no.” Ben finally broke in, taking a pull from his beer bottle. “As an English professor, I have no such privilege. If this is going to get me into trouble, tell me right now so I can opt out.”
Russell crossed his arms and leaned back, waiting. One of them would crack eventually. Usually, Louis caved first, and Ben got dragged in by virtue of proximity.
As expected, Louis plowed a hand through his hair. “You’re really not going to tell us unless I take this fucking dollar, is that right?”
Russell stayed quiet. It was easier than usual to hold his tongue since the last time he’d opened his mouth, he’d hurt the one person he’d sworn never to hurt. Did dentists wire mouths shut even if the patient wasn’t injured? Something to look into.
“Don’t cave,” Ben warned Louis. “Think about it. If he’s swearing us to secrecy, it has to do with one of the girls. He doesn’t want us passing on this apparently monumental revelation to Honey and Roxy. And they’ll find out. Girls always find out.”
“Yeah,” Louis murmured, clearly still on the fence. “But it doesn’t have anything to do with Roxy because I’ve been keeping her well and truly occupied for the last forty-eight hours. And Honey has been in school, right? That leaves Abby.”
That’s when Ben joined Louis on the fence. Russell could tell from the way he adjusted his glasses and scrutinized him like he would one of his students. “Whatever it is, he’s not happy about it.”
“Exactly.” Louis tapped a coaster on the table. “Knowledge is power, man. If he did something stupid that will piss off the girls, we need to know—”
“—so we can circumvent the fallout,” Ben finished.
“Are you guys done?” Russell asked. “You’re giving me a rash over here.”
Louis snatched the dollar off the table. “Fine. It stays between us.”
Ben groaned. “You’re his attorney. What’s going to be my reason for staying silent when this inevitably bites us in the ass?”
“The bro code,” Louis and Russell answered at the same time.
“That’s not a real thing.” Ben split a look between them. “Stop pretending that’s a real thing.”
“I friend-zoned Abby,” Russell forced past dry lips. “She almost got blown up today, for fuck sake. Her ankle was hurt, so I stayed and . . . things took place. Things of an adult nature. Tequila was involved.”
“Finally.”
“Took you long enough.”
Russell glowered at his friends. “You know how I feel about this. Nothing was ever supposed to happen with her. That’s why I took care of it.”
“Oh yeah?” Dread was written all over Louis’s face. “How’d you do that?”
“Doesn’t matter how.” Pain sprung up at the back of Russell’s skull, and he welcomed it. Hoped it spread and grew worse. “The result is Abby in the friend zone.”
Ben leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful. “Nope. I’m calling a foul. You’re already in the friend zone. A friend zonee can’t friend-zone the friend zoner.”
Louis was nodding before Ben even finished. “He’s right. To the best of my knowledge, it has never been attempted, nor accomplished.”
“I concur. But I wouldn’t mind consulting the rulebook to be safe.”
Before Louis could respond to Ben, Russell held up a hand. “You two are a rare breed of shithead. You know that?”
“Why are you telling us this?” Ben leaned forward to ask. “This isn’t merely to unburden yourself, is it?”
Russell wished that were all. If he were capable of keeping Abby at arm’s length without their help, he would do it. But it wasn’t a viable option now. He could still see her bare ass, feel it writhing against his groin. He knew she came with her whole body, shaking, sobbing, and twisting. For the love of God, he needed help staying away now. Serious help.
“Look, she’s going to tell her roommates. They’re probably having a three-way text party right now to plot my early demise.” It hurt just thinking about it. She’d laid her head on his shoulder so trustingly and fallen asleep today, but tonight? She probably wouldn’t go near him if he begged, but he wasn’t taking any chances. “When Honey and Roxy tell you guys what went down, just . . . assure them it was for the best. Tell them I’m an asshole, a liar . . . a cheater. Whatever you have to say. I just need it to get back to Abby so she stays away.”
“Nope. Not lying to my girlfriend. That’s where I draw the line.” Louis slid the dollar back across