Page 32 of Bad Decisions

I tried to think of an excuse. I could lie and say I didn’t know Benji was going to hangout with us tonight. Or I could pretend like I didn’t know why he was here. But that wasn’t fair to him.

And I was an adult. I didn’t have to lie to Eli about going on a date. It wasn’t like I was doing anything wrong.

The door opened and the cool, balmy night air pricked my skin. Tension rippled between the three of us. Or maybe it was just between Eli and me. Benji was none the wiser, completely oblivious to whatever I felt for my brother-in-law.

My mouth went dry as Eli opened the door more, glancing at me over his shoulder.

“You’re not Lily,” he said. He tried to make his voice light, like it was just a joke, but I could hear the tightness in it.

“No, I’m not,” Benji laughed. He looked past Eli to me, and I tried to force myself to smile. Eli shifted to the side, blocking Benji’s view.

“Well, Rae is expecting Lily.” Eli moved to shut the door, but Benji’s hand slapped against it.

“I’m here to pick her up.” His dark brows pushed together in a silent question. I took a deep breath and pushed off the wall. Sidling up next to Eli, I rested my hand on his forearm.

“I’m going out with Benji tonight,” I breathed. I tried to look at him, but he was too intense and my gaze fell to the floor.

“So,” he drew the word out, “you lied.” I snapped my eyes to him.

“I—” Yeah, I guess I did. “I’m sorry.” His right eye twitched as he glared at me, his lips tightening further. Slowly, he turned his glare toward Benji, and somehow, it turned even more lethal.

He scanned him, head to toe, his lip curling slightly. I’d never seen Eli look down his nose at anyone, but I guess I didn’t know him as well as I thought. The Eli I thought I knew would’ve never hit on me the other night. But he had.

And I liked it.

God, I was such a hussy.

I pushed past him, trying to make my way to Benji, who looked kind of terrified of Eli. I didn’t blame him. Eli, while not a massive man, had an intimidating air about him.

Eli’s hand latched around my wrist, squeezing tight. I gasped and whirled back toward him.

“You’re not leaving this house,” he hissed, his eyes boring into mine. “Not with him.”

For whatever reason, his words spiked my anger. It boiled in my chest as I stepped closer to him, tipping my head all the way back to glower at him.

“You don’t tell me what to do,” I snarled. His eyes danced with a dark promise, one that told me to stop while I was ahead.

I hesitated.

I shouldn’t push. I knew that. But I ignored that tendril of doubt, that bit of logic that told me to stand down, and stepped closer, pressing my chest against his in a challenge.

His full mouth tipped up in a small smirk. “Don’t make me—” His eyes lifted above my head to glare at Benji.

“What?” I breathed. His throat bobbed as he swallowed heavily and took a step back.

“Nothing,” he said tightly. His hand was still wrapped around my wrist, like he refused to let go. I didn’t want him to. “Where are you going?”

“Movies,” Benji said awkwardly.

Alright, so a skirt was an okay choice for that.

Not the time to think about my clothing choices. Jesus, my mind was ten kinds of fucked up right now.

I cleared my throat and forced myself to tug my hand away. “Don’t wait up,” I said, stepping into the night beside Benji. Eli just stared at me, his jaw flexing.

“I’ll see you when you get home,” he said, then shifted his eyes to Benji. “If there’s so much as a hair out of place when you bring her back to me,” he took a small step forward, pointing at me, “we’re gonna have a problem. Understand me?”

Benji’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “Y-yes, sir. Not a hair—” I stared at Eli in utter shock.

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