Both girls looked at me expectantly. This was their line in the sand. Alright then. “Fine, I’ll tell him.” Making my way down the large staircase, I found Jett sitting on a chair at the entrance.
“She ready?”
“You need to apologize to them both.”
Jett stared at me and then shook his head. “Not happening.”
“Why is everyone so against this girl?” I wondered out loud.
“I don’t like her,” Jett said stubbornly.
“You don’t like anyone,” I reasoned.
“Gray doesn’t like her.”
“Gray likes fewer people than you do. He puts theAin antisocial.” Scratching my jaw, I looked at him. “She isn’t goingto go anywhere. Your girl is loyal, and she just showed you that. You ask her to choose, you lose.”
Jett’s look was sharp before he cursed loudly and started to pace. “Ava is mine.”
“Ava is nineteen, she can think for herself,” I reminded him.
“I’m not apologizing. I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”
“And I actually think Red heard that, but the way you said it . . . Well.” I shrugged as I looked up the stairs. “It wasn’t cool.”
“You’re full of shit,” he scoffed. “You don’t give a fuck if she’s here or not. You’re only interested in the fact wherever she is means you don’t need to be seeing my twin and Quinn together.”
So? What if it did? Was it a crime? No.
“We’re all a little broken; you just need to know what causes more cracks and what shatters you completely.”
Jett looked up the stairs. “Gray going to cause you to shatter, cousin?”
“No,” I answered. “But right now, I don’t need any more cracks.”
Jett nodded as he listened to me. “I agree. Okay, so we do it this way.”
“We do it this way, and both you and Gray leave her the hell alone.” I saw his doubtful expression. “Her temper matches her hair color. She isn’t a pushover, and I have to live with her until this is over, so please, if not for her or Ava, do it for me.”
“Fine.” Jett resumed his seat, his legs stretching out in front of him. “Want to talk football?”
“Always,” I answered as I took a seat beside him.
“Gray thinks his hand is healing better than we thought, so we may get him back for the championship game.”
My brow furrowed as I remembered yesterday’s game. “If we get there,” I said under my breath.
“We’ll get there.” Jett sounded so confident that I almost believed him. “Kentucky will lose, they will, and then it’s us and Alabama. Again.”
“Again,” I echoed grimly.
“But this time, we’ll have Gray.” Jett leaned forward eagerly as he spoke, and as always, I was caught up in his energy. “With Gray, we can beat them.”
“Let’s focus on the game on Saturday first,” I cautioned him. “But yeah.” I grinned as we shared a look. “We can beat them if we have Gray back.”
As the two of us sat and spoke about football and the upcoming games, Ava eventually came down the stairs. She looked happier than when I left her, and Jett was on his feet at the foot of the stairs, waiting for her before she reached the floor.
“You okay?” he asked her as he reached out for her.
