Page 107 of My Brother's Teammates

I arch a brow, knowing he’s goading her into unloading her woes. It’s the same every time. Her neighbors have cut down a tree in her yard, her dog needs a tooth pulled, the husband—Fred—spilled something she can’t get out of the carpet. It’s been so many years since we’ve even seen Fred, his body is probably buried out back.

“Oh, you know. Can’t complain.” She presses a hand to her lower back and arches her spine, which tells us she will, in fact, complain. “Put my back out this morning lifting bags of potatoes.”

Harrison’s sympathetic, but there’s a smugness to his tone and mirth dancing in his eyes. “That’s awful. Fred not helping you with the heavy lifting?”

Sally snorts like Fred’s been a dead weight for years. “Ha! Rarely. The usual?”

Harrison and I both nod. It’s been so long since we’ve been here, it feels like another lifetime ago.

We get the same thing every time. I get the specialty pancakes of the week—no matter what time of day or night we come in. Harrison gets the buffalo chicken sandwich with fries, rings, and a shake.

He always lets me steal some of his sides, and I never fight him when he swoops a forkful of my pancakes. They’re the best in New Orleans—and I’d know because I have high pancake standards.

“You wanna tell me what happened?” Harrison’s voice is calm, quiet, and concern is etched in his features. “Peanut.” He shakes his head. “You look like shit. When did you last sleep? Those aren’t bags under your eyes, they’re suitcases.”

I shrug, patting down an unruly piece of hair. He’s not wrong. Personal hygiene and self-care have kinda gone down the shitter since everything kicked off the other day. “I’ve been crying a lot.”

Sally reappears and hands him a monster Oreo shake, then hands me a strawberry shake—it’s made with fresh strawberries and tastes like heaven in a glass. We both take a long slurp of our drinks before either of us speaks.

“Because of you and me?” He points between us. “Or because of you and… the guys?”

I nod. “Yes.”

He falls silent, swiveling his straw around in the whipped cream.

“I thought the apartment was empty for the weekend, you know… when everything went down. I had just got back to Shane’s apartment.” I wince, the still-raw cut not yet healed. “He was…” I look around to make sure Sally doesn’t hear me. “Fucking a guy over the couch.”

Harrison’s brows shoot up, then scrunch down. “I’ll fucking kill that useless waste of space.”

I wave a hand. “It’s fine, it’s for the best. I mean, being cheated on isn’t exactly fun, but they deserve each other.”

He circles his hand in the air like he wants me to keep going as he takes another drink.

“You said to only use the key in an emergency. I figured losing my boyfriend and home fit the bill.”

With a sigh, he reaches a hand across the table to squeeze mine. “So literal, Charlie. I gave you the key to use if you needed it. My help doesn’t come with conditions.”

I search his face, waiting for the ‘but’, but it doesn’t come. The knot in my chest loosens just enough to suck in a deep breath. “I didn’t think the guys would be back for a few days, but I was wrong. They came back and found me there.” I stab at the milkshake with the straw. It’s not the drink’s fault that it’s weird as fuck trying to tell my brother how I fell for his three best friends.

“They wanted to tell you at first, I… didn’t. I didn’t want to disappoint you. Again. I didn’t want to be the fuck up. Again. I wanted them to wait until I had something. A job, a place to stay… anything.”

He waits, watching me with curious eyes and sipping his shake in silence.

“Can I just say one thing led to another?” Hope holds my heart for a long beat before it lets go.

He shakes his head, and my stomach sinks.

“Worth a shot.” After a long pause, I figure it’s time to tell him the whole truth. “Jace kissed me in y’all’s senior year of high school. I was a sophomore, it was my first real kiss. I froze. I guess he read it as rejection and wrapped himself in that prickly defensive layer that’s kept him away from me all this time, but I’ve had a crush on him ever since.” My whole body burns with embarrassment as the words come tumbling out of my mouth.

Thankfully, Sally appears with plates of food. “Need anything else? Ranch? Ketchup? I already brought you extra syrup.” She gestures at my plate.

“Thanks, Sally. I appreciate it.”

She smiles, Harrison asks for ranch, and she leaves as quietly as she came.

“You’ve had a crush on Jace since we were teenagers?” He speaks slowly, like he’s learning a foreign and complicated language.

I nod.

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