“With her parents, I bet.”
“I like her. She’s cute.”
“She’s f**king adorable. I’m going to have to kill at least one teenage boy one of these days.”
“Oh, she’s going to be sorry she ever befriended a Maddox,” I said, chuckling.
Trenton pressed the power button, and punched in three numbers. The channel switched, and an NFL football game appeared. “Is this okay?”
I shrugged. “I love the Forty-Niners, but they suck balls this year.” I looked over to Trenton when I realized he was staring at me. “What?”
“I was just thinking now was as good a time as any to acknowledge that you’re perfect and it wouldn’t suck if you fell madly in love with me anytime soon.”
“I have a boyfriend,” I reminded him.
He waved me away. “Speed bump.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “He’s a pretty hot speed bump.”
Trent scoffed. “You’ve seen me nearly naked, baby doll. Your long-distance boy doesn’t look anything like this.”
I watched as he flexed his arm. It wasn’t as big as Kody’s but was still impressive. “You’re right. He doesn’t have that many tattoos. Or any.”
Trenton rolled his eyes. “You have a pretty boy for a boyfriend? Disappointing!”
“He’s not a pretty boy. He’s a badass. Just in a different way than you.”
A wide smile spread across Trenton’s face. “You think I’m a badass?”
I purposefully kept myself from smiling, but it was hard. His expression was contagious. “Everyone knows about the Maddox brothers.”
“Especially,” Trenton said, standing up on the cushions and putting one foot on one side of me, the other he wedged between me and the arm of the couch, “this Maddox brother!” He began bouncing and, at the same time, flexing his muscles in different poses.
I playfully smacked his calves, giggling. “Knock it off!” I said, bouncing.
Trenton leaned down and grabbed my hands, forcing me to smack myself in the face a few times. It didn’t hurt but, being the big sister of three brothers, this, of course, meant war.
I fought back, and then Trenton grabbed my T-shirt, rolling onto the floor and bringing me with him, and then he began to tickle.
“No! Stop it!” I squealed, laughing. I placed my thumbs under his armpits and dug in, and Trenton instantly jumped back. The same maneuver worked with T.J.
T.J. Oh, God. I was rolling around on the floor with Trenton. This was not okay . . . not even kind of okay.
“Okay!” I said, holding up my hands. “You win.”
Trenton froze. I was flat on my back, and he was on his knees, straddling me. “I win?”
“Yeah. And you have to get off of me. This is not appropriate.”
Trenton laughed, stood, and pulled me up by the hand. “We’re not doing anything wrong.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of wrong. If I was your girlfriend, would you think this is okay?”
“Hell yeah. I’d expect this shit to be a nightly event.”
“No. I mean with someone else.”
Trenton’s face fell. “Definitely not.”
“Mmk, then. Let’s watch the Forty-Niners get their asses kicked, and then you can tell Raegan you did your duty.”
“My duty? Raegan didn’t tell me to come over here. She just said you were alone and bored.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“No way, Cami, I’m taking full credit for this one. I don’t need anyone convincing me to hang out with you.”
I smiled, and then turned up the volume.
“So, Cal said that for sure he’s going to need someone at the desk.”
“Oh, yeah?” I said, still watching the television. “Are you going to apply?”
Trenton laughed once. “He said, and I quote, ‘Someone hot, Trent. Someone with nice tits.’ ”
“Every girl’s dream job. Answering phones and handing out waivers while being ordered around by a sexist ass**le.”
“He’s not an ass**le. Sexist, yes, but not an ass**le.”
“No, thank you.”
Just then my phone buzzed. I dug into the space between the arm and the couch cushion to get it. It was Coby.
So . . . bad news.
What?
I got a final notice for my car payment.
Pay your bill, doofus.
I’m a little behind. I was wondering if you could spot me some cash.
My blood ran cold. The last time Coby got behind on his bills, it was because he was sinking his entire paycheck into steroids. Coby was the shortest of my brothers, but he was the thickest, both in body mass and in brains. He was hot tempered, but the way he was behaving at the Red Friday night should have been a red flag.
Are you using again?
Really, Cami? Goddamn . . .
Really. Are you using?
No.
Lie to me again, and you can explain to Dad where your car went when it gets repo’d.
It took him several minutes to respond.
Yeah.
My hands began to shake, but I managed to keep typing.
You enroll in a program, show me the proof. I’ll pay the bill. Deal?
That could be next week.
Take it or leave it.
Fuck you, Cami. You’re such a self-righteous bitch sometimes.
Maybe, but I’m not the one who’s going to be without a car in a few weeks.
Fine. Deal.
I took a deep breath and let the phone fall to my lap. If I’m going to help out Coby, I need a second job.
Trenton watched me with concern in his eyes. “You okay?”
I was quiet for a long time, and then slowly met Trenton’s eyes. “Cal’s really looking for a receptionist?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll give him a call tomorrow.”
CHAPTER FIVE
JESUS CHRIST, CALVIN,” TRENTON SAID. HE WAS LOOKING AT the large Chinese mural on the wall, trying not to notice that Calvin couldn’t manage to stare anywhere else but at my br**sts. Trenton’s red ball cap was on backward, and his boots were untied. On anyone else the look would have appeared sloppy and screamed douche bag, but somehow the look made Trenton even more appealing. It felt wrong to notice anything about him, but I couldn’t help it.
I didn’t have the most voluptuous chest in the world, but my slight frame made my small D cups seem bigger than they were. I hated to admit it, but they helped score extra tips at the Red, and now they could help me get a second job. It was a vicious cycle of not wanting to be objectified, and using the gifts God gave me to my advantage.