I clench my jaw. Again with this stupid party. Why did the brothers gamble on Lennox’s dating life, anyway? I thought they’d learned their lesson the first time. She gave us the silent treatment for a week after the Lucas incident. It hurt me the most. The guys just thought she was on her period or something.
“I don’t think I’ll bring a date,” I admit. I’d rather have a good time than worry about what a stranger thinks of me and my friends. Plus, the work party is the worst place for a first date.
Something bad always happens. Last year it was Sean’s belly dancer. The year before, the food made everyone sick. And the year before that, one employee got divorced, quite literally, over dinner.
“Is this because of the bet we made with Lennox?” Michael asks, and my eyes widen before I can stop them.
“What? No. This has nothing to do with Lennox.”
Michael arches an eyebrow, and I turn to grab my tool belt. The workday is almost over, and I need to put it away before one of the newbies mistakes it for theirs again.
“Okay, if you say so,” Michael says finally. “Don’t forget about basketball tonight.”
I snort, basketball gets me out of my lonely apartment, so does work and Sunday dinners with the Bentleys. I couldn’t forget about it if I tried.
“I won’t,” I say, and head to the back of the shop.
I let out a breath. I dodged that bullet for now. But with my luck, not for long. Nothing good ever lasts. I learned that the first time my dad went to rehab after he’d thrown a beer bottle at my head. He’d promised me, while I was getting six stitches in my eyebrow, that he’d never hurt me again. Technically, he hasn’t physically hurt me since then, but his absence hurts just as much as a needle to my face.
I haven’t given up hope of good things in life. I’m just realistic now.
My phone rings, and I pull it from my pocket.
Aunt Megan.
The blood in my veins turns to ice. I should answer, but I can’t. Every time my aunt calls, she begs me to build a bridge between my dad and I. Unfortunately, a bridge can’t join two people who don’t want to be connected anymore.
Chapter 4
Lennox
“He didn’t.” My almost sister-in-law Juliet groans loud enough that several people in the college library look over. Every little noise bounces off the plain white walls and floor to ceiling windows.
I duck my head behind my computer, pretending to study. Nothing to see here.
“He did,” I whisper. “He made another stupid bet. At least I can get something out of it this time.”
Juliet twists a strand of dark brown hair around her finger, a nervous tick she has. “I told Michael to stop. When is he ever going to grow up?”
I take off my blue-light glasses and clean them on my sleeve. “Try never. The Bentley breed is exceptionally immature.”
“Maybe it’s not the worst thing, though. You haven’t dated in—”
“Yes, I know. Forever.”
I’m still embarrassed about the night I got all chummy with Juliet and admitted to her that I’ve never even been kissed. That’s right. I’m twenty-one and have never been kissed.
“So who are you going to bring?” Juliet asks. She unscrews the lid of her water bottle and takes a drink, draining the remainder. We’ve been sitting here for an hour and that’s her second refill. No wonder she always has to pee.
“I don’t know. It’s not like I talk to guys a lot.”
Okay, I never talk to guys.
And I can’t even blame it all on my brothers and their obsession with butting into my life.
It’s all me. After my train-wreck of an almost first kiss, I’ve only been on a handful of dates, and every time the kiss comes, I think about Grant's words.“Your first kiss shouldn’t scare you.”And then I get scared and have a mini panic attack.
“Well, he has to be hot, and preferably like six inches taller than your brothers, so they are intimidated by him,” Juliet says while solving a math problem. How does she do that?
