That stops both of us cold.
I blink. “Holly?”
Jack’s brows slam together so fast, I’m surprised he doesn’t pull a muscle. “Why?”
“Because she gave me a blowjob.”
For a second, it doesn’t compute.
The words just hang there in the icy air, too blunt and absurd to process.
I open my mouth, but there’s nothing.
Not a single word.
My brain’s still scrambling to catch up because there’s no way we’re in the same reality as before.
Jack, though, he goes nuclear.
“You what?” his voice booms.
He closes the distance between them again, chest brushing against Liam’s. “Are you out of your goddamn mind? That’s Carson’sdaughter. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“It’s not like that,” Liam says quickly, though he doesn’t at all sound apologetic.
Jack’s not hearing it.
His voice climbs, every syllable like a fist to the side of the face. “Not like that? JesusChrist. And you’re paying her for it? What, you think that makes it better? She’s?—”
“An adult,” Liam cuts in, his eyes flashing. “We haven’t seen her in years, Jack. Hell, Carson barely ever brought her around. I can think ofonetime and that’s it. So don’t stand there acting like you’re some moral authority. She’s not twelve.”
Jack’s nostrils flare.
His hands curl into fists at his sides and for a heartbeat,
I’m genuinely not sure if he’s about to swing.
He’s close enough now that if he decides to take the shot, Liam won’t have time to dodge.
And me?
I’m still caught between the two of them, with the heavy realization that we’ve just crossed into territory there’s no coming back from.
Whatever this weekend was supposed to be, whatever easy camaraderie we had left, it’s gone now.
There’s no stuffing this back in the box.
“You think that matters? You think that makes itright? Christ, Liam?—”
“Right or wrong, it happened. And it’s my business, not yours,” Liam replies.
Their voices have gotten loud enough that I’m almost positive Holly’s going to wake up and come to see what all the noise is about.
If she comes out here, there’s no hiding what we’ve been arguing about.
I shove my body between them, planting my feet and pressing both hands against their chests.
My palms hit solid muscle on both sides, and I have to push harder than I’d like just to get an inch of space between them.