Chapter 30
CHAPTER 30
Drew
“Hey, dickface,” Brody says. “How’s it hanging?”
I look up from the grill and nod. “Hey.”
Brody frowns. “You okay, dude?”
Sure, buddy, I’m great. Except for the fact that I went behind your back and married your sister. Oh yeah, and then I banged her completely sober and have every intention of doing it again, so I can’t even blame the liquor.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say dismissively. “It’s just been a long week.”
He’s about to say something else, but we’re interrupted by my sister.
“Drew, how much longer on the chicken? Charlee just got here, and I need a few minutes to review the final menu with her for the reception.”
Fuck. When Devyn invited me over for a barbecue, I didn’t even consider the possibility of Charlee joining us because I hang out here all the time. I think I’ve already proven that I lack self-control where Charlotte Harris is concerned. How in the hell am I supposed to act unaffected in front of all these people when the mere thought of her gets me hard?
Devyn pokes her head out of the doorway. “Drew? Did you hear me?”
I clear my throat as I flip the chicken over. “Uh, yeah. It’ll be ready in about ten minutes.”
Brody waits until Devyn leaves the back deck before speaking. “Dude, seriously, what’s up? You’re being weird.”
“I’m just tired. I haven’t been sleeping very well the last few days.”
“Yeah, I can relate to that,” he says. “These pregnancy hormones are killing me. I swear to God, all Rainey wants to do is ride my dick. We did it eight times yesterday. Eight! I think she’s trying to break the poor guy. And don’t even get me started on the state of my tongue.”
I laugh, happy to shift the focus to him. “Oh, how will you ever survive having sex with a beautiful redhead repeatedly?”
He takes a sip from his beer. “I’m serious, dude. I don’t know what to do. It’s not like I’m not giving her a good fuck because, hello, it’s me we’re talking about here. Why isn’t she worn out? What will it take to wear her out so poor Thor can have a break?”
I shake my head. “Will you please stop referring to your dick by that ridiculous name? Also, you should probably take advantage of it now since she’ll be closed for business for a while after the baby’s born.”
Brody rubs his chin. “That’s true. I didn’t think of it like that. Speaking of a good fuck…what’s been going on with you on that front? You haven’t mentioned anyone new for a while now.”
I side-eye him. “I don’t have to give you the play-by-play with every woman that I fuck.”
“Yes, you do!” he insists. “And you’ve been radio silent for months !”
Don’t look at me like that. Dudes talk about sex. And don’t even pretend that ladies don’t, too. I have it on good authority that women can be even pervier than men when it comes to that shit.
I shrug. “I just haven’t been feelin’ it.”
He looks at me skeptically. “Are you honestly trying to tell me that you haven’t fucked a single woman over the last few months?”
Nope. Not gonna go there. Evade. Evade. Evade.
“Maybe I’m sick of the single life. One-nighters just don’t appeal to me like they used to.”
His jaw drops. “Are you serious?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? Being a one-woman guy worked out for you and Riley. Why shouldn’t I give it a try?”
“Is there someone you have your eye on?”
I try. I really do. But my eyes automatically search for Charlee and get stuck when they find her standing right inside the house.
Brody follows my gaze and scoffs. “Yeah, right. Not gonna happen.”
I almost ask him why the hell not , but Rainey walks onto the deck.
“What’s not going to happen?” she asks.
“Nothing,” Brody grumbles.
Rainey rolls her eyes before whispering something in his ear.
“Right now?” he asks under his breath. When she nods, he sets his beer on the railing and turns to me. “Uh, I’ll be back in a bit. I have to go…get something from the car.”
I wave him off. “Yeah, buddy, don’t worry about me. Go bust a nut.”
He grins and practically runs after Rainey to the front yard. It’s only a matter of seconds after the coast is clear before Charlee makes her way outside.
“Hey, you need some help with that?”
The second she speaks, my dick is raring to go. It’s been almost a week since she came to the firehouse, but with that one sentence, I’m flashing back to our quickie up against the wall. I’m definitely going to need to keep my distance from her.
I set the tongs off to the side and grab my beer. “Nah, I’m good. I’m nowhere near your level of expertise, but when you eat as often as I do, you learn to cook the basics.”
She props a hand on her hip. “You wanna try saying that to my eyes next time?”
Hey, it’s not my fault she’s wearing a shirt that hugs her tits perfectly.
I clench my fist around my beer bottle and nod to her protruding nipples. “They don’t seem to mind the attention.”
Charlee looks down and laughs. “Well, that’s your fault.”
I raise an eyebrow. “How so?”
She peers over her shoulder to ensure we’re still alone. “Because they can’t stop thinking about what it feels like to have your mouth sucking on them.”
I groan. “Jesus, Charlee. You can’t say shit like that right now.”
“Why not?” she challenges.
“Because we’re at my sister’s house. And your brother is around here somewhere. And I really don’t need a woody in front of all these people.”
She taps her lips with her finger. “Okay, I’ll behave. But what about tonight?”
“What about tonight?”
“You’re off tomorrow, and I’ll be out of work around midnight. I can swing by your place on the way home, we can fill out the annulment paperwork and then bang like bunnies afterward.”
I smirk. “Is that right?”
“Well, we agreed we had to take advantage of this whole thing while we can, right?”
I nod. “In that case, you should probably pack a bag and stay the whole night.”
“Right.” She raises her eyebrows suggestively. “With the way our work schedules have been conflicting all week, we need to make up for lost time.”
“You make a good point.”
“I do, don’t I?” Charlee pulls her phone out of her pocket and looks at the screen. “Shit, I have to get going if I need to stop by my apartment first. I have to clock in, in an hour.”
