# CHAPTER 17: The Night That Changed Everything
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review CHAPTER 17 of "Just for the Plot" — and oh, what a chapter this is. We've got drunken confessions, a game-winning home run, one very handsy sister, and a night that leaves two people tangled together in ways neither of them expected. So grab your coffee, settle in, and let me tell you exactly how it all went down.
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It started with a text message — one that Bennett Brinkman could not stop staring at.
There she was. Bower. In the stands, wearing his number on her back like she belonged there. The photo from Gabby had been sent before the game, and it had lodged itself deep in his chest, making his gut clench with something between longing and desperation. Because fuck, she looked good. Too damn good. That jersey, that smile, that casual ease of her sitting in the stands, probably munching on a hot dog while cheering his name — it was everything he wanted. Everything he didn't have. Everything he was fighting like hell to earn.
And standing in his way was Cougar.
Throughout the entire game, his mind kept wandering to the same torturous questions. Does she like him? Have they kissed? Are they getting serious? He didn't know. She hadn't told him. And that lack of knowledge fueled a quiet rage that simmered beneath the surface of his victory.
But tonight, he planned to get answers. Maybe not from Bower directly — that would be too risky — but from Gabby. His sister knew everything. And if anyone could spill the truth after a few drinks, it was her.
The car pulled up to the bar Gabby and Ryland had chosen, and Bennett tugged his hat low, hiding his face like that would do anything. He was easily recognizable. Tall, built, and fresh off winning the game — but hey, a man could try. He kept his head down as he walked through the crowded bar, weaving toward the back where a rope cordoned off the private area. The security guard took one look at him and nodded.
"Great game."
"Thanks, man." Bennett patted his shoulder and stepped through.
And then he looked up.
And there she was.
Bower was on her knees in the booth, holding up a shot glass, her eyes locked directly on him. Her Bombers shirt clung to her body like it was painted on, showing off just the right amount of skin. Her hair was wild and curled, tumbling over her shoulders. The lights caught her glossy lips, making them look absolutely irresistible. And the expression of pure, unfiltered happiness on her face when she spotted him — that alone was worth every second of the game.
"Bennett!" she shouted, alerting the others to his arrival.
Gabby flew out of her seat like a rocket, completely hammered, and threw her arms around him in a massive hug.
"My baby brother, the game winner." She sloppily kissed his cheek, then gripped his shoulders and pulled back to beam at him. "You're amazing."
"And you're drunk." Bennett laughed.
"I am," she confirmed, patting his chest. "But you're catching up. We have drinks ready for you."
She tugged him toward the booth, where Ryland — also looking thoroughly lit — pulled him into a hug and patted his back a little too aggressively. Then Ryland whispered in his ear, "I love your sister so much."
Bennett chuckled. "Good thing since you married her."
"Very good thing."
Then Ryland let go, grabbed Gabby, pulled her into the booth, and proceeded to kiss her right there. Tongues and all.
Jesus.
Bennett glanced at Bower, who mouthed: *Told you so.*
He walked over to her, and to his absolute pleasure, she stood and gave him a hug too. His hand briefly skimmed her bare skin before she pulled away and winked at him. "Hell of a game. Laying off that curveball only to take the fastball yard for a walk-off game-winning home run."
One eyebrow rose. "Did my sister tell you to say that?"
"I memorized what she's been repeating in between making out with Ryland." Bower smirked. "Did I do a decent job?"
"Very good."
She gave him a flirtatious wink. "It was a really good game."
"Did I impress you?"
"Tremendously."
And then she tugged his hand, making him sit right beside her, and held up a shot glass. "Bottoms up."
"What is it?"
"Does it matter?"
"I guess not."
He tipped it back. Swallowed. And the night began.
---
The game of "Never Have I Ever" started innocently enough. Gabby giggled her way through questions, making Ryland take sip after sip. At one point, she discovered that her husband had, in fact, licked ice cream off someone's body.
"Ryland Rowley, that wicked tongue of yours strikes again," Bower said.
"Don't need the recap," Bennett cut in, holding up a hand. "For the love of God, no recap."
But then Bower bumped her shoulder against his, her hair brushing against him, that sweet coconut-and-musk scent flooding his senses. He was pretty sure if he ever saw a coconut in person from that day forward, he'd get hard on the spot. That's how intoxicating she was.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of Gabby and Bower going back and forth, it was his turn.
"My turn?" He played it cool, like he didn't have a plan. "Uhh... never have I ever... kissed someone on the lips in the last three weeks."
Gabby and Ryland both groaned. "You did that on purpose to make us drink."
Yup. That was exactly why he did that. Please note the sarcasm.
As they both drank, Bennett's heart pounded wildly in his chest. He turned to Bower, waiting. Needing to know if she'd taken a sip. If she'd kissed Cougar.
But she remained still.
Joy erupted through him like a firework. She hadn't kissed Cougar. She hadn't kissed anyone.
"You're not drinking?" she asked him.
"Nope," he said, barely containing his elation. "Haven't had the time. What about you?"
