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“Seriously, dude,” Jace says, his tone exasperated, which tells me he knows what Atlas is about to say.
But Atlas just smirks. “When we all left for the summer, the guys put a poll on how many chicks Jace would hook up with.”
“Atlas!” Mackenzie, his girlfriend, scolds.
“What? It was their idea,” he says, motioning toward the rest of the guys.
In my peripheral, I see Jace grab at the back of his neck while Penny giggles beside him.
“Oh?” I say, trying to keep my tone light even though I’m dying a little inside.
“Obviously, you don’t have a full body count, but since you were forced to live together, we figure . . . you have to have some idea . . .?”
“You lived together?” Penny pipes up.
Jace turns to her, his features tight with discomfort. “Uh, yeah. It’s a long story.”
It takes every ounce of effort I have to keep a straight face because the guys already know the story behind our living arrangement, which makes me wonder why he doesn’t want to tell it toher. Is he worried she’ll think we’re together?
I jerk my head away from her to see Knox, Teagan, Atlas, and Graham all staring at me, waiting. “Um, are you asking if I know how many girls he slept with?”
Jace’s brow furrows, and my head begins to throb.
Am I supposed to lie to keep up the charade? Feign ignorance? Tell the truth? After all, they want a body count, not names.
“I’m not really sure.” I fidget. “I mean, there was one girl he brought back to the apartment, but she didn’t stay long . . .”
“No way there was only one,” Knox says, turning to Jace, who shoots him a sharp look.
Teagan snorts. “Apparently, he doesn’t last long. Maybe word has spread.”
They’re joking, I know they are. This is what guys do. But I can’t help but feel my hackles rise, and apparently, I’m not the only one offended by the teasing.
“I don’t know about that.” Penny slides a hand up Jace’s chest and bats her eyes at him. “I can vouch for him. He can definitely last.”
The guys snicker while Jace clears his throat and stares at the ground; I wonder if he’s wishing for it to swallow him like I am.
“Okay, so who else?” Teagan presses. “No way she was the only chick. Talking with a girl on campus counts, because once he sets his sights on a chick, it’s game over.”
I shift and glance at my brother, but my gaze finds its way right back to Jace again, particularly to the place where Penny’s hand still rests on his chest.
Anger blooms inside my chest, but I shove it down. “There weren’t any others,” I blurt, shocked by how much I want to tell them the truth, to stake my claim. “And, actually, he didn’t even sleep with the other girl. He sent her home before it could get that far.”
Penny drops her hand—thank heavens—while the others stare at me as if they didn’t hear me correctly.
“Say what, now?” Graham asks.
“That would mean his body count is zero,” Teagan says.
Silence swallows the space between us before they look to Jace for an explanation, and he shrugs. “I wasn’t feeling it.”
“You weren’t feeling it,” Graham repeats like he spoke in a foreign language.
Teagan frowns. “Since when does Jace Taggart pass up—”
“Who are you and what have you done with our friend, Jace?” Knox asks, settling a hand on his shoulder.
Jace shoots each of them a dark look before he downs his beer and moves to the cooler for another, putting him infinitely closer to me. I only wish it was because he couldn’t bear the distance between us and not because he needs another drink. But at least it puts him further from Penny.
