22. TWENTY TWO
TWENTY TWO
GARRETT
Waking up next to Cory in the morning and knowing it was because she was finally giving us the chance we deserved felt like winning the lottery. I didn’t have to tiptoe around the feelings that had been growing more intense with each passing day so as not to scare her off because she felt them too. Or, at the very least, she was going to let herself feel them.
We spent the better part of the morning under the covers making up for lost time and talking in the way I’d wished we would’ve months ago. She was letting me get to know the Cory that she didn’t share with many people, which was a damn shame because she was perfect. How anyone could ever know Cory and treat her as if she was less than, instead of more than, I’d never know or understand. She may have looked tough and put on a good show of acting like she didn’t care, but at her core she was a whole lot softer than she’d like people to believe .
When we finally left the bedroom, we didn’t make it far. Something about watching her make coffee in my sweatshirt and nothing else had my dick stirring. I’d never been overly possessive, but Cory made me want to shout how she was mine loud enough that all of Boston could hear. I wanted the whole world to know, but I could settle for Boston to start.
She’s mine.
By the time we got around to drinking our coffee, it was afternoon and we had to turn them into iced coffees. Iced coffees that tasted somewhat burnt, but it was worth it.
The next two weeks followed in a similar fashion. We went to work when we had to, but at the end of the day I found myself at Cory’s. We’d be curled up on the couch with her dark hair fanned over one half of my lap and Siren’s head on the other, watching some movie I’d seen a thousand times.
I always picked a movie I’d seen before. Not because I didn’t want to miss anything if things got heated, but because I didn’t want to miss her . The way she’d blindly grope for a handful of popcorn without taking her eyes off the screen even though it took way longer to secure the popcorn, or how she pressed her lips together in an attempt not to cry at sad parts, her chin quivering ever so slightly. At the end of a movie she’d ask what I had thought of it, and I’d tell her it was good. Because it was always good.
Hayes was right.
I was a member of the Lovesick Club. I honestly might’ve replaced the president with how bad I had it, but I didn’t care.
I loved her.
** *
“It’s just drinks. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.” Cory laughed as she fastened the strap of the black, high heel around her ankle and stood up. The shoes and the black skinny jeans she’d put on made her legs look like they went on for miles. I couldn’t look too long at the satin, forest green top that hugged her breasts like a second skin or we’d never leave.
I walked up and grabbed her hips, pulling her against my chest. “Tell them we’re sick.”
She glanced down at where my dick pressed into her lower stomach, already hard, and then back at me. “You are sick. I don’t know how you bounce back so quickly.” Her hands shoved at me playfully and I let her put some distance between us. It was necessary if we were going to make it there in time.
“Besides, Hayes is sending me death threats over hogging you.”
I scoffed, following her out of the house. “He’s one to talk. When he started dating Kinsley, he disappeared for two months. I considered calling for a welfare check just to make sure he was still alive.”
“Oh, I know! The only reason I knew Kinsley was all right was because she’d FaceTime me whenever Hayes was in the bathroom to tell me about him.”
I opened the passenger door for her, earning both a smile and an eye roll, and then walked around to the driver’s side.
Fifteen minutes later we were pulling up to the trendy burger bar that had recently opened. It was a two-story brick building that had ropes of vines climbing up its sides in a purposeful way. The windows on the second level were massive, and made up most of the wall space. It didn’t look architecturally sound to me, but then again, I wasn’t an architect. The first floor had significantly more walls, and opened up to two patios which sat under a sky of string lights. Live music played from the back corner of one and provided the ambiance that Cory had talked about on the ride over.
It was trendy and boujee, and exactly the kind of place Kinsley would love.
I was about to open the front door when Kinsley shouted to us from a table on the patio. Cory waved and started weaving through chairs, leading the way.
We hadn’t even gotten our greetings out when Kinsley pointed a finger at the two of us, a huge grin on her face. “I told you! I told you! I told you!”
“Are you good now? Is it out of your system?” Cory laughed and pulled her friend in for a hug.
Hayes stood up from his chair and gave me a hug. “I told you too.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
“So, what have you two been up to?” Kinsley asked in a sing-song voice, her gaze jumping between the two of us.
I looked at Cory wondering if she was also picturing the way I had her bent over the back of her living room couch only an hour before.
“We’ve just been watching movies. ”
“Right.” Hayes smirked, dragging the word out. “ Watching movies. Is that what we’re supposed to call it now?”
“When you’re trying to be polite it is.” Kinsley shot a look at Hayes, but I just shrugged.
