Page 108 of Five Brothers

“It wasn’t Clay’s?”

“God, no.”

She nods once, satisfied.

She fixes her hair and starts to leave. “I’ll be at Mariette’s early. Come over and eat.”

I stop her. “I want you in my bed tonight.”

“No.”

“Why?”

She turns fully, facing me. “Because I wanted it easy, and Tracewanted it easy, so it was easy. And I knew before I even touched Iron that it would be once, because he was going away, so I was prepared to say goodbye. But you?” She hesitates and then kisses the corner of my mouth. “I think you’re easy for people to fall for. I need a minute.”

Okay. That’s not a terrible thing to hear. It’s kind of annoying, though, that she’s too young for me but somehow a lot wiser.

She steps away. “I need to get out of this swimsuit.”

I cock an eyebrow, and she laughs, realizing how enticing that sounded to me. She leaves, heading up the stairs, and I watch her disappear into her room.

What the hell am I doing?

I comb my hand through my hair, staring after her.

Is it because she’s just a little bit forbidden and I want to feel it all over again?

Or maybe I just want to be happy, because it’ll piss Macon off for me to have something of my own.

Or maybe she’s kind.

Maybe she’s someone you keep, and she’d never hurt me.

I’d like a date to find out.

I glance out of the window at my side, watching Dallas smoke in the driveway and Trace under the hood of some girl’s car, laughing and talking to her.

I shake my head, making my way to the kitchen. He’s probably using the “Can I pop your hood?” routine. Within days, she’ll be calling him over to check “this weird sound” she heard while driving. It’s amazing how often this works out for him.

I walk around teenagers as I step through the kitchen, desperate to put my T-shirt back on, but it has cum all over it.

Moving past the stove, I open the only door I can find and step inside. I reach up for a chain to the light but find nothing. I pat the wall on both sides of the door, finally finding the switch. Flicking it on, I don’t see Milo, but I hear pounding and muffled shouting.

“Get me outta here!”

I spot another door straight ahead and close the one behind me. Picking up the padlock, I yank on it for good measure, but yeah, it’s secure. Looking up and around, I quickly find the key sitting on a shelf in front of some jars of pesto sauce. Krisjen wouldn’t have been able to keep it on her in a swimsuit.

I pick it up.

Milo Price is ten years younger than me, too. The responsible thing to do with him six months ago would have been to press charges over how he tried to assault my sister. What I wanted to do was kill him.

I could have. A lot more easily than having sex for money. It’s a question I often ponder. What would I be like if I weren’t worried about going to prison?

Dallas, Trace, Iron … they all think I’m boring. I know they do.

I’m not boring. I’m just worried. All the time. Afraid. All the time. About them. About Macon. About Dex. Someone has to be the cautious one. The reliable one.

I slip the key in, twist it, and pull off the lock, stepping back as the door bursts open. Milo rushes out, sweating like a pig and sucking in air like he was in a fucking coffin.