Chapter 4
CHAPTER
FOUR
brOOKE
What the hell just happened? An already-awkward night just became ten times worse. I cannot believe Silas did that.
I mean, if I’m being honest, everything else tuned out when his lips touched mine. It only lasted a few short minutes, but I felt the heat of that kiss all the way down to my belly.
And then what he said to me? I’m in trouble.
How can I sit here next to Eli after that? He is fuming, and I’m sure he’s embarrassed by the entire thing. He likes being the center of attention when it’s under his control.
This wasn’t. And I’m surprised he’s still sitting next to me, but he probably doesn’t want to bring any more attention to us at this point.
“Eli, come on. Don’t be like this. I didn’t ask him to do that.”
I try touching his arm again, and he turns his whole body away from me.
“Not now, Brooke. We’ll discuss this later.” He starts talking to his friends on the other side of him, completely shutting me out.
Silas leans to my side again, and I can’t even look at him right now. I’ll either kiss him or slap him. Both are strong possibilities.
“I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not. I meant what I said. I’ll be here, waiting for you.”
I literally cannot. My boyfriend is sitting right next to me. We’re in public, for fuck’s sake, but Silas doesn’t care at all.
Before I can reply, the buzzer blasts, signaling the end of the first half. Eli stands up and starts moving down the row toward the stairs.
“Are you leaving?” I stand.
“I’m going to get a drink and use the restroom,” Eli says, glancing my way.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Aston look at Bo and hear him mutter, “Who says restroom?”
“Okay, I’ll come get a drink with you.” I follow him and his friends down the row.
“Suit yourself,” he mutters, not bothering to wait for me.
When I look over my shoulder, I see Silas watching me. That boy is trouble with a capital T. And I like it. A little too much.
I turn back to watch where I’m going, and when we reach the top of the stairway, Eli doesn’t bother waiting for me and takes off toward the restroom.
I walk over to the concession stand and lean against the wall, where I can see the exit to the restroom so I can watch for Eli to come out. As I stand there, I see Silas walk into the men’s room.
Fuck.
I feel my phone buzz in my purse, distracting me from the potential disaster happening in the restroom right now, and I reach in and pull it out to see Charlie’s been texting me in rapid-fire.
Charlie: OMG, brOOKE! What the hell?!
Charlie: I just saw the video. I cannot believe Silas did that! Are you okay???
Charlie: Brooke! Answer me before your brother sees it. Bo sent it to the house group chat, and Beck is still on it.
Oh shit.
Brooke: It’s fine. I’m fine. Just a misunderstanding.
Charlie: Uhhhh, what am I misunderstanding? I saw Silas kiss you like y’all were in some romance novel. We’ll talk about this more in detail later. I want to know everything! But are you okay? For real?
Brooke: Yes, I promise. Eli isn’t though. He’s definitely mad. I’m not sure if it’s because Silas kissed me or because he was embarrassed publicly. I guess I’ll find out soon enough. I’m waiting for him to come out of the bathroom.
Charlie: If you don’t go to his place tonight, please come here. I want to know everything!
Another text alert pops up. I swipe with caution.
Beck: Brooke. What. The. Fuck?!
I navigate between my text chains.
Brooke: Beck just texted me. What should I say?
Charlie: Don’t ignore him, or he’ll be upset.
I have no idea what to say though. He’ll either be mad at Eli or Silas. Neither option is great for me. Especially since Beck will be home soon and will no doubt be seeing Silas. Who he’s good friends with!
Brooke: Hey, big brother! What’s up?
Beck: Brooke.
Brooke: Beck.
Beck: Why is my friend kissing you at a basketball game?
All righty then. I’ll wing it.
Brooke: It was just a joke! All good.
Beck: And why did your boyfriend, who was sitting next to you, let it happen?
Brooke: Wait. Tell me which one you’re more upset about, and I’ll give you the answer.
My phone starts to ring, my brother’s grumpy face on the screen.
“Hi,” I answer cheerily.
“B, what’s going on?”
I sigh. “Nothing. Everything is fine. It was just one of those kiss cams at the game, and it shot to us, and Silas just went with it, I guess.”
“Uh-huh. But why didn’t your boyfriend kiss you?”
“Beck, come on. I don’t know. I’m fine. I’m not upset, and don’t be mad at Silas either.”
“Yeah, I’m not mad at Silas, although I’m gonna find out what the fuck he’s thinking, kissing my sister, but we need to talk about this when I see you.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. All good. I can’t wait to see you!”
