Chapter 5 #2
My heart jumps to my throat. What’s Sadie going to say about me? The horny purple devil emoji pops up on the screen, making me chuckle. She’s not wrong, and yet, I wish she knew there is more to me than sex. How can I show her that?
I type before anybody else can grab the phone.
But which one’s your favorite?
The response takes longer this time, long enough that I picture Sadie lying in bed, staring at the screen, thinking hard about the answer.
Dash notices my expression immediately. “What’d she say?”
I read aloud, “She says ‘that’s a dangerous question’.” Chief’s jaw tightens slightly.
Dash grins. “Tell her that’s a cop out.”
I type:
Humor me.
This pause lasts even longer. Outside, warm air hums with insects and distant traffic. Somewhere nearby, another bike engine growls low, then fades into the night. Finally, her reply lights up the screen:
It depends on what mood I’m in.
Dash whistles. Shadow’s mouth twitches slightly around the edges. Chief frowns, lips pursed. It’s the face he pulls when he’s concentrating. My phone buzzes again almost immediately.
I like how you make me laugh.
Dash fist pumps aggressively.
Another message.
I like it when you’re quieter, even if you notice too much.
Shadow goes still, his expression unreadable.
But I also like it when you’re bossy, because it sounds like you’d tell me exactly what to do. We all want to hand over control every once in a while.
A trace of a smile crosses Chief’s lips.
Sometimes, I even like how you sound like you’re one minor inconvenience away from murder.
Everybody looks at me, knowing smirks on their faces. “Rude,” I mutter.
We’re silent, mouths open in identical looks of disbelief and surprise. Does Sadie still think she’s talking to one guy, or is she just playing along? Waiting for us to admit it? Either way, she’s figured us all out. Her descriptions are a little too accurate.
Dash slowly sets his beer down. “Well. We’re fucked.”
Something territorial tightens hard beneath my ribs. Sadie likes all of us. Not separately, not one more than the others, but together, as one. Somehow, that should make this easier. Instead, it makes me want more.
The conversation shifts after that as I take control, desperate to prove that I can be enough.
It gets dirtier, more personal. Sadie starts opening up between the flirting without seeming to realize she’s doing it.
She talks about her ex-husband, about motherhood, about loneliness, about how strange it feels having someone actually pay attention to her again.
It’s at that point that I realize that none of us is just entertaining ourselves anymