Page 66 of The Penalty

Teddy looks over his shoulder and grins, making my chest all warm. “Like it?”

“You are too much!” I take the drink from Owen. “Where’s Oliver?”

“We gave you an earlier time than we told Oliver and Isaac so we could have a little chat first.” Colin takes his drink over to their sofa. “So let’s chat.”

I can’t help but think this is going to get interesting. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything,” Colin’s eyes gleam.

NINETEEN

TEDDY

My stomach growls loudly. I’m fucking so hungry. Though this drink, whatever it is, is so yummy.

Fruity and sweet. I’m so glad they aren’t cocktail drinkers.

“Is there a reason you’re holding that glass like its offended you?” Colin asks me. I have my hand wrapped around the tiny part of the mommy juice glass.

“If I don’t hold it like this, I’ll probably break it.”

“Would you like a different one? A stemless glass?” Colin offers, but I shake my head.

No need to get a different cup dirty. “I’m good.” To prove my point, I lift the glass to my lips and take a sip.

“How long have you been together?” Colin cocks his head and looks between us.

Crap on a cracker.

We haven’t talked about this. We don’t have a backstory ready. So I decide to make something up and run with it.

Sliding my free hand to his leg, I give it a squeeze.

“Feels like forever, you know?” I say, but Rhys says, “It’s new,” at the same time.

Uh oh.

I take another drink, emptying mine, and lean forward slowly to carefully set the glass down without breaking it. I’m about halfway there when there’s a ripping sound and I freeze. Oh no.

Rhys claps a hand over his mouth, holding back a laugh. “That jersey isn’t going to make it through the night.”

“You should just take it off,” Colin says casually.

My eyes shoot up to him at the same time I hear a growl. I think it came from Owen, but when I look at him, he’s rolling his eyes. With my arm still outstretched, I turn to Rhys and see him staring at Colin.

“Are you turning into a furry?” I whisper to Rhys.

Is he into that? Could be hot if it involves me being chased. I force myself to stop thinking about it because I’m already half chubbed. And everyone knows that’s impolite until you know people better.

Owen snorts and pretends to cough for some reason. Colin has a big grin on his face, and Rhys looks at me unamused. I wasn’t trying to be funny. It was a legitimate question.

“Just put the cup down already so you can sit up.”

Oh yeah. No wonder my arm was getting tired.

I set it down carefully and sit back against the couch. Rhys grabs my hand and intertwines our fingers in his lap. It’s so cute. I love when he does that.

“We’re supposed to be getting to know him, not pissing him off,” Owen chastises Colin.

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