Page 5 of The Penalty

“You have alcohol?” Tobi asks me. Normally I would tell him to get bent, but…a drunk Rhys is easier to rile up.

“I do. Since I see you’re already drinking my beer, I’ll get shots.” I clap my hands and hope to the Gods of Hard-ons that my shirt is long enough to cover me. The distressed purple cotton shorts with Super Mario on the thigh are comfortable and show off my legs, but they don’t hide boners.

Sliding across the hardwood floor in my socks, I stop in my bedroom, grab the bottles of rum and whiskey, then get set up in the kitchen.

“Tobs! Turn something on. We’re not getting fucked up in silence.”

Tobi grumbles under his breath, but music starts playing through the wireless speakers Dad had installed as surround sound last year. His taste in music is shit, but whatever, better than depressing silence.

I line up shot glasses on the coffee table and grab a soda from the fridge for my brother, who needs a chaser. Because he’s an infant. How he’s already been in college for a year is a mystery to everyone.

I pour shots and wait for Rhys and Tobi to come over but smack their hands away when they reach for the glasses. “You can have the shot when you tell me who isn’t going to Summerset.”

Tobi rolls his eyes, and I ignore him.

But Rhys presses his lips into a line. “I’m thinking about it.”

That’s a punch to the gut. We’ve all talked about going to Summerset together since we were kids. But I don’t know why him changing his mind bothers me so much.

“Where are you going instead?”

He flicks his gaze to Tobi, then back to me. “I was offered a spot with the Gods and I can afford it now.”

I rear back like he hit me. “The Gods? The enemy? How dare you?” I take the shot I was going to give him instead. “Traitors don’t get shots.”

“Could you be any more dramatic?” Tobi crosses his arms. “He can go where he wants.”

Rhys tries to get a word in, but I cut him off.

“Why the Gods? What do they have that Summerset doesn’t?” I demand, getting more upset by the minute. Did I really think having him play on the Olympians with me was going to be a good idea? That he would warm up to me? Suddenly decide he likes dick or wants to give it a try just because I’m there? I don’t think it works that way…I’ll have to find out. Just how anti-dudes is he? Like I wasn’t against it but when it was offered, I gave it a shot. Turns out, I’m a big fan.

“Not you, for one.” Tobi grabs the bottle from the counter, pouring him and Rhys shots.

“You too?!” I demand of my brother. “Mom and Dad both went to Summerset, you can’t go somewhere else! Especially not to the Gods!”

“I’m not transferring schools. I’m perfectly happy where I’m at.” He takes the shot and hisses as he grabs the soda. “Not that I’m looking forward to seeing you around campus.”

“Huh?” Tobi is smart and shit, like Mom and Dad. “Why would you see me?”

Both of them blink at me like I’m an idiot. I’m pretty used to this. I’m the only one in this family that isn’t a science nerd. I play hockey instead.

“What? You’re not going to play hockey, Tobs. That’s silly.”

“Because I already go to school there. So we’d see each other in between classes? Dining hall? The gym? In the library? I half hoped I’d make it through school before you left juniors.” Tobi speaks slowly like I might not understand the words. “Are you sure you’re qualified for this school?”

Well. Fuck.

I drop my head back on my neck and groan. “But that sucks!”

Someone huffs, probably Rhys, and I hear them grab the drinks and leave for Tobi’s room.

I drop back onto the couch and stew. Rhys and I have never been close, so why do I care that he’s going to a different college? We’ve played against each other before so it’s not that. Is it?

I don’t want to think about this.

I grab the rum they left and start pouring. I don’t know how long it’s been, the song has changed several times, and now I’m standing on the coffee table singingRun The World by Beyonce. Movement in the doorway has me looking, and I turn to find Rhys with a smirk on his face along with some pink in his cheeks. The alcohol makes me hot so I pull my t-shirt off and toss it. My eyes find him without my permission and for a split second, he’s watching me.

Was he checking me out?

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