Chapter1

#Chapter1

The Harper Cousins

Oliver

Splash!

What the hell? I jerked up from my bed soaked in water. I wiped my face to have Deacon standing in my room, holding a bucket.

/"Why the hell did you do that?/" I grabbed a shirt and dried off my face—the wrong decision. Damn, I need to do laundry. I tossed the shirt into the hamper.

/"We start college next week, and you’re sleeping your life away./"

/"What does it matter?/" I squinted at Deacon.

/"Stop sulking. It’s not great for the soul or you./" Deacon shrugged, tossing the bucket.

/"People wallow when they’re feeling down. It’s an instinct./"

/"Conner, not calling you after locking lips doesn’t constitute you wallowing. Plus, you didn’t call him./"

/"He’s busy./"

/"With what?/"

/"Not calling me./"

Deacon’s right eye twitched. How does a person disagree with sense?

I kicked Deacon out of my bedroom so I could change. Someone tapped on my bedroom door. Christ. Can’t a guy dress in peace? If Deacon throws water at me again, I’ll slap him.

I whipped open my door. /"What?/"

The person didn’t respond as Conner stood in my hallway.

/"Is this an inconvenient time? I can come back./"

/"No! It’s not!/" Deacon said from downstairs.

I stormed out of my bedroom and over to the railing. /"Shut the hell up, you tool!/"

/"Stop moping! A mopey Oliver is an annoying Oliver!/"

/"Go jump, Gia!/"

/"Ooh, clever idea./"

Deacon left as I folded my eyes. Now I understand why Tori sat on his head. I ambled into my bedroom and contemplated sitting on my bed. Ah, what the hell? I spotted an arid spot and plunked my buns down.

/"I haven’t seen you since our kiss. Did you not enjoy it?/"

/"You came to my house to inquire whether I enjoy our kiss. Are you on crack?/" I curved my eyebrow.

/"Well, I haven’t seen you since the party./"

/"Because you didn’t call or visit./"

/"I’m puzzled./"

/"That makes two of us./" I exhaled.

Conner sauntered over to my bed and sat down next to me.

/"So.../"

/"Yeah?/"

/"I like you. You like me./"

/"We aren’t a big, happy family. It’s not Barney. If you want to ask me out, then ask./"

Conner’s eyes expanded. I didn’t get the approach of dancing around questions. Directness is my motto. If you like someone, you ask them out. It’s not that complicated.

I awaited, then exhaled.

/"I’m not great at relationships./"

/"What relationship?/" I curved my eyebrow.

/"Well, asking someone on a date./"

/"A date doesn’t mean a relationship. Two people eat dinner together, determining if they like each other. That’s the trouble with people./"

I stood up, shuffled over to my dresser, snagged a pair of Hanes socks, and tugged them on. No offense to anyone, but feet gross me out. Owen thinks I’m peculiar, but people’s feet aren’t pleasant.

/"What do you suggest?/" He squirmed on my bed.

I could tell he was nervous.

/"Why don’t we hang out? If we don’t like each other, there’s no harm done./"

Conner sighed as I curved my eyebrow. Then water streamed through my screen, soaking Conner. Yeah, my dipshit cousins are at it again.

Conner scrambled off my bed. I dashed out of my bedroom, came back a few minutes later, opened my screen, and flung water balloons at Kayden and Jayden.

Except I didn’t fill the balloons with water, but with pudding. Each balloon hit them and exploded with chocolate pudding.

/"What the hell? Oliver, you suck monkey balls!/" Jayden said.

/"You suck donkey dick, but you don’t hear me judging, you twat monger!/"

/"Do you have any idea how much pudding stinks in eighty-degree weather?/" Kayden asked.

/"Ask me if I care./"

/"Do you care?/"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Markus dropped the psycho twins on their heads as babies. They escaped while complaining. Well, don’t shoot water into my bedroom.

I moseyed into my bathroom, snatched a towel, and tossed it at Conner. /"Here, dry off./"

/"Thanks./" Conner dried his hair.

I tugged on my sneakers.

/"So, about hanging out?/"

I rounded my brow. I saw potential in Conner. But can he keep my attention? That question lingers.

*****

Jayden

Kayden and I entered the house with pudding covering us. Dad took one peek at us and resounded with laughter.

/"Thanks, Dad./" Kayden walked past him.

/"No problem./" Dad laughed.

Our dad, Markus, howled at our expense. We do something foolish, resulting in payback, and he chuckles. Our dad, Hayden, struggles to intervene. It never works.

Kayden and I took showers to scrub off the pudding. Then we got dressed—that damn Oliver.

As I picked my hair, Kayden brushed his.

/"When are you cutting your fro?/"

/"I like my fro./"

/"You resemble someone from the seventies./"

/"Unlike you, I kept my luscious locks./"

/"So did Bozo the Clown, except your hair isn’t orange./"

I scowled at Kayden. Okay, people need some background about us. Our biological parents were black and into some crazy shit. Child protective services took us because they figured we desired a better home. The couple who adopted us were gay and white.

While most people view this as an issue, we don’t. Our dads raised us in a loving home. They have no trouble beating our asses when we do stupid shit. Yeah, we do a lot of stupid shit. When a crazy-ass family raises you, you’re bound to do stupid shit. Our last name is Harper.

/"Kayden and Jayden! Lunch is ready!/" Markus said.

We busted our ass getting out of the bathroom. I almost tossed Kayden down the stairs. We scrambled into the kitchen, tumbled over each other, and fell.

Markus looked at us on the floor. /"If you wished to eat on the floor, you could have told me./"

I shoved Kayden off me. /"Get off me, fool./"

/"Well, bite me./"

/"Can we have one day where someone isn’t acting like a fool? Or someone has to bite the other?/" Markus asked.

We peered at each other, then said, /"No./"

Markus rolled his eyes as Hayden came into the kitchen. Kayden and I sat down at the table as our dads joined us.

/"So, why did pudding explode on you?/" Markus asked.

/"Dumbass sprayed a hose into Oliver’s bedroom window,/" I spoke while eating my sandwich.

/"Well, mopey needs to stop moping,/" Kayden said with a shrug.

/"Oliver has issues,/" Markus said.

/"Yeah, big issues,/" I said.

/"Can you survive your first year in college without landing in the clink?/"

/"Have you met our boys or your family?/" Hayden asked Markus.

Markus squinted his eyes and pushed out his lips. /"Yeah, never mind./"

Kayden and I glanced at each other as smirks formed on our lips. Dear old Oliver is in for a surprise this year. His dad doesn’t know about his side job. We do, and that’s never great.

Let the games begin.