he thinks she’s hiding in plain sight, before his panicked eyes land on me. Yeah, not so funny now is it, shit stain?

  After watching him look for her for a few minutes, I take pity on him. “She left. Poor thing couldn’t handle hearing you banging Big Tits McGee,” I gesture towards his bedroom door, “through the wall.” Without another word, he races past me, the girl in his room all but forgotten as he goes after Kat. I follow him at a slower pace, giving him time to make things right with her, or at least time to grovel without me as an audience. Boy has some serious work to do. If they were dating, he’d be spending the next couple hours on his knees in apology. And, there goes my dick again. Fucking traitorous appendage.

  Six

  After tripping down the steps and almost breaking my neck, I sit at the bottom, set my bag on the ground, and drop my head in my hands. What the hell just happened? Clay’s words echo in my head. Wanna go back to my room, baby? We can show them how it’s done. God, he’s such a jerk! I can’t believe his solution to finding out Max forgot me because he was too busy with another girl is to compete with him in the moaning department. My disgust at his suggestion did distract me for a few precious seconds though, so I should probably thank him. But, I won’t. I can only hope Linc doesn’t grow up to be like his older brothers. One Mitchell hottie has to be a decent human being.

  I pull out my phone and send my sister a quick text. I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to be. It’s close enough to five that she should be able to cut out of work and come get me.

  Me: Hey. Can u come get me?

  Anna: Yeah, sure.

  Where u at ‘lil homie?

  Leave it to Anna to make me laugh even when my heart is crushed.

  Me: Max’s. I’ll b @ the

  playground. And ps,

  lil homie? Seriously?

  Anna: For realsies.

  B there in 10 <3

  Me: Thanks <3

  Standing, I slip my phone back into my pocket and pick up my backpack. The playground area of the apartment complex is behind the building next to Max and Clay’s, so it won’t take but a minute to get over there. I don’t want either of them to see me sitting out here all pitiful-like. Clay because he’ll make another asinine remark and Max because I don’t want him to know how much he hurt me. I’m sure Clay told him what happened though; hell, he probably burst in on them doing it to break the news. It’s exactly something Clay would do, and I have to smile at the thought of Max being interrupted mid-climax by his brother running into the room yelling at him for forgetting me. He’ll probably offer to take over where Max leaves off too. He’s such a pig.

  Surprisingly, the playground is deserted. I guess kids are inside doing homework or eating supper. Dropping my bag in the mulch, I sit on one of the swings and think back on when I was younger. I only had to worry if my sister was going to get in trouble for being mean to me, or if my mom was going to force me to do the unthinkable—eat Brussels Sprouts. Now, I’m older, and even though I’m in that weird place where I’m not a child, but don’t quite feel like an adult either, things are much harder.

  I don’t know what to do about Max. He’s my best friend, but I want him to be more. I’ve never come out and told him about my crush, but he has to know. Everyone else does. Surely he’s not that clueless. Does he not know how much it hurts to see him with other girls? With the exception of Gavin Doyle, a guy I dated senior year, I’ve been single since we met. Max was dating Kelly Wood and I was so jealous my vision should have been tinged with green. Gavin was just this guy I hung out with sometimes, a guy to go on double dates with where I could pretend I was with Max instead. God, if that doesn’t scream this girl is pathetic, I don’t know what does.

  “Kat!” a familiar, worried voice yells, bringing me out of my pity party. Max is running towards me, no jacket, just wearing a t-shirt and jeans that aren’t buttoned, his dark hair messy. When he stops in front of me, his chest heaving, and his eyes wide and wary, I notice he’s not even wearing shoes. Leaning over, he braces his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. A movement off to his side catches my attention and I see Clay coming our way. He’s wearing his jacket; hands tucked into his pockets. The Nashville U ball cap on his head makes his eyes impossible to see, even if he didn’t have his head down. It’s a posture I’ve never seen on Clay before. He looks uncomfortable, as if this is the last place he wants to be.

