Chapter 18
Cole
I felt like I was all smiles showing up to Leonardos. Sliding into the booth, the only person not there was Hudson. “Is Hudson coming?”
Vinny nodded. “Yeah, he’ll be here.”
Carter elbowed me, “Why you grinning so hard? You just have backseat sex or something?”
That gave me a good laugh. “No, asshole. No backseat sex, although now I know what I want to try.”
He smirked. “You’ve never had backseat sex? You’re missing out.”
I made a disgusted face. “I don’t wanna know about you and Lex having backseat sex. She’s like my sister.” Carter laughed. “Anyway, we almost got caught in my office. That’s all.”
Vinny looked at me dead ass serious and said, “Cole. Stop fucking around. You’re really playing with fire.”
“Who’s playing with fire?” Hudson asked as he slid into the booth.
“Fucking, Cole. He almost got caught at work doing whatever with Delaney.” Vinny was always so serious.
“Ooooh. You tryin’ to lose your job or what’s up?” Hudson asked. “Because, I mean, if you are, just say that.”
I rolled my eyes. “You guys are a real fucking buzzkill, you know that?” They all shrugged at the same time. I appreciated my friends because they kept it real, but it was also really annoying. “Things are going great between us, thanks for asking.”
Vinny took a drink and said, “Look, we are happy for you, but you need to be careful. No bullshit. Also, whatever came of the ex-husband?”
“Oh! That day you gave me all the info on him, he showed up at Amaryllis’ school to try and take her. They called me so I went and got her. Lex and Carter came too.”
“Damn, no shit. I’m sure that went over well with him. His own daughter didn’t even want him.” Hudson shook his head.
“We had dinner the other night at her parents, and he showed up there too. I got a feeling in my gut that he’s going to try something. I told Delaney to go get an order of protection.”
Hudson’s ears perked at that, and he said, “Don’t wait. Make sure she goes. Had Amelia gone a day earlier for jackass, that night might’ve went differently. Just make sure she goes.”
Amelia and Hudson went through some things with her ex too. I looked up to see Vinny’s face. He looked pissed. “What’s up with all these assholes? What ever happened to being a good guy?”
“I agree, man. I don’t get it. None of us were raised that way. It really sucks for these women catching the short end and it makes it harder for us good ones. Whatever. I’ll make sure nothing happens to them, but I feel like something is coming. We’ll see.”
Carter spoke up. “I’m glad we all finally got to meet her. She’s great. I have a question though. Did y’all do the nasty in my bathroom, asshole?”
I had just taken a drink of water and spit it out on the table.
Vinny, “Jesus Christ.”
Hudson, “That’d be a yes!”
Carter, “You did, didn’t you? You dirty mother fucker.”
Wiping my face and then the table, I said, “No, we didn’t do the nasty. I tried, but she said no.”
Hudson and Vinny laughed. Carter side eyed me and said, “Payback, buddy… just wait.”
“What? We didn’t do anything…” I unintentionally drew out the anything when I said it and took another drink of water.
“I don’t wanna know. Just know, payback…”
Changing the subject from me, I looked at Vinny and asked, “How’s Bianca and the kids? She closed the store. Any thoughts on doing anything else?”
He shook his head. “No, she’s really enjoying being a stay-at-home mom and being there for all the little moments with the kids. They are growing so fast, and it seems like their personalities are changing daily. It’s cool to see.”
“That’s good, man. You know, I never saw the appeal of kids until Amaryllis came along. Don’t get me wrong, I love y’all’s kids. Love them like they are my own and I’d do anything for them but never really saw myself having any. That little girl though has me wrapped around her finger. That day with her dad standing there yelling, she was hugging me so tight. I would’ve burned that place down to protect her. I’ve never felt anything like it.”
Carter and Vinny both nodded and Carter said, “It’s a different feeling, man. They can’t protect themselves. Welcome to that life. She’s going to have you sitting there having tea parties soon and playing dress up.”
I laughed at the thought. My life had taken a totally different turn. “Hudson, have you and Amelia talked about having kids?”
He suddenly looked pale. “Um…we haven’t talked about it at all. Fuck. I don’t want kids. What if she wants kids? What the fuck do I do now?”
I felt bad for bringing it up. “Calm down, man. Just talk to her about it. Maybe she doesn’t want kids either. I’m sorry.”
“We are getting married, man. Shouldn’t this be something we know about each other?” He ran his hand down his face. “I mean, we just didn’t talk about it. We have a great time together. I figured it would just be us.”
Vinny said, “Listen, just talk to her. Amelia is a reasonable person. I’m sure she isn’t going to freak out. Just talk. Take it from me and everything I went through, communication is key. Just talk to her.”
Hudson nodded. “Yeah, ok, you’re right. I’ll talk to her soon.”
“Alright, let’s have one more drink. As much as I love you ugly assholes, my hot wife is at home waiting for me,” Vinny said, making us roll our eyes.