The Game That Breaks Us (27 page)

As my senses come back I can’t believe that really just happened, but I don’t regret it.

Not at all.

“Are you okay?” he asks me a few minutes later when he’s caught his breath.

I nod, burrowing my head into the space where his neck meets his shoulder. His hand rests on my thigh and he circles his thumb there. He kisses my forehead tenderly before sitting up and leaving me in the bed.

I can’t move. My limbs have turned to Jell-O.  

He moves around the room but I’m too tired to turn my head and see what he’s doing. He comes back a minute later with one of his t-shirts and coaxes me into a sitting position. He puts the shirt on me and climbs into bed beside me, pulling the covers over us.

“Are you hungry?” he asks. I shake my head and he chuckles. “Are you still speechless?” I nod and he cups my cheek, turning me to look at him. “It’s not because you’re upset, is it?” He sounds worried now. 

I shake my head. “Just tired.”

He chuckles and kisses the end of my nose. “Get some sleep, sweetheart.”

I do, and it’s the best sleep I’ve ever had.

I hold Grace’s hand the entire six-hour drive from the hotel to her house. I don’t know how last night changes things, I don’t really want to think about it and complicate everything, but for now, I’m content to just let things be.

Grace looks out the window, her dark hair curling around her shoulders and dressed in a skirt and blouse. She’s beautiful. The most beautiful girl I’ve ever met—inside and out. 

“We’re almost there,” she says, and it’s unnecessary since I know that too thanks to my navigation system. She sounds worried, though. She’s been unusually quiet, and I hope to God it’s not because she regrets having sex with me. I’d never forgive myself.

“Are you okay?” I ask her and immediately cringe. She’s probably ready to duct tape my mouth shut for asking that question so many times.

“Fine.” She gives me a small smile, but it does nothing to alleviate my worries.

“Grace,” I probe, but she quickly shuts me down.

“I’m fine, Bennett.”

My teeth grind together. She’s most definitely
not
fine. I might be a guy, but I’m not an idiot, and I know when someone’s upset. We’re five minutes away from her house, definitely not enough time for a decent conversation, and they know we’re due there in a few minutes since she sent them a text. In other words, I can’t pull over and demand she talk to me. I’ll have to try to corner her later.

We pull into the driveway of a large two-story home. It’s decorated for the holidays with lights and greenery and what looks like Santa’s legs sticking out of the chimney.

Grace looks at me sheepishly. “My dad goes all out for Christmas.”

“Not your mom?” I ask.

“She likes the holidays, but my dad’s a bit … eccentric. It’s all or nothing with him.”

“Gotcha.” I nod, undoing my belt.

The front door opens, and a short, thin woman with dark hair the same color as Grace’s comes running out with open arms.

Grace gets out of the car and the woman—who I’m assuming is her mom—basically tackle hugs her. I get out of the car, trying not to laugh at the two of them.

“I missed you so much,” her mom says, swaying back and forth as she hugs Grace.

“Missed you too.” Grace’s voice is muffled against her mom’s shirt. They pull apart and Grace waves her hand toward me standing by the car. “This is Bennett.” I expect her mom to shake my hand, or stand and glare at me, but instead she comes barreling toward me and hugs me just as tight. Grace laughs. “And this is my mom, Olivia.”

Olivia releases me and looks me over. “You did good,” she tells Grace with a wink.

Grace’s cheeks flame and she hisses, “
Mom
.”

Something tells me the next three weeks are going to be fun. 

Lots of fun
.

Grace’s dad and older brother Dean are working, and her little brother is still in school, so for the next few hours, it’ll only be us. I’m okay with that. I’m not
worried
about her dad and brothers but I do want them to like me, but my gut says that’s doubtful. After all, Grace is the only girl, so of course they’re going to be protective. I doubt I can charm them, either—plus, I’m sure after the magazine debacles they’ve googled me and that
definitely
wouldn’t gain me any points with them. I’m just going to have to bide my time and see how things go.

Olivia shows me to one of the guestrooms—all the way down the hall from Grace’s room, might I add—and then I go back out to the car to carry our bags in while Grace and her mom catch up. 

I still don’t understand why Grace packed so much stuff, but I guess girls need a lot of shit.

I bring her bags into her room. It’s just as girly as I expected and the color scheme matches what she has in her dorm with lots of white, gold, and blue. The floors are a shining hardwood and she has a fuzzy white monstrosity covering them. Grace and her damn rugs … and pillows. So many fucking pillows. Not only are they all over the bed but there’s even a pile of them on the floor to create a makeshift seating area. A chandelier hangs from the center of the ceiling and illuminates the room. It’s prissy, that’s for sure. And big. Grace might’ve classified this house as
normal
but it’s still huge. I grew up in a small house that could fit inside this one three times.

I head back out to my car and grab my own bag. Before I can escape into the guestroom, Grace’s mom calls out, “Bennett, come join us in the kitchen.”

