Page 35 of My Brother's Teammates

“Shit.” Jace’s irate voice so close to my ear almost distracts me from the sting radiating through my kneecap as I hiss out a breath. I’m almost sorry only a few drops of water escaped the rim of his glass, and I’m now contemplating dumping the whole goblet of ice water over his head. Might make him cool the fuck down.

“What the fuck, Charlotte?” Harrison hands the server his menu as she moves to Roman, keeping a keen eye on my brother as she jots down Roman’s order.

Mateo holds his hands up, that damn grin back on his face. “My fault. I stepped on her toe. There’s not much room here to spread out.” He flaps his elbows like a chicken, knocking Roman on one side and me on the other.

Harrison rolls his eyes and turns to talk to Roman while the rest of us place our orders. Mateo glances around the table and smirks my way, squeezing my thigh as he leans toward me. “Easy, Red. It’s going to be fine. Keep breathing.” His warm breath on the side of my face sends sheets of goose bumps all over my body.

I must take leave of my senses because I squeeze his hand right back before flipping it over and tracing circles on his palm with my index finger. It seems to settle both of us, and the tension in his right side eases as I drag my finger around his sensitive palm. If I wasn’t afraid of my brother catching me touching one of his best friends, I could get used to this.

Jace makes a noise under his breath that sounds remarkably like a growl. Can he see Mateo and me touching?

My phone ringing on the table makes us both jump, and our hands part.

Mom’s name flashes on my screen, and I groan. She’s been trying to call me all day, and I’m not ready to talk to her. She has a knack for making me feel like shit, and I can’t handle that right now. Not with the dumpster fire that is my life. But if I don’t tell her something, she’s just going to keep calling.

When I start to move, pushing the chair back, Jace covers my hand to stop me, sending lightning to all of my erogenous zones just with a simple touch. “You can take it here. We don’t mind.”

Maybe he thinks I’ll tell Mom and Harrison about losing my job and kill two birds with one stone. Because of course right here in the middle of a nice restaurant is the perfect time to tell my family I’m a failure.

I stare at where our bodies connect, then at his face, then back at his hand. The lizard part of my brain doesn’t want to move my hand, but the wildfire spreading through my veins tells me I probably should.

“Aren’t you going to get that?” Harrison leans forward on his forearms. “It’s Mom. Want me to talk to her?”

“No, I’ll do it. I was going to step outside. I didn’t want to be rude.” Which is partially true. I was going to answer but then try to get her off the phone as quickly as possible while giving her zero information about my life right now.

“It’s not rude. I need to talk to her, too.”

Dammit, Harrison.

My stomach sinks as I answer the phone, trying my best to sound as upbeat as possible. “Hey, Mom.”

“Charlie, darling. How are you? It’s been a while.” Mom’s accusatory tone is clear as day, and I can imagine the stern look she’s giving the phone. “I was starting to think you were avoiding me. I’ve been trying to call you all day.”

I was.

“No, Mom. Not avoiding you. I’ve just been super busy today.” My voice is strained. I hope she can’t hear it, but from the arch of Harrison’s brow, he’s not convinced. I add a laugh to punctuate my sentence, but it’s so brittle, I don’t even buy it. “Don’t worry, there’s nothing crazy going on.”

Jace huffs out a grunt so loud it draws everyone’s attention around the table. Something tells me to get up from the table and leave, but Harrison’s staring at me like he’s putting the pieces of a jigsaw together, and I have no intention of helping him fill in the gaps.

If I leave, it’ll confirm something is going on, perhaps more than what he suspects. But if I stay, there’s a chance he’ll be able to read the plethora of emotions I’m sure are playing across my face. The pressure of these secrets makes it hard to breathe.

When it comes to me, Harrison’s like a shark. Once he gets a whiff of blood in the water, there’s no turning back.

Mom asks what’s new with me, but her voice sounds far away as my heartbeat hammers louder and louder—in my ears, my ribcage, my wrists.

“Oh, you know. Same old, same old. Nothing new with me at all.”

“Unless you count losing your fucking job. Single, homeless, and jobless in less than a week. That’s got to be some sort of record.” Time freezes when Jace’s loud words spew into the heavy air, hanging between us all around the table. The crackle of anticipation before realization is suffocating.

It hits Mom first, her deafening shriek coming through the line. “Charlotte Emily Fournier. Single? Jobless? You need to come home?—”

“I’ll call you back, Mom.” I cut her off, but quickly add, “Love you.”

I hang up, not meeting anyone’s gaze. I might rip Jace’s throat out of his body with my teeth if I look at him. If Roman’s sympathetic stare is pasted across his beautiful face, I’ll cry.

And there isn’t enough money in the whole world to make me meet my brother’s angry, judgmental stare right now. I’m not sure what he’s going to be more pissed about, the fact I didn’t tell him at all, or that Jace knows before he did.

“Charlotte?” Harrison’s voice isn’t gruff or harsh, but the brimming tears can’t be contained and spill down my cheeks. I burst up from the table, ignoring the dull, heavy thud of the chair as it falls to the ground with my purse hanging on the back, and leave.

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