Page 20 of Rolling with my Best Friend's Brothers

“They’re good people, Avery. Your brothers, they mean well.” Guilt ravages me.

“Tell them you’re a camgirl and see what they say.”

“I already did.”

Avery says quietly, “Really? Did you tell them about me, too?”

“No.”

“How did it come up? Please tell me they didn’t catch you. No, you would have told me. Geez, Beatrix, what did they say?” She’s rightfully surprised; we’d agreed not to tell them.

A voice from behind me answers before I can. It’s Gabriel. “We were shocked, but we’re not the boss of her. She’s an adult who gets to make her own choices.”

Avery’s mouth drops open. “That’s not what I expected.”

“It’s nothing to worry about right now,” Mammoth says.

“We just want to be sure that whatever she does, she’s safe.” Wyatt lets a little too much of his protective nature come through.

On second thought. It wasn’t too much. It was just right. They do care for me. I pushed them away and they came back, respecting my space.

But today is about Avery. I’ll deal with those warm, fuzzy family feelings later.

Fifteen

Wyatt

I grab a pretzel with cheese dip and water from the concession stand for Avery. On my way back to the bleachers, under the guise of watching the skaters warm up, I study Beatrix. The special place she holds in my heart doesn’t relent as each day passes. We’ve barely said more than stilted greetings to each other since being each other’s firsts.

Is she having as easy of a time moving on as she appears to? A smile can hide a lot.

“About time you showed up to one of these,” Chase, one of my MC brothers, says.

“Good to see you, man.” I’m jealous of his shirt that boldly reads: Rolly Ghost’s biggest fan. It’s a bit of a joke since he and his two brothers hooked up with their stepsister. Yet another derby girl that required a reverse harem to be satisfied. I want that with Beatrix.

Forcing my attention to Avery, I hand her the snacks and she starts on the pretzel like she hasn’t eaten for days. Mammoth has the baby, and it looks incredibly tiny in his arms.

Avery was eager to get out of the house after letting us dote on her for an entire week, and a Hot Rollers derby bout gives her a chance to watch her team.

She’s given no indication that she’s aware anything happened between Beatrix and us, but she’s in full-on mama-bear mode so that makes our actions less important to her. The only thing she seems to be aware of outside of her baby cocoon is her fear that her ex is coming for her baby. She questions every errant sound from outside.

He’d have to get past all of us, though, so we assure her that she’s safe.

“You guys are too good to me.”

“You’re our sister.”

“Thanks, but you’re going above and beyond. You guys and Beatrix are the best support any new mom could ask for.”

Avery seems content to think that we came to the derby bout to bring her, which is true, but if not for Beatrix, I’m pretty sure only one of us would have come.

We all watch with rapt attention. Most of the time it’s not apparent that we’re watching our blue-haired beauty dominate the track, but every once in a while, she catches me staring at her while she’s on the bench.

Am I foolish to think there’s still a chance? She darts her eyes away quickly, not allowing me to get a read on her emotions. As it should be. She needs to focus on her team, not me. I’d be devastated if she was watching me and got injured.

The score is neck-and-neck. If she wasn’t paying attention, the other team would be able to take a solid lead, but Beatrix is racking up most of the points for her team tonight.

But the question that won’t leave my mind is whether I got her pregnant. I’d been hoping that she wouldn’t skate with the team today. I’d have my answer. But there she is with her fierce determination rounding the track, nudging her way through the group once again.

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