Page 21 of A Game Of Love

“You’d do that?” Jax asks, brows raised, sounding a little surprised.

“Yeah. Just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean I don’t want the team to continue to succeed. It’s the least I can do after the shit storm I caused.” He lowers his eyes again, shoulders slumping.

I hate seeing him upset.

“Thanks.” Jax nods. “I’d love that.”

“So, Lillypad. How's life going for you?” Chase asks, changing the subject.

“It’s going good. Classes are good.” I smile over at him.

“How’s things with Ryan going?” Theo asks.

My eyes snap over to Toby, his whole body tensing with the question.

Swallowing hard, I look over to Theo. “We’re just friends.” I chew on my lip, my belly in knots with what I’m about to tell them.

“Really?” Mom asks. “How come it didn’t work out?”

“He’s a good guy. An even better friend. We just realized that's how we should stay.”

“You have bad luck,” Bennett comments with a snort, and I shoot my baby brother a glare.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You dated Jonas and decided you were better off as best friends. Same with Ryan. Is your plan to friend zone all the guys, big sis?” The little shit grins. “At this point, you're going to be single forever. Planning on being a nun or something?”

“Just for that, you're no longer my best friend.” I point my fork at him.

“It’s not like you're hurting for friends these days,” he laughs. The whole damn table breaks out in snickers.

“You all suck,” I mutter, leaning back in my seat as I cross my arms. “And for your information, I don’t friend zone everyone.” I glare at Bennett.

“Oh really?” He cocks a brow. “Some poor sap actually made it to a higher level with you? I’ll believe it when I see it.” He laughs again.

I love Bennett, I really do, but sometimes he shows me just how much of an annoying teenage brother he can be.

“Actually, yes. Someone did make it to boyfriend status,” I huff, giving my brother a cocky smirk.

The whole table goes quiet and I freeze, realizing what I just said as my heart thunders in my chest. Well, this is one way to tell my family.

“Who?” Chase asks after a few tense moments, blinking at me like he’s waiting for me to tell him some horrible news.

I watch out of the corner of my eye as Bishop slowly raises his hand, and my cheeks burn bright red.

All of my parents turn to stare at him, lips parted in surprise.

Except for Rain. She’s sitting back with a smug look on her face.She knew!Did Toby tell her?

“You’re dating my daughter?” Brody asks in a low, kind of scary voice.

“Yes,” Bishop replies with confidence.

“When did this happen?” Mom asks, her eyes lighting up.Oh, thank god, she’s not mad.

I didn’t expect her to be, but a part of me was still worried. The jury is still out on my dads, though.

Sitting up straighter, I try not to look at Toby, but I can feel his intense eyes on me. “We’ve been hanging out a lot more since I started at SVU. Over time, our feelings started to change into something more.” I smile, feeling Bishop’s hand grasp my knee under the table. “We only made it official a week ago.”

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