I sigh. I figured I’d get a chance to chill on my own for a while.

I drop my bag on the bed and turn around to go downstairs. All along the upstairs hallway are pictures of the entire family in various stages of life. My mom has a similar wall at home.

I meander through the house and into the kitchen. Grace and her mom sit at the kitchen table with a plate of cookies. It’s a magazine worthy picture. Especially the way Grace glows with happiness when speaking to her mom. When she hears me, however, she grows flushed and her hands shake nervously. My gut nosedives with fear that she regrets last night. I was scared of this—terrified that she’d regret losing her virginity to me. Now that we’re here, I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to ask her about it and I’m not very good at reading people.

“Have a seat, Bennett,” her mom says, pointing to the chair beside Grace. “The cookies are fresh out of the oven. Double chocolate chip, they’re Grace’s favorite,” she explains.

I pull out the chair and take a seat. I don’t really want a cookie but I take one anyway since it would be rude not to. I take a bite and it’s actually pretty damn good. Olivia smiles at me, pleased. 

“So,” she starts, “you play hockey?”

I nod. “I’ve been benched so far this season, but yeah.”

She smiles and glances at Grace. “Grace said you’re training with the coach at the university.”

I nod again and finish the cookie, wiping the crumbs on my jeans. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“How’d you guys meet then?” she asks. “
Grace
,” she says in a jokingly disgusted tone, “won’t tell me and I’m curious.”

I shrug. “Bumped into each other on campus. Things kinda just happened from there.”

You know, the usual, I sweet-talked your daughter into pretending to be my girlfriend and then took her virginity.

Olivia frowns. “Oh, okay.”

Grace laughs. “Were you expecting something more climactic?”

Her mom purses her lips. “Well, yeah.”

Grace shakes her head, fighting a smile. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

Olivia turns to me. “So, are you from the Boston area?” 

I nod. “Born and raised in the town over from the university.”

She nods. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“A sister,” I answer. “Sabrina. Speaking of,” I stand, “I better call her back. She’s been blowing up my phone all day.”

“Oh, of course.” Olivia waves me off. “Family comes first.”

“Thanks.” I smile at her and excuse myself from the room. I head upstairs and close the door to the guestroom. I sit on the end of the bed and call back Sabrina, praying to God that it’s nothing bad.

She answers with a clipped, “Hello?”

“Hey, you called?”
Like fifty times
.

“Mom said you won’t be home for Christmas and New Year’s.”

“That’s right.”

“
Why?
” she whines. “We always have Christmas as a family.”

I’m sure my mom told her that I’m with Grace for the holidays, but I play into her. “I’m with my girlfriend and her family.” I pinch the bridge of my nose.

“Your girlfriend,” she repeats. “You’re spending the holidays with
her
family and we’ve never even met her. It’s not like we live far away, Bennett. We could’ve had a family dinner and we could’ve met her then.”

I sigh. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“That you’re a stupid fuck and you’ll introduce her to us when you get back.”

“I’ll introduce you to her when we get back,” I repeat.

She tsks. “You forgot the first part
little brother
.”

She says
little brother
like it’s meant to be an insult. I’d tell her to be more creative but I don’t want to argue with her. “Uh-huh, I’m a stupid fuck, Bina. We know this.”

She laughs. “Thanks. I’m going to miss you,” she says in a sad tone. “I think we’ve spent almost every Christmas together.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry I won’t be there to help you burn those monstrosity of a pair of pajamas mom gets us every year.”

Sabrina laughs and I can tell it’s genuine. At least she’s feeling better about all of this. “She picks the ugliest ones on purpose, I swear.”

“What were they last year?”

“Leprechauns,” she giggles. “Not
elves
but leprechauns. Those might’ve been the best yet.”

“I don’t know,” I hedge. “The year with narwhals was pretty epic.”

“Ooh,” she cries, and I can hear her smack her hand against something. “What about the year with the unicorn that was shitting rainbows—but the rainbow was green and red for Christmas?”

I snort. “Those were good too.”

Sabrina grows quiet on the line. “I’m worried about you, Bennett.”

“Why, Bina? I’m good.”

“You’re such a shitty liar. Seriously, the worst.”

I chuckle. “Nah, it’s just because you’re a reporter. You see through everyone’s bullshit.”

“Damn straight.” She laughs but it sounds forced this time. “I know I tell you all the time, but seriously, Bennett, if you ever need to talk about things I’m here.”

“Off the record?”

She snorts. “Yes, fucktard,
off the fucking record
. You’re my brother. I would never leak anything you tell me to the media. Don’t you have more faith in me than that?”

“Sorry, Bina,” I sigh. “I’ve been screwed over by a lot of people in this business. It’s hard not to question everyone after a while.”

“But I’m not people,” she counters. “I’m family.”

“True,” I sigh. “We’ll talk later but I better get back to Grace and her mom.”

“Oh, of course,” Sabrina says. “You better call me, douche-canoe. I mean it.”