Her lips were softer than I thought they would be given how much she bit them. As each word left her mouth, I felt her slipping away. I knew she meant everything she said, but I could see it in her eyes that she hated saying it.

Blain stiffened as my lips crashed to hers and I was worried I had gone too far. Preparing to retreat from this suicide mission, I stopped when her fingers hooked around my belt loops. With little effort, she held me in place. My body was pressed to hers. She was trapped between me and the counter behind her.

With a tilt of her head, her lips shifted against mind and I was pulled deeper into the rabbit hole. My hands let her face and snaked around her slender waist. The heat radiating through her tank top warmed my arm and body as I pulled her even closer.

My hands began to roam her body when a snore from the other room reminded me where I was. My forehead rested against hers as we caught our breath. She was staring at me with wide eyes and an even wider grin. Another snore came from the other room and took her attention from me. .

"That wasn't your first kiss, was it," I asked. My racing heart was unstoppable as she looked up at me through her lashes.

"Don't tell my brother." I pulled back as a deep laugh rattled my body. She smacked my chest trying to hide her smile, "It's not funny."

"How exactly do you think I would tell your brother? So I kissed Blaine and she was a pro. Yeah. That will go over well." My fingers played with the hem of her tank. As she bit her lip, I took a step back. We needed space between us. Her smile faded and her arms folded over her chest.

"You didn't have to kiss me."

"I didn't," I rubbed the back of my neck. "But I wanted to." Red stained her cheeks as she bowed her head. My own smile returned as I watched her wiggle her toes as anxiety washed over her.

"What now?' Her voice was so soft, I thought it was my own thoughts. Her eyes met mine and I struggled to find the words. I knew what I wanted to say. Judging by the spark in her beautiful hazel eyes they were the same words she wanted to hear.

"Nothing." The lump in my throat grew as did the tension in my neck.

"But you just... And I thought..." she couldn't form single sentence.

"Did you think we would date?" She shrugged and looked away toward the living room.

"If Lucas wasn't my brother would we even be having this conversation?"

"We wouldn't."

"Then let's pretend for a few minutes that I have no brother." Those hazel eyes drew mine in. The spark had returned as she took a small step toward me. "Let's pretend you can say whatever you want without consequences."

"Lainy," I scrubbed my hand over my face.

"I would tell you that I have a list of rules. Make good grades. Keep my head down. Stay clear of my brother's friends," she paused and bit her lip after the last one. "I don't want to keep my head down anymore. I don't want to be remembered as Lucas' little sister, if I'm remembered at all. I want to be happy and feel like someone likes me for me. Your turn."

"I'm not playing this game with you."

"Chicken shit."

"Lain-"

"You're chicken shit."

"You should go back to bed," I turned around to my now melted ice cream. The sound of her feet unsticking from the floor told me she was coming closer. Just as I was sure her delicate hand would reach out to me, her steps quickly retreated. The click of her bedroom door caused me to lean over the sink.

The knot strangling my stomach was nearly as painful as the weight on my chest. This girl wanted nothing more than to feel loved. To not be treated like a child and it was tearing me up to shut it down. All I could think about was the fierce kitten of a girl curled up in my arms only a week ago. She felt safe with me and I all but dragged her through the mud just now.

"Bro," a low deep voice made my back straightened. Glancing over my shoulder, Joe's hulking form took up the entryway of the kitchen. The shit eating grin on his face meant one thing. "You're so fucked."

"You going to rat, Joe?"

"Nah," he crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall, "She might kill you before I get a word out about this."

"Tell me something I don't know." I rinsed the bowl out and pushed past him. I earned a smack on the back as I entered the living room. He was right. One way or another, a member of the Lester family was going to put me in the ground.

**~~**

"Finn," a girl squealed as she fell into my lap. The field was still muddy, but when half the school drives vehicles capable of driving through the terrain there was no point in calling it off. Four trucks faced the raging bonfire, their headlights bringing people to life. Music blasted from an Explorer that was stocked and ready for a party. Coolers framed out the space people were using as a dance floor.

Lucas was drinking from a bottle of beer and basking in the attention from the poms squad captain. Shane was dancing with his drink splashing from a plastic cup. Joe was midway through chugging a beer to prove he could out drink one of the soccer boys.

Fingers sliding over my shoulder reminded of the desperate girl sitting on my lap. She was attached to the hip of the girl throwing herself at our defensive lineman. She cooed at me again, "That was an amazing game last night. Your hands are like magic."

"Something like that," I mumbled. I was too busy looking for a particular brunette who always had a habit of finding trouble. We had gotten here an hour ago and there was still no sign of her. Her friend hadn't passed by either. My words must have hit her harder than I thought. "Luke. Where's Lainy?"

"What," he asked barely looking in my direction.

"Lainy. I thought she was coming tonight."

"Maybe she's sitting this one." He tilted his head back silently thanking god. A low whistle from beside us ripped through the music. We both looked at the slender basketball player then followed his line of sight. I muttered a curse as I looked to my friend. His face was red and I could see his nostrils flair.

With her hand gripped tightly in Heather's, Blaine danced to the music. It was fast and contained nothing but a steady pounding bass. The sway of her hips was hypnotic. It didn't help that she was wearing the stupid skirt again and a purple tube top that peeked out from the black flannel hanging off her shoulder. Lucas was throwing daggers at the basketball player who wasn't shy about sharing his thoughts.

"What did you say, Cole?"

"She's cute," Cole cleaned up his words as he went ghost white. Lucas didn't have to say anything as his face spoke for him. Cole backed away slowly then ducked between the cars putting plenty of space between him and the reaper beside me.

"Let her be, man," I took a sip from my bottle.

"Give me one reason?"

"We all need one night to blow off steam. The last two times she's gone out shit's hit the fan. If you over there right now, she's going to fight you and we'll be back to square one. Let her have a few hours to unwind."

"The great mediator," Lily's fake smile made my skin crawl. Something wasn't right with that girl. Her friend neither.

"Can you move," I asked, fed up with the need pouring from her.

"Rude," she scoffed then slipped off my lap and stormed over to another crowd. Focusing back on Blaine, I sighed. She was dancing with a guy now. Probably a friend of the one who had his hands all over Heather. Her laughter was overwhelming as the guy said something to her. Fucking soccer boy didn't learn from Owen's stupidity.

I had to give the guy credit though. Each time he touched her it was innocent. He would push some hair from her face, or brushed her arms when they danced closer to each other. Nodding to the coolers, soccer boy smiled and gestured for her to lead the way. Lucas shifted beside me, ready to jump in. He hung back though, listening to my earlier advice.

The boy handed her a bottle and then snatched one of his own. She laughed again as he spoke and my stomach dropped. If she meant what she said last night, there was no way she could seriously be flirting with him. The moment her eyes locked with mine, I knew I was right. She was proving a point and doing a damn good job of it.

Blaine laced her fingers with the guys as she tilted her head. He nodded his head and started talking again as they walked out of sight. From the corner of my eye, I watched Lucas' knuckles turn white as he held tighter to the bottle. "I've got it."

"Nah, I can go."

"The last thing you need to do is start a fight in front of her." I jumped off the tailgate of his truck and finished my beer. I tossed the bottle to the side before stuffing my hands in my pockets. Following their path, I took my time. She really did need to unwind and I wasn't prepared to endure her wrath.