Sweet as a Strawberry

20 ~ Sour as a Sour Punch Straw

A/N: Dedicated to annabethlove because of the fabulous cover she made me that's on the side :)

Chapter 20: Sour as a Sour Punch Straw

Lottie looked completely flabbergasted, and I knew why, of course. I was an ass to her right when we were about to kiss and ruined any chances of doing that ever again.

I had been so close. And then I had remembered that Lottie deserved someone better than me. Someone that could take care of her. That wasn't me because I couldn't even take care of myself. Why would I destroy a girl's chance of making something of herself by being with me?

"Come with you?" she echoed, her big eyes dazed by my question.

I was already embarrassed enough from having to plead with her to come, I wasn't repeating myself. "Yes," I said quietly, not meeting her eyes.

"Are you sure I'm allowed?" Lottie said. "Because I'd never want to intrud-"

"Hey," I interrupted, my hand tilting her chin up so she would look at me. I dropped my hand down when I saw her maintaining eye contact. "Don't worry about it. I'm inviting you. Hell, Archer's inviting you." I raised my voice slightly and said, "Archer, you're inviting Lottie over, right?"

Archer walked over to us and I fought the urge to grab the kid in a bear hug. I hadn't seen him since he was fourteen years old. Three years. That was how long it had been since I'd been disowned. But Archer didn't know that. And he couldn't know either.

"You know her that well?" he asked, nudging me suggestively with his shoulder. I flicked his forehead and scowled at him, and he scowled back.

It made me feel a bit better to know that he was just as excited to see me as I was to see him. Fuck, I missed the kid. Alright? I'd missed my baby brother. Three years. Fuck.

"I'm his friend," I heard Lottie pipe up. I looked at her and her smiling face, and knew that my expression was slowly becoming pained. Friends?

Fuck me.

"Just friends?" Archer questioned after throwing a sly smirk my way.

Lottie nodded, her big eyes widening with excitement. "Maybe even best friends!"

I cleared my throat and fought back my depressed sigh. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Lottie."

Archer shrugged and grabbed the cake that Lottie had packed. "Whatever. I'm gonna go wait in my car, and I swear Ben, if you run away, I won't let you get away so easily this time."

I glanced at him and realised that he was genuinely worried that I would leave him again. I wished he knew that the first time I left wasn't by choice, and it wasn't by choice to not be in contact either. I ruffled his hair. "Don't worry kiddo, I'll be there in a sec."

"Don't call me kiddo, old man," he grumbled, frantically trying to smooth his hair back.

"Three years apart is not that big of a gap," I said, twisting his ear.

"Older than me still," he said, pulling away from my grip. "Let go, you boob, I need to go put this in the cooler before it melts!"

I released him and watched as he walked out with that awkward teenage strut of his. He was just as I remembered. Tall and gangly, wearing cargo shorts and V-necks because apparently the ladies dig the V on men as much as they dig the P. But he'd grown up some, and it frustrated me that I'd missed three years of his life.

When I glanced back at Lottie, she was looking at me warmly, with a smile that softened the already smooth edges of her face. I could feel heat creep up my cheeks, and I didn't want her to see it, so I turned away.