Page 25 of The One

“No.” She sighed. “Like you said, she has Timothy. She’ll be fine.”

“I can’t promise he’s going to keep his hands off her. I know my boy, and he’s single, and the two of them looked like they were on the verge of something.”

“Don’t worry, she’s into him too. I’m sure I’ll hear all about it later.” Her head tilted to the side, her shoulders slightly raised. “I can’t babysit her twenty-four seven. At this time next year, she’ll be heading to New York, and I won’t be there to help.” There was suddenly emotion in her voice. “I just have to accept that Pen is going to do what she wants, and that might be getting shit-faced at the beach and screwing Timothy in the ocean and getting home safely without me.”

“Are you okay with that?” I put my hand on her thigh. “You’ve been in this position for a while from what you’ve told me.” Once she had become my girlfriend, the two years we’d been apart was something she talked about, and many of those stories involved Penelope and her wildness in New York. “I can’t tell if you’re looking forward to the break or feeling guilty that you want one.”

“Both—if that’s possible.”

I checked the light, seeing that it turned green. My foot moved to the gas, but my hand stayed on her leg. “It is, for sure.”

“I love my sister, Rhett. I love her more than life itself. She’s everything to me. But I feel responsible for her, and sometimes, it’s a role I need a vacation from. And I’m sure she needs a rest from me, too, since I’m the constant bad guy. The one who cuts her off when it’s time to go home or tells her to slow down when I sense she’s on the verge of getting too far out of control.”

I was the oldest sibling in my family. I would look out for Rowan and Ridge forever, especially Ridge, now that we were in the same school. But I didn’t parent them—not in the way I’d witnessed Lainey having to do with Penelope.

“It’s a lot. I get it.”

“What makes it even harder is that every time we leave the house together, my dad tells me to watch out for my sister. But who watches out for me? Who ensures I’m making the right decisions?”

“Me.” I squeezed her leg. “I wouldn’t ever let anything happen to you, Lainey.”

Her hand went to the back of my neck. “I know.”

“But I know what you’re saying. That’s a lot of pressure he puts on you. He obviously feels like you can handle it—and you can because you’re strong as hell. That doesn’t make it any easier though.” I reached for the hand that wasn’t on my neck and clasped it. “You’re in a hard spot. I’m sorry.”

She tilted her body toward me. “Whenever I get into one of these moods, I remind myself that we only have one more school year together, and then, after college, who knows if Pen and I will be living near each other again? If she stays on the East Coast and I continue living on the West Coast, that’s a lot of distance.” Her exhale came out in slow waves. “And that thought makes me incredibly sad.”

I turned onto my street and stole a quick glance at her. “As long as that sadness doesn’t involve tears, I’m good with it. But there won’t be any tears today, Lainey. Today is only about you and me—you hear me?”

She smiled. “I agree.”

I sped up until I reached our long driveway, making my way through the gate, and I parked outside the garage. Lainey joined me at the front of the car, and we went in through the side door, stopping in the kitchen.

I opened the fridge, taking out a Coke. “Want one?”

“No.”

I flipped the tab back and took a sip. “Do you want anything?”

She was staring at me, and I couldn’t tell what she was thinking about. When she didn’t say a word, I pointed toward the backyard even though we couldn’t see it from here.

“You’ve already got your suit on. We can go in the pool or hot tub. Or if you feel like staying dry, we could watch a movie in the media room.”

“We could.” She came closer until she was standing right in front of me. “But I’d rather hang out in your room.”

“Yeah?” I touched her cheek, my thumb near the corner of her mouth, circling the edge of it.

I still had the towel wrapped around my waist with my swim trunks underneath. She pulled the towel loose, and it dropped to the floor, her fingers dipping an inch beneath my waist.

“Rhett”—she swallowed, and even though there was sexiness in her eyes, there was hesitation in her voice and shyness in her touch—“I don’t want to wait any longer.”

My dick was instantly hard.

But I needed to make sure I was understanding what she was saying since her statement could go so many fucking ways. “Wait for …what?”

She glanced toward my waist and gradually met my eyes again, her hands flattening against my abs. “To have sex.”

I drew in a deep breath. “Lainey …”