“Brooke,” he starts.
“Bye, love you!” I disconnect before he can reply.
I look over to the restroom, and I see Eli walk out, and right behind him is Silas. This can’t be good.
As Eli gets closer to me, I notice the red in his cheeks.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Brooke. Christ. Don’t make a scene more than you already have.” He walks around me to get in line.
I look back toward where I last saw Silas, and he’s still there, watching me.
He looks like he wants to come to me, but I shake my head.
And just as he looks like he’s going to come to me anyway, Bo walks up to him and puts a hand on his shoulder.
Bo waves to me and starts to pull Silas away with him.
I watch them go, and before they turn the corner, Silas winks at me and smiles.
After Eli gets his drink and doesn’t offer to get me one, we go back to our seats.
Sitting next to him now is uncomfortable, to say the least, and I’m tempted to get up and leave.
But having already caused drama, I don’t want to make it worse.
Plus, he’s my ride, and I would be embarrassed to have to call Charlie or my other friends to come get me.
So, I’ll sit quietly and patiently wait for the game to end.
My phone is buzzing in my purse, and I know if I don’t respond to whoever it is, they won’t stop. So, I pull it out and see a string of messages from Charlie and Arbor, one from my brother, and an Instagram notification from Silas.
I read Charlie’s first, reminding me to come over if I’m not staying with Eli tonight. My guess is, I won’t be. My brother’s text says that he loves me and to text him later. Arbor’s makes me laugh. She wants all the tea.
But Silas … his makes me suck in a breath. I turn my body so Eli can’t see it.
Silas: Break up with him.
My thumb hovers over the keyboard, but I don’t even know how to reply to this. In my gut, I know I should break up with Eli, yet there’s this thing inside me that says stay. It’s why I’ve made all the choices I have made my whole life.
My hands are starting to shake, and I can feel the tightness in my back spreading up and over my shoulders. I cannot have an anxiety attack right now. I take some deep breaths to try to calm myself down.
Five … four … three … two … one.
When I look for something to feel, I panic a little, running out of options in these bleachers. I reach into my purse and grab a mint.
As I chew on it, I barely notice the buzzer that ends the game. Eli finally acknowledges me when he stands.
“Let’s go.” He holds out a hand for me to take and keeps it in his as we climb the stairs.
The mixed signals make my head spin, and I feel like I can’t keep up.
We make our way out of the arena and through the parking lot to Eli’s car. Thankfully, his friends drove separately, so it’s just the two of us in his car.
“Do you want me to take you home, or do you want to come over?”
Is he serious? He ignored me for most of the game, and now he wants me to come over?
“Well, I mean, do you want me to come over? You seemed pretty upset with me tonight and not really like you want to be hanging out with me.”
“I was fine until your buddies showed up. It feels like they’re always around.
And I know they’re your friends, but they’re just a bunch of dumb jocks.
I’m honestly surprised you tolerate them and spend as much time with them as you do.
How do you even carry on civilized conversations with them? ” He huffs a laugh.
I’m literally speechless right now. I pull in a breath and pause to think about what I want to say in response.
“Eli, you know my brother is one of those jocks you’re talking about, right? And I don’t really appreciate you talking about him or our friends like that. Some of those guys are as smart, if not smarter, than you and me.”
“See, you always defend them like this too. It makes me wonder if something is going on behind my back.”
I laugh. “You can’t be serious! I’ve been nothing but loyal to you, and I would never cheat on anyone.
Eli, I really don’t understand where all this is coming from.
Things started out so good between us. We’ve taken things to the next level by sleeping together.
You know I don’t take that lightly, so I’m really upset that you’re insinuating that I would be hooking up with any of them behind your back. They’re like brothers to me.”
“Silas Arbuckle doesn’t look at you like a sister. And I don’t think anyone kisses his sister the way he kissed you tonight.”
“Well, if you had just kissed me, it wouldn’t have happened! I didn’t even realize what was going on until I saw us on the Jumbotron. Do you know how embarrassing that was for me that my boyfriend wouldn’t even give me a peck? I wanted to curl up in a ball on my seat.”
He glances over at me with irritation written all over his face. “Listen, Brooke, I think we need to table this conversation for tonight. We’re both upset, and you need to take some time to calm down.”
“I need to calm down? Nice. Okay, you know what? You’re right. Take me to my brother’s house.”
“Your brother doesn’t even live there anymore. This is what I’m talking about. It doesn’t make sense for you to spend as much time over there as you do.”