“Come on,” I coo. “There’s a house party. We won’t be too late. Just a few drinks with my favorite brother.”

“I’m your only brother, you twat.”

I grin my megawatt smile and am rewarded with his in return. I’ve got him. Jake looks over his shoulder to the bathroom door. Thinks. And then he’s up on the toilet seat, scrambling out of the window with my help. It’s been a while since I escaped through this window, so I’ve neglected to consider that we’ve both grown considerably.

“Shit,” Jake curses, his arms and legs all bent and twisted as I tug him. “I’m stuck.”

“No, you’re not.” I start laughing as I dig my boots into the mud to get a better grip of him, imagining Dad barging in and being confronted with Jake’s arse. “Turn a bit.”

“There’s no damn room.”

There’s nothing left for it. I increase my grip and heave with all my might.

“Whoa!” Jake dislodges and falls out of the window.

Right on top of me.

I grunt on impact, coughing. “You definitely weigh more than me.”

“Piss off. We’re the same size.” He gets up and brushes himself down.

“You’re not gonna pull the ladies looking like that.”

“Like what?”

I stand and pull a few twigs from his blond mop. “Come on.”

Both our heads snap toward the window when we hear the door in the bathroom open. Oh shit.

Lauren appears at the window, frowning, but her eyes light up when she finds the pair of us outside. “What are you doing?”

I grab Jake’s arm and pull him toward the lane. “If anyone asks, we fell down the loo,” I call, casting a smile over to Jake when he laughs, slinging my arm around his shoulder. Me and my brother. This is what makes me happy. That and girls. And a few beers. Tonight, I get all my favorite things.

“She fancies the pants off you,” Jake says, and we both glance back to find Lauren still at the window, watching us.

I smile to myself. “Who doesn’t?”

“You’re a bighead.”

“Weird, though, eh? Since you’re the one with all the brains.”

Jake nudges me, and I stagger a few paces on a chuckle. “I heard Curtis White screwed her in the pub toilets a few weeks ago.”

I look back to the house again. Lauren is still at the window, still watching us. I shake off a weird shudder when she locks eyes with me. “Yeah,” I say quietly. “And I also heard she threatened to spread nasty rumors about him if he didn’t.”

“You’re kidding me?” Jake says, alarmed, swinging back to look at Lauren. He definitely shudders too.