Page 99 of Third and Ten

He rolls his eyes on his way out, blissfully ignorant as to how close I came to making that last threat a reality. I step out into the hallway to make sure he’s back in his own room for the night before finally removing my sweaty hoodie and getting myself ready for bed.

“So, uh, how was your little visit?” Blake inquires again from his bed, implying that I have something more to say since Ethan’s gone.

I sigh, knowing that he won’t let up until he gets the truth out of me. “It was good, though I didn’t need the protection you slipped into my jacket pocket. Sorry to disappoint you, man,” I remark as I lie back in my own bed.

“I mean, did you at least get a little bit of action?”

“Yep.” He looks over at me expectantly, waving his hand for me to continue, and I can’t help but smile again. “When I walked in, she was just sitting there, watching football.”

“Like, on purpose?” I nod and he raises his eyebrows, knowing how much that would drive me crazy. “So then you found an excuse to get topless?”

“Damn right, I did.”

He laughs. “And?”

I shrug nonchalantly. “Some really, really hot messing around.”

“How hot, exactly?”

“Like I’m going to embarrass both of us with my reaction if you keep making me think about it,” I return, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Hey, at least you know there’s chemistry.” He smirks.

“Chemistry, biology, physics, all of it,” I say with a grin as cheesy as my response, thinking about Tenley’s attempts to school me on reproductive biology earlier.

“JD?”

“Yeah?”

I turn to face him, but he’s looking up, his expression thoughtful, as if he’s reading a script on the ceiling. “Your feelings for Tenley aside, are you sure this is what you really want? I know we’ve talked about the whole instant-family situation before, but it seems like your relationship is on a pretty fast track. And you’re already having to deal with some backlash from Ethan.”

“The stuff with Ethan was my own fault, really, and the exact reason I hesitated to visit Tenley in the first place.” I shoot him an “I told you so” glare, but he only shrugs. “And although I appreciate that you’re looking out for me, honestly, this is all I want, now. Being with Tenley and Ethan, it just…fits.”

“Then I’m happy for you, bro.”

He does look happy, but there’s something else there—sadness, jealousy, maybe even loneliness. I’m not used to seeing this much emotion from Blake. He’s always been so good at keeping his true feelings hidden, and it makes me wonder whether my brother needs me to question some of his self-imposed lifestyle choices so he’ll have an excuse to change them.

“Thanks, man,” I reply after a while, resolving to revisit those thoughts.

We say good night, and I roll over, grabbing my phone from the nightstand to message Tenley and make sure her phone is working again.

JD

Hey. You still up?

TENLEY

Sort of. What’s up?

JD

Just checking in. I heard your mom was having trouble getting through to your phone.

TENLEY

Yeah, I accidentally let it die earlier, but I’ve spoken to her since then.

JD

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