Chapter 22
Chapter twenty-two
Drake
Streams of sunlight poured in through the windows of Artificer Coffee.
I sat at the table off to the side, clutching my mug tight. August sat next to me, his foot thumping to the same nervous beat as my heart. He took the occasional sip of his tea but kept glancing at the window.
Today we were meeting up with Serena.
A few days had passed since we’d officially decided we were dating, and we’d been glued together every chance we got outside of our work shifts.
I never thought I’d need or want that from a boyfriend, but August proved otherwise.
Being around him was like soaking in a perfect summer day, all crisp skies, the slightest breeze, and sunshine in spades. I was thoroughly addicted.
But I also couldn’t push off this conversation with my sister any longer.
“What if she’s pissed?” August wrinkled his nose. “I haven’t even told my parents that I’m not moving with them yet. Then I’ll have multiple people pissed at me. I might disintegrate from the pressure.”
A laugh exploded from me. “I doubt you’ll disintegrate, even if people are mad at you.”
He’d told me about how his parents had wanted him to move and how he’d been torn. The idea he’d almost slipped through my grasp made my heart speed up.
Thank fuck he wasn’t going anywhere.
August was mine, and I’d prove that to him every damn day.
“It’s five minutes before our meetup time, and she’s not here,” August said. “She’s got to be pissed.”
I snorted. He wasn’t wrong that something was off.
Serena was always punctual, and to her, punctual meant being places fifteen minutes early.
I’d been so nervous about telling her, that the news would somehow fracture things between us, but after claiming August, I was ready to face the challenge head-on.
If I could get over her ruining my graduation party with a keg stand gone wrong, she could handle me dating her ex.
Maybe different categories there, but hey, I had to hold onto some hope.
I sipped at the cappuccino, soaking in the warmth of that and August’s constantly vibrating leg, which brushed against mine over and over. It was causing so much friction I half expected it to catch fire. I leaned in so my lips rested against his ear. “Nervous? Need something to suck on?”
His breath hitched, which sent a thrill through me.
Fuck, his mouth, his hole, I couldn’t get enough of either, and apparently, he felt the same way about my cock.
Match made in heaven. August’s hazel eyes were blown, the slight flush on his cheeks telltale.
Clearly, our minds were in the same gutter.
The door to Artificer swung open, dragging my attention away.
Serena strode inside, wearing a black suit jacket and slacks that made me feel out of place in my jeans and tee. Which was ridiculous, because there were more hipsters than business professionals in here, so I should’ve felt right at home.
Except I was about to break the news to my sister that I was dating her ex-boyfriend.
“August?” Serena asked, glancing between us.
My stomach sank. Okay, well, maybe I was a little more worried than I’d let on. I sucked in a sharp breath, ready to launch into explanation mode.
Serena clasped her hands together and let out a squeal, which was so unlike my sister I blinked.
“What?” I scratched at my nape, feeling like I was missing something.
She plunked into the seat we’d left for her and picked up the mocha I’d bought—her favorite. “This mine? I’m guessing you didn’t drag me out here to tell me you guys have become best friends.”
“We’re dating,” I admitted, her behavior still confusing the fuck out of me.
“And we understand if you’re angry,” August rushed in. “I know it’s got to be a bit odd, considering, well…”
“What, the fact we dated?” Serena said. “No offense, but I’m not the relationship type. And even if I was, after a month or two, it felt more like dating my brother, which was just weird. But it did give me the idea.”
“The idea for what?” I asked, even though the pieces were slotting together at a rapid pace.
“To get you two to meet,” Serena said, arching her brow. “Why do you think I gave you my ticket?”
“Because you know I love the Dropkick Murphys and wanted to see that concert?” I said, even though based on her smug smile, I’d figured it out. Relief saturated through me in a fast sweep.
“Yeah, but we started dating, not just being friends,” August insisted, a seriousness in his gaze that was utterly adorable.
“Baby, she was playing matchmaker,” I said, reaching over to squeeze his hand. “She wanted us to date.”
“Whoa, what?” August glanced between us. His brows rose an inch.
Serena let out a bark of a laugh. “My brother needs some sunshine in his life. You’re easygoing enough that I knew you wouldn’t have an issue with his work schedule like past boyfriends did, and you’re both into the worst fucking music.”
“No accounting for taste,” I commented. “Rich, coming from someone who likes stoner jam bands.”
“I want to unwind on my downtime, not get amped up with a bunch of sweaty assholes,” Serena said, taking another sip from her mocha.
“You really don’t care?” August asked, his leg slowing down from the nervous movement.
“I’m glad,” she said. “You’re a good person, and I think you’ll be great for Drake. He’s been lonely, even if he’d never admit it.”
“I’m right here,” I grumbled, even though affection bubbled up inside me. She wasn’t wrong. Meeting August and falling for him had made me realize how much I’d given up on trying to find love. How much I’d walled myself off.
And how much I’d secretly craved someone to come home to. To call my own.
“I know you are, little brother,” Serena said, reaching out to pinch my cheek. I swatted at her, and she swatted back, and the years melted away, as if we were still teens and not in our late twenties.
“Well, damn, that’s a huge relief,” August said as he rested his ankle over mine, as if he couldn’t bear for us to not be connected skin to skin.
