Page 105 of Rebellious

“I mean, what if we argue and I make her cry?” I try again.

He licks his finger. “Then I’d make you cry, Bennett. What’s the point in all of this?”

I sigh. “I can’t risk loving your daughter and destroying my father’s friendship with you.”

Like I’ve just told him I was a butterfly, Theo stands. “Newsflash, Pain in the Ass Number Two, nothing and no one will ever come between me and Cade. If you hurt my daughter, I knowyour fatherwill kick your ass for me.”

“What if Aspen hurts me?” I smother a laugh.

He waves me off. “We’d fuss at her. Happy? Is that what you want to hear? Either way, nothing changes with our family.” He gives me a look. “Because wearea family.Allof us.”

His words settle around me. Something I never considered.

“Don’t look at me like that, Bennett. Was I not the one who picked you up from school when you had strep throat in third grade?”

I nod. “And was it also me who ended up binge watching the entirePower Rangersseries in your room while we were quarantined from the rest of the house?”

I smile ever so slightly. “Yes, sir. I remember I got you sick.”

“Damn right you did.” He picks a sashimi piece off my plate and shoves it in his mouth. “And was it not me who taught you how to drive a stick?”

I lift one shoulder. “Dad taught me too.”

“Psh.” He waves me off. “Your father can’t drive for shit. I couldn’t have you endangering Aspen’s life with those skills.”

I laugh.

“The point is, Bennett, thanks to my wife, our families will forever be intertwined. I—” He pretends to gag. “—love you just as much as I love your father. You’re my fucking demon too. Nothing you could ever say or do will change that. So please stop being a fucking martyr and go after what you want.”

I watch him for a minute, waiting for the inevitable but. It never comes.

“This is the time when you say, ‘yes, sir.’”

I grin. “Yes, sir.” I confirm. “I will go after what I want.”

He stands as headlights pull into the driveway. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a pack of passion fruit bubble gum and tosses it on the counter. “Take this and find some knee pads. The Von Bremen women will make you grovel. I suggest kneeling and taking it like a man.”

I nod, absorbing his words. “I will, sir. Thank you.”

The door opens and my brother and Fenn file through.

“What are you doing here?” Fenn asks. “Did someone from the school call you?”

Theo pushes past me, apparently done with our heart to heart. “Should they have? What did you do this time, boy?”

Fenn scrunches his face. “Nothing.”

Theo grabs him by the back of the neck, pulling him in like he’s going to hug him. “Oh, how I used to lie without blinking. I miss that trait.”

Drew laughs and shoves past them. “You all right?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“Come on, ya’ll entertain Daddy Theo and show me all the tricks in Madden, so I can beat Jameson when he gets here.”

Fenn scoffs. “We don’t play Madden.”

“Don’t act like you’re disgusted that my old ass does. I will beat your—”

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