Page 181 of How to Lose at Love

“No, Duke, did you not see the halftime report today?”

“I watched it on my flight, but we both know even videos can be deceiving.”

He’s not wrong about that.

People—celebrities and athletes—pull PR stunts all the time to get their name in the news, theeven bad publicity is good publicitybullshit I can’t stand.

“So I wanted to come see for myself.”

It’s then that Drake and Drew come busting back into the living room, unable to stand the suspense.

“Did Dallas tell you I busted in on him banging?” Drake is eating a chip off the plate he’s bringing me after he probably already ate most of them in the kitchen from the bag, plucking another one as he hands it to me.

“Oh God,” Ryann whispers beside me. “Shoot me now.”

I feel her shrink down as I smack my brother’s hand away when he reaches for another chip.

“What the fuck—who says that.” I snarl at my brother. “Ryann is sitting right here, asshole. Don’t be rude.”

“Yes, he told me you were upstairs when I arrived.”

If anyone can keep a straight face, it’s Duke; years of lying to our father to prevent us from getting our asses chewed came in handy when we were kids, and lying is coming in handy now.

forty-seven

ryann

“Picturing you naked is the most productive thing I’ve done all day.”

– Dallas

“DidDallas tell you I busted in on him banging?”

Why are these guys like this?

I want to shrivel up and fade into the couch or sink into a black hole.

“What the fuck—who says that. Ryann is sitting right here, asshole. Don’t be rude.”

I give him props for sticking up for me, or at least letting his brother know his comment was rude. He doesn’t have to blurt out the first thing that pops into his brain.

Or—I don’t know—at least don’t do it in front of my face?

The guys continue talking about the drama with Tiffany; Duke shares a few close encounters with fan girls, stalkers, and mega-fans with no boundaries. He shares a story about Posey and the time he accosted one of her dates in a parking lot before they started dating.

I discover they have the same agent, Eli Cohen, and that the twins haven’t signed with one yet. They chat about Eli and his girlfriend, their circle of trust sounding incredibly small.

Duke asks me questions about myself: where am I from (Illinois), what do my parents think of all this (my dad is thrilled, my mom is horrified), what’s my major (mass comm).

He isn’t warm and fuzzy, but he also isn’t a complete asshole.

And…

The resemblances between the four brothers are uncanny; I would guess they were brothers even if I never saw them in the same room together and no one had told me they were related.

Big.

Broody (except for Drew, who is upbeat and cheerful).

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