I loved every second of his neediness, as it soothed the need to be first for someone that had hounded me my entire life.
I hadn’t realized until I’d started dating him just how much my past relationships had been lacking.
“Did you think I’d be mad?” Serena asked.
“Yeah, a little,” I admitted. “I felt super guilty at first. You have to admit, it looks bad on paper.”
“I broke up with August though,” Serena pointed out. “We’d barely been dating.”
“Six months isn’t anything to scoff at,” he said.
Serena shook her head, a grin on her lips. “I wasn’t aware we were dating past the initial hookup. For like three of those months.”
“My whole world is a lie.” August flung an arm over his forehead, faking drama.
“You’re going to hold this over me, aren’t you.” I eyed Serena suspiciously.
“Oh, fuck yeah,” she said with a toothy grin. “When it’s time to give speeches at your wedding, you best bet I’m taking all the credit.”
Heat rushed through me at the thought. With anyone else, I would’ve run screaming or wouldn’t believe it could last. August’s eyes sparked at the mention of wedding, and my chest squeezed tight. Yeah, he was definitely it for me.
I didn’t care that we hadn’t been together long. I knew, deep in my gut, that he was my forever guy.
“That’s a deal,” I said, and Serena’s eyes widened.
“Damn, when you go in, you go all in,” she said.
“Me or him?” August asked.
Serena shook her head. “That could apply to either of you. So clearly you were made for each other.”
I reached under the table and linked hands with him, our fingers intertwining. August’s eyes met mine, a softness in his hazel gaze that struck right to the core of me. Goddamn, I was so fucking lucky.
“Ugh, are you both going to be gross like that?” Serena wrinkled her nose and took another sip of her mocha. “Love is nauseating.”
“Okay, ice queen,” I responded with an eye roll. Moments like these, I forgot what a wild success Serena was and we vaulted back to the way we were as kids.
“Are you going to the fundraiser?” August asked, and I squeezed his hand a little tighter.
“The whatnow?” Serena asked, drilling me with her “lawyer look.”
“I hadn’t mentioned it to the family yet,” I murmured to August.
“Oh, shit.” He slapped a hand over his mouth. “Forget I said anything.”
Serena shook her head. “Nuh uh, you’re not getting out of that. Either of you. What fundraiser?”
“Sorry” August mouthed at me, but I shook my head, a rueful grin on my lips. Not like I needed to keep the event from my family. I just had my own personal hangups.
“I’m in charge of the firehouse fundraiser coming up, and it’s a show—Spring Fires as well as some other bands.” My shoulders tensed.
“What the fuck, asshat?” Serena reached across the table and smacked me in the shoulder. “Why were you keeping that from us? Did you think we wouldn’t support you?”
I shrugged, staring at the wood grain of the table. “It’s not a huge deal or anything.”
“Yeah it is,” August said, his voice serious. “This is something you’ve worked really hard on pulling together. And I know how excited you are about it.”
“Which is why you’re going to tell the rest of our family, and we’ll all be there,” Serena said, giving me daggers. “Why do you get weird about shit like that?”
“It’s… Shit, Ser, I’m not a success like you and Blair.” I opened my mouth, but the words gummed there. August holding my hand was keeping me tethered in the moment though, his support something I hadn’t realized how badly I needed.
“I want to reach over the table and smack you,” Serena muttered. “There’s no competition, you get that? Are you happy?”
“Yeah,” I murmured, sneaking a glance to August, who beamed back at me.
“Then you’re killing it. That’s the only metric anyone in our family gives a damn about.” She leaned forward and smacked me hard on the arm again. “Changed my mind. It was worth it.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, my throat growing tight. Shit, all this sappiness couldn’t be good for me. “Ow, I feel like you bruised the arm.”
“You’re full of shit,” Serena said, finishing off the dregs of her mocha.
“While I would love to stay and chat, I’ve got another client meeting in fifteen.
Send me the details about your fundraiser before the end of the night, or else.
” She rose from her seat, entering and exiting like a tornado.
Serena glanced between the two of us again.
“Called it.” Her eyes twinkled, and she strode off in the direction of the front door.
“What the hell just happened?” August blinked a few times.
“I mean, you dated her,” I said. “You didn’t expect this?”
“Uh, apparently I didn’t know her that well,” he scratched at his nape.
“Well, I’m glad for that, baby,” I said, slipping my arm around his shoulders. “There’s only one Castillo I want you falling for.”
“Your other sister?” he teased.
I pinched him in the side, and he yelped. “Ass.”
He leaned in against me, and I didn’t even give a damn that we were being the PDA couple in the coffee shop. “I don’t know if I’ve ever fallen this hard.” He glanced up. “That scare you?”
“Not in the slightest,” I said. “As long as you can handle my odd shifts, my weird needs to go adventuring at midnight once in a while, and that I’m never going to be polished.”
August lifted up one of his tattooed arms. “What the fuck about this says polished? You’re dating a tattoo artist, not a banker.”
“Thank fuck.” A giddy laugh exploded out of me, and I soaked in the bliss of the moment—August by my side and the reality that we were just at the beginning.
We had a whole future of adventures ahead of us to dive headfirst into, and I couldn’t wait.