Page 3 of Keep

When Cassie hopped off the bed and headed for the shower I was tempted to chase her in there for round two but I knew she was eager to get over to her folks’ house to deal with her maid of honor duties.

“There’s pasta salad in the fridge,” she called over the noise of the shower. “If Breck’s hungry when he gets home.”

I yawned and reached for my boxers. “Thanks.”

I checked my watch, wondering where my little brother was at. Brecken was a responsible kid but he was supposed to let me know if he was going to be out past dinner time. I’d been his guardian ever since our mother got caught up in an embezzlement scheme that ultimately landed her in prison. Our father was murdered years ago and there was no other family capable of stepping up. I didn’t think twice before I put my own reckless ways behind me, left a life of crime and sin and accepted responsibility for my two younger brothers. Despite all the challenges he’d encountered in his young life, Brecken was thriving. He seemed happy, his grades were good and he had a bright future to look forward to. As for my other brother….

Tristan.

A cloud passed over my mood and my eyes closed for a second as I thought about Tristan. I didn’t know much about what he was up to these days. He was nearly twenty now and well out of my reach, living somewhere down in the troubled town of Emblem while running around with the kind of people I’d struggled to leave behind. I rarely heard from him and when Tristan did call he didn’t have much to say about himself. I’d wanted so much better for him, better than the dirty gangbanging uncertain kind of life I’d once chosen. My worries over his fate were endless. More than anything I wondered how I could have done things differently, how I could have avoided failing him.

“Curtis?” Cassie’s gentle voice made me open my eyes. She was freshly showered and adorable, staring down at me with a little bit of concern. “Were you asleep?”

I sat up. “No. Just thinking.” I guided her into my lap and buried my face in her neck, inhaling soap and sweetness until I started to get hard again.

“You’d better get out of here,” I warned. “Before I decide to stop you.”

Cassie kissed me and slid out of my grasp. “Call me later,” she said, grabbing the overnight bag she’d left beside the bedroom door.

“You bet I will.”

My girl blew me a kiss and hurried out of the apartment. I listened to the silence for a moment before opting to shower. When I was toweling off I heard the apartment door open.

“Breck?” I called.

There was a thud and the sound of the refrigerator door opening. “I’m fucking starving.”

“Language,” I growled, locating my jeans and pulling them on.

A moment later I found my kid brother in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and shoveling Cassie’s pasta salad into his face with a large plastic spoon.

“This is good,” he said cheerfully with his mouth completely full.

“How about sharing some then?” I said, grabbing a spoon and digging in.

I eyed my brother as he continued to scoop food into his mouth as if he hadn’t eaten in a week. He was still in the middle of a growth spurt and he seemed destined to be taller than me. Nowadays his voice was deeper, his muscles thicker and he was starting to look more like a man than a boy. It didn’t matter though. To me he’d always be the baby brother who needed to be told to wipe the food off his mouth.

“Thanks,” he said when I handed him a napkin.

“Anytime.”

“Where’s Cassie?” Breck looked around hopefully. He adored my girlfriend.

“She’s staying at Cord and Saylor’s place tonight.”

He nodded. “Right. I forgot.”

“Why’d you get home late?” I asked.

Brecken shrugged. “I told Thomas I’d stay at the field for a while and catch the balls he pitched.”

Thomas was Cassie’s cousin. The two boys were about the same age and they were both into baseball so they’d become good friends.

“Oh,” I said, wondering how to pick my words. “So you and Thomas…”

“Aw, jeez.” Brecken rolled his eyes. “Thomas is my buddy. That’s all.”

“Okay.”

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