Page 74 of Riding the Pine

I open the door, two of the guys are hanging around in the living room. I give them a salute and head toward the stairs. It’s unusually quiet here for a Thursday night. I’d have stayed with Athena again tonight except we have a game tomorrow, and I can’t have sex on a game day. And if I stay with her, I won’t be able to keep my hands off her body.

I mean, if she says no, obviously I wouldn’t. But if she’s up for it… I’m helpless in the face of her alluring pussy.

Upstairs is every bit as quiet as downstairs, everyone must have gone somewhere. Shit. My stomach falls. Did I miss a group something?

Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I check the group chat, zilch. Must be coincidence.

My stomach begins to untangle, I turn the handle of my bedroom door, and as it opens, the light being on is my first sign that something’s off.

Muscles tense, breathing quickens, and I tuck my phone away, just in case I need to swing my fists at whoever the fuck has let themselves into my room.

Ares is lying on my bed reading this month’s book club book, Apollo is spinning in my desk chair, head tipped back like he’s bored out of his mind, and Artemis is sitting on the floor facing the door crammed into my beanbag.

Their heads all turn to look at me, faces impassive, eyes serious. I swallow, hard.

This can’t be good.

Fight or flight kicks in. Part of me wants to run, the other feels ridiculous. So what? My best friends are hanging out in my room waiting for me to come back. No big deal, right?

Sweat prickles at the base of my neck under the bill of my ball cap.

“Uh… hi?” If none of them are going to break the tense silence hung around my room, I will. Let’s get whatever this is over with. “What’s up?”

Artemis clears his throat. Shit. Shit. I know I’m close to all of them, but Arte, he’s my wingman, my linemate, he’s been with me since day one. Usually, I can tell what he’s thinking but right now I see nothing. No indicators to help me figure out what the hell is going on behind those eyes.

“We just need to know what your intentions are with our sister, Scottie.”

My stomach drops through the floor into the kitchen downstairs, heart ricochets around my entire body, landing in my fucking ass. Shit. I hold up one finger, drop my bag on the floor, grab the door handle, and step back out of the room, closing the door.

The phone comes back out.

Scott: You still nearby?

She told me she was going to Bitches Brew to see Savannah. Hopefully she hasn’t made it there yet.

Bright Eyes: I am. What’s wrong?

Scott: Your brothers are all in my bedroom asking what my intentions are with you.

Bright Eyes: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Scott: Helpful, Athena.

Bright Eyes: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Scott: What do I tell them?

I work my jaw while I wait for whatever has possessed my girlfriend to pass.

Bright Eyes: Athena can’t come to the phone right now, she’s died laughing.

This is not helpful. I lift my ball cap and smooth out my hair, my blood pressure rising to unnatural levels in my arteries.

I can’t go back in there until I hear the party line from her. If I go in and lie, they’ll fillet me and serve me to our friendly, feral, and really fucking hungry neighborhood raccoons.

Shit. Shit.

My phone buzzes again.

---