Page 98 of Return To You

“What the hell?” I pretend to look shocked, confused, angered.

“You’re welcome,” he says, wrapping the bikini bottom around my head while I try to swat him away. He holds my briefs at a distance, between two fingers, looking disgusted. “Mom, you need to teach him how to clean his underwear.”

“Shut up, you moron,” I say as I grab the briefs from him.

“Ah, the river took care of it,” Haley says as she joins the fun. “Clean enough for a military guy.”

Meanwhile, Logan is walking around, back arched, top of the bikini wrapped around his jutted pecs, lips pursed as he says, “I’m so sexy, look at me Ethan.”

Now I’m pissed. Pissed. I could break his nose. Make him, literally, swallow his words. But that’d be messy. Instead, I walk casually up to him, and in no time I have him in a choke hold and joint lock.

I know the feeling. I’ve been there. It’s so painful you can’t make a single sound. That’s the beauty of it. The choke hold makes you almost pass out but not quite.

“I’m going to let you go now, and you will never, ever, make fun of Grace again in any way. Blink once if you got me.”

He blinks.

“I didn’t hear that.”

He blinks furiously.

“That was several times. There is no meaning for several times. Be clearer. One for ‘you got me,’ two for ‘you don’t care that much about your life’.”

“What’s that called?” Dad asks, totally undeterred by his older son exercising interrogation techniques on his younger son.

“Is he okay?” Mom asks. “I think he got it, hon. He blinked.”

I whip my face to her, ignoring Logan. “He did? I didn’t catch it.”

“Fuck, that’s wicked,” Hunter says while Haley picks up the bikini top and carefully folds it. They’re all crowding us.

I think I made my point.

I let Logan go. He takes a few seconds to recoup, get his breath back, get motion in his arms. Then the little fucker turns to me and says, “That was wild, man. You gotta teach me that.”

Fuck but I missed that. Missed messing with my brothers. Missed having them mess with me. Yeah, I had a family in the service. But nothing like that. Nothing like blood family, at least this one.

“Yeah, show us,” Hunter echoes.

“You sure? I can’t show you until you experience it. You have to go through it first to know what you’re doing. And even then. You gotta be careful.”

“Show us,” he insists.

“Jesus,” Haley sighs and rolls her eyes.

“Lunch is almost ready,” Mom says, trying to deflect her boys from dangerous activities.

“After lunch then?”

I chuckle. “You do not want to do that after eating. Trust me.”

“Real quick, now.”

Mom rolls her eyes. “Take it outside, then.”

“I’m coming too,” Haley says. “You never know, these days.”

“You comin’?” I ask Justin.

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