Page 15 of Princess and Country

I shrugged again, taking a huge bite of my burger to avoid answering my brother’s twenty questions.

“C’mon, Jeff. Don’t be a chickenshit. Grow some balls. What’s the worst that can happen? Being rejected? So what? Girls are lining up to go with you. It’s not like you’ll end up going alone.”

I swallowed the remnants of my burger bite and washed it up with a sip of my Coke. “I’m not even sure I wanna go. So, it doesn’t really matter.”

“You can’t skip all the traditions, man. You’ve already bailed on Homecoming and Winter Formal. You know Mom is dying to buy you a suit and take embarrassing pictures of you and your date, right?”

I threw pieces of fries at him. As my reply.

“Anyway, I don’t think I’m on this girl’s radar.” No way I’d tell him the truth.

Carter fished a quarter from his pocket and smirked. Damn it. I knew what was coming, and I clutched the edge of the table with all my strength. This wouldn’t end well. I could already tell. “You asked for it. I’ll take the matter into my own hands. Brace yourself, big brother—destiny will decide. Head, you’re asking this mystery girl. Tail, you bail on prom or pick a girl from your fan club. You should’ve asked for my help sooner. I’m a miracle maker, and I’ll fix your prom problems.”

I cringed as my brother flicked the coin. I stopped breathing as the coin flipped in the air. The two seconds it took Carter to catch it back felt like forever. My brother opened his mouth, and my chest tightened. Spots danced in my vision.

“Head. The coin has decided. You ask her. I’ll give you two days to man up and get your head out of your ass.” He lifted one finger. “And I’ll need a full report in forty-eight hours. Don’t let me down, brother.”

I sucked in a breath. Carter had no idea how messy this would turn out to be. What did I get myself into?

I pushed my plate away, not hungry anymore. I eyed Carter sideways. Would I ever be able to steal the girl he was obsessed with from him? I doubted Dahlia was in love with my brother. Sure, she cared for him. A lot.

But from the way she chewed on her full bottom lip every time I was around, and how her eyes lit up whenever we were in the same room, I was pretty sure Dahlia cared for me too. More than I’d ever felt possible. My pulse sprinted just at the thought of it.

Fire stirred inside me. I pressed a palm to my chest, easing the pain.

Carter didn’t need to have his heart broken. Not by his big brother. And his best friend.

He trusted me.

Fuck.

“Promise me, you’ll ask this girl to prom. No matter what.”

I nodded. My insides turned to stone. My stomach churned. “I will.”

The back of my throat filled with acid. And shame.

* * *

My last two nights hadn’t been restful. Both times, I’d tossed and turned for hours. Now I looked like shit. Great. I caught my reflection in the bathroom mirror. Bags under my eyes, dried lips from biting on them, last night’s rumpled T-shirt still on.

For the last fifteen minutes, I’d been pacing my bedroom. If I continued, I’d dig a tunnel to the kitchen below. I tugged at the roots of my hair. My heart beat so fast I thought I’d die from a heart attack. Carter’s two-day deadline expired today.

He wouldn’t miss a chance to remind me this morning before we left for school that my time was up and that I needed to grow some balls.

“Big furry balls,” as he said last night. Troubling. My brother had a gift for etching gross images into my mind.

I went downstairs, trying to keep a low profile. Yeah, who was I kidding? Carter was waiting for me in the kitchen with his obnoxious smirk on and his wild mass of dark wavy hair falling over his face.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he greeted as I joined him. “Sleep well?” He studied me. “Shit, what happened? Did you sleep on a bed of nails?”

I flipped him the finger. “Fuck you, man.”

“This girl kept you up all night? You’re lucky she isn’t your girlfriend, or you wouldn’t sleep for the rest of your life by the looks of you.”

“Go to hell.”

“Oh, someone is a little sensitive this morning. Get your groove back on, Jeffy. Today is the day you’re becoming a man. You haven’t asked any girl out since Vanessa. Two years ago.”