Page 63 of What Happened Last Night

“Like the state of Oregon,” I agreed.

“But it would be useful in so many ways, now that I think about it. And not just so I could fire Brock.”

“Brant,” I corrected him.

Will shook his head. “Every time you say that name, it sounds worse.”

I smothered a laugh, and then it hit me all over again, as if it had just happened. I was sitting in my car with Will, with his delicious looks and his smart brain and the scent of him, and somehow he was all mine, at least in this moment, and we were going to see my family. A sound leaked from my throat, halfway between a sigh and a groan as I felt part of me lift up and float away, weightless.

“What?” Will asked, alarmed at the weird noise I’d made.

I had to catch my breath, try to make my heart slow to a normal pace. “I have such a crush on you,” I said.

In reply, he took my hand in his and kissed it. Then he held it as I drove, his thumb gently stroking my skin.

* * *

“A rock n’ roll band,” Mom said politely. “How interesting.”

We were seated at the table in the dining room—Mom, Dad, Tanner, Mack, Jay, Will, and me. Dinner was roast chicken, potatoes, and vegetables. There was no alcohol. The conversation was polite. My brothers sat in silence, devouring their food and not looking at my boyfriend.

I had officially entered some alternate timeline, as if I was in a sci-fi story. These people were not my family. They were pod people.

“I enjoy it,” Will said, matching my mother’s politeness.

I glared around the table. Will was probably feeling relieved that the evening was going so smoothly, with no nudity or threats of violence like last time, but I was alarmed. I noted Dad’s scowl and the laser looks that Mom was shooting at her sons. There had definitely been conversations behind my back, maybe even family meetings. My brothers had had a talking-to from my parents, that was clear. Maybe Mom had had a talking-to from Dad. Everyone had been talking to each other, and not to me.

After dinner, I caught Jay in the hallway as he came out of the bathroom. Jay was always the weak spot in every strategy. “Tell me what’s going on,” I said, pushing him back into the bathroom as he dried his hands on his jeans. At least he’d washed his hands in the first place, which was pretty good for Jay.

“What?” my brother asked, trying to look wide-eyed and failing. “What do you mean?”

“This is creepy,” I said, closing the door behind us. “Everyone is behaving. Tell me what’s happening, or your nipple will pay the price.” I was the youngest. I knew just where to twist when I needed self defense.

Jay slapped his palms over his nipples, like a shy stripper. “Okay, okay. Dad said we have to be nice, or we’ll be put on maintenance duty until Christmas. That goes for Mom, too.”

So Dad had stepped in. My father usually stayed out of family drama, choosing the path of least resistance so he could be free to think about his two favorite things, football and the family business. But Dad hadn’t been married to Mom for all these years without having a few tricks of his own. He could step up when he needed to. I was going to give him an extra hug and a kiss as soon as I got out of this bathroom.

“That’s it?” I asked. “You’re all going to be nice to Will, case closed?”

“Sure,” Jay said.

I raised my fingers in a pinching motion. Jay slapped my hand away, then put his palms back over his nipples for protection. “Okay, okay. We’re going to invite him on a guys’ trip to get to know him better.”

“What kind of guys’ trip?”

Jay shrugged. “Just a little hiking and camping in the best spots around here. Some golf, too.”

I stared at him. Will didn’t do any of those things, had no interest in them. He didn’t know how to golf as far as I knew. But I wasn’t about to admit that to my brother.

“I swear to god,” I said, “if you take my boyfriend camping just to rough him up, I’ll never speak to you again. And I’ll tell Dad.”

Jay’s embarrassed silence told me that was exactly what they’d planned to do.

“Jason Stephen McQueen,” I scolded him.

“We have to,” Jay whined. He still had his palms over his nipples. “Tanner is, like, traumatized from what he saw. We have a duty as your brothers to get him back.”

I didn’t bother arguing that Tanner was traumatized because he had walked in without knocking. The argument wouldn’t penetrate Jay’s thick head at this point. “You don’t touch Will,” I warned him. “You don’t lay a hand on him. What Tanner saw was consented to by me. I liked it. A lot.”

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