Wright with Benefits

Jordan rolled his eyes. Julian punched his arm and then headed out to the field to warm up.

“I should go, too,” I told him. “I feel sloppy, having not been here in a few weeks.”

“I’m sure you’ll be great. When are you going back to the hospital?”

“This is my last week of overnights, and then I’m back to mids. Thank God.”

“Shower, dinner, and then work?”

I nodded. “That’s the plan.”

“I like the plan.”

A figure appeared next to me, and I found Isaac standing with crossed arms.

“Hey, Isaac,” Jordan said, holding his hand out.

Isaac glanced between us with a total big-brother look. Welp. I hadn’t mentioned to him that I was seeing Jordan. And technically, Jordan was Isaac’s boss. So, maybe that should have come up.

“What’s going on here?” Isaac asked.

I laughed. “Stop that.” I smacked his arm, and he released a smile. “Jordan and I are dating.”

Jordan looked a little put out. “I probably should have mentioned…”

Isaac waved him away, taking his hand and shaking once vigorously. “Forget it. Apparently, I’m the last to know. I was trying to be an overbearing big brother. How’d I do?”

“Terrible,” I said, bumping against him.

“Why wouldn’t I be happy that you’re dating my little sister?” Isaac asked with a smile. “We’ve worked together for three years. I know the kind of person you are by now.”

Jordan relaxed at the comment. “Well, still, I’ve heard that older brothers have the tendency to punch the new guy their sister is dating.”

“Should I punch you?” Isaac asked with mock seriousness.

“If it’ll make you feel better,” Jordan said with a barely contained smile.

“I think I’m good. I’m going to steal Annie so that we can play soccer. We can discuss ways in which I need to assert my masculinity later.”

Jordan snorted. “Sounds good. Good luck out there.”

I shook my head and followed Isaac out to the field.

“You’re happy?” he asked me.

“I am.”

“Good. That’s all I care about.”

Then he started to run drills before the game. He was still in tip-top shape from years of playing soccer, and I was envious of how easy he moved. I felt sluggish even stretching. Tonight was going to be rough.

“Tell them, Hollin,” Julian said, smacking Hollin in the chest.

They were stretching with Blaire, Cézanne, and Gerome.

I sidled up to the group, leaving Isaac to his warm-up drills. “Tell them what?”

Julian glanced over at me, and his face split. “We’re throwing a party at the winery.”

“Already? Is it ready?”

“Well, not officially. It’s not, like, the grand opening. But we’ve had enough of the construction finished and all the permits in order that we can have a friends-and-family thing. But that’s not the best part.”

Hollin finally chimed in, “Campbell said that Cosmere was going to be traveling nearby on tour, and he’d stop by to perform.”

“Oh my God!”

My jaw dropped. That was news.

Campbell was Hollin’s younger brother and probably the most famous musician to come out of Lubbock after Buddy Holly and Natalie Maines of The Chicks. He sang lead for the band Cosmere, a group he’d joined out in LA after high school graduation. They were constantly hailed as the next Maroon 5. Understandably, Campbell hadn’t been back in Lubbock much since breaking out a few years ago.

“Holy shit,” Cézanne said. “I don’t even like their music, and holy shit! We never get bands that big in town.”

Blaire had gone pale. “They’re coming here?”

“Yes!” Hollin said. “Well, Campbell will be here for the friends-and-family thing. Not the whole band. He said he could do a few acoustic songs.” He waved his hands, as if there were no difference. “But he said he’d try to convince the entire band to show up for the grand opening!”

“That would be incredible for the winery,” I said. “You’d sell out.”

Hollin laughed. “I know. I figured it’s the best I can do for it, considering the Wrights fronted the money.”

Julian kicked him in the shin. “Shut up. You’re doing all the heavy lifting.”

“So, just to confirm,” Blaire said, clearing her throat as she got to her feet, “Campbell is coming here for your party? And that’s when again?”

“Two weeks!” Julian said.

“Oh, hey,” Hollin said as if it’d just hit him. “Didn’t you two graduate together?”

Blaire clenched her jaw and shrugged. “Yeah. But he was, like, cool.”

“Says the Instagram Influencer,” I said with a laugh.

But I could see her discomfort from a mile off. Of course, the boys were oblivious.

“Yeah, you’re the coolest person I know,” Cézanne said.

Blaire forced a laugh. “I managed to be cool after high school, but back then, I was a huge nerd. My mom was a psychiatrist, and it was just…” She trailed off and made a face. “Campbell Abbey didn’t even know my name.”

I highly doubted that.

“Okay, let’s play!” Isaac said.

We all stood from where we’d been stretching, huddled together for one of Isaac’s pep talks, and then broke and ran into position.