The Vincent Boys 02 - The Vincent Brothers

Canvas blared through the speakers outside. The pool had several different colored strobe lights pointed at it from an upstairs balcony making the blue water appear pink, purple, green and yellow. Teak loungers surrounded the pool along with tiki torches. Last year, Jake had bumped into one of those and caught an umbrella on fire. Before it could get too out of hand, Beau had picked it up and chunked it into the pool. We’d laughed about it for weeks afterward.
    I made my way over to the self-serve makeshift bar right outside the pool house, which basically consisted of large metal tubs filled with ice and drinks. If I was going to endure tonight, I needed alcohol. Lots of it.
    “Sawyer! The man has arrived,” Ryan Mason slurred. He was already drunk. This was no surprise. The Mason boys were the owners of the land that we had our field parties on. Ryan’s older brother had started the field parties years back.
    I nodded his way and reached for a bottle of Corona that was hidden under ice cubes.
    “That’s it buddy, drink up. Ain’t got to impress the preacher’s daughter anymore, do ya?” Ryan called out from the middle of the pool. He was laying on a float with some girl I was pretty sure had gone to our school snuggled up beside him.
    I didn’t respond to his asinine comment. Like Ash cared about that. Hell, she’d left me for Beau. Twisting off the top and throwing it into the recycle bin beside the drinks, I took a long swig. The cold liquid didn’t make me feel better but at least it tasted good.
    Turning to walk back to the house and maybe find a television so I could turn on ESPN Sports Center, I took only a few steps before the glass doors opened and out stepped Ashton, Beau, and Lana.
    Ah hell, I should’ve stayed home. Ashton waved at Kayla and pulled Lana over to where Kayla was lounging with some of the other girls we’d graduated with. Beau’s eyes met mine and he sauntered over to stand beside me. Both his hands were tucked into the front pockets of his jeans.
    “Didn’t think you’d come to this,” Beau said in way of greeting.
    Shrugging, I held up the Corona in my hand, “Free beer.”
    Beau grinned and nodded. Free beer was definitely something he understood. His eyes didn’t leave Ash as she chatted happily with the other girls. The tiny cover-up she was wearing over her bikini left little to the imagination. She’d never dressed like that when we’d dated. Probably another one of her attempts at being perfect for me. What bullshit.
    “Better be Lana you’re checking out,” Beau warned.
    I shifted my eyes to Lana and was surprised to see her in a pair of really tiny shorts. Her legs weren’t tanned like Ash’s but they were long and shaped exactly like Ashton’s. The pale creamy color was delicate looking. I ran my gaze up her body and took in the way her hips flared just below a very small waist completely visible in the halter-top she wore over her bikini. It was odd that she had so many freckles on her face. The rest of her body looked so perfectly smooth she appeared almost airbrushed.
    “I think she likes you,” Beau’s words broke into my thoughts and I tore my gaze off Lana’s head of dark copper curls and looked at my brother.
    “What?”
    “Lana, she asked about you this evening. Wondered if you’d be here,” Beau smirked. “I think she might have a crush on the quarterback.”
    I shifted my attention back to Lana at the same time she peered over her shoulder and our eyes met. She froze, as if in shock I’d been looking her way. Ashton’s cousin wasn’t hard on the eyes and she was really sweet. I took another drink of my Corona while playing around with the idea of getting my mind off Ash with Lana.
    “Told ya,” Beau said in an amused tone.
    Maybe he was right. Lana’s mouth lifted in a small smile and I remembered how soft her lips had felt under mine. It’d been one helluva kiss.
    “Come on, let’s go get you something a little stronger than a beer. It’s time you moved on from Ash before we end up beating the shit out of each other again.”
    Beau headed for the pool house and I reluctantly broke the lingering gaze we’d held longer than I expected, to follow my brother.

    Lana

    Beau pressed his hand on the lower part of Ashton’s back in a territorial way as he led her toward the stairs. I watched as she fought between the desire to go with her boyfriend and her duty to stay with me.
    “I can’t leave Lana,” Ashton