Football players are assholes. I know; I'm related to their king. My older, and annoyingly overprotective, brother Jake is the star quarterback at Santa Cruz High School. I love him but hate living in his shadow. Everyone worshiping the air he breat...
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"Talk." I smacked the back of Brody's head with his pillow. After a satisfying crack, he jolted awake. His eyes cracked open, and he rubbed at the dried line of drool at the corner of his mouth.
"Huh?" he grunted and pulled his covers over his head.
"I didn't wade through this landfill to not get answers." I kicked another six inches of clearance for my floor path and sat on his feet.
"Oww." His blankets grumbled, and he curled up. "Move your fat ass off my feet."
"Not until you explain yourself unless you'd like me to tell Mom the true reason why you didn't enjoy our little family bonding moment last night."
"How many baby pictures?" Brody's red sheet-covered body shook as he laughed. "And were they yours, mine, or both?"
"Six. I took one for the embarrassment team." I grabbed his blankets in both hands and tugged until his messy hair appeared. "Now talk."
"Fine. Fine." He grumbled, sat up, and rubbed his eyes. "I didn't want Jake to see me text you, that's why I didn't tell you we were coming."
That ass. Who abandoned his sister at a party that she didn't want to be at? Unfortunately, Brody's news got worse. "Yeah, she picked me, Jake, and Chloe up from the party, dropped them off for a date, then took me here last night. She's super sweet, Logan."
"I'm sorry, did you say Jake and Chloe!?" I choked on those names in the same sentence. "My ex Chloe? Chloe from Salesian, who transferred to..."
Fuck, I guess she transferred to Santa Cruz. Brody's apologetic smile verified that. "Yeah, that Chloe. I'm sorry, they seemed to like each other. It was their first date."
Could this feel like any more of a soap opera? I wanted Chloe to be happy, but with Harrison? She was soft, sweet, and... thoughtful. What the fuck did she see in fists-first, insults-second Harrison? Talk about lower standards. I could track her down to apologize, but fuck, if she told Jake about the game... Fuck, big fuckity fuck. I didn't need more motivation for him to beat me into a bloody pulp.
And Ellie. She would hate me and assume I was a liar. "I can't thank you enough for such great news, Brody. Any other coincidences?"
He shook his head, and I took a slow, deep breath. This situation was a gasoline can dangled over a bonfire. For now, the lid was sealed shut. I ran both hands over my hair until my fingers clenched the back of my head and released a short, hot breath. A coil of tension knotted in my chest and my pulse throbbed in my veins. "Did Chloe recognize you?" It had been two years, Chloe came over here twice in six weeks, and Brody went to a different school, but they had met each other.
He frowned. "If she did, she didn't say anything." For his sake, I was glad because now two people knew about him. "And then Elle and I were talking, so I kinda forgot about you, and-"