She shook her head. "Sad day for me, no kisses."
"And no dick tickles." Gabby laughed.
"Dick tickles?" Bennett asked, horrified.
"She's right. No penis has been inside of me for a while. More sad news, I know."
He cleared his throat. "Not even with Cougar?"
"Dry as a bone," Gabby announced, then ruined everything. "But she's going to try to make it work with him, right? Because there's potential."
And just like that, Gabby pissed all over his joy.
"Are you?" Bennett asked.
Bower shrugged. "You went through all that trouble to set things up for me, might as well give him another try. We might be getting to a place where things move along."
Not what he wanted to hear.
"'Might' being a strong word," Gabby added, as Ryland kissed her neck. "She said when she's near him, she feels nothing. As if she's broken inside."
"Okay, okay!" Bower waved her hand, clearly embarrassed. "We don't need to talk about my lack of sex life or the fact that my ability to be aroused has fallen off the face of the earth. Back to the questions."
She turned to Bennett. "Never have I ever come in my pants."
He rolled his eyes and took a sip.
"Ewwwwww," Gabby said.
"Oh please," Bennett shot back. "As if you've never."
"I haven't." Gabby tilted her chin high in indignation.
"Bullshit," Ryland said. "All those times I fingered—"
"For the love of God, we're done!" Bennett slammed his drink down, ending the godforsaken game before he had to hear another word about his sister's sex life.
He downed the rest of his drink and let out a deep breath. "I have to get to bed, or else I'm not going to be able to play tomorrow."
"Why, will you be in trouble?" Bower asked cutely.
"No, just can't function when I'm extremely hungover."
"This coming from the guy who doesn't have an ounce of a hangover the next day," Bower said.
"That's what being twenty-four will do to you," Ryland said, finishing his beer. "We need to go anyway." He wrapped his arm around Gabby and whispered something in her ear that made her giggle.
Fucking gross.
Bennett pulled out his phone and ordered a car. Then he turned to Bower. "Want to catch a ride with me?"
"Obviously."
The bar was packed, so he took her hand and wove her through the crowd. Hordes of people recognized him, but he didn't stop. He just kept moving forward, her hand in his, until they burst out into the cool night air. The driver pulled up right on time. He opened the door for her, waited for her to slide in, then followed.
"That was very quick," she said, surprised.
"He was waiting for me."
"How nice." She yawned and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm exhausted."
"Same."
He put his arm around her, and she snuggled into his chest. And that's where she stayed until they reached the apartment building.
For a moment, he thought he'd have to carry her up. But she stirred awake, took his hand, and let him walk her to the elevator.
"Can I just come to your place?" she asked on another yawn.
"Sure," he said, welcoming the idea more than she could possibly know.
"Thank you."
When the elevator doors parted, he helped her to his apartment. She headed straight for the bathroom. "Let me grab you a shirt. I, uh, I grabbed a few things the other day for you in case you ever decided to stay the night. There's face wash and a toothbrush and anything else you might need in there. Drawer on the right is yours."
"I adore you," she said, right before shutting the bathroom door.
His heart soared.
While she got ready, Bennett grabbed a Bombers shirt she could borrow and quickly changed, leaving him in just his boxer briefs. He plugged his phone in. When she opened the door, the bathroom smelling like fresh toothpaste, he handed her the shirt.
"Thank you."
And then she went into his room and started to undress.
Jesus.
He quickly shut the bathroom door — because yes, he was infatuated with her, but he wasn't about to sneak a peek without an invitation. He took a few extra minutes to calm himself down before stepping out.
And there she was.
Curled up in his bed.
*That's what I want. Right there.*
Her. In his bed. No one else's. Just the sight of her under his blankets, sleeping on his pillow, gave him a surge of hope so powerful it nearly knocked the breath out of him.
He turned off the lights and slipped under the covers, turning toward her. She turned her back to him — then pushed up against his chest.
Did she want him to snuggle? What would she do if he put his arm around her? Would she care? Would she even notice in her state?
He bit down on the corner of his mouth, contemplating, until she answered for him. She reached for his arm, placed it around her waist, and pulled herself even closer.
And then, in the sweetest, softest voice, she said, "Night, Bennett."
Fuck. This is amazing.
He pressed his face into her hair. "Night, Bower."
---
Morning came with a vengeance.
"Death," Bower announced as she appeared in his living room, her hair sticking up in every direction, a wince across her expression, and a light smear of mascara under each eye.
Bennett chuckled, leaning against the kitchen counter in a pair of sweatpants, sipping his coffee. "What can I get you?"
She plopped down on the couch. "A shovel for my grave."
"Don't have a shovel, but I have some greasy hash browns warming in the oven and some strong coffee."
"I'll have to settle." She draped her arm over her eyes and groaned. "Why are you not even affected a little? You drank more than I did."
"Technically, you were drinking during the game too." He prepared a platter of hash browns and coffee, then brought it over.
"Which I realize now was a bad mistake."
He sat down next to her and handed her the mug. When she didn't take it, he joked, "Do you need me to feed it to you?"
