More Than Enough (Enough #2) (4 page)

             
The orgy part might have been an exaggeration, but I wanted to demonstrate how different we are. She was in the middle of the chaos dancing with the guys and her friend. I wanted to show her that I’m not interested in this sort of thing. Carter and Brayden had wanted to have a before school starts party to get to know some of their teammates and I agreed, as I knew I always would when Carter asked.

             
I spotted them as they were leaving the hallway where the bedrooms are. Carter saw me, and her face lit up in a smile. That is the stuff that the redhead could never understand. That moment of happiness when Carter spots me is enough to fill me up in a way that no other girl could do even with sex. Just can’t bother to be interested in what other girls can make me feel. She is enough for me and that is how I want it to stay.

             
Carter made her way over to me, and I realized that the redhead girl was still standing beside me. She had just not said anything since I spoke to her. I wanted her to leave so I could have a few minutes with Carter alone. Carter looked at both of us then spoke to her, “Hey, Athena, you havin’ a good time? I can tell the party has gotten a little crazy. When you are ready to go, just let me know. We set up a car service to take our friends home tonight. They will also give you their number so they can bring you back to your cars in the morning.”

             
Athena smiles at Carter and says, “Oh, that’s so convenient. Thanks so much for telling me! I was going to try to wait out Rachel though, and she looks like she could be a while with Brant. I thought about swimming. Would you mind if I could borrow one of the extra suits you bought?” Carter agrees immediately to that, and she and Athena rush off to find a suit that fits.

             
My brother ambles over after that to see where Carter has gone because he never likes her out of his sight at a party. Not that I blame him; unless she is with him I don’t let her out of my sight either. “Where’d she go, man?” He asks immediately when he reaches me. “Relax; she just went to find Athena a suit. She’ll be right back so that you can constantly grope her in no time.” He raises his brows at me in warning that statement must have come out more resentful than I wanted it to. It’s hard sometimes though to watch him touch her constantly and not get pissed. We both wanted the same thing, and I feel like I followed all the rules to show her how important she was to me. But he still got the girl. I make a concerted effort to get a hold of myself, and ask him, “Brayden, when’s this party wrapping up? I’m sick of babysitting all our stuff. It’s after two in the morning.”

             
Brayden just shakes his head at me, “Keller, you are the only twenty year old guy that would ask when the party will be over and do it in a winy voice. There are so many girls here that would give it up to you in a second. Why not at least enjoy yourself with one of them.” I try to hold on to my temper and remember that to stay close to Carter I have to deal with Brayden’s lack of compassion towards me sometimes. “Fucker, you know you have the only girl worth having. Right now, I couldn’t even stomach a meaningless hook up. That just isn’t me. Anything that I could get in a second is not worth getting at all.” Brayden doesn’t seem fazed that I got pissed at him about encouraging me to get with other girls. He just continues on, “What about that girl with Carter right now. I heard that she wasn’t easy, and she’s definitely hot enough to interest even you. I know she likes you because she has hung around you all night. Even the permanent scowl on your face hasn’t scared her off. Why not at least dance with her and try to have a little fun?”

             
I want to yell at him that it’s not that simple. I can’t just dance with a girl and magically not love Carter anymore. I know he wishes that it worked that way, but it just doesn’t. I’m wired differently than that. My loyalty is strong, and even though she is with Brayden, my feelings for her go so deep that it feels like any interest in another girl is wrong. The problem is that Brayden knows that I don’t even want to get over Carter, and that aggravates the hell out of him. But he also knows he can’t do shit about it because Carter still connects all of us as a family. He’ll never be able to push me away from her as she keeps me close. He and I are just stuck in this awkward situation for as long as I feel this way. So I try not to blame him too much for trying to push my interest towards other girls.

             
Carter and Athena walk out of the back hallway of the condo that leads to the bedrooms, and I observe all the male eyes in the room swivel quickly to the beautiful blond and redhead wearing almost nothing. Carter in her purple bikini can inspire even the biggest Neanderthal to reciting poetry just by glancing at her tits. I’ve never seen anybody’s body compare to hers, but Athena with her long legs and high tits are still noteworthy beside Carter. Which is an accomplishment, normally any girl that stands next to Carter fades into the background.

             
I look at Carter and just study her body which is my idea of perfection. She is just blessed with the most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen and the tightest ass. Brayden has met her in the middle of the room and practically has his face buried in her chest as he talks to her. So I change the object of my gaze to Athena, and I think how gorgeous her skin is for a redhead. She is all tan and smooth everywhere in her bright yellow and white bikini, with no sign of freckles. I watch her laugh and talk to Carter and wonder how easy it would be to talk to her if I actually tried. Carter heads my way, and Brayden and Athena follow.

             
“Kell, Brayden and I wanted to challenge you to a game of chicken, but you would need somebody on your shoulders to play. I asked Athena if she would do it, but she doesn’t think that you would want to. Please, Kell, you haven’t played a game or been a part of anything all night. Let’s do something we used to do back home. Please?” Damn, I can never deny her anything, and she is begging. I know if I don’t agree that look of disappoint will cloud her eyes, and I hate that look. I never want to be the one that makes her eyes sad. So I give in. “Okay, Carter, no need to beg. I’ll play. But I have to remind you that if we’re going to do it like we did back home, you would have to take turns on mine and Brayden’s shoulders. We could never agree on who got to have you on their team so we always alternated.” Brayden almost growled at me and said, “There won’t be any alternating this time! She’s on my team, end of fucking story, Keller.” Whoa, my brother has had a little more to drink than I thought. I see Carter lay a hand on him to calm him down. She whispers something in his ear that has him smiling immediately. It’s always amazing how she can change his moods so quickly with just a few words.

