Hotshot (The Bennett Brothers 1)

My stomach turns as I yank away and hurl back, almost falling over her sofa.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and spit, trying to get the taste of her lip gloss off me.

Rejection washes over her, quickly turning into fury. Her eyes slit as she crosses her arms and glares at me. “Don’t act so disgusted. It’s not like you haven’t kissed me before.”

“What am I doing here, Sasha? Why’d you insist on me coming here? Was it to try and seduce me?”

“Please, don’t fucking flatter yourself. We got lost in the moment.”

“There is no we! I don’t have moments with you.”

“Bullshit! We are having a baby and you chose to defile my reputation. I warned you about this, Ren. I’ve been more than accommodating with your playboy ways and insistence we do this separately, but I draw the damn line with you proposing to another woman while I’m pregnant. Especially Lizbeth Hastings! She’s a bottom-leeching, nobody who has your entire family fooled. Look at her, for God’s sake! Don’t get me started on her public display of affection with your own brother yesterday on national television. It was pathetic. If you won’t wake up and see it, I’ll point it out. She won’t be around my child.”

“You have no say in who I choose to marry, nor do you have a right to judge her and Nick’s relationship. It has nothing to do with you. And don’t ever insult her again. Your nasty jealousy of her has followed her throughout her life. I’m lucky she’s stuck by my side. If this is what was so important you demanded us meet, you’ve wasted your time and proceeded to piss me off royally. This was a mistake, Sasha.”

“Jealous of her? You’re delusional.”

“Then I suggest you find a way to get over your petty grudge against her from high school. We’re adults now, and it’s time to grow up and move on.”

Her face reddens, and the room takes on a new chill. “She’ll always be the cancer girl who used her illness to gain sympathy. It’s sickening. I won’t subject my child to her level.”

I’m done. This was a huge mistake, and I have to leave before I say things that can’t be retracted. This woman is aiming for ammunition to use against me, and it’s close to working. I start for the door, and she catches me by the arm, digging her nails in. Even through the fabric of my shirt, I feel the pinching of skin.

“We were fine. Things were going well for us. I could see you coming around to accept this and even open your eyes to the possibility of us working things out.”

“You mistook my kindness and deference. I love my son, and therefore would do anything for him, even if

that meant submitting to your demands. It was all for him. Don’t fool yourself into thinking it was anything more.”

“That’s absolute bullshit! Things were going exactly as planned. With her gone, we were moving forward, building a foundation that would have eventually worked out. I saw the way you started to look at me. She should have taken the fucking job and stayed in North Carolina.”

My body turns solid, struggling to see through the red haze as her words sink in. “What did you say?”

She realizes her mistake too late.

“What was going exactly as planned? And what the fuck do you know about Bizzy’s job offer?”

“I did what I had to do to get you to see reason. You were being ridiculous, following her to Charlotte like a fool. Leaving your life and responsibilities behind. I knew once you found out we were having a boy, you’d change your tune.”

“The sex of this child didn’t matter. I’ve always loved them.”

“Well, lucky for me, once I knew it was a boy, I had more leverage, and it worked to my advantage. Getting you home was easier than I thought.”

Once I knew it was a boy… replays over in my mind, and I start to shake.

“Sasha, how did you know it was a boy? And what do you mean about getting me home?”

We’re so close, I can see her pupils flare at the sharpness in my tone.

“It doesn’t matter, Ren, because I’m giving you one last chance. Make a decision here and now.”

“Bizzy is going to be my wife, and you need to learn how to deal with that.”

“You’d choose her over your own son, because essentially, that’s what you’re doing.”

“There is no choice. It was a period of weakness, me thinking I couldn’t have both, but I can and I will. This child will never feel unloved because I won’t allow it. He’s going to grow up in an environment where, hopefully, his parents can find it in themselves to hide their disdain for one another and put their differences aside. I’ll make sure of it.”

I pry her fingers loose and finally reach the door. No more words are exchanged as I haul ass away from her.