"Through an IV, thanks."
He laughed. She finally took the mug, her head resting against the couch. "God, why do I do this to myself?"
"Because my sister was letting loose for the first time in probably a year, and you were joining in."
"That's very true." She lolled her head to the side and looked at him. "Ryland was a horndog last night."
"Don't remind me. Fucking keep it in your pants, dude."
"I found it endearing."
"Endearing? I saw far too much of my sister's tongue last night."
She chuckled, taking a sip of her coffee. "I don't know. It's nice to see her so in love. I only wish I had something like that. Made me kind of jealous, you know?"
"You want that?" he asked, genuinely interested in what her dreams looked like when it came to love.
"I do. I want someone to want me that much. Someone who finds it nearly impossible to keep their hands off me. Someone who worships me."
*Turn your head, babe. I'm right here.*
"Are you not finding that with Cougar?"
He kind of already knew the answer, but he needed to hear it. His emotions had gotten the best of him yesterday.
"I don't know." She sighed. "I mean, I can see potential there, but it's moving at a snail's pace. Which is great, because maybe that's what I need — to spend time developing a friendship before jumping in right away."
"I get that," he said, not overjoyed by her answer.
"What about you?" She turned slightly toward him, and he reached for the plate of hash browns, offering her one. As she grabbed it, she said, "Last night you said you hadn't kissed someone in three weeks. Do you really go that long without... you know, doing anything?"
"I mean, there's always self-pleasure."
She smirked. "Yes, well, we all seem to be taking part in that, but you know what I mean. You're Bennett Brinkman, and you just won the Bombers game last night. There has to be a bunch of women waiting to grab your attention. Are you just not interested?"
"Not really interested in the women who throw themselves at me."
Clearly, he only liked the ones who were putting him firmly in the friend zone.
She leaned her head to the side, studying him. "Are you still hung up on that crush you had?"
*Ha. If she only knew.*
"I mean... yeah."
"It's been so long. Why haven't you moved on?"
He wet his lips, wishing he could tell her the reason. Wishing he could look her in the eyes and say, *It's you. It's always been you.* But the timing wasn't right. He hadn't done enough to get her to break. To accept his feelings without being scared.
He needed a little more time.
"Why haven't I moved on?" He gave it some thought. "Why would I let go of someone who means so much to me? There might still be a chance for me to figure things out with her."
"There is?" she asked, looking far too excited for him. "Then why don't you just go for it?"
"It's complicated. But maybe... maybe soon I can."
"Well, I will need all the details when it does happen." She took a bite of her hash brown and moaned. "Oh, this is perfect. How did you know I'd need this?"
"Because I know you pretty well at this point, Bower."
"You do." She flashed him a smile. "By the way, you never responded. Did you like my shirt last night?"
He picked up a hash brown as well. "I did. Do you think it would fit me?"
She scoffed. "Maybe one pec. Which, by the way, when did you get an ass?"
"What?" He laughed, nearly choking on his hash brown, because he never thought he'd hear her ask that.
"I was watching you yesterday, and all of a sudden my eyes were fixated on your rear end and how pronounced it was. I don't ever remember you having an ass like that. Was it the belt you were wearing?"
"Uh... no."
"Oh my God." She covered her mouth with her coffee mug. "Do you stuff down there?"
"For fuck's sake, Bower."
She chuckled, then groaned when she realized it was too much for her head.
"I've been doing a lot of squats and lunges, building up my legs, which in return builds the muscles in my glutes."
"Well, send me your routine, because a girl would like a rounded rear like that."
"Uh... thank you."
She smirked, then clinked her mug against his. "You're welcome."
And just like that, the morning after — the hangover, the awkwardness, the vulnerability of waking up in his bed — dissolved into something comfortable. Something warm. Something that felt an awful lot like two people falling in love, whether either of them was ready to admit it.
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## Reader's Impressions & Star Rating
Oh, where do I even begin with this chapter? This was an absolute rollercoaster of emotion. The chemistry between Bennett and Bower is off the charts, and watching him navigate his feelings while she remains blissfully unaware is both torture and pure delight. The "Never Have I Ever" scene was hilarious and tense in equal measure — the moment she didn't drink, the relief that flooded through Bennett... chef's kiss. And then the ending — her in his bed, telling him goodnight, and then that comfortable, flirty morning-after banter about his ass? I was grinning like an idiot the entire time. This chapter perfectly captures the slow burn, the longing, the *almost* — and it's absolutely addictive.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.9 / 5 Stars
## Next Chapter Prediction
Something big is brewing. Bennett is running out of patience, and with Bower still "trying to make it work" with Cougar, the tension is only going to escalate. I predict Bennett is going to make a bold move soon — possibly revealing his feelings, or finding himself in a situation where he can no longer hold back. With Gabby and Ryland clearly encouraging him, and Bower admitting she wants someone who worships her, the stage is set for a major turning point between them. But will he confess before Cougar gets too close? And what happens when the secret is finally out? I have a feeling the next chapter is going to be explosive.
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