Page 30 of Bend

Course he would say that.

“Lucky for them,” I say, taking another sip of my beer, “the contract didn’t specify how many of us actually had to show up.”

Wolfe hums like he’s considering that.

“Yeah, well,” he says easily, “lucky for him two incredibly handsome Demons still made the effort.”

I grin at that, shaking my head.

“Bit generous, that.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” I say, gesturing lazily between the two of us with the neck of my bottle. “Only one of us is handsome.”

Wolfe turns his head slowly, giving me a long look.

“Right.” His brow lifts slightly. “Well, which one?”

I take another drink before answering.

“Me, obviously.”

Wolfe snorts, the corner of his mouth tugging up.

“Course it is.”

Wolfe’s mouth twitches like he’s fighting a smile before he shakes his head and looks back toward the house.

“You’re insufferable.”

“Jealousy’s not a good look on you, mate.”

He doesn’t answer that.

That usually means he’s chosen patience over punching me, which, fair enough.

The quiet settles between us after that, easy and familiar. We’ve spent enough hours side by side—tracks, garages, long rides that stretch halfway across the state, that silence isn’t awkward. It just sort of… sits there.

Still, standing this close to him does strange things to my brain.

Bloody annoying things that probably come from spending half my free time sketching manga panels full of dramatic tension and broody protagonists who fall in love with people they absolutely shouldn’t.

Add a steady diet of early-2000s boybands on top of that and suddenly you’re a grown man standing next to your teammate wondering why your brain’s acting like you’ve just wandered into a bloody NSYNC music video.

Which is ridiculous.

Completely unacceptable behaviour from my own internal monologue, frankly.

Across the lawn, laughter bursts out near the fire pit. Someone pops a bottle like they’ve just won a championship instead of opening prosecco. The music shifts into something heavier, bass thumping through the ground hard enough that I can feel it humming up through the pavement under my boots.

The party’s finally waking up.

About fuckin’ time.

Wolfe adjusts his stance slightly beside me.

That’s when I notice her walking up the driveway like she’s got absolutely no doubt she belongs here, even though this whole place is crawling with people who’ve spent the evening trying far too hard to look like they do.