The Consequence of Revenge (Consequence 2)

“Aw, you tamed him.” Reid chuckled.

“Why are you here again?”

“Help. I was going to help you, and I was sent by Rex to remind you to get ready. Camera crew’s gonna be by the hut in a half hour, so . . . yeah, good luck with what you’re going to wear for dinner tonight.”

Confused, I stared at him. “I’m the best dresser I know. And I know a lot of people.”

“Not a humble bone in that body, is there?” Reid asked seriously. “And I meant the whole underwear situation. You gonna free-ball it during your date? Because I sure as hell wouldn’t take that chance, not with Becca wearing white.”

It took a minute for it to hit me.

And when it did, I panicked.

“Oh, shit.” I sat down on the bed. “What do I do? I need underwear, Reid! I need clothing to conceal! I NEED TO BE INVISIBLE!”

“Says no guy . . . ever.” Reid rolled his eyes. “You’ll be fine.”

“Take your pants off!” I ordered.

“What? No!” Reid stepped back toward the door. “Get away from me!”

“Take them off, damn it!” I launched myself onto him just as the door opened. “Take off your pants or I swear I’ll do it for you!”

“Uh . . .” Big Al blushed. “Should we come back later?”

I was straddling Reid. “Uh . . . no, no, totally fine, I mean . . . we’re friends like that. We were . . . wrestling.”

“Son, I work in Hollywood.” Big Al shook his head. “If I had a dollar for every time—”

“It’s true!” Reid wailed from underneath me.

“Hey, whatever you say!” Big Al held up his hands. “I didn’t see anything.”

“Because nothing happened!” My jaw clenched. “I like women and this is my brother. Do you know how wrong that is? Reid, show him your license.” Wasn’t sure if I was supposed to actually reveal that we were brothers, but whatever, I was desperate. And hey, if he got fired from the show because I was starring in it, it wouldn’t be any skin off my nose.

Reid didn’t move.

I looked down.

He was grinning like an idiot. Rat bastard! “Reid . . .”

“It’s cool, Max, I mean, if Big Al knows . . .”

“I’m striking you out of my will for good now. Just know, at one point I was going to leave you my old Sega Genesis.”

“Damn it,” Reid muttered as I crawled off of him. “I’ve coveted that thing for years.”

“I’ll be ready in ten,” I snapped at Big Al. “Oh, and you’re going to have to censor what’s about to take place.” With a grin I dropped my pants to get him out of there faster. Yeah, I was going to be in a world of hurt tonight. Good thing the show wasn’t live, because they would without a doubt need to do some censoring, especially with Becca around. Then again, maybe Amazon’s all-around terrifying demeanor would cause my balls to cease functioning for a few minutes. One can only hope. Ha, the Erection Killer! Nice. I knew I could have come up with a better nickname!

“All right.” Big Al whistled. “I’ll just . . .” He motioned to the crew. “We’ll be outside.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

BECCA

I almost wore black.

I didn’t want to wear white just because Reid happened to mention it was Max’s favorite. Yeah, it really sounded like middle school, when you plan your outfit the day before, from your shoes all the way up to your earrings, in hopes that the captain of the basketball team looks in your direction.

Taking a deep breath, I checked my watch and waited. Max was supposed to come pick up the girls.

I was first.

And he was late.

Five minutes later I honestly felt stood up, which was stupid because it was a TV show. It wasn’t going to happen.

When a knock finally did sound at the door, I nearly fell off the bed scrambling to get it.

It wasn’t real.

Not a real date.

So I let Max knock again.

I finally opened the door after the third knock and almost choked on the humid air.

Max.

Max smiling.

Max smiling, in a white button-down shirt that was slightly open at the neck.

Max wearing linen pants with his white button-down, with a killer tan and megawatt smile.

Swear it was like watching Ocean’s Twelve when Brad Pitt walks out of the elevator in his cream suit.

Swoon-worthy moment.

“Hey.” Max reached for my hand. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” I managed, my legs filling with lead as I stared at him.

“Great.” He shoved his hands in his pockets while his eyes roamed over my body. “I really, really like your dress.” He drank me in, from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. I did a little twirl. I wasn’t wearing anything special, just a white halter-top sundress.

“Beautiful.” His smile was so warm, so appreciative, that my heart did a little skip. “Shall we?” His arm was in front of me, and then my hand hooked underneath it, and we were walking to the next hut. The humidity in the air was already causing me to sweat. The thing about humidity? It makes every scent come alive. So walking with Max, even for those few short feet, was pure torture. What the hell kind of cologne did he use? It had a fresh, almost breezy scent mixed with . . . pine? Something piney. It was . . . really, really . . . addicting. I had a sudden urge to taste him, just to see if the taste was better than the smell.