Page 141 of Whistle

Prism whimpered, and Arsen laughed under his breath, pulling him around to drop his mouth right by Prism’s ear. His lips moved. I couldn’t make out the words, but Prism swayed closer.

Kruger stepped in front of them as if he thought I might launch myself at Prism and start a catfight. I mean, I guess that was fair. Wouldn’t be the first time I’d swung on one of his friends.

“Whoa,” Kruger said to diffuse the imaginary situation. “P doesn’t use words much.”

“He prefers emojis,” Jess put in, and Kruger nodded while whispering loudly, “He’s a bit territorial, so keep your eyeballs to yourself.”

Off to the side, Win made a sound. “You’ll get used to it, P,” he called. “Having a hot boyfriend is not for the weak.”

“In what universe are you used to people ogling Lars?” Max wondered. He was wearing a black leather jacket over his dress pants. No tie in sight. “Because I’ve pulled you off three people in the past two weeks for exactly that.”

“Bro. That one guy tried to shove his number into Lars’s jeans,” Win refuted. “His jeans.” He muttered something under his breath and scowled. “Like you’re any better. You still have people trailing my brother around.”

“You said you fired him!” Wes erupted, turning to stare daggers at Max.

Max was unbothered by all of it, shrugging lazily. “Changed my mind.”

I flicked a glance at Win, eyes shifting automatically to Lars, and made a real effort not to give him a dirty look since, you know, I was trying to be a better person. He wouldn’t see it anyway because he was too busy turning hot pink from embarrassment.

Still, it was hard not to snarl just a little as I took in his navy suit, dress shoes, and sky-blue tie. His hair was so blond it was practically white. Even blushing like crazy, he just looked so pristine and put together. The complete opposite of my chronic mess.

I turned away without a word. I was now completely qualified for a good citizenship award.

“I know we’re in a theater, but this is a lot of drama,” Kruger quipped. “This is why I’m married.”

“You aren’t married,” everyone chorused.

“I’m getting real tired of this,” Kruger muttered.

“Over there,” someone called, and a few girls materialized.

“Jamie.” A girl in a pink gown and curled blond hair approached, eyes intent on the butterfly swimmer. “Is it true you’re part of the auction tonight?” she asked, sliding right up alongside him and reaching for his arm.

Jamie smiled and deftly avoided her touch by shifting his weight and reaching out to tap the program in her hand. “Sure is, bro. My name’s right there in black and white.”

A chorus of giggles filled the space around us. Pink dress girl swayed in, batting her obviously fake eyelashes. “I saw, but I just had to confirm. Does this mean you’re single?”

At his other side, Madison made a strangled sound and stepped around to deliver one hell of an unimpressed eye roll. Her long dark hair was glossy and straight, half of it pulled up on top of her head. Her one-shouldered gown was a light shade of purple with a long pleated skirt that was slit up the side. One hand clutched a small handbag covered with shimmering rhinestones while the other planted on her hip. “It means he’s donating his time to raise money.”

“Oh, Madison.” The blonde feigned innocence. “We didn’t see you there.”

“Probably can’t see anything past those lashes,” Rory muttered quietly, but I was close enough to hear and snickered. We shared a look of mutual amusement.

“How could you miss her, bro?” Jamie asked. “She’s the prettiest girl in the room.” As he spoke, he curled his arm around her waist and pulled her in.

“And I have no plans to go anywhere,” Madison added.

Pink dress girl pursed her lips and glanced at Jamie. “Shame. I thought you finally realized you could do better.”

Madison gasped.

Jamie stiffened, tightening his hold on his girl. “Is your ass jealous of the shit that just came out of your mouth?”

Pink dress girl’s mouth fell open. “What?”

He shifted, somehow making himself appear even larger than he already was. “Listen, doll, there’s no doing better over here because it doesn’t get better than this.”

Her scowl morphed into a sly smile. “Did you just call me doll?

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