Page 111 of A Game Of Love

I should have been more dismissive of her flirting at supper, but seeing as I was at someone else's house, around her family, I didn’t want to embarrass her or cause any hostility.

Even so, I was wrong. I should have let her know I wasn’t available. What bothered me the most was that she knew this. Lilly told me when she was over a few weeks earlier, she told Bella I had a girlfriend. The fact that she didn’t respect that made me even more angry.

Seeing Lilly so broken and defeated, even though she did her best to put on a brave face and act like she was fine, crushed me.

That was my biggest fear. It was only one person’s opinion. A nasty, uncalled-for one.

What will it do to Lilly if more people say the same things to her? Because the reality is, there's a good chance something like that is going to happen again, more than once.

This is what I’ve been trying to prevent. But by doing that, I was pushing away the person I love the most in the world.

Gracie’s advice is to stand by Lilly’s side and fight these battles with her. And she’s right. Of course, she's right. It’s the same thing Lilly offered to do for me, so why shouldn’t I do those for her?

To stand by her side and remind her those words mean nothing and aren’t true, no matter how fucking much it hurts to hear them.

Sometimes, I’ll catch myself watching her while she laughs or smiles, and I think, how could I have pushed her away like I did? How could I miss those years with her? It hurts to think about, to know how much I’ve missed out with her.

That's why I know I’ll do whatever I can to make it work. Get whatever help I need so I can be a better man not only for myself but for her and the future we’re going to build together.

Because Lilly and I were inevitable. We were always going to be together. Fate had our names written in the stars.

“No, no, no, no!” Bennett shouts, jamming his fingers against the buttons of the controller. “Damn it!” he groans, tossing his controller onto the coffee table. He swings his pissed-off glare at me. “You suck, you know that?”

I huff out a chuckle, raising a brow. “Because I won?”

“I’m your brother, you're supposed to go easy on me.”

“Really?” I deadpan. “You’d want me to let you win.”

“No,” he grumbles. “I want to earn my wins, not be given them.”

“Thought so,” I say, amused.

“Wanna go again? I need another shot to kick your ass.”

“Yeah. We can.” I nod. “But can I talk to you about something?”

Things between Bennett and I have gotten a lot better. He sees me with Lilly, sees how happy she is, and that I’m not being a royal asshole to her. It has lessened the evil glares and cold shoulders he once gave me. We’ve been hanging out like we are tonight a lot more, too.

When I was staying here for those few weeks, things were good.

Bennett has a close relationship with Lilly. An actual brotherly one, unlike me, but even then, they’re more like best friends. They tell each other everything.

So I know it’s been hard to keep our relationship from him. Tonight, I want to change that.

I don’t want Bennett to be blindsided when the time comes to tell our parents. Because while I don't think they would be hurt or betrayed, I feel like Bennett might in a way.

“Sure?” His brows pinch. “What about?”

“Well, first off, how are you? How's life going?”

He blows out a breath, moving his legs up to sit crisscross on the couch. “Good. Grades are decent.”

“That's good. How about things with your friends?” I know he went to a Halloween party, and Easton was there with his new girlfriend. Bennett wasn’t too happy about that.

“We’re fine.” He shrugs. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

“No reason.” I laugh. “Just asking questions.”

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