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Twenty-One
BROOKE
“You know he’s a dickhead, right?”
The call came just after midnight, loudly ringing the hotel phone right next to my bed. I picked it up groggily, through sleep-hazed eyes, but Reese’s deep, mellow voice quickly eased my fears.
“He’s not a dickhead,” I sighed. “I mean, he could’ve goneaboutit a little differently. But in the end he’s right.”
Reese scoffed. “Still.”
“I’m sure you guys had a race strategy,” I went on. “I know the girls and I did. I should’ve checked with the three of you before helping anyone out. Leaving the Banshees in could easily come back to bite us in the ass later on.”
“He’s still a dickhead for yelling at you,” Reese insisted. “And hey, even if hedidwant to yell he should’ve checked with us first.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” he affirmed. “As Devin likes to point out, we’re a team. And he can’t pull the team card and use it on you without consulting the rest of us now, can he?”
Sitting up slightly, I rubbed at the corner of my eyes. I had to admit he had a point.
“He also assumes he’s the team leader, when we really never appointed one,” said Reese. “During the race he’s an entirely different person.”
“I definitely can see that, yeah.”
“Good, so you should know not to take it personally,” he said. “And Devin’s hard on himself,” he added. “Too hard. Especially after last year. He blames himself for us not winning the race.”
My eyebrows slowly knit together. “And why does he think that?”
The other end of the phone was silent for a good, long while. It made me sit up even more.
“Reese?”
“Yeah.”
“What were you—”
“Nothing,” he said, although I knew it wasn’t nothing. “Sorry. I’m just rambling.”
I opened my mouth for a moment, then slowly closed it. I could press things if I wanted, but something warned me not to.
Instead, I let my face flop back to the pillow. In the near pitch-darkness of the hotel room’s blackout shades, I let out a long, resigned sigh.
“I miss you guys.”
On the other end of the line, Reese didn’t miss a beat.
“We miss you too,” he said. “Big time.”
“I wish I was there, in bed with you,” I said. “Lying between you, absorbing your warmth.”
“You’re not warm now? These hotel blankets are actually pretty cozy.”
“Not warmth so much,” I corrected myself. “Security. Safety. I loved the feeling of having the three of youaroundme. It was so radically different than sleeping alone.”
The ensuing silence indicated my lover was thinking deeply. Then:
“I could try to sneak over,” Reese said.
