Chapter 12
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Wells
“I still don’t know how the dads found out about all this,” I said, unstrapping my seat belt in Thatcher’s ride.
He drove a Range Rover and pulled us up in front of a local theater in our hometown, Maywood Heights.
Everyone entering sported tuxes and other fancy shit, and that was exactly the attire my buddy Thatcher and I rocked tonight.
My bow tie choked the fuck out of me, and I hated wearing such tapered shit, but it was necessary.
We were going to the ballet.
Mind you, this wasn’t our choice and something our dads had been doing for what felt like the beginning of time.
Whenever one of their sons fucked up, our dads took us to the ballet.
Ballet outings were for special fuckups though.
If my buddies or I crossed a woman (or in my case, a partner), our dads made us all suffer through an entire night of tights and boring-ass shit.
Our dads also suffered through it, so we all knew they were doing this to teach us a lesson.
The whole thing was something about reminding us to be better men to our partners.
The guys in the ballet were delicate with their ladies or whatever.
It was just all a giant snoozefest for me, and I knew this particular time it was about me.
I didn’t know how the dads found out about everything with Bow, but I knew they did.
I heard it from both my mom and my dad. Mom’s response to everything was sweet as pie of course.
She could never even yell at me growing up, but she had expressed how disappointed she was with me in several texts.
That felt shitty as hell, but it was better than when my dad contacted me. He called me, and he never called.
Still hearing his rant in my head, I faced Thatcher.
He went James Bond tonight with a white jacket and black pants.
He didn’t take out his earrings of course, and his spiked crosses dangled when he unstrapped himself.
He left the car running since we were using valet.
He frowned at me. “I called this one in myself, bro.”
My brow had to have jumped to my hairline. I pushed back my hair. “What?”
I knew he was pissed at me after what happened, and rightly so. Bow was his sister, but he’d never tell our dads about our shit. Not on purpose anyway.
At least, I thought he wouldn’t.
Thatcher came around the Range Rover after handing the keys to the valet, and I got out of the car too. He pressed a finger to my chest. “I told your ass to stop this shit with my sister years ago, so yeah, I’m still pissed.”
He hadn’t spoken to me the majority of our ride to the theater. I obviously knew he was still pissed, but I was giving him his space.
Sighing, Thatcher shook his head. “I let this shit go on for too long, so maybe a part of me called this in for myself, too. I was too complacent.”
I knew why he did go along with it. My vendetta against his sister meant no guys wanted to be around. Thatcher was doing the older-brother thing by cockblocking.
He obviously was regretting that now. Our other friends made their appearance when they pulled up in Wolf’s Hummer. I wasn’t surprised that Dorian, Wolf, and Bru traveled together. Dorian was dating Wolf’s sister, and Wolf and Bru were brothers.
It still wasn’t easy to see Bru. What happened on the couch last night was too fresh.
All three guys looked pissed stepping out of Wolf’s Hummer.
I could imagine Dorian and Wolf just didn’t want to be there.
They hadn’t screwed up in a while since they had steady partners they both loved and respected.
Everyone knew this shit was on me, but it was only Bru who looked like he actually wanted to kill me.
Dorian and Wolf might just rough me up a little, but Bruno Sloane-Mallick gave off like he’d finish the job and then some.
Bru had his hands in his pockets and his suit was just as tapered as mine, his shoes shined. He looked sexy as fuck with his hair moussed back, and I hated that he looked sexy as fuck. I hated that he bothered me and took me to my limits.
I wanted him to stay last night so I could watch my cum seep out of his ass. I wanted him to stay so I could push it back in and watch the face he made as I did it.
I wanted him to stay.
He hadn’t of course, and that made sense.
He flanked Dorian, who wore his own suit. Dorian Prinze was Pembroke U’s quarterback, and he rocked a black-on-black suit tonight. Wolf was right behind him once he handed his keys to the valet.
Wolf looked like he belonged in an Armani ad with his height and his wild curls ponied up. I might be in that spread with him, since I took some creative license and wore a patterned tux. I kept it classy with a jacquard black pattern.
Dorian and Wolf mumbled low hellos in my direction after shaking my hand. They both snapped their fingers after the greeting, but there was nothing warm or inviting about those handshakes.
