Page 58 of The Harder You Fall (Rixon Raiders 3)

And I got four years of football with my friends.

“Asher, Son, are you listening?”

Speak of the devil. My father glared at me.

“I, uh, sorry.”

“I was just telling the guys how excited we are about having you keep up the Bennet tradition of going to Pittsburgh in the fall.”

Blood pounded between my ears. He could talk about anything, and yet he chose the one thing I didn’t want to talk about.

“Andrew let’s not bore them with stories of how proud we are. There’s still so much food and I made dessert too.”

“It’s okay, Mrs. Bennet,” Cam said. “We can always spare a few minutes to talk college, right, Jase?”

“Sure thing. I can’t wait for the summer to come around.”

“Your father tells me Miss Giles will be following you to Penn?”

“She’s not following him, Dad,” I jumped in. “She was always going there.”

“Really?” He looked genuinely surprised. “I never realized she was so intelligent. It’s time you found yourself a nice—”

“Andrew, please. Let’s not embarrass Asher in front of his friends.”

“I’m just saying, Julia, that a good woman can be the making of a man. I mean, look at us.” He patted Mom’s hand, his eyes sparkling with a fierce possessiveness that could easily be mistaken for adoration.

I knew better.

I knew Mom was a pawn in his games, just the way I was.

“Actually Mr... I mean, Andrew, Asher does have his eye on a girl.”

My head snapped over to Jason and I dragged my finger across my neck. He smirked while Cam spluttered over a mouthful of whisky.

“Ah yes, the Hernandez girl.” Dad’s smile grew tight. “Well, I guess it’s better to have your fun now before you settle down and focus on the future.”

My friends frowned at that. Jase cleared his throat, no doubt ready to come to my defense, but Cam discreetly nudged him, giving a little shake of his head.

Fuck. This was turning into a shit show. I hadn’t wanted to invite them over, but I knew it made Mom happy when she had guests to entertain. And my friends seemed like a safe choice.

Now I was seriously wondering if there was something wrong with me.

This wasn’t safe. Having them here wasn’t reassuring.

It was painful. Cutting me up inside as if I’d swallowed tiny shards of glass.

I dropped my silverware on my plate, the clatter piercing the tense silence. Running a hand through my hair, I gave Jase a pleading look. I’d never asked him to bail me out of one of Mom and Dad’s dinners before. But tonight was different.

Tonight I needed my friends.

Jase cleared his throat. “That was great, Mrs. Bennet. I can’t wait to see what’s for dessert. Then we need to make tracks. We’re meeting the rest of the team at Bell’s for our annual pre-Christmas thing.”

“You are?” Dad’s expression darkened. “You never mentioned it, Son.”

“Guess it slipped my mind,” I grumbled.

“Well, that’s just lovely,” Mom added. “Team spirit is just so important these days. I’ll get these cleared away and serve dessert so you boys can be on your way. Asher, a little help?”