Summer and Darren up top ^
I know they're siblings in real life but let's just pretend they're not for the sake of this book

***

I sat on the couch stuffing my face with Doritos and watching reruns of Friends.

"Cora, do you know where the beach towels are?" Carter called from upstairs.

"Did you check the cabinets where they always are?" I yelled back.

"No" a few seconds of silence. "Found them!"

I shook my head and laughed. He definitely is something else.

"Wait, why do you need beach towels?" I hopped up off the couch for what felt like first time today.

The boys were all running around in their swimsuits.

"We're going to the lake with the guys. It's just Nick, Darren, Cole, Will, Sam and Tommy" he said. "and us of course." He added as an afterthought.

Connor walked into the living room and put on his shirt. "Do you wanna come? I think the boat holds like ten and we're taking Cole's jet ski"

I looked down at my outfit. My booty shorts and hoodie were covered in Dorito dust and my hair was thrown up into a really messy bun.

"How much time do I have?" I asked. I was really skeptical that my hair would come out of the ratty mess.

"We'll give you fifteen minutes"

I rushed upstairs and found a bathing suit in my top drawer. It was a white wrap around bikini top and the bottoms were white with tropical leaves covering them. I threw on one of my dad's old college shirts and a pair of comfortable shorts.

I went to my bathroom and almost cried when I saw my hair. I shrugged and started brushing through it.

It took me less than ten minutes and I had time to double french braid my hair. I slid on a pair of flip flops and grabbed all my lake things. You know the usual towel, sunscreen, tanning lotion, a water bottle and sunglasses.

Miraculously, I finished in less than fifteen minutes and ushered the boys out to the cars. Connor and I took Connor's car and the other two took Cooper's car.

The lake was about an hour away, but it didn't seem that long when I was jamming to music with Connor.

When we got there Cole and Darren were unloading the jet ski and the rest were getting the boat into the water.

"Sorry we're late, Cora decided she wanted to come." Connor said walking up to the guys and bro hugging all of them.

"You're the one who invited me dumbass and gave me fifteen minutes to get ready. You're lucky I look this cute" I flipped my hair behind my shoulder, causing all the guys to laugh.

"The boat's ready" Nick called and we all piled on. Nick drove us out to the middle of the lake.

The boys threw on some music and started acting like a bunch of wild banshees. Most of them jumped off the back of the boat into the water. I was left on the boat with Will, Connor, and Tommy.

Connor looked at me worriedly. He was almost asking if it was okay for him to leave me. I gave him a reassuring nod.

"Let's go man" Tommy smacked Connor lightly in the chest. Connor ripped off his shirt and jumped in with the rest of the boys.

I ripped off my shirt and sprayed myself with sunscreen. I noticed Will staring from the corner of my eye. I smirked to myself.

"Are you not going in the water?" I asked Will as I took a seat in the sun. It was a great day to crack open an ice cold beer and tan in the sun. I slipped on my sunglasses.

"Nah, not right now at least." He shrugged and took a seat next to me. "Thought I'd keep you company."

  "You don't have to go have fun with your friends. I'll be okay" I gestured out to the water.

Even though I couldn't see his face, I could feel him smirking in my direction. "And who says I'm not right here."

I left the conversation at that.

"Did we bring any beer?" I asked.

"This is Nick's boat of course there's beer" He laughed.

"Could you grab me one?" I asked.

He stood up and walked to a cooler. I heard some movement before he walked back over to me. He handed me an already opened bottle of beer.

"Thanks" I said before taking a sip.

The boys were out messing around in the water.  I was so glad the boys made such good friends. I was kind of worried they wouldn't, especially Carter. I, on the other hand, had nothing to worry about. I sit on the couch most of the time and I know my brothers will always be there for me. If I didn't make friends, I knew I had them.

"DID YOU CRACK A COLD ONE WITHOUT ME?" Nick asked, clearly offended.

"You know it" I called back with a smile.

I was enjoying the sun as I sipped my beer. This was the life. Will left a little while ago to join in a game of football. I swear anytime they're not practicing they're playing or talking about football.

"Cora, you should come in." Sam called from the water.

"Yeah, you've been tanning since we got here" Coop whined. "Enjoy the water"

I sighed and stood up. I took off my shorts and I could almost feel the stares from the other guys.

"Dude your sister is hot as fu-" Cole didn't get to finish his sentence because he got hit in the head with a football by none other than Connor and smacked in the back of the head by Carter, not to mention the deadly glare coming from Cooper.

"I was just saying" He mumbled.

I laughed at my brothers's over protectiveness and jumped into the water with the boys.

We swam around and messed around for the longest time. The boys took turns on the jet ski. We all got back on the boat for snacks and beer, since I already had one I didn't get one right then.  The boys talked and argued about football and we had a great time.

"Who's next?" Cole asked as he pulled up on the jet ski.

"I'm down" Will stood up and put on a life vest. "Anyone want to come with?"

"I will" I stood up and put on a life vest.

Will sat on the front wanting to drive.

"That's cute. Move" I jammed my thumb back.

Will cocked an eyebrow at me and tilted his head in confusion.

"You think you're driving." I answered his unasked question. "And you think wrong. Move." I repeated.

All the guys laughed.

"I wanna drive it. I was the one who said it in the first place." Will complained.