             
I look at Athena and decide to make some effort to try to be nice. She hasn’t done anything to me, and I’m getting the feeling that she might genuinely like Carter, which makes me trust her a little more. She gives me a shy smile and says, “So do you think we can win this?” I shake my head at her and answer honestly, “Not a chance, babe. Carter might be as sweet as she can be, but she is as competitive as anybody I’ve ever seen. She will have you in the water before you get situated on my shoulders.”

She looks
taken back at that, “Really, she seems so nice and relaxed.” I smile at her and just laugh at her naivety, “Just watch and learn.” Carter and Brayden look like they are ready to go now so we head out to the pool. I whip off my shirt and hear Athena mumble, “Holy hell.” I look up and she is staring at my chest with a worshipful expression. Now this makes me feel good for a moment, and I think how fucking enjoyable it is to be looked at like this after all the hard work and weights I’ve done for football. This only lasts a second because I look over and see Carter stroking Brayden’s abs since he took off his shirt. He looks like he’s enjoying the attention a little too much with other people around, but it brings me back to the place that hurts to know Carter will never touch me like that.

             
Athena saw the direction of my gaze and gave me a look of understanding. “You ready to kick some ass?” she asked as she jumped into the pool. I just had to laugh at her confidence and reply, “Sure, whatever you say, babe.” Carter and Brayden get in the pool at the same time as me. But of course my brother being the show boater he is announces to everyone, “Chicken tournament in the pool. Carter and me against Keller and Athena for the first round, Ryan, you say when to go.” Both of us get the girls settled on our shoulders and Ryan yells, “Go!” In no time at all Brayden gets close to my side and I try to hold on to Athena, but he pulls at my arms on her legs as Carter in perfect synchronization pulls hard on Athena’s arms. She falls off of me even faster than I thought she would, and I just have to laugh at Carter’s self-satisfied expression. She might be the sweetest, most accommodating person in the world in life. But you get her in a competition, and she will take you and everybody else down as fast as she possibly can without showing any mercy.

             
Athena came up sputtering as Brayden and Carter were already getting ready for their next challengers. I decided to be polite and help Athena out of the water and find her a towel. After she caught her breath, she asked, “How can Carter move around on Brayden without holding on? He and she pulled me off so fast; I didn’t even know what was happening before I was in the water.” She looked so bewildered that I had to chuckle at her confusion and try to explain, “Carter figured out how to balance on our shoulders a long time ago. She is the most competitive person that I know. She hates to lose so she does everything she can to prevent that from happening. When she challenges you to a game, any game, she is serious about playing and winning.”

             
Athena giggles at that, “Wow, that is something I wouldn’t expect from somebody that looks and acts like an angel. But to rip me off your shoulders like that, she has to be pretty competitive.” We start watching Carter and Brayden take down couple after couple that challenges them. We laugh about how some of the girls look really scared of Carter, and how we bet their boyfriends talked them into it. We laugh about how serious Carter looks as she is on Brayden’s shoulders in a bikini about to take another girl down. Finally, Brayden and Carter are declared the official winners of chicken, and I realize that the party is actually wrapping up. It is after three in the morning, and I had a good time for the last hour with Athena. Right now, I’m still not interested in any other girl but Carter, but I think it might be nice to have some more friends.

             
I tell Athena, “Thanks for losing chicken with me, and sorry, I was so rude to you at the beginning of the night. I just really don’t like parties much, and I thought you were just another girl that wanted to hook up with a football player.” She gives me an understanding look, “Hey, don’t even worry about it. I had fun talking and laughing with you. Sorry, I came on a little strong earlier. I’d had a little too much to drink, and I didn’t realize how not interested you were.” “No problem, it was nice to hang out with you, Athena. Hopefully, I’ll see you around school.” She smiles but looks a little disappointed. I hope she wasn’t expecting more. I’m really trying not to lead her on. She is hot and seems like a really nice girl. It’s just me not being able to think about anyone else like that with Carter in my system.

             
She seems to get that I won’t be asking for her number or saying anything more right now. “Okay, well, I have to go find Rachel and grab one of the cars to drive us home. Thanks again, Keller. See you around.” With that she heads off, and I spot Brayden and Carter over telling most of the football team and their girlfriends goodbye. I head over to them to say good night. “Hey guys, I’m going to bed. Princess, you have a cleanup service coming in the morning, right?” Carter smiles at me and wobbles a little on her feet. She and Brayden both look a little worse for the wear. They both don’t normally drink that much, but we are at our own condo. They are starting college and are probably going to let loose more than they used to. “Yes, the front desk is going to let them up in the morning. We can still sleep, and it should be all done by the time we wake up. That’s why we kept our bedrooms locked. Now, they don’t have to be cleaned, and we don’t have to even wake up for it. Perfect, huh?” I can’t resist adding, “Perfect would have been no party at all.”

“Kell, you don’t mean that. You looked like you were having fun at the end with Athena.” I shake my head at her and warn
as I see a glimmer of hope in her eyes, “Don’t even start that mess with me, Princess. I see that look in your eyes, and I know what you are thinking. She’s a nice girl, and I am fine with hanging out when a bunch of us are together. But the only girl I want in my life is you. Don’t get any other ideas in that beautiful stubborn head of yours, okay.” She nods but I can tell that she is sad for me. I can see by her demeanor that she wants to hope for more for me than just loving her, but nothing can change until I want more for myself. And right now I can’t see ever wanting anybody the way I want her.