Page 86 of The Pass Protection
I groan. “Why do you have to do this?”
Tossing his arm around my shoulder, he pulls me against him in a half hug. “That’s what big brothers are for. They make fun of their younger brother in front of pretty girls.”
Jett, Bret, and I all went to a pizzeria off campus. It’s not Cousin Jimmy’s. This place has wood-fired, inventive, hand-tossed pizzas. The rest of the guys all went to The Eagles Nest, Bret only tagged along because Jett insisted the female roommate not be left out. Whatever that means.
“Anyway,” Jett drawls out. “Back to my story. We were at my aunt and uncle’s when Crew decided he was tired of wearing his pants. He stripped out of his jeans and took off running through the backyard, where all of the family was gathered. Dad took off running, but Crewrefused to stop. He hopped the fence into the pasture, bare ass and everything. When Dad started climbing after him, Crew here thought it’d be funny to jump on the back of a ram, which took off running through the field with a half naked Crew.”
Bret’s booming laugh has heads whipping in our direction. The two of them have clearly hit it off. Jett has been telling story after story while drinking beer after beer. There is a pile of bottles in the center of the table.
“Does Mom know you’re home?” I ask, sobering the mood.
He nods. “Yeah, I called her when I returned to US soil. I’m flying out tomorrow afternoon to head home.”
“She’s going to be glad to see you.” He hums as I take another bite of pizza. “What are your plans?”
“Brother, not tonight.” Jett lolls his head toward Bret. “So tell me, how did a pretty girl like yourself end up rooming with my brother?”
Bringing her cup to her mouth, she takes a long drink of her Coke. Bret offered to be our designated driver since she didn’t want to use her fake ID in an actual restaurant.
“Funny story, actually. I used my real name, and with my major and extracurricular activities, the guys assumed I was a guy and accepted my email inquiring about the room.”
“Oh, that’s great,” Jett chuckles. “So what’s your major?”
“Sports management. I’d love to be an athletic director.”
She glances over at me, and I wink at her, which causes her cheeks to pinken just like I knew they would. Everything feels right tonight. My brother is home, and my girl is having dinner with us. Jett keeps giving me weird glances, and I wonder if he’s catching on to the sparks swirling around Bret and me.
“That’s cool.” Jett whips his head in my direction. “You guys should plan a trip to Silo Bay over spring break. I think you’d like it.”
“I was actually there when the team rolled through earlier this fall.”
He taps his chin with his pointer finger. “That’s right. I heard all about the town’s golden boy returning home.”
Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. “Please, just wait until they pull something together when you show up tomorrow. They will be rolling out the red carpet.”
Inhaling half a slice of pizza, Jett wipes the grease from his mouth with his napkin. “More like barricades so the troubled Riggsby boy doesn’t step foot in city limits.”
Now, he might be onto something. Jett Riggsby was notorious for causing all kinds of hell. From spray painting road signs to throwing parties in abandoned houses to being a menace whenever he could. He and his group of friends were trouble, but no one said anything about it since they could never actually prove it was them. Not to mention, their football team was incredible all four years. They were practically local celebrities who paved the way for my class to follow in their footsteps.
“Excuse me.” Bret wipes her hands as she stands. “I need to use the restroom.”
Jett and I both nod as I watch her walk toward the hallway where the bathrooms are.
“So, how long have you been screwing your roommate?”
Spluttering the beer I was drinking, golden liquid dribbles onto the table. Glancing from the beer to my brother, a knowing smirk plays on his lips. “Shut up.”
The asshole chuckles. “Seriously, Jett, you can’t say shit. She’s Coach Campbell’s daughter.”
He laughs harder. “You’ve really stepped in it this time. Banging the coach’s daughter,wow.”
“It’s not like that,” I grumble. Scanning the room for any wandering eyes. “We’re dating but keeping it a secret.”
“C’mon, Crew. What are you doing?”
I sigh. “It’s a long story. It’s a twisted, complicated story, but we’re going to tell everyone. She just wants to wait until the season ends so there aren’t any problems on the team.”
“How the fuck do you think they’re going to react when they find out you’ve been together for months?” He hisses the question.
