Read Online Private Affair (The Private Series) by Danielle Torella - Free Book Online Page A

then a row of condoms.
    Ew!
    “Erin! You did that on purpose to get a rise out of me!” I throw a pillow at her.
    She tips over laughing, “Well now I know how many ‘rises’ I can get out of your brother here!”
    Ben laughs, “Too far Red … too far.” I smack his chest and take another shot willingly for that one.
    “My turn,” says James. “Tess, truth or dare?”
    “Truth.” I would rather answer a question than try and get up to do something.
    “Are you really cool with me and Erin?” He looks at me fully serious. He must have been worrying about this for a little while now. Why wouldn’t I be okay with it? He deserves to be with a great girl and Erin is, despite all of her past mistakes.
    “I am more than cool with it James. I am happy you found a woman who understands you.”
    He smiles and bashfully smiles at me and then kisses Erin. We all take another shot and I am feeling woozy and foggy.
    “Your turn Tess,” Erin claps eagerly and bounces in her spot on the floor.
    I close my eyes for a moment and I am greeted with an unwanted visual. I snap them back open and I feel my stomach start to clench. My heart squeezes at the thought and I now have the urge for my answers, unlike before. “Ben.”
    He looks to me and wait for me to ask him, but instead, “You’re getting truth.”
    “What? I don’t get the option of dare and get to do something stupid or gross like eating a spoon full of mayonnaise?” He laughs, and takes a sip of beer that he has been chasing his shots with.
    “No, you don’t”
    “Okay … truth it is then.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me you hooked up with Erin?”
    James chokes on his drink and stands up immediately, “What?” he yells.
    Erin’s jaw drops open and she covers her mouth and looks horrified. I never confronted her about her drunken confession a while back, I didn’t see the point, because Ben and I were on hiatus, so it didn’t matter much.
    I look to Ben who is just sitting there with a blank stare on his face. I am worried about what he is actually going to say. Fucking alcohol. Maybe this wasn’t the best way to bring it up. Well there’s no going back now.
    James is looking from Erin to Ben, waiting for his answer. Thankfully my brother isn’t one for physical confrontation. Erin doesn’t move.
    “What?” Ben finally asks. His tone is clipped and shocked.
    “When did you sleep with her?” I urge. I don’t think I sound pissed, but then again I don’t know what anything is at the moment.
    He crunches his eyebrows, and a look of confusion met with worry. He bites on his bottom lip and look to Erin. “What’s going on?” He asks her.
    She shakes her head and I see tears spilling, “I … I … didn’t tell anyone…” She looks down and her eyes are searching the floor for an answer and memory of speaking about it.
    “The night I brought you home from Chatz, drunk. I was leaving your room after tucking you in, you told me.”
    James is up and pacing the floor, clearly fighting his own emotions on the matter. Ben gets to his feet and puts a hand on his shoulder and James swings.
    Shit!
    Ben is turned from the blow that my brother just inflicted him, his lip starts to bleed and I jump up to him and step between James and Ben. “James!”
    “What? What Tess? Huh! I knew he was no good! I knew he was a womanizing asshole! Sleeps with any whore he can get!”
    Erin cries out and James goes over to her, “I didn’t mean it like that babe, not you. You’re not a whore, not even close.”
    “I am.” She whimpers out. “I slept with Ben.”
    My head shoots up from looking at her when I hear Ben ask, “When exactly?”
    “What?” I snap.
    He looks at me with confusion and his eyes are searching mine. He looks worried like I might run again. We are all looking at him, waiting for him to say something else.
    “You don’t remember?” Erin asks him bewildered.
    He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out and his shoulders