Page 34 of Little Do You Know

Blake has been giving me crap all weekend for how restless I’ve been. I maybe got a total of seven hours of sleep the entire weekend. It’s not healthy, but it is what it is. I didn’t tell her Bash agreed because I think she’d say not to do it. Part of me thinks I might be an idiot, because a few kisses can be taken back, but sex, not so much. Now I’m psyching myself out.

I test the door handle to find it thankfully unlocked, relieved I don’t have to fumble with my keys. I drop all my things next to the door, but I’m surprised to see the living room full of football players. Their focus shifts from whatever is on the television to look at me. “Oh, hey guys,” I say, reaching down to grab all my shit again to take to my room. The last thing I need is a bag tipping over, showing them all the underwear I bought today.

My eyes immediately find Sebastian, who is looking at all my bags, trying not to laugh. We’ll see who is laughing when he sees what I bought.

“Did you max out the credit card?” Owen asks bluntly, and I grin at him.

“Not this time, but I probably would have if my feet didn’t hurt. Vera’s a terrible person to shop with, telling me to buy every cute thing we found. I might try to do that next time, though,” I reply, lugging everything to my room.

My afternoon classes were canceled, so I asked Vera to go shopping, following through on my promise to spend more time with her. It felt like old times, but I had to call it a night when the bags we were carrying started cutting circulation off my wrist.

Eric’s jacket hangs on the back of my desk chair since I never gave it to Sebastian or Owen. I grab it and return to the living room, tossing it to Eric. “Thanks for letting me borrow this,” I say, sitting in the open spot on the ground before my brother. It’d look weird if I sat in front of Sebastian willingly.

“Any time.”

“How was the game?” I ask, noting that they’re watching a prerecorded game.

“Oh man, they throw some good parties there. You would have loved it,” Chris teases, and I roll my eyes.

“I don’t know about that. I think my partying days are behind me. Besides, Florida can’t possibly hold a torch to the ones they throw in Europe.”

He smiles, shaking his head. “Well, other than the parties, it was fine. Bash wouldn’t know; he barely left his room.”

Sebastian elbows him playfully, and it’s good to see him at ease. “Someone had to watch the game footage while the rest of you partied. I prefer to win by more than a field goal.”

Shit, if the game was that close, then I can believe he was pouring over the footage. I would have watched it on television, but I lost track of time. “It couldn’t have been that bad?” I ask, trying to keep the room upbeat. The last thing I want to do is piss Sebastian off. Usually, I’d be more than happy to, but not today. Who knows, maybe it’d make the sex more fun if Sebastian’s mad at me.

I look to Owen, who quickly shakes his head—got it. No game talk. “How’d your test go?” Owen asks, changing the topic, and I shrug.

“I think it went well. It was half multiple choice, half written. Stupid Stalin. I’d much rather learn about the Romanovs.”

I enjoy Russian history, but it can get confusing, especially after taking a year off from school.

I look over at Sebastian only to find him looking at me too. He winks at me, and I can’t help the small smile on my face. But I force myself to look back toward the television, pulling my knees up to my chest. There are too many eyes in the room who could see. “Who are we rooting for?”

“Thalia, has anyone ever told you you’re the perfect girl?” Brooks asks, laughing. I see the nervous look Chris directs at Owen above me.

I can totally diffuse this situation. “I think I have heard that from a few people before. Thanks for the ego boost. Soon, I’ll be peacocking around here like Owen.” Brooks means it as a joke, and I know that. No one laughs, which sucks because I thought my joke was funny. I daringly take another glance at Bash to find his jaw clenched, but his gaze is unwavering from the game. Oh shit. If that’s the look on his face when I mean basically nothing to him, I don’t think I want to know what Owen looks like. It’s not the right thing to say in front of my brother. Is it really that big of a deal Brooks said something? Personally, I think I am pretty perfect, and it’s nice to hear.

“Eric? Can you answer my question since no one else will? Are we watching the team or a player?” I ask, and Eric smiles tightly.

“Person. Quarterback for Notre Dame. He’s Bash’s biggest competition for the Heisman.”

“Eric?” Sebastian says, and Eric smiles, looking over at him. “Shut the hell up. I’m not in the running for it. We’re watching to locate weaknesses and see if we can learn from them.” Eric’s smile fades into a frown.

“Everything’s a learning opportunity,” Owen says, and I sit quietly. He’s not wrong. Everything is an opportunity to learn. You would think I’d have figured that out by now, but I haven’t.

I keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

Bash falls silent, too, and I wish I could read his mind.

Maybe it’s better I can’t. I don’t want to know what he thinks of me.

~

Per usual, I’m making my middle-of-the-night rounds around the apartment. I’m sitting at the island counter, clicking through photos to submit to one of my contacts at Wildlife Views. I guess they had a photographer fall through and wanted to know if I had anything I could send to them. I’ve been combing through my folders for some that other magazines haven’t used, but I keep going to the ones I shot the night I took Sebastian’s car. They turned out pretty great.

“Why am I not surprised you’re awake?” Sebastian asks, stepping into the kitchen.

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