Page 18 of Against The Rules

“I’m not in trouble,” I tell him, laughing, because as much as he drives me fucking nuts, this is familiar, this arguing and bullshitting.

“You wouldn’t tell me if you were,” he says, and I stop laughing, because when did he decide I was as a much of a fuck-up as our mom and dad think I am?

“You’ll love her,” I say instead, pushing the thought down, choking on it. “She’s not like… she’s special.”

“Then why is it a secret? She’s not going to take all your money, is she?”

I snort, but don’t answer, making a show of putting my socks and shoes on. “I’m not an idiot,” I say.

“Sure.” His voice drips with skepticism, and I roll my eyes. “So that time you crashed your car into a light pole at 2 AM… that was brilliant?”

Here we fucking go. I don’t even try to stop him. I know exactly what he’s going to say, the same shit everyone always brings up, all the fucking time.

“And what about that time you thought it would be fun to go out in the iced over parking lot and do donuts—”

“And ran into a parked eighteen-wheeler,” I finish for him.

“Or the time you went cliff-diving and—”

“Broke my ankle,” I say, a muscle in my temple twitching.

“Or the time you asked three girls to prom and then told them not to fight over you when they all showed up at the house.”

“I was eighteen.”

He shrugs, and even though I should be used to this shit, even though I’ve heard it a million times, it fucking hurts… but it’s true.

I know he’s looking out for me, or at least, he thinks he is. But I’m sick of it.

Savannah is supposed to make me look good in front of my family; like I’ve finally done something right. I can’t wait to see her tonight, even though she hasn’t answered my texts. Yet.

“She’s different,” I finally answer, since he still seems to be waiting for something from me.

“She married you,” Jacob replies nonchalantly.

My whole body goes stiff. “Is that supposed to be an insult?”

“No,” he says, and the surprise on his face is genuine. “But you can’t deny that makes her different than all the one-night stands you don’t remember.”

Breath gusts out of me, and I clench my jaw, slamming the locker shut. It clangs against the frame, bouncing off, garnering the attention of the men still hanging around after practice.

Daniel watches me thoughtfully, ice strapped to his bad shoulder, and offers me a small shrug when I lock eyes with him.

Great. I don’t know who heard Jacob, or if Daniel was even listening, but this is not part of my deal with Savannah. I told her I would keep it a secret. I might be the idiot of the family, but I try to be a man of my word.

I close the distance between Jacob and me, and his brows lift in surprise. “Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell Mom and Dad, Daniel, nobody. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, bro, if that’s what you want.”

I back off, my chest heaving, and close the locker door that’s still swinging back and forth slightly.

I might be a fuck-up to everyone else, in spite of what I’ve done with my football career, but I’m not going to ruin this thing with Savannah.

Nope, I’m more determined than ever to make it work.

And then I’ll shove it down Jacob’s throat.

CHAPTER 9

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