Page 105 of Slap Shot Scandal
But Bennett’s been riding the struggle bus hard. This party was the compromise. Better he misbehaves at home, where I can supervise him. I’d much rather he be in our backyard than at some club off A1A, throwing hundreds at strippers. At least here I can lock him in his room if he misbehaves.
“Bro—is Harbor gonna make it?” Bennett whacks my shoulder, one brow arched. “You gonna get a little action tonight?” He rocks his hips back and forth in a lewd humping gesture, and I bite the inside of my cheek so hard I taste the tang of blood.
“Shut the hell up, Benny. And yeah, she’s coming to the party with her sister. Keep your hands off the sister.” I let the action comment slide, not wanting to straight-up lie to my brother’s face.
“A sister, huh? That could be fun. A little threesome action?” He waggles his brows, and my fingers curl into fists. He’s one minute away from getting punched out.
Lucky for Bennett, Callum sticks his head out the back door. “Did you order twenty-five pizzas, Bennett?”
“Sure did. People are gonna be hungry.”
A warning bell clangs loudly in my head.
“Fuck. This is a team party, Benny. That’s a shit ton of pizza.”
Bennett shoots me a sly smile. “I may or may not have mentioned the party on my socials…”
Double fuck.
This is exactly what Harbor’s worried about, second only to keeping our relationship a secret. Making sure the team stays out of trouble is a screaming priority. For both of us.
Callum doesn’t say a word, letting the porch door slam as he retreats into the house. Dude knows when things are about to go south.
Although I would have appreciated the back up.
“Bennett, don’t you remember the reason we’re all down here instead of still in New York?”
He stares at me from across the yard, folding his arms across his meaty chest.
“Yeah. Because Coach Evans screwed Prince’s wife. What’s that got to do with the party?”
“Big picture, bro. Keller wants us to stay out of trouble. The only reason I agreed to this party was because you promised it’d be small. ‘Just the team.’” I throw my fingers into the air, quoting my brother. “Now you’re telling me you posted about the party on Instagram?”
Bennett shrugs. “Yeah. And Facebook. What’s the big deal, Wes? You’re such a killjoy these days.”
I stalk across the grass, closing the distance between me and my brother. “The big deal, Bennett, is that we’re supposed to be staying out of trouble. Not inviting it to our fucking house.” I spit out the words, my jaw clenched so tight my molars ache.
“Chill, dude. It’ll be fine. You’ll see. It’s gonna be low-key.”
The loud thump of bass shakes the ground, the top of a huge party bus visible over the privacy fence. The high-pitched squeal of laughter spills into the air and my stomach sinks.
“Low-key, huh?”
“That’ll be the DJ.”
I stare up at the sky and wonder for the thousandth time how I’m related to this guy. We’re literally nothing alike.
He jogs past me, smacking me hard on the back. “Relax, Cap. I’ve got it all under control.”
“Uh-huh,” I mutter at his retreating backside, dread rolling through me.
Because Bennett’s idea of under control is a helluva lot different than mine.
Pulling my cell from my pocket, I debate texting Harbor and telling her not to come. This party’s starting to feel like a landmine, and I don’t want to be the one responsible for blowing everything up.
But then I remember the way she stared up at me the other night, her cheeks a soft pink and her eyes glowing. Gazing at me like I was someone she could trust, count on to protect her.
I shove my phone back into my pocket.
