Page 92 of Their Greatest Strength

“Hey,” Nate greets with a lazy smile.

“Hi, buddy. We didn’t eat much today, so I ordered some food. Hope you like tacos.”

He nods and takes the plate I extend to him. “I love them. Thanks.”

There are low voices coming from where his phone sits propped by a pillow on his bed, and I squint to try and make out the video on the screen.

“Is thatMadden?” I ask.

He glances back at his phone and nods. “I watch gameplays sometimes. Trying to build my knowledge for when I can buy my own Xbox to play.”

My heart tugs, and without being asked to come inside, I step past him and search the room for a TV. When I don’t find one anywhere, I’m spinning to face him, lips turned down.

“Let me get a TV in here for you, and we can move one of the Xboxes in here. You can take the one from my room if you want. It’s only a couple months old, and I haven’t had the time to download anything on it yet. For the record, you can play games downstairs or anywhere you want here. I have the last tenMaddengames in the cabinet beneath the living room TV.”

“Wait, for real? I didn’t want to touch your stuff without asking first. I was going to soon, but . . .”

“There’s no need to ask now, Nate. You’re good to play whenever you want. At least, until your sister gives you shit for it.”

He laughs gently. “Okay. Thank you, Jamie.”

“No worries. You’re a good kid, and I know your sister appreciates you a whole lot. You deserve a break from time to time.”

“Did Lake ask you to come to practice with us this week? It’s no biggy if you can’t. Since the Pythons don’t play tillSaturday, I was hoping you’d have the time,” he rambles nervously.

“She did. Of course I’ll come. Anytime you want me there and I can make it, you’ve got another fan in the stands. You’ve got my word.”

Pride swells inside of me when he grins wide enough to flash both rows of his slightly crooked teeth. He’s a better teenager than I was at his age, and everyone who knows him has Blakely to thank for that. I have no doubt that she’s kept him on the straight and narrow throughout every hardship they’ve faced.

I wander a bit further into his room. “Can I ask you something?”

“About Blakely?”

My laugh comes out clunky. “How did you know?”

“I’m fifteen, not blind. I know that you’re into her.”

“Woah, I didn’t say that.”

“Like I said, I’m not blind, Jamie. Why do you think I came up here as soon as we got home?”

I pause, nerves pricking at my skin. “We’re not really together. I know it might look like that to you right now, but that’s because we’re playing a part. Your sister wants to beat my ass more often than not.”

“And? You don’t look scared by that.”

“Fair enough,” I mutter, swiping a hand through my hair. All I do is remind myself of the way Blakely dragged her nails through it. “Your sister is incredible, kid. It’s just not smart to mix pleasure with work.”

Fucking idiot. I can still smell her pussy on my fingers through the soap I used to clean them. It doesn’t get more mixed than that.

Nathan is smarter than I originally gave him credit for. He’s not buying a word out of my mouth. I don’t blame him. I’ve done a terrible job of selling the bullshit I’m spewing.

I was already interested in his sister, and after tonight, I’m screwed. By the end of our agreement, I’m going to be trying tokeep her. I don’t need a flash into the future to see that happening.

“We’ll see,” Nate says with a shrug, eyeing the second plate I brought. “Is that for her?”

“Yeah. Anything I should avoid giving her?”

“No, but I’d add some of those hot sauce pouches you have in the fridge. She loves spicy food.”

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