The Art of Kissing by Jessica Sorensen
Hunter
“Areyou sure we should use Benton?” Jax asks as he enters the kitchen, where I wandered off to call Benton.
Benton put me on hold when he had answered, saying he had to take care of something. It sounded like he was someplace loud, so probably either a bar or a club.
I shrug with the phone still pressed up to my ear. “You know he’s the easiest person to go to for shit like this.”
“I know.” Jax reclines against the counter with his arms crossed. “And, normally, I’m fine with it. But if we take Raven, Benton might start asking about her, and if he figures out who she is, word might get back to our fathers that we’re spending time with her.”
“Well, they did hire us to look into her,” I remind him, but I get his apprehension. If our fathers discover we’re getting close to Raven, they could use that against us. However … “They’re going to find out about her living with us one way or another. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they already know.”
“True.” Jaxon dithers. “It still makes me nervous. Benton seems to draw drama to him. Plus, who the hell knows how Zay’s going to react? He may pretend he doesn’t give a shit about Raven, but deep down, he does, especially if it turns out she’s Willow. And, while I don’t think he’d actually care if Raven met Benton, he might care that she met his brother who has connections to our fathers. Not that I think anything will actually happen. I just can see Zay having a tantrum for some reason.”
“I know,” I agree. “It might just be better not to tell him we went.”
Jax pulls his brows together. “You want us to lie to him?”
“It’s not a lie if we don’t ever have to tell,” I stress. “But yeah, I think—”
“So, what’s up?” Benton’s voice flows through the phone again. It’s not quite as loud, but I can still hear chatter in the background.
I hold up a finger at Jaxon, indicating for him to give me a second.
“I need to get some alcohol off you, but you sound busy,” I say into the phone. “You available? Or should I call someone else?”
He gives a short pause. “Nah, I can make a run for you guys. But you’ll have to give me, like, a half an hour.”
“That works,” I say. “You want to meet up at the Crossing?”
“Sure. See you in thirty minutes or so.” The background noise grows quieter. “Just text me the shit you need.”
“Cool,” I say. Then we hang up, and I text him a list, knowing he will probably question some of the liquor on there. Benton knows me well enough to know I’m pretty much a whiskey guy. Jax and Zay mostly drink beer. So, yeah, he’s definitely going to be wondering what the hell is going on.
“He’s down,then, I’m assuming,” Jax says after I’ve finished texting Benton the list.
Benton has already replied.
Benton: What the hell kind of list is this?
Me: An interesting one.
Bento: For sure. My bet is you’ve got some chick over.
He’s wrong. Raven isn’t some chick. Then again, I don’t know how to correct him. I mean, what is Raven to us exactly? Our friend? Employee? Our long-lost Willow? Who the hell knows?
I don’t even bother replying. I just tuck my phone into my pocket.
“Yeah, he’s done.” I open the fridge and grab a bottle of juice. “I’m still not sure what to tell Benton when he asks about her, because I know he’s going to. In fact, the fucker’s probably going to flirt with her.”
Jax’s lips sink into a frown. “Maybe she and I should just stay here, then, and you go meet him?”
I mentally roll my eyes at him. He already likes Raven, and it’s so obvious. The problem is, so do I.
“You really want to do that to her?” I question. “Just make her sit in the house when we promised she’d have fun tonight?”
“Do you really think going to meet Benton at the Crossing constitutes as fun?”
“For her, probably.” I twist the cap off my juice. “She’s told me enough about herself that it’s pretty obvious she hasn’t had any friends before. So, parties and picking up liquor and just driving around town and having fun aren’t anything she’s probably done before.”
Jaxon absorbs what I said then pushes away from the counter. “You’re probably right, but we need to make sure to be careful.”
“I totally agree.” I take a swig from my juice then follow him as he leaves the room.
Right as he’s about to step back into the living room, he pauses and glances back at me. “And I think you’re right about not telling Zay about this,” he says. “At least for now.”
I nod in agreement, and we leave it at that. I just hope Zay doesn’t find out. Otherwise, drama is going to take over our house big time.
