The fact that jail was a part of my vocabulary was something in itself, but I refused to be anything but chill the entire night. I was there to chaperone, and now that Kael was there, I wanted Austin to have fun.

“Yes.” I held up my cup and Austin nodded as if to say “Good.”

“Did you meet everyone?” His words were slightly slurred. His hair was messy, tousled, hitting the middle of his forehead.

“Not yet. I just got here.”

“You look happy. Are you happy?” my twin asked me.

His cheeks were flushed. I put both of my hands on his shoulders.

“You look drunk. Are you drunk?” I taunted him. In a loving way, of course. He was drunk. I was happy. But I wasn’t going to talk about that or the circumstances of his recent arrest in front of an arguing couple and Kael.

“I am. As you should be,” Austin told me with conviction. “It’s so good to be back.” He raised his hands in the air. His happiness was contagious, giving me a burst of energy I hadn’t felt in a while.

Austin raised his cup to mine and then moved to Kael’s. It took a second for him to register that Kael wasn’t someone he had invited.

“Hi.” Austin extended his hand to Kael. I cringed, wishing I had poured double the vodka into my drink.

“Hey, I’m Martin. Nice to meet you.” The two guys shook hands like they were making a billion-dollar deal.

“Martin.” Austin let that one sit for a second. He looked at me, silently asking me who the hell this guy was, and I widened my eyes, telling him to behave. He smiled.

“Nice to meet you, man. We have drinks in here, pizza on the way. She knows where everything is,” he said, pointing at me with his cup. “You guys should come out to the living room with me.”

Kael looked at me and I shrugged. I knew it was either the best or the worst idea to follow Austin back to the living room.

“Here, refill your drinks and come with me.”

I tried to make eye contact with Kael, but he was looking at Austin, who was asking how long he had been in the Army. Austin could tell that Kael was a soldier. Even without being told, he could tell.

I knew that Austin wouldn’t embarrass me by asking too many questions in front of Kael, but I also knew by the way he was looking at me that he was going to ask a hell of a lot of questions later. The arguing couple disappeared down the hallway, probably to have make-up sex in the downstairs bathroom.

“I’m glad you came,” Austin said to me, leading us into the living room.