“Isn’t he?” Phil nodded.
The door slammed, and Phil and I were alone. He gave me a special smile and then leaned in to kiss me softly. “I wanted to get back like two hours ago,” he said, lowering his voice slightly. “But Brent was adamant we stay out past midnight. I still don’t think he was happy with our outing though.”
“Why not?” I asked.
Phil sighed and rolled his eyes. “Because he’s a complete child, and I said no to going to a strip club.”
“He wanted to go to a strip club?” I asked.
“Yep, he even had a bunch of one-dollar bills in his wallet.”
I snorted with laughter and buried my head in Phil’s chest. “Seriously?”
“Oh yeah… He was ready to go. He had the club picked out and everything, but I put my foot down,” Phil said.
“And he actually listened?”
“He didn’t have much of a choice,” Phil said. “Either way, I was coerced into making him a promise.”
“Which was?”
“If he ever decides to get married, he’s having his bachelor party in a strip club and my attendance is mandatory.”
“I see.” I nodded. “Well, you got off easy.”
He laughed. “I had to promise him something to get back here to you.”
“Is that why you did it?” I teased.
He pulled me towards him and kissed me hard on the lips. I felt my heart flutter wildly as the kiss deepened. We heard a flush a moment later and that pulled us apart.
“Is there any way we can slip away, and Brent won’t notice?” Phil asked.
“I doubt it,” I said.
I moved to the kitchen as Brent walked out of the bathroom. I heated up the food and set it down on the table as Phil helped me. Brent just sat himself down and watched us work.
“You could help,” I suggested to him.
“You have your little lapdog, don’t you?” Brent said.
I frowned at him. “He’s a gentleman.”
“Oh, is that what they’re calling it these days?” Brent replied.
I noticed Phil’s jaw flex, and I could sense the underlying tension between them. I was surprised I hadn’t noticed that before. I wondered if it was a direct result of my relationship with Phil, or if there was something more going on. The three of us sat down to an extremely late dinner. While the boys ate heartily, I watched them. There was definitely some tension sitting between them and it seemed to be emanating from my brother.
I tried to figure out what it was exactly. He was not the Brent that I had grown up with, but I had assumed that his independent life away from our parents had changed him, and that was all. Now I was starting to suspect that there was more going on with him than met the eye.
Chapter Seventeen
Phil
“You’re doing well, Phil,” Sarge said to me. “All your performance evaluation reports have been glowingly positive. It’s almost boring.”
I laughed. “I’ll take boring any day, then.”
“All jokes aside, I’m impressed with your commitment, Phil. You are doing a fantastic job.”