Page 28 of Catching Feels

“Your sister is?—”

“Nope, don’t go there,” I cut him off.

He huffs, “If I put moves on her, she’d be on my arm.”

“Giving you a pass and gonna pretend you didn’t just say that to me.” I head up the stairs.

“Fuck that, I’m a good man. I know how to treat women.”

Inside, I unhook Ellie. “Holy shit, man, just?—”

“No, fuck you, Nour. Don’t judge me because my old man’s a piece of shit, womanizing bastard”—he steps to me—“and I won’t judge you because you’ve never once spoken of even having a sister. That’s shitty.”

“Okay, let’s not do this shit.” AJ walks over and gets between us.

AJ’s move is unnecessary. I’m not fighting a drunk, not ever again.

I step back and head toward the stairs while Bennett continues running his mouth and AJ continues to attempt to diffuse the bomb that was never sparked to begin with.

In the bedroom, I grab a few things then head back down the stairs to take the room CeCe’s sister, Chloe; her husband, Danny; and niece, Aggie, stay in when they’re here.

“What are you doing?” AJ asks as he and Bennett start up.

I’m pissed off enough to tell him it’s none of his business, but he’s not done shit.

“Gonna crash downstairs.”

“Because you’re pissed at me?” Blaze accuses.

Calmly, I reply, “Bennett, I got nothing but love for you.”

“You ditched us tonight.” Blaze glares over his shoulder at me as he heads to his room.

“I took some time alone.”

“I get that, but you lied. You fucking lied to us.”

He’s not wrong, I did. “Sorry, man.”

Inside the room, I pull out my phone, feeling some sort of way, and send Amira a text.

Me:

You get home okay?

Amira:

Of course. Sorry I blew your spot. Next time, give me a heads-up so I can cover for you.

Me:

Nah, they assumed, and I let them. Bad on me. Sleep well.

Amira:

Any chance a girl can get a ticket to the game tomorrow?

Me:

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