Jude agrees, “Yeah, or he might have been a model.”

“And I’d still pull more tail than both of you!” he yells, and we both laugh.

“I don’t disrespect girls like you, I actually appreciate them. Maybe you should try that,” I suggest, but Jace blows me off.

“Whatever, you can’t pull a girl. It’s cool, and Jude’s leash is so tight, he can’t do anything but look up Claire’s asshole.”

“Hey, don’t talk about her like that,” Jude snaps, and I want to laugh at how quickly Jace shuts up. Still glaring, Jude crosses his arms and shakes his head. “The girls I have pulled is some Jedi shit, okay? So I am basically Yoda,” he decides, and I can’t believe I am hearing this. “And you are my Luke. So a bit of advice, yes?” Jude says as I continue to laugh, while Jace crosses his arms over his chest and glares. “Rule of thumb, bro: don’t go for two girls. It may seem like a good idea at the time, but then there are so many tits, and you never know which vagina to go for, and girls are so bitchy and jealous if you don’t go for their vagina first. And the next thing you know, they are all feeling sorry for the girl you didn’t pick to put your dick in because you are an asshole for not providing them all with attention at the same damn time. Because, holy shit, you should have more than one dick. And yup, that’s it, you’re not getting laid,” Jude says before grabbing his phone.

“Seems like you have experience in this?” I ask and Jude laughs.

“Oh, yeah. So don’t do it. Take two, and get one for Jayden.”

Jace laughs as I glare. “I don’t need help getting a girl.”

“Sure,” Jude laughs as he leans back in his beach chair. “There are girls everywhere, all wanting to party before school. And instead of nailing some, you’ve basically been knitting a sweater while we’ve been here.”

Why does that piss me off so much? And why do they both think I need to nail a bunch of chicks? Don’t they realize that I’ve been busy? Between working my ass off to keep my game solid and working to help our mom pay bills, I really don’t have time to have a life. This isn’t how it was before. Before my dad turned into the biggest asshole in the world of assholes, Jude and I tore it up. With Jace being two years behind me, he didn’t get to play the way we did. But, man, we fucked shit up. It was great, but with everything that happened, I can’t do it anymore. Not only because I don’t have Jude to do it with but because I have to be an adult. I have to help my mom.

Yeah, this was supposed to be a vacation for all of us to cut loose, but maybe cutting loose isn’t what I want to do. I’m on Clearwater Beach, one of the most gorgeous beaches. I am here to clear my head. I’m here to rest and prepare for a hellish year ahead of me. Between working to continue helping my mom, keeping my grades up and my hockey game good so that hopefully I can go into the draft this year, I feel that relaxing is what I need to do right now.

My agent, who is also Jude’s and Jace’s agent, didn’t want to put me in the draft last year with Jude, and it crushed me. Along with that and then my dad leaving, I was devastated and I thought my agent was an idiot. But now I realize I wasn’t ready. Playing hockey isn’t easy. It’s a hard sport that I love, but unfortunately it doesn’t come easy to me. Unlike my brothers, I have to work hard to be good, to make it look effortless. With that and the fact that my head wasn’t right, his choice of my waiting a year was smart. But I will be ready next year. I’m gonna be in the big leagues with my brother. I’m gonna be able to help support my sister and my mom the way Jude has been doing.

Ever since my dad and mom divorced, things have been a little tense, and that’s not only money-wise. It’s hard when you live with someone for so long, look up to them, trust them to be the hero you thought they were, and then find out it was all a damn lie. I loved my dad—hell, I wish I could say I still did. But after all the hell he put us through, it’s hard. I want to forgive him, but how can I when he won’t even apologize? Instead, he is driving my mom crazy, leaving her scrambling for a way to make it, and not giving two shits about me and my siblings. Lucy is opening a design company, Jude is going to the NHL, Jace is going into college, and yeah, maybe I’m just working hard to get to the NHL, but still, he doesn’t care. We are an afterthought. It’s sad.

Everything has changed, and I’m not gonna lie—I’m scared. Before, Jude and I had everything paid for and we rocked it, but now, it isn’t like that. We have to make our own money, and I refuse to take anything from Jude, minus this trip. Everything needs to go to my mom; she’s the one who raised us and loved us to the point of smothering us. Thankfully, Claire paid off the house, but there are still other bills that need to be paid. My mom is working, but it’s hard on her. She’s still trying to come back from being cheated on and learning to be a single adult. My sister is stressed because my mom is stressed. As much as Jace tries to act like it doesn’t affect him, I know it does. Jude is constantly worrying about my mom, and for some reason, I’m worrying about everyone. It’s fucking hard.

So, yeah. Girls are the last thing on my fucking mind.

Can you blame me?

Glaring, I say, “First, I’m not in the mood to chase after some girls. I don’t know about you, but shit’s been sucking lately. I’m working two jobs right now while still doing my summer reading list and training my ass off. Shit, I want to relax. So please, excuse me if I don’t want to find a girl to fuck. I’m happy just sitting here hanging with my brothers… But, oh wait, I can’t because one is too busy trying to play hide and seek with his dick, and the other won’t do anything but text his girlfriend. Happy fucking vacation, guys.”

Nothing is said for a moment; the only things I hear are the waves crashing and girls laughing. They are both staring at me like I just called them both fuckers, and after I replay my words in my head, I may have come off like a bit of an asshole.

“Well, that escalated quickly,” Jace says, dropping down in the chair beside me and reaching for a Coke before popping the top. “Jeez.”

“Sure did,” Jude agrees before typing something and then tucking his phone in his pocket. “Excuse me for missing my girlfriend.”

“And excuse me for wanting to get laid,” Jace adds as they both look at me.