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“So,” I say, clearing my throat, “do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“Four younger brothers.”
“Four?! God, I’m jealous. I always wanted a brother growing up.”
Knox chuckles, rubbing the sandpaper along the pipe. “Trust me, growing up with four other boys in one house is just non-stop wrestling, fights over stolen clothes, and a lot of broken furniture.”
“Still better than being an only child in a huge, empty house.”
“I’m pretty sure you kept yourself entertained with your wild imagination and over-the-top ideas.”
“I had tons of over-the-top ideas.”
“Tell me your worst.”
“Not the worst… but one of the funniest was when I was nineteen,” I say, leaning back against the wall, since the bed is all wet. “I got super drunk and wanted to sneak past our security team to go to a beach bonfire party. So I painted white brick patterns over my entire body to camouflage against the mansion’s walls.”
Knox pauses mid-sanding, tool in hand, staring down at me in disbelief before bursting into laughter.
“Oh, my God,” he gasps for air. “How far did you get?!”
“To the trees near the front gate… Turns out I camouflaged great against the white stone mansion, but standing next to pine trees, I looked like a fucking glow stick.”
Knox laughs so hard I’m convinced he’s about to fall right off the chair.
I sincerely hope he doesn’t.
There is nobody in this cabin who could carry him, and I don’t own a crane.
“Can you do that again?” Knox asks, grinning down at me. “I’d pay to see that.”
“Abso-fucking-lutely not.” I glare up at him, though I can’t hide my smile, and neither can he.
“You are no fun.”
“I am the most fun you will ever meet, Knox… but my entertainment comes at a price.”
He looks down at me, an eyebrow rising. “Which is?”
“You need to tell me something reckless you did, too.”
“I became your bodyguard.”
“No! Something else.” I frown at him, and he laughs.
“Fine… Leif loves going and giving seminars for cops, firefighters, and first responders on extreme rescue gear, so one night I asked Tae to help me mix laughing gas into Leif’s oxygen tank.”
“Oh, my God! Did you poison him?”
“It wasn’t toxic; our doc checked the ratio to make sure it was completely safe. And it would’ve been fine… except Leif came down with the stomach flu that morning, so Logan had to step in and teach the course instead.”
“No!” I gasp in horror.
“Yes… let’s just say I’m surprised I’m still alive.”
I burst out laughing, tears streaming down my face. “And you dared to call me over-the-top?!”
“I guess we’re both over-the-top.” Knox grins, jumping down from the chair.
