Chapter 24
E xcept I don't talk to Jax. Not that night and not the next day or the next. I'm pretty sure he's avoiding me, but between the work I'm doing at my grandmother's house and the hours I'm putting in, helping Deandre finish up that order of his, I'm not around that much to avoid anyway.
I've settled into a groove, and I'm reluctant to upset it.
A few days ago, Deandre and I had another mind-blowing session in his workshop that carried over into his bed.
I slept in his arms, kissing my new daddy softly before drifting off—only to wake and let Adam take me on the countertop while a breakfast casserole finished baking in the oven.
Sergio and I have spent a couple more late nights reading in quietly charged companionship, and Cayden's been warm and loving through it all, looking honestly pleased to see me bouncing between his best friends.
Except one.
Inevitably, the stalemate had to end, though.
After another afternoon spent cleaning out my grandmother's attic, I return to the guys' house to find the furniture in the living room being completely rearranged.
"Uh…" I give them a funny look as I unwind my scarf from my neck and hang it up with my jacket. "You guys suddenly into feng shui?"
Jax scowls as he drags in another chair from the dining room to set beside a big table I don't recognize. "It's poker night."
"Oh. I didn't realize."
"Figured someone would tell you," he says, and yeah, that's a little passive aggressive, but Cayden doesn't take it that way.
He abandons the chips he was sorting to come over and plant a kiss or my lips. "Sorry. Meant to mention it last, but I got a little—ahem—distracted."
He shoots me a smiling leer and grabs my ass, and yeah, last night was pretty distracting. I can't fault him. "It's okay."
Adam wanders in, then, absorbed in his phone.
"Hey." Jax puts his foot out as if to trip him, and I grit my jaw.
Apparently that's just a running gag with these guys, though. Adam doesn't seem to be paying any attention, but he spots it coming a mile away. He shoots an arm out to the side, shoving Jax in the chest and neatly sidestepping his foot, grinning slyly. "Nice try, asshole."
"Yeah, whatever."
Jax shakes it off, but it's not as easy for me to ignore.
Not when that was the kind of shit he used to pull with me in the hallways of our middle school.
Maybe it was meant in fun back then, too, but if it was, he didn't let me in on the joke, and my bitterness about that still lingers in my throat.
Adam is still looking at his phone as he brushes a kiss across my cheek. I put my hand on his waist, but he keeps moving. I frown, but Cayden waves it off.
"Someone's wrong on twitter. This could take a while."
"Twitter? I thought you guys were hermits."
"In real life, yeah, mostly, but Adam's a tech guy. Told you he does the books and our website."
"And occasionally gets into fights on Twitter."
"Exactly."
"Just don't try to poke any Nazis today, okay?" Jax says. "You know the trolls give you indigestion."
Adam shakes his head. "I make no promises."
"Great."
The edges of my lips curl up. I kind of love the idea of him getting into it with bigots online. So long as it doesn't distract him too much…
"Is someone else making dinner, then? Should I?"
"Taken care of," Adam says absently.
Sure enough, about a minute later, Deandre and Sergio bust in the door. Deandre's got a stack of pizza boxes that goes halfway up his chest, while Sergio is hauling a case of beer in each hand.
"Speak of the devil," Cayden says.
Deandre skirts around the game table the guys are setting up to put the pizzas down on the coffee table. "Dig in."
"Don't mind if I do," Jax says.
Adam magics some paper plates out of nowhere. Jax takes them and starts serving up. To my surprise, he approaches me, plate in hand. On it sit two slices of Hawaiian—extra pineapple.
My brows furrow. "That's my favorite."
"Duh. Why do you think we ordered it?"
"I…"
He raises his brows and tilts his head to the side, then shoots me finger guns as he walks away backward.
God, that guy has me so twisted up inside.
That doesn't stop me from enjoying my pizza, though.
I take big bites of gooey cheese and delicious pineapple, sipping on one of the fancy beers they brought home.
Around me, everyone else does likewise. As they do, they shoot the shit about their day, and I chime in, too, falling into the conversation as if I've been a part of this group for years—not weeks.
And it's almost uncomfortable to be so…well, comfortable.
Richard was the kind of guy who eclipsed your life while you were dating.
I didn't realize it at the time, but as soon as we broke up, it became painfully clear that all of our friends were actually his friends.
I had good people I worked with—people who had my back.
But no one that I would just hang out with like this.
By the time all the boxes start to get cleared away, my belly is pleasantly full, and my head is just the right kind of floaty—tipsy without edging over into drunk. It feels nice. I tip my beer back again, finishing it off, then accept a refill when Deandre places one in my hand.
"So, you guys planning on sitting around gabbing all night?" Jax asks, showily playing with a stack of chips. "Or are you ready to play cards?"
That second option is met with enthusiasm. Chips start getting doled out. Adam seats himself at the table and starts shuffling, making bridges that would make a Vegas dealer proud. I start to reach for a pile of chips, only to have Jax stop me.
"Sorry, toots. You gotta have a buy in."
"Excuse me?"
Everyone else just took their chips. What the hell?
"I have money." Not a ton—I am a teacher, after all. But some.
"Your money's no good here." Jax nods at Adam. "He pays in technical support and cookies." Sergio. "Gun cleaning and knife sharpening." Deandre. "Extra hours at the mill, working like a stiff like the rest of us instead of the usual artist bullshit."
Deandra pipes in, "That artist bullshit pays your bills, asshole."
Jax ignores him. "Cayden lets us all live here for free, so he gets a pass."
"And what about you?"
"Don't you worry about me. The question is what you bring to the table."
I glance around. Shit.
There's only one thing I can think of right off the top of my head.
And it's one thing to offer it to all these guys for free.
It's another all together to put it out there like this.
To treat my body like it's something to be lost…
Or won.