"Well I said move so" I crossed my arms and looked at him.

"Just give it up man, she's not gonna give up" Carter suggested.

The other two nodded in agreement.

"Lesson number two about Coco. She's a stubborn ass." Cooper said.

"Anything she wants she gets and she won't stop until she does." Conner chimed in.

"Should I be writing these down?" Tommy joked.

Will sighed and scooted back as I hopped on the front with a smile. Once Will was safely attached to me I took off like a shot. I drove around fast and made sharp turns. I could hear little screams from Will every time I made another sharp turn.

"You drive like a mad woman" He yelled at me.

"It's more fun this way" I yelled back.

After a few more sharp turns and Will screaming later, we decided to head back to the boat. The boys saw us coming and met us at the side of the boat.

"You're welcome to drive now." I smirked and got off of the jet ski. I took a seat in the sun. "Can you hand me a beer?" I asked.

Sam popped one open and handed it to me.

"Thanks" I raised the bottle to him before taking a sip.

"So Cora, do you have a boyfriend?" Darren asked. "Ow" He exclaimed after being hit by all three brothers.

"Don't even think about it?" Carter growled out.

Darren put his hands up in defense. "It's not for me. My girl, Summer, heard about you and was curious. She asked me to ask you."

They let him off the hook and continued their conversations.

I laughed lightly. "Just for the record I am single, but where is Summer? Why isn't she here?" I asked.

"She lives with her Dad during the Summer. She should be back the week before school starts" He explained. "You two would get along well, I think" He said.

"Tell me about her"

A smile took over his face as he talked about his girlfriend. His face lit up like a kid in the candy store. I could tell by the way he talked about her and the look in his eyes that he was in love with this girl.

"Can I see a picture of her?" I asked.

He pulled out his phone and showed me a picture of them together. She had beautiful chestnut skin and mid-length curly brown hair and the most beautiful brown eyes. The smiles on both of their faces were as wide as ever. You could tell the two really loved each other.

"She's beautiful" I said and handed the phone back to him.

"Yeah she is" He smiled proudly.

"How long have you been together?" I asked and took a sip of my beer.

"Two years now. We started dating at the end of our sophomore year."

"Cute" I awed at him.

He began talking with the boys about football again. I joined in and we all joked around and had a fun time. The music was playing and the boys were all singing and dancing. As it got late, we packed up. We all needed to be home. We were out almost all day long. Plus the drive home is an hour away.

We hooked up the boat to Nick's truck and packed up the other cars.

"Bye guys, I'll see you at practice tomorrow" Carter said. They all said their goodbyes.

"Marshmallow, will I see you at practice tomorrow?" Will asked.

I shrugged. "I thought about it, most likely" I answered.

"Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow" he smiled.

"Bye Will" I waved at him as I walked away.

The boys and I walked to the cars. Connor and I got into his and buckled up.

"Marshmallow?" He questioned.

"I told him I didn't want him calling me Coco ad that's the nickname he came up with."

We played music on our way back. The lake tired me out more than I thought it would. My eyes closed and I drifted to sleep.

I was been shook awake. "Coco we're home"  Connor whispered.

I got up and got all my stuff before walking into the house.

"Wow honey, you take lake hair don't care to a whole other level" Dad laughed as I walked by him in the living room.

"Haha very funny" I rolled my eyes. "I'm taking a shower then a nap. If anyone decides to wake me up and it's not for food, just remember I know where you sleep" I fake smiled and headed up stairs.

***

The next day I decided to go to practice with the boys. Not to work out. I just wanted to watch and chill. It was the boys' play day. The just went over plays and practiced them. They do it two times a week and the other day is conditioning and drills. The day I came last time.

I waved at Will from the stands. He waved back with a smile.

"No wave for me?" Coop asked as he feigned hurt.

"Nah, I see you too much" I laughed.

He pouted and walked away.

After practice, Dad blew the whistle and everyone gathered up. They broke out and went their separate ways.

The same guy I punched came up to me by the bleachers. I didn't remember his name though.

"Hey Cora" he said as he stood next to me.

"Hey" I said coldy.

"Do you want to hang out after practice? I know we started off on the wrong foot, but it's a chance for me to apologize and make everything better." He explained.

I looked over at the boys, Will was among them. He looked over at me and waved.

"I actually already have plans, maybe next time" I smiled.

It was a sweet gesture, but I'm not really sure I want to talk about it. I hardly know the guy and he brought up some unpleasant memories.

"Be careful around Will, he's a player and the last time he had a girlfriend he caused her to commit." He said blatantly.

"What? How?" I yelled out in shock.

He shrugged. "I don't know, I just heard about it, just be careful okay" He actually sounded concerned.

I nodded silently.

"Owen stop flirting with my daughter and hit the showers" Dad yelled from the field. My cheeks burned red.

"You got it coach" Owen yelled back and ran off without another word.

Next thing I knew, Will jogged up to me.

"What was that about?" He asked with a smile. A smile that I've grown fond of these past few weeks. "Just know that anything Owen says is pretty much going to be a lie, especially if it's about me. He hates me."

At this point, I don't know who to believe. I've known Will for longer and he seems so sweet. If what Owen says is true, I have to stay away. On the other hand, Owen could be lying.

What do I do?