Chapter Thirty-Eight
Matt
I may have given my blessing earlier, but I was still easing into this new reality, and if Cody called himself my future brother-in-law one more time, I was going to smack him.
Lightly, at least.
Empty beer bottles filled the table we were at, along with a near-empty basket of fries.
Cody had insisted on “celebrating” after our talk today. He wanted to have guy time, which of course, made Jade jealous that she wasn’t invited, so we compromised. Her and El were going to meet us here in a bit.
I was wary about the idea at first, granted how Jade’s first bar trip had gone, but all of us would be here with her this time, so I needed to relax.
“So, you’re gonna talk to Coach?” Cody asked, popping the very last fry in his mouth.
“Yep. Monday morning.”
“I’ll back you up if you need.”
“Thanks.”
It was going to take a bit of time for things to get back to normal, but we were making progress.
It was only seven-thirty on a Saturday. Most people didn’t hit the bars until closer to nine, but Stallions was slowly getting crowded.
Every other girl that walked by was wearing a microscopic top and tight jeans.
One group was even wearing mini dresses that clung to their bodies like it was part of their skin.
But I didn’t catch Cody’s eyes wandering, not once. It was a bizarre switch-up from what I was used to. I still couldn’t believe I’d been so oblivious.
I guess they’d just been that good at hiding it.
The idea wasn’t that surprising when it came to Jade, who’s middle name should’ve been Sneaky, but Cody? He was a horrible liar and overly predictable most of the time.
“Cody,” a high-pitched voice chirped.
“Margot, hi.”
Margot Foxe was the girl of most men’s dreams. Certainly, most men in this bar.
Beach blonde hair pulled into a slick ponytail with flashy green eyes, she stood at five-ten, much taller than most women I knew. She was even taller than El, who towered over a majority of her friends at five-seven.
With long, slim legs and a fit physique, it wasn’t hard to guess what she did for work— modeling.
Cody never had a strict rule like Crew, who refused to hook up with the same girl twice. Cody would hook up with the same girl as many times as he wanted— until she requested more from him emotionally that he seemingly couldn’t provide.
Last I knew, him and Margot would hook up often, but I had no idea when that ended.
I forced myself to keep a straight face, but I was watching him closer than before now, testing him. And he knew it.
“How’ve you been?” she asked. “And hi, Matt!”
“Hey,” I smiled dryly.
“I’m good,” Cody answered. “You?”
“Good,” Margot grinned, gaze trailing him up and down like she was undressing him with her eyes. She wasn’t trying to hide it either. She wanted him to catch those hardcore fuck me eyes that she was throwing at him. “Are you busy later?”
“I am,” he immediately said.
“Really?” she pouted. “You don’t wanna hangout?”
“No,” he shook his head. “I actually have a girlfriend now.”
Never thought I’d hear him say those words.
And I definitely never thought they’d be about my sister.
Tipping her head, Margot’s expression turned fierce, green eyes starting to blaze lightly. If I remembered correctly, she wanted him to commit, and he said no. I only remembered because the guys gave him shit for it. After all, she was a fucking model.
Roughly, she said, “Oh. That’s interesting.”
I shifted around, taking the last swig of my fourth beer. I was starting to feel it a little, the light, pleasurable numbing sensation.
But it still wasn’t enough to take away the awkwardness I was drowning in.
“Sorry,” was all he said in response.
“Well,” she clicked her tongue, “have a good night.”
Yikes.
“Yikes,” Cody muttered aloud when she disappeared into a sea of baseball players.
Chuckling, I pushed the empty bottle into the collection that we had going. “I was literally just thinking that.”
We laughed together for a moment, and it was the first time in a long time where I was feeling at ease in Cody’s presence. A sense of normalcy.
Cody’s head lifted, a sated smile as he waved across the bar. Peeking over my shoulder, my expression immediately matched his. El and Jade were at the front door, stopped by a bouncer. His shoulders bobbed with a laugh as he handed Jade her ID back, prompting her to point our way.
I gave him a nod, as I was sure Cody did as well. For a second, the skepticism on his face made me think he was about to deny her. But he side-stepped, letting both girls through.
Jade glanced around like she was in wonderland, catching dirty glares from those around her. She sure as hell didn’t look twenty-one, but oh well.
Just like earlier, she dove into Cody’s arms again, all rainbows and sunshine as if she wasn’t decked out in dark clothes right now.
When arms wrapped around me from behind, I immediately recognized the sweet scent of roses that filled my nostrils. A chaste kiss stained my cheek.
“Hi, Princess,” I announced.
“Hi,” El’s ethereal face appeared beside me, and I fake gagged when Cody pecked Jade with a kiss.
El laughed at my reaction before turning sincere. “I’m so proud of you. You’ve been doing so good.”
“You think so?”
She nodded.
“Facing my demons,” I exhaled.
“Yes. You should be proud of yourself too.”
I felt so lucky to have her in my corner.
Not that I thought I ever wouldn’t, but I wasn’t always easy to deal with.
I knew I had baggage. I knew I had demons.
And of course, they hadn’t disappeared overnight; they were still there to an extent.
But having someone I loved so profoundly to stick with me while I worked on fighting them off meant a lot.
“You know it’s your turn next right?” I asked.
I wanted to kiss the adorable furrow between her brows. “For what?”
“To face your demons.”
“Ugh,” she groaned.
We both turned at the sound of Cody’s voice. “Do you want my seat?”
“I’m okay,” Jade said.
“Here, sit,” he stood. “I’ll go get you a drink. Does anybody else want anything?”
“I’ll go with you, actually,” El said.
And then there were two.
Jade and I chatted casually while they were gone, and even with El out of sight, I didn’t let worried thoughts consume me.
She was fine. She was safe. And I would remain in my seat until I knew otherwise.
El reappeared with a sex on the beach, while Cody had two Miller Lites and an Angry Orchard for the rest of us. He even knew Jade’s favorite drink.
I was surprised by how normal it felt for the four of us to hangout. The night seemed to be going smoothly, minus the spiteful looks that Jade kept receiving from Margot Foxe. And Jade was shooting them right back at her.
Margot had nine inches on Jade, but I had no doubt Jade would’ve kicked her ass. She was my sister, after all.
Kudos to Jade though, because she kept her composure much better than I ever had.
In the middle of another battle between Bigfoot and The Loch Ness Monster, El leaned in, her whisper tickling my ear. “Can we do something?”
I had a hundred dirty ideas circling through my head, and I wondered which one she was going to choose.
“Can we go to Pitcher Perfect?”
Well, that certainly wasn’t one of them.
“El,” I sighed.
“Oh, c’mon!”
“What?” Jade asked.
“I wanna go do karaoke.”
Mouth falling open, Jade turned to Cody. “Can we? Please?”
El’s rosy lips frowned, and her delicate eyes bore into me, sucking my willpower to say no away. It wasn’t fair. She had me wrapped around her finger every hour of the day.
Cody and I traded glances. He had the same look on his face as me— powerless.
“Alright,” I reluctantly agreed.
“Yeah,” Cody sighed, “let’s go.”
But Cody had no idea what he was in for.