A waitress with a tray of drinks stopped at our table and began setting glasses in front of us.
“We took the liberty of ordering for you guys,” Kinsley said, as the waitress set the last drink down with a quiet remark about how she’d be back in a minute for our food orders.
“Thanks, Kins.” Cory smiled and unwrapped her straw.
Hayes held his glass out to everyone. “Well, cheers! I’m glad we could all get together.”
We clinked glasses.
Cory swallowed her sip and looked at Kinsley. “Did she forget yours?”
“Nope, this is it!” She took another sip of her water in affirmation.
“But that’s just—” Realization flickered across her face and then her mouth popped open. “Shut the frick up! Are you pregnant?”
I looked at Hayes, who wore a goofy grin that was too big for his face, and I knew even before Kinsley nodded with watery eyes.
“I am! We just found out last week!”
“Congratulations, you guys!” I clapped Hayes on the shoulder. They were going to make the best parents.
“What the hell?! Wasn’t I supposed to help you tell him?” Cory jabbed a finger in Hayes’s direction.
“You were, but I was too excited!” She smiled brightly.
Cory got up out of her seat and walked over to her friend, wrapping her in a tight hug. “Congratulations, Kins. I’m so, so, so happy for you guys. You’re going to be the most amazing mom.”
“Aww, thank you! And you are going to make the best auntie.”
“I want that in writing.” Cory laughed.
Kinsley sipped on her water. “I’ll get it on a T-shirt for you.”
“So, I guess you guys have watched a lot of good movies recently, huh?” Cory smirked at Hayes as she sat back down.
“So many good movies! Want the names of them?”
Dinner carried on with more joking and a whole lot of baby talk. It came as no surprise when Kinsley revealed that she already had a theme for a gender reveal party, and that they’d started discussing names right there in the bathroom with the still developing pregnancy test. I’d never imagined the words “swaddle” and “diaper genie” would come out of Hayes’s mouth with the same ease as “beer” or “fishing,” but they did, and it suited him. Watching the two of them talk about their nursery and birthing class plans instilled a weird sense of pride in me. My best friend was going to be a dad, and he was going to be amazing.
But as happy as they were, baby Turner was taking a toll on Kinsley’s energy levels, so we called it an early night, stopping at our cars to say goodbye .
“Call me if you need anything. I’m serious. I’ve got that little twenty-four-hour convenience store right down the street from me. I can bring you whatever you need, whenever you need it.” Cory wrapped Kinsley in a hug and then bent down to her belly.
“And you take it easy on your mama, kid. There’s plenty of time to raise hell once you’re out of her womb.”
“Congratulations again, dude. I’m really happy for you,” I said to Hayes.
He smiled. “Thanks, man. Hey, you know this means you’re going to be an uncle.”
Cory, the little eavesdropper, perked up at that. “Oh, Uncle Gar-Bear! Please make your kid call him Uncle Gar-Bear.”
“Oh my gosh, stop! I love that! That’s so cute!” With the way Kinsley’s eyes lit up, I knew it was a done deal—my fate was sealed. She’d probably go home tonight and order me a T-shirt with the endearment printed across the chest.
“On that note”—I stalked over to Cory and wrapped my arm over her shoulders—“we’re saying goodbye.”
I guided her toward my truck, waiting until we were out of sight to drop my arm and slap her ass playfully. Leaning down, I whispered in her ear, “You’re going to pay for that comment.”
“I look forward to it.” Her sassy smirk screamed mischief.
***
It was a little after two in the morning when Cory’s phone rang, startling us both awake. Siren’s head snapped up from where she’d had it resting on my ankle and let out a half-hearted growl of annoyance at being disturbed before resettling.
Cory silenced her phone, sending the call to voicemail, and then turned back into my arms. No sooner had we gotten comfortable again when her phone buzzed. We looked at each other, confused, before she rolled over to answer it.
“Hello?” Cory’s voice was thick with sleep, her eyes tiny slits.
“Who is it?” I mouthed quietly.
Her eyes flew open, and she sat up straight, Siren jolting back to awareness.
“Detective Levine, hi. What’s going on?”
My heart plummeted, and I was instantly awake. A phone call at two o’clock in the morning likely wasn’t good, but a phone call at two in the morning from a detective was never good.
She blinked a couple of times and her chest rose and fell with her breathing, but otherwise she didn’t move as she listened to what he was saying.
“Yeah. Okay, I’ll be right there.” Her response was hollow. She hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment before looking at me with haunted eyes.
“My shop. It’s been vandalized.”