𝐀𝐪𝐮𝐚 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 ✓

11

After my little improvised cheer for Reece, he walked over and placed me on his shoulders as if I was as light as his eleven-year-old brother. Actually, I might be as light as his eleven-year-old brother. Hunter probably weighs a buck-ten soaking wet, which is exactly what I happen to weigh now that I think about it.

"Not only did we win, but we have our own personal cheerleader boys," Reece says to the rest of the team. I know how Maddox gets about losing, and nobody else would dare try to call him out on it besides me because I'm the only one that isn't afraid of him. Well, neither are Chase, Luke, and Reece but they probably should be.

He may look scary on the outside, sparsely covered in black tattoos, but he's just a big, mushy teddy bear who protects me as a big brother would. Plus, I know Aurora has him wrapped around her dainty little finger, and I happen to have Aurora on speed dial. Not that I'd snitch, but it's fun to have leverage.

"Maddie! Time to pay up, I'm starving," I tease as Reece continues to walk towards the Jeep. Everyone is piling in their own cars, already knowing where to go as the location never changes. Down the road, not far from campus is an amazing barbecue place called "Grills Gone Wild" which features scantily clad waitresses and award-winning barbecue, an obvious choice for a soccer team in need of protein and entertainment.

Reece seems to dislike the place, always preferring to order ahead and pick up our food from there instead of just going in to eat. He is one of those guys that gets quite a bit of female attention but never gets used to it. Pretty much the only women that he doesn't get nervous around are his friend's girlfriends, me, and his mom and sister. Sometimes we aren't an exception.

"Welcome back Gators! Ooh, and you brought Faye! When are you gonna pick up a tray?" Lacey, one of the waitresses here, exclaims as soon as the team and I walk through the doors. Chase called ahead, so they already have multiple tables set up together for all of us. I roll my eyes playfully and hug the girl whose breasts look like they may fall out of her cut-up shirt.

"Lacey, you know I have a job already. But maybe I'll pick up some shifts or something one day. I have your number," I tell her with a wink. Ever since my first time coming in here, Lacey has shamelessly flirted with me. I don't mind the attention, and it really is flattering because Lacey is a very attractive girl, but besides a few kisses with Lexi in order to dodge a creep or Chase, I wouldn't go any further.

If you've ever been to a Hooters, "Grills Gone Wild" is basically the same, and definitely lives up to its name. Lacey and the other girls waiting tables gain a lot of attention from the boys, as usual. But everyone around here knows that Lacey prefers women.

"Want me to bring out the usual appys?" Lacey asks the table as a whole as we all sit down and a chorus of agreement goes around before she disappears to the back to get us started. I sit between Reece and Maddox, not wanting to sit next to any one of those other jocks who constantly fight for my attention. Boys are exhausting when they want something from you.

Not many guys bother looking at their menus as most of us come here so often that we know what we want every time. I feel an elbow dig into my side and I turn to face the source. "Want to come back to the soccer house after this for some swim time? Your girls will be there," Maddox asks me and I smile.

"First I'm hearing of it, but yeah, we'll be there. Right, Reece?" I ask and he nods, knowing that he doesn't have a choice. This makes Maddox laugh. I think I hear him say "whipped" under his breath but I can't be too sure. "So how're you and Aurora? Still glued to her side and practicing making babies?" I ask him just as he takes a sip of his water and he coughs it back into his cup to avoid choking.

"Only you, Matthews." Maddox laughs as does Chase who sits across from him and has been listening in on the conversation from the beginning. I smirk and pretend to look at my menu even though I know what I'm ordering, as does Lacey.

"You didn't answer my question. Think I'm gonna be an auntie any time soon?" I smile mischievously and he shakes his head.

"Fuck no. Not happening. What about you Faye, still playing the field?" Now Maddox is the one to smirk at me. I narrow my eyes at him, hoping that he doesn't see through me. I hold his eye contact to stand my ground and shrug nonchalantly, giving nothing away. Not denying is just as good as outright agreeing.

Lacey has perfect timing and shows up to take everyone's orders, alongside a few other girls to cover all the tables. Just as I thought, Lacey skips me and I start to poke Reece out of pure boredom.

Maddox and Chase get sucked into a conversation involving about half of the table, so a lot of yelling and talking over one another is going on. Finally, Reece gives me his attention. "What's up, Red?" He asks and I shrug.

"Nothing." I smile cheekily. "Oh, actually, I was thinking we could have Felix over for a weekend or something. I think he wants to move up here with mom, and it's not like dad would care anyway." I ask him. Felix is my little brother who will be turning fifteen this year.

When our parents divorced, my parents got joint custody, but my brother and I got separated when our mom moved out to Greenville and I went with her. It had always been just the two of us against the world, against our parents, and I wish he had agreed to come with me when we moved.

"Yeah, that would be fun. Maybe we can get Hunter to come down and they can finally meet. Felix is what, fourteen?" He asks and I nod. "Not a huge difference." He shrugs and I nod excitedly. That would make me so happy if Felix made friends with Hunter. Especially because it might make him more inclined to stay, as Hunter lives with their mom about half an hour from Greenville.

"I'll plan it all!" I practically squeak. Reece rolls his eyes and his attention turns to Chase. I zone out slightly as all the activities that we can do with our brothers play through my mind, and I send a quick text to my brother, asking whether he'd be interested. "Sure" he texts back and my smile grows. My ears perk up when I pick up a piece of a conversation including my name.

Wilson, the back-up goalie, sits a few seats down from me and none of the guys around him have noticed that I'm listening in. "Faye has his balls in her pocket. They're fucking. One hundred percent." he glances at Reece to see that he's still deeply involved in his conversation and not paying attention.

"No way. She could get with anyone. Why him?" Someone says and I grit my teeth.

"She was over almost every night, had to walk past my room but I would've known if anything more was going on."

Brushing my hand lightly against Reece's arm, I tell him that I'll be back in a minute, and on my way into the washroom, I lean down and get right up close into Theo's ear, all of the guys involved in the conversation's heads snap to attention.

"Why wouldn't I want to get with Reece? He's twice the man you are. Figuratively... Literally..." I say on a sigh. "Size matters. And I'm betting the only thing big about you is your ego and your truck. Good thing we live alone and I don't need to walk past your room to get to Reece now. What a libido-killer that was."