I almost bend down to kiss her goodbye, but I catch myself. “Have a good night at work, honey. Text me when you’re on your way.”
She gives me a thumbs up as she backs away. “I’ll need your address. Send it to me when you can.”
Right. My wife doesn’t know where I fucking live.
I pull out my phone and open a text window. “Doing it now.”
Charlee winks as the incoming message chimes on her phone. “See you tonight, Drew.”
I nod. “Tonight.”
“What’s happening tonight?” Riley asks.
Shit, how long has he been standing there?
I whip around to face him. I try gauging how much he heard by his expression but his poker face is strong. “Uh…nothing.”
Riley narrows his eyes. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Drew.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He scoffs. “Sure you don’t.”
Shit liar, here. Remember?
I start pulling the chicken off the grill and loading it onto the serving platter. “I’ve got it handled, Rye.”
“Really?” he challenges. “Because from the look of it, you’re trying to hook up with Brody’s sister. And we both know how he feels about that.”
“You’re with my sister,” I grumble.
He takes a swig of his beer. “That’s different. You and I weren’t friends first.”
Damn, I need to be careful here. Riley is a good guy, and he’s about to become my brother-in-law. But Brody is also his best friend. I don’t want to drag Rye into the middle of this if at all possible.
I clear my throat. “Yeah, well…”
“Unca’ Drew!” My nephew, Nathan, comes bounding out the door.
Saved by the five-year-old. Perfect timing, little dude.
I step away from the grill and swing him into my arms. “Hey, buddy! Are you ready to get your grub on?”
He does a little fist pump in the air. “Yes! Give me all ’da food!”
God, I love this kid.
“A man after my own heart. Let’s go see what your mom has spread out in the kitchen.” I turn to Riley. “Will you bring the chicken in for me?”
He gives me a look that says we’re not done with this conversation . “Sure.”
Devyn, Riley, Nathan, and I all gather in the kitchen to load up our plates before going back to the deck to eat outside. About ten minutes later, Brody and Rainey return, plates in hand, looking freshly fucked.
Riley can’t resist the urge to give Brody shit. “Where’ve ya been, man?”
Brody eyes Nate pointedly. “Uh, I needed something from my Suburban. Took a while to find it.”
“What kind of something needed both yours and Rainey’s attention?” Riley’s lip twitches.
Brody fake coughs, disguising the fuck off thrown in Riley’s direction. Riley just laughs in return. Brody made a vow to be more conscious about his use of four-letter-words when he found out Rainey was expecting. Or more so when Rainey said she had every intention of implementing a swear jar in their household. Brody said he needs to practice before the kid comes otherwise, he’ll be filling that thing to the brim just like I did when Dev and Nate lived with me. Brody’s even worse than I am, so he’ll likely be broke before his kid’s first birthday.
“Ugh, I’m so hungry,” Rainey complains.
Brody kisses her on the cheek. “We have been working up quite the appetite lately.”
She playfully smacks his arm. “Cool it on the s-e-x talk. There’s a child in the vicinity.”
“What’s s-e-x?” Nathan asks.
Rainey gets an oh shit look on her face. “That sounds like a great question for your mom and dad, sweetie.”
Devyn rolls her eyes. “Thanks a lot, Lorraine.” She turns to Nathan. “Honey, we’ll talk about it when you’re a little older.”
“Aw, Mom,” Nate whines.
I mess up his hair. “Don’t worry, dude. Trust me, you’ll have plenty of time to think about it and talk about it later.”
Devyn sticks her tongue out at me. “Not helping, Drew.”
I shrug. “What? It’s true. The little guy’s already off to a good start playing with his schlong all the time.”
“What’s a schlong?” Nathan asks.
Oops.
“DREW!” Devyn shouts.
“What is it, Mommy?”
She sighs. “He’s talking about your penis, honey.”
Nathan giggles. “My penis is funny. It’s all squishy and stuff. But then sometimes it sticks up.”
Everyone laughs at that one. My nephew is never light on entertainment, that’s for sure. Especially since he became obsessed with the good ol’ pork n’ beans. What can I say? Guys are fascinated by their junk. And if I’m being honest, we never really outgrow that. We just learn to censor ourselves better as we get older.
Devyn hangs her face in her hands. “I’m fighting a losing battle, aren’t I?”
Riley pulls her into a side hug and kisses her temple. “Pretty much.”
Devyn looks toward Rainey. “You’d better be having a girl. There is way too much testosterone in this bunch.”
Rainey laughs. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Have you guys told your parents yet?” Devyn asks.
Brody shakes his head. “We’ve told hers but not mine.”
I shift in his direction. “Why not?”
“Because he’s scared of his mommy,” Rainey offers.
Brody flashes her a glare. “I’m not scared.”
“Yes, you are,” she insists.
He throws his hands up. “Okay, fine. I’m afraid of her. That woman is terrifying when she wants to be.”
Everyone at the table gives Brody shit for that one. Except me, because I can’t stop wondering what she’d do if she found out that I secretly married her daughter.
“Do you really think she’d freak out?” Riley asks.
Brody finishes chewing. “Once I tell her that we’re waiting to get married until after the baby’s born, yeah, I do. She’s so fuc…uh, fudging traditional sometimes.”
I smirk at his near slip-up. “She’s bound to find out soon enough. You’re better off just telling her before Rainey starts showing.”
“Nuh-uh,” Brody replies. “To be honest, I’m kind of hoping that Charlee or my dad will do something monumentally stupid. She’d be so focused on that, that it would take the heat off of us. The odds of that happening though are slim to none.”
Eh…I’d say those odds are much better than you think.