HARPER
“I know, I can’t get my head around it,” Phoenix rumbled, placing his head on my shoulder.
“Do you think she knows?” Micah asked, tugging off his hoodie. Underneath, he was wearing a white wife-beater. His black, muscled arms stood out against the crisp, clean color.
“No,” I said. “At least she didn’t earlier.”
I shuffled out from between Nix’s legs and moved over to the cooler to grab a bottle of water. Whenever the subject of Storm came up, my throat became dry. Fuck, I was now dating my old school nemesis's half-brother. Would that make her hate me again? A ripple of unease crawled up my neck.
“Maybe we should tell her; she has a right to know.”
“No. It needs to come from her old man,” Phoenix replied in a tight voice. I watched as a line of tension appeared on his jaw.
“Shouldn’t you be saying,ourold man?” Micah pointed out unhelpfully. You could tell he had been away and had missed needling his brothers. He was like a child, daring his dog to bite him.
“Shut it dickhead,” Hudson blasted with a frown. His nerves were stretched tight.
Micah held his hands up. “What? Too soon.” Nothing had changed; Micah still craved the spotlight as being the biggest goofball and the most irritating.
“Fuck. The girl is going to freak the hell out,” Nix said as I shuffled back towards him.
“Knowing her the best, Hudson. How doyouthink Storm will react?” Molly questioned taking the heat off Phoenix. She was right. Hudson and Storm were probably the closest in our group of friends. Phoenix and Micah barely tolerated her, and Reed, well, that shit was just physical, or so we thought.
Speak of the devil. “How will Storm react to what?” Reed's voice called out as he appeared from behind the rocks.
After chugging some more water, I sat beside Phoenix.
Everyone exchanged a nervous glance as we waited for Storm to appear from behind him, but she didn’t.
Reed glanced over his shoulder to where we were looking, and then realization kicked in. “She’s not here, so feel free to gossip about her behind her back like a group of high school bitches,” he admonished.
The guy had a point. We all gave each other a guilty look, even though that wasn’t what we had been doing. I stretched my legs out next to Nix’s thick ones, and he placed his hand on my leg.
The moment was saved as a group of giggling girls rushed over and congratulated the star player. I recognized them as part of the Reed Prescott Fan Club. They had been standing in front of us at the game, waving a banner with his name on, much to Storm’s annoyance.
Micah rolled his eyes as we watched the group fawn over him. Reed had a killer smile. “Player of the game, my ass. Maybe the second half, where he had to work for it thanks to Nix. No offense.”
“Blow me,” Nix shot back with a grunt.
“You have to admit it, he was fast on the field,” Hudson jumped in.
Phoenix shrugged noncommittally, and Micah smirked. “Yeah, because he was so much lighter at that point in the game.”
“What the fuck doesthatmean?” Hudson rasped.
“I bet you fifty bucks he blew his load during halftime.”
“You’re so gross, Micah.” I was pleased he hadn’t said who with, although Hudson’s next words confirmed we were all thinking the same thing. “WhereisStorm?”
Reed had managed to untangle himself from the girls who wanted a selfie with him and sauntered over like the cat that got the cream. Luckily, he hadn’t heard our discussion.
Sweeping a look around the group, he then grabbed a beer from the cooler. In his other hand, he held a half-eaten cheese dog. “What are you guys harking on about?”
“We were wondering where your other half was,” I replied with a taunting look.
Reed just rolled his eyes. “She just left.”
“How was she?” Micah added with wide eyes.
