Page 77 of Red River

But the moment I said it, an awkward feeling settled in. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to present my relationship with Archer to his family. And how would people see the age difference?

Still, I stopped myself from stressing again and just nodded.

Just as I was stepping out of Archer’s room, my phone buzzed.

I rushed to pick it up.

Speaking of the devil.

It was Sam.

Since the last time we saw each other, I hadn’t spoken to him on the phone once—just sent short, vague texts reporting how the situation with Igor had unfolded.

But now, with Archer’s cousin coming over and seeing us together as a couple, it felt simply too strange to keep Sam in the dark about what was going on.

I made sure to close the door, sighed heavily, and answered, knowing this was going to lead to a confrontation. I knew Sam’s stance on age-gap relationships all too well—and now, it was his own little brother involved in one.

"Hey, Sam. How’s it going?"

A pause. Then a short scoff. "River. Wow. Hearing your voice after all these weeks…"

I bit my lip, knowing I’d have to tell him the truth now. There was no hiding it, and I didn’t want him finding out about my relationship with Archer from someone else.

"Sam, I need to tell you something important."

Silence on the other end. Sam was giving me space to speak, but I could feel the tension.

"Archer’s always been interested in me. Even when he was just a kid, I’m sure you remember. And now that we’re living together, it’s… turned into something more than just a crush."

Even as I said it, I felt the energy shift between us. Sam let out a sharp, frustrated exhale.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean… Archer and I, we’re kind of together."

A long, heavy silence. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm—but only on the surface.

"I thought the whole point was for you to get back on your feet and move forward. Wasn’t Archer’s house supposed to be a temporary stop?"

"It was. But now… it’s more than that."

"My brother is fifteen years younger than you, River. You do realize how unbalanced that is, right?"

A wave of panic surged through me. Maybe I shouldn’t put this all on Archer, but my fear made me do exactly that. "Sam, I never asked to be here. He’s the one who invited me."

"Oh, so it’s his fault? That’s how you’re framing this?"

I realized the conversation was heading straight for disaster.

"No, I like him too, just—"

And then he asked the question I’d been dreading:

"Can you finally tell me what happened that day in the kitchen? I had to step out to talk to the notary, and when I came back, you both were all flustered—Archer even made that weird comment about how life-changing your interaction was. I tried to push it out of my mind, but I’m not an idiot. I could smell your slick in the air. You were turned on!"

My heart was pounding. My head spun. I never thought we’d actually have this conversation—let alone that Sam would react like this. But of course, Archer was his beloved brother. Maybe his protective instincts were kicking in?

"Archer asked me for a kiss."

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