A long pause.“Fuck. Is she okay?”
“She’s fine now. Shaken up, but fine. I got there as fast as I could.”
“Thank God you were close.”The relief in his voice was unmistakable.“I hate that she’s there alone. Kaia’s beenworried about it since we left, but Harlow insisted she was fine. Stubborn as hell.”
“Listen,”I cut in, before I could lose my nerve.“I told her she could use my spare room. Until your parents get back. I don’t want her staying in that house by herself either.”
Another pause, and I held my breath, waiting for the questions. The suspicion. The ‘wait, why is my best friend offering to let Harlow live with him’interrogation that should have followed.
It never came, and somehow that was so much worse.
“That’s perfect, actually.”Jax sounded relieved.“Thanks. Seriously. I feel better knowing she’s with you.”
His words twisted something in my chest, the guilt settling into my bones.
Because Jax hadn’t questioned it. Hadn’t hesitated. Hadn’t even paused to consider that maybe there might be a reason I shouldn’t be living with his sister.
He trusted me.
He trusted me not to sleep with Harlow. Not to touch her. Not to pull her into my arms in the middle of the night and make her come apart beneath my hands.
Too late for that.
What kind of friend did that make me?
The kind who was going to figure out how to tell his best friend the truth. Eventually. When I had the words. When I understood what this was between us well enough to explain it.
Coach Cooper’s whistle blew again, three short bursts that signaled the end of practice. “Good work. Hit the showers. Taylor, try not to get distracted by the scenery on your way out.”
More snickers. I was definitely never going to live this down.
“So,” Bennett said, falling into step beside me as we skated toward the bench. “You going to tell me what’s actually going on, or do I have to guess?”
“Nothing is going on.”
“She’s wearing your hoodie.”
“She was cold.” I didn’t bother hiding the irritation in my voice.
“She’s watching you like you hung the moon.”
“She’s just…” I stopped, because I didn’t have a good answer for that one.
Bennett grinned. “That’s what I thought.”
I grabbed my water bottle from the bench, buying myself time. The guys were filtering toward the locker room, their voices echoing off the walls as they rehashed the practice. A few of them shot curious glances up at Harlow.
“Listen,” I said. “Whatever you think you know…”
“I think you’re fucking Jax’s sister,” Bennett said flatly. “And I think you’re both trying really hard to pretend that’s not what’s happening.”
“I… We…”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “Look, man. I’m not going to say anything. It’s your life. But you might want to figure out how you’re going to explain this to Jax before someone else does.”
“There’s nothing to explain.” Not yet, anyway. We hadn’t even defined what this was between us.
“Sure.” Bennett’s tone suggested he didn’t believe a word of it.
