“Eighty-seven feeling alright?” B throws an arm around my shoulders with a knowing smirk.
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t he be?”
CK stretches an arm between the chairs, waving a hot pretzel in my face. I look over my shoulder, giving him a wink of thanks.
“Just checking.” B shrugs, staring off at the football field with a blank expression on his face. “Your tongue spent a lot of time inspecting his tonsils, so I wasn’t sure.”
I blink, freezing with my jaw open, pretzel halfway to my mouth. When B tips his chin and catches sight of my expression, he falls over, guffawing.
“You’re an asshole.”
The jerk has the audacity to try to steal a bite of my snack.
“Don’t pick on my girl.” Bette leans across the seats to cuff B on the back of the head. “Mark my words, Benjamin”—she wags a finger in his face—“one day you’re gonna meet a chick who’s gonna knock you on your ass, and payback is going to be a bitch.”
“Yeah, a tiny one,” B chokes out around a laugh, dodging the second head smack from Bette.
I love this woman so much. I know I’ve said it before, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say it enough. I would love her forever just for loving my brother the way she does, but everything she’s done for me in the six years she’s been in our lives has earned her a permanent spot up on a pedestal in my mind.
“Well this is a change,” CK says, passing his phone to me.
“What is?” I respond, keeping my eyes on him and not the screen.
He points down. “You guys usually wait until the end of the game to go viral.”
Finally looking down, I see a snapshot of our kiss. Our size difference has never been more obvious. With Mase in his full football gear and me standing on the helmet, I almost look like a child compared to his massive bulk.
There’s nothing childish about the kiss they captured, though. My front is pressed so tightly against his there’s not even a sliver of light peeking through. My hands are clutching his hair, and the fingers of one of his hands are splayed out, creeping down to cup my ass.
The shot was taken on a forty-five-degree angle instead of directly from the side, and combining this with the side-braided ponytail Bette did my hair in, the NOVA and #87 on my back are plain for the world to read.
Oh, he’s going to be so happy about that.
“That’s hot, but these are my fave.” T jumps into the conversation, scrolling through the other posts shared by UofJ411.
“This is ridiculous.” I shake my head but can’t help but laugh as the TikTok video of Coach Knight scolding Mase replays.
“Fucking right it is,” E grumbles. The tension in his jaw is the first sign of something darker, almost dangerous brewing under the surface. Nothing can flip E’s switch faster than thinking something could hurt me, or use me.
Which reminds me…
I need to make a conscious effort to keep E away from Brantley. I do not foresee the two of them in a room together going over well.
I still can’t believe E went along with my plan for Liam. He was so hell-bent on revenge I had legitimate doubts he would be on board.
Are you ever going to tell Mase about what you did?
Well shit. That is not the type of reminder I need from my conscience. I am putting that conversation off as long as I can get away with it.
Bette must sense the same thing in E that I do, because she smooths a hand along his jaw and pinches his cheek. “You two really do share some epic kisses.” She jerks a chin down. “It’s like something out of a movie.” She’s all dreamy-like, really gushing over the picture.
I know what she’s doing. If the way she wiggles her eyebrows at me is any indication, she knows I know what she’s doing. E is the only one not onto his wife’s plan. That’s probably for the best, because if he were, he might not take the distraction bait.
“I’ll show you a kiss good enough for the movies, woman.” E hauls Bette out of her seat and into his lap, dipping her back and laying one on her.
The rest of us, along with probably our entire section, cheer and catcall. B snaps pictures like the paparazzi. By the time my brother releases his wife, her face is flushed and