Stepbrother Bad Boy's Baby Boxed Set(38)

The second option might cost me some Alpha points in the social scene, but since I had Krystal, I didn't really need them, did I? So I turned and ran, sprinting as hard as I could across the semi-packed sand near the water line towards the life guard tower that was about two hundred yards away. I figured that even if Pete did catch me, I had about a hundred people who either heard me say I didn't want to start anything with him, or saw me running away. At that point self defense was pretty much guaranteed.

I have to give it to Pete, he's fast. I was about fifty meters from the life guard tower when Pete tackled me from behind, sending me sprawling into the sand. Pete quickly climbed on top of me and started pounding the back of my neck, pushing my face deeper into the hot, grainy surface. Twisting sideways, I curled my body into a c-shape before exploding sideways and twisting.With my weight advantage, Pete ended up flying off of me, landing on some guy's cooler while the two beach goers were still struggling to get up and get away from the fight. I rolled onto my back and to my feet, half crouched and my hands up to defend myself, when the lifeguard came up and got between us. "Hold on, what's going on?" he asked. Pete climbed to his feet and tried to rush me, but the lifeguard grabbed him around the chest and pulled him back. "What's the problem?"

"Man, the dude you're holding tackled muscle man over there, got thrown off into my cooler," the one beachgoer said. "Motherf*cker dented the thing too."

The lifeguard looked from Pete to me, then back. "Alright, why's he chasing you down?" he asked me. "You've got a few pounds on him."

"Old beef that he didn't want to let go," I said simply. "He wanted to start something, and I didn't want to do that any longer, so I took off running for here. He was a bit faster, took me down."

The fight had caused a small crowd to gather, and there were a few people who backed up my story. The lifeguard looked around, while Pete was let go as long as he stayed on the other side of the lifeguard. "Looks like I should radio for the police," he said, "you got a clear assault case."

I shook my head. "No need, man. I don't want to press charges."

"Yo man, what about my cooler?" the beachgoer asked, pointing to his now crushed device. It looked like it had been a good cooler too, but it now sported a dent that was about three inches deep in one side. I reached into my side pocket, where my wallet still sat comfortably, and took it out.

"Tell you what, it was my fault for running so close to your spot, I'll pay you for it. What do you say, eighty bucks to cover it?" The cooler had been good, but not that good. Still, I was being generous for a reason, I didn't want the police getting involved.

Thankfully, the beachgoer thought my idea was a good one. "Alright man, I can do that," he answered as I handed him the four twenties. "Next time have him land on my car, I could use a new one of those too."

A few of the onlookers laughed, and the lifeguard looked from me to Pete again. "Okay. Tell you what. You, skinny guy, take off. I see you near my tower, I'll call the cops. You, Richie Rich, come with me, hang out at the tower for a while, give your friend here time to get out of the area and cool off."

"I'm cool with that," I said, watching Pete carefully as he nodded and walked off without another word. The lifeguard stood next to me for a bit, then nodded towards his tower. I followed him, and climbed the ramp to the top, where he offered me a seat. "Thanks. And thanks for not getting the cops involved on something so petty."

"Hey, it's your life Castelbon," he replied, surprising me. The lifeguard smirked and nodded. "My little sister happens to like the society pages, and happens also to have a crush on a certain Southern California bad boy. She's going to freak out when she finds out I actually met you."

I laughed and watched the waves with him for a bit. "Well, in either case thanks. So, not trying to perv or anything, but how old is your sister?"

"Seventeen. I'm the oldest of four, she's the youngest," the lifeguard said. "She's not your type, by the way. I love Chicha, but she's not the type like you normally have been seen with."

I chuckled ruefully, thinking back to the * I was. "Can I see?"

The lifeguard gave me a careful look, then nodded, pulling his cell phone out. He flipped through his pictures for a few seconds, then held it out to me. The girl I saw wasn't ugly, but he was right, I'd never have given her a second glance before. She was the kind of sort-of-pretty girl that most likely made the best girlfriends or wives, because she was most likely sweet, smart, and probably could make a guy laugh. The lucky guy who ended up with Chicha would count his blessings, I bet. "She looks like a good kid," I said, handing him the phone back. Suddenly, a thought struck me. "Hey, that thing has a camera, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Can you send your sister photos with it?"

The lifeguard nodded, a smile coming to his face. "Yeah, I can. You really willing to do it?"

"For the guy who kept me from having to deal with the cops? Hell yeah. Here, let's do it selfie style," I said, getting close and throwing my arm around his shoulder. With my arm stretched as far as it could, we could both just get in the shot. "Okay, one like this, and then maybe another normal one, just me or something. Ready?"