Bru didn’t shake my hand at all. I got barely a chin tip, and that was probably only out of formality. He followed the guys toward the theater.
“Kid, hold up,” I said to him, and he sighed before turning around. The others went on into the theater, and I wasn’t even going to touch that one. Normally, we all had a quick smoke before our dads arrived. It was the only way we could get through this shit, but no one even bothered tonight.
My friends loved me, but they were obviously pissed at me.
I allowed Bru to stay on the higher step when he turned, and, when I offered him a smoke, he waved it off. I let out a breath. “Bru…”
“Nah, don’t bother,” he said, starting to turn back toward the theater, but I took the high step, cutting him off. He sighed again. “What could you possibly want? I think you said all you needed to say last night.”
I lit my joint but didn’t smoke it right away. I stood there, and Bru laughed.
He shook his head. “You’re confusing as shit, Ambrose.”
I was sure that was what it looked like to him, and I was questioning myself. I told him to stay away from me, keep things platonic, and then I fucked him. I fucked him hard. I fucked him good, and we both enjoyed it.
We always did.
It was always easy with Bru. It was until things changed. That was on him, but last night was definitely me.
I took a hit from my blunt. “I’m sorry.”
I was sorry. I was sorry I confused things and went back on what I said. I did just want to be friends, but I was just coming off all that bullshit with Bow.
“Archer.”
Bow had gotten in my head with all that. She brought up old history, and yeah, that fucked me up. I may not look like I had a soul, but I was human, and she’d been so fucking stupid that night. She had no business getting drunk and getting up on that balcony.
It just showed how starved for attention she was. I got out of my head when Bru got too close. That outdoorsy smell that came off him worked itself into my nose. It riled me up, made me growl.
“I think you don’t hate Bow as much as you want to,” he said, causing me to blink.
What the fuck was he talking about Squeak for?
He nodded. “I know what happened between you guys. I know how you used to be friends and I also know why you’re not anymore.
The guys told me about that girl who drowned in high school.
It came up that night Bow was on the balcony. ”
So, my friends had been talking behind my back. They’d brought up old shit that I’d been doing everything I could to forget.
“Archer.”
They got it wrong that Bow and I used to be friends. I may have tolerated Thatcher’s little sister, but I was never her friend, and she let me know that the minute she decided to do her fake drowning shit. She’d pretended to go under the water that day at the pool to get attention, my attention.
That was how it went down that day, and that would always be how I saw it. I would.
I swallowed. “Bow’s the reason that girl died. She pretended to drown, and I really don’t know why you’re bringing that up.”
It was some dark shit, and he had to know that it was hurtful. That it killed. That girl died on my watch. Mine.
“I think that’s what you want to believe,” Bru continued. “That it was Bow’s fault. But I definitely don’t believe you hate her. You covered for her that night with the guys.”
I did because it was true. I had said some shit to her earlier that day. I hadn’t gone too far though. In fact, what I said had been completely fucking warranted. I put a finger in Bru’s chest. “I covered because it was hurting Thatch.”
“I’m sure that was part of it, but I saw how you reacted when we both thought she was in trouble. It was like you snapped, and you were also able to talk her off that ledge.” His eyes narrowed. “She trusted you.”
She was stupid to. Bow Reed shouldn’t trust me anymore than I could trust her. “I told you that night that you don’t know anything about that girl and me.”
“I know you don’t hate her. People who hate each other don’t look terrified when they think the other may fall off a ledge, which you did. I was there, Ambrose. I saw it. You also fucked me not long after it happened. Like what went down got you up in your head. Like she got in your head.”
I bristled. I didn’t know what he was insinuating, but whatever it was, he needed to step back. He was crossing the line, just like he’d done with our friendship. My jaw moved. “I got her off that ledge for Thatcher.”
“I’m sure that’s what you’re telling yourself, and, believe me, I know what it’s like to be confused.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I need to tell you something about Bow.”
I blinked. He got my attention quicker than I wanted him to. He got my attention period which I didn’t like, and it took effort not to react to what he said.
It took effort not to feel something.
Bru opened his mouth. I assumed that was to speak, but an arm came around him, and once it did, I hid my blunt. The arm was his dad’s, Ramses, and my dad was with him.