“Fuck…” I mutter when I see my brother approaching our table. And I mentally double that fuck when I see he’s got Xavier with him. Tobias is a top receiver in the NFL, and Xavier is on his defense. They make news for everything they do on and off the field, and whatever wild ass shit I can be accused of, they’re ten times worse.
“What?”
“My brother is headed this way.”
“Tobias?” And the way her eyes light up when she says his name makes the jealousy in my gut churn.
“That would be him.” I love my brother, but he isn’t the easiest person to be related to. The comparisons never end.
“Oh my god. I don’t—I’m not—I’m gonna fangirl out.” Her lashes flutter and she grins wide.
“What?” I look at her horrified.
“Your brother is fucking phenomenal,” she gushes.
“I feel like you should have told me you had a thing for my brother before we fucked,” I grump.
“I don’t have athing. I just—”
“East! I didn’t know you were up here already. Thought you weren’t coming until next weekend.”
I stand and grab my brother’s hand, throwing an arm around him and a quick pound on the back. I nod to Xavier, and he gives me a chin jerk.
“I came up with some friends. We’re staying at the resort I mentioned to you, remember?”
“Oh yeah. The one you wanted the hookup on. How you liking it?”
“It’s nice.”
“Right? And the views are fucking awesome. Food’s good too.” He smiles, and then he notices Wren and turns to her. “I’m sorry. I’m being rude. You must be the girlfriend?”
He holds out his hand and she takes it, beaming at him like he’s the best thing she’s ever seen. I fucking hate it
“Just a friend, but it’s nice to meet you.” She somehow smiles even brighter and the ‘just’ feels like a gut punch even though I know it shouldn’t.
He grins at her and then lets out a low laugh.
“Justa friend, eh? Brother, you are doing something wrong.” He glances back at me and shakes his head.
“Oh, no. We’re just up here with a group of friends. They’re all coupled up though and East was nice enough to take me to dinner, so I didn’t feel left out.” She smiles, trying to make it sound like I’m the hero in this situation. Even though I’m really the villain because if I didn’t have any self-control I’d be dragging her into a dark corner of this restaurant and fucking her up against a wall to remind her which brother shereallylikes.
“Oh yeah? That’s nice of him.” His eyes rake over her, and I feel my stomach clench. Because it’s also rich, considering he doesn’t do relationships himself, that he would give me shit for it. He looks back at me, studying me for a second.
“Well, if that’s the case you two should come to my party tonight. We’ve got a big place we’ve rented and we’re having a bunch of people over. Some of the other guys are in town too, taking a break now that the season’s over.”
“I don’t know if we can—”
“Oh, that sounds fun!”
Wren and I both talk over each other, and I feel another little tight pull in my chest that she wants to go. I don’t hate the idea generally. It’d be nice to see my brother for a bit even though he does irritate the hell out of me sometimes, and his parties are usually a fuck ton of chaos and fun. It’s the idea of taking her there that makes me nervous.
Tobias laughs a little. “Well talk it over and then let me know. I’ll text you the address. Some other people you know will be there.”
I can guess what he means by that. So can Wren, apparently, by the way her eyes flick over to me and then back to Tobias. She gives him another bright smile, and he grins at her.
“Thank you for the offer,” she says in a tone that sounds incredibly flirty to my jealous ears.
“Of course, sweetheart. Hope to see you there.” He winks at her and then he and Xavier nod and finish their exit from the restaurant.
