Page 113 of Silver Sweet

I’m confused. “He’s slept with what’s his face.” I’m sick of saying his name.

“Only him.” Charlie flips the condom between his fingers. “And I’m not talking about blow jobs. I mean taking a dick in the ass.”

“Fuck, man,” I say out of surprise.

“Charlie,” Beckett repeats with the sameshut the fuck upforce.

I thread my rigid arms and lean back against the seat. Beckett said Tom wasn’t as experienced as me, and it’s clear he didn’t care to share specifics about Tom’s sex life out of respect for him. Charlie obviously doesn’t give a fuck.

To the hundredth degree.

I nod to him. “Is this your way of rattling me or something?” I ask.

He cocks his head, mocking. “Is it working?”

“No.” If anything, I feel more protective over Tom. I glance hard at him, then stare back at his brothers. “He could’ve told me this himself, you know.”

“You really think he would?” Charlie arches a brow, then points the pinched condom at Tom. “I only have two siblings who’d put pride above their own well-being. He wants to be on your level. He doesn’t want to seemweakor inexperienced.” He flicks the condom at my chest.

I let it fall to my boots. “So he’d…what then? Pretend he’s not?”

“He did it with RJ,” Charlie states. “Why not you?”

I can’t even muster a “because I’m not fucking him” response.

I tilt even farther backward, my hand on my head.He acted like he’d already had sex.“For hisfirsttime?” I let out a sharp noise. “There is no way that guy didn’t know Tom was…” I trail off at Charlie’s light shrug.

He kicks his feet up on the bench seat near Tom. “You think if Tom were to stumble upon a guy who fucks like a wild animal, he’d try to convince himself he can handle it? He wouldn’t stop him even if it hurt?—”

“Stop,” I sneer, unable to even picture it without sitting in rage.

“Personally,Ithink he would. What about you, Beckett?” He whirls in his chair to his brother, his feet dropping to the floor.

Beckett shuts his eyes tight, then opens them in a glare at the window. “Charlie, I swear?—”

“Tom willnevertell him,” Charlie forces.

“You could give him the tools to try,” Beckett says, tugging his gloves back on his hands. Then Beckett’s eyes hit mine, and all I see is the threat of someone who loves their brother deeply. He is scared for him.

I’m now scared for him if he doesn’t end up with me.

I skate a hand through my hair while Charlie starts talking in another language. Sounds like Portuguese. It takes me a second to realize he’s speaking to his bodyguard.

As a tense beat passes, I look between Tom’s brothers. “Which of you is older?”

“Charlie is my twin,” Beckett answers. “He’s older than me by minutes.” That makes sense. They seem closer than most brothers.

My mind rotates over everything Charlie said tonight. I scrape my hair back again, and I release a tight breath as I ask, “You have two prideful siblings. Tom isn’t the only one, you said. Who’s the other?”

Beckett isn’t going to answer. That is clear as he stares out the window.

Charlie leans back nonchalantly. “You think you’ll be around long enough for it to matter?”

My pulse pounds. “If I’m not, then that means The Carraways failed. Tom failed, and I failed him.” The burn in my eyes returns, but it’s blistered with more self-assurance. “I think we’re going to doeverythingto make sure that doesn’t happen.”

He studies me. “Tu ferais tout pour le groupe? Ou tout pour Tom?”You would do everything for the band? Or everything for Tom?

“Tom is the band,” I say, and for the first time tonight, I speak French. “Sans lui, il n’y a pas de musique.”