  Max drops down on his knees in front of the swing I’m sitting on, his position forcing me to look down on him as he gives me his best puppy dog impression. “Kat, honey,” he starts, his voice cajoling. He takes my hands in his, “I’m so sorry. Please say you’ll forgive me. You know you’re my favorite.” He smiles up at me sheepishly, and I know he’s expecting instant forgiveness.

  Ugh. He doesn’t even try to explain himself, although honestly, that might not be a bad thing. I’m not sure I can handle hearing how sticking it to some girl was more important than picking me up and keeping the plans we had for tonight. Still disgusted with him, I yank my hands out of his, doing it so fast he loses his balance, and almost falls backwards. It makes him drop one hand to the wood chips to stop his momentum.

  “C’mon Kat, don’t be that way,” he pleads from his awkward position.

  Before I can tell him to go to hell, Clay grabs him by the back of his t-shirt and pulls him up so he’s standing once more. “Jeez, Max,” he grunts, “could you at least try not to be a bigger pussy than the one you were just in?”

  Max look away, and his ears turn bright red when his brother shoves that mental picture in my head. Suddenly, I have visions of Max being a life-sized vagina. It’s not a pretty picture either. It makes me feel better to make him a dancing vajayjay though, one with poor grooming habits. Yeah, that’s right … in my head right now, Max is a hairy, dancing vaj. I put a hand over my mouth to try to cover my combination snort-laugh, but when I meet Clay’s eyes and see the smirk on his face, I know he knows exactly what I’m thinking. A two-hour class with him this afternoon was too much. Now I’m thinking like him.

  Clay’s eyes dart away from mine, looking over my shoulder. I turn to see my sister coming our way, wearing a candy apple red coat with double black buttons that reaches to about mid-thigh on her. Her chocolate brown hair, so much like mine is tucked up under a black beanie, and she’s wearing black skinny jeans with black ankle boots. Just looking at her makes me feel frumpy and unfashionable in my black leggings and slightly baggy plum-colored top. I watch his eyes skim down her body and weirdly want to punch him. I’ve clear
ly been spending too much time with Peyton.

  “Hey,” she says, whiskey-colored eyes assessing the three of us, trying to figure out why I wanted her to come get me if Max is here. Usually, I jump at the chance to be alone in the car with him. Max looks up at me, sadness in his eyes, knowing I asked her here so I wouldn’t have to rely on him to take me home. “Everything okay, Kat?” she asks, her gaze returning to search mine, silently asking questions I don’t want to answer. Instead, I just nod, and knowing me as well as she does, she lets it drop, for the moment, with a shrug. “O-kay. Well, I’m going to the ‘rents for dinner. Wanna come with?”

  Now that Lyric’s moved in with her boyfriend, Anna eats a lot of her dinners at our parents’ house. She says it’s because she got used to not eating alone, and it gives her a reason to leave work on time. It makes sense because her boss is possibly a bigger asshole than Clay is, so I totally get it. “Yes,” I say, a little too enthusiastically, jumping up from where I’d been drawing random designs in the wood chips with the toe of my Chucks. One side of her mouth tips up in a smile, but it’s forced. She knows I’m upset, and I know she wants nothing more than to beat the crap out of both guys, not caring which of them hurt me or how. God knows Clay’s done enough damage to my psyche over the years.

  “But, Kat …” Max starts, trailing off when I turn my head and glare at him. His next words come out sounding dejected. “Can we please talk? Just for a minute?”

  I hesitate, the sadness in his voice getting to me, but I’m not ready to mend the newest tear in our friendship. Shaking my head, I say quietly, “No, Max. Not tonight.” I sound as tired as I suddenly feel; resigned to the friend zone he’s placed me in for all these years. Maybe I’m finally realizing that Max and Kat? Kax? Mat? Mitten? Yeah, it’s never gonna happen. If he cared about me that way at all, he wouldn’t have blown me off so he could get laid. Gah, Clay, get out of my head! Max looks down and away, concentrating on anything but me, Clay and Anna. Seeing him look so lost makes me want to hug him, tell him everything will be okay, but I just can’t right now.