Page 94 of When We Were Reckless
I sniffed. “If you say so.”
“If you had a more refined palate, you’d know so,” he teased.
It was a running family joke, but I knew it was good-natured. For all the teasing I got from my brothers, their hearts were in the right place. It wasn’t always easy having three older brothers, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.
I wiped away a tear. God, I hated being so overly emotional.
“We good now?” Mason asked.
I sighed. “Yeah, we’re good. Just stay out of my business.”
“Not happening. I’ll be calling you every day when you’re in California.”
“That’s a bit extreme.” He didn’t call me every day now, so I knew he was joking. At least, I hoped he was.
“See ya, Bean.”
“Stop calling me Bean,” I muttered.
He was laughing as I cut the call. Two seconds later, my phone rang.Jesse.
“Hi. Are you okay?”
In the background, the music was pumping, and it sounded like a party was going on.
“I’m fine.” His voice was clipped, and he sounded angry. Was he still dwelling on that stupid Walker thing?
“Are you home now?”
“I’m at Brody’s ranch. The road to my house was flooded, so I had to take a detour. I’m shacking up with your buddy Ridge.”
“Huh. That’s interesting.” The loud music faded, and then it was quiet. “Jesse? Are you still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. I just came out on the back porch. Ridge is living in the guest house this summer, and he thinks he’s a DJ.”
“Is he any good?”
“If you ask him, he’s the best. But he’s a McCallister, so what do you expect.”
I smiled. “McCallisters have big egos.”
“Not the only thing about me that’s big. Do you need a reminder?”
The tone of his voice sounded like a warning, so it probably wasn’t the right time to tease him, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. “Since I don’t have anything to compare it to, how do I know yours is big? I mean, it could be average-sized. Or even—”
“Don’t go there. Answer my question. What the fuck is going on with you and Walker?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing, huh? You two seemed pretty cozy.”
“He’s a nice guy, but nothing is going on. He came to the brewery to have dinner with his uncle. They sat outside, and I waited on them. He told me that he thinks I’m cool and he’s leaving for training camp, so he probably won’t see me before I head to UCLA. He wished me the best of luck, we hugged, and that was it.”
He was quiet for a moment. Then, “Why didn’t you just tell me that?”
“Because I was mad at you.”
“Don’t play those games with me again. Did you want me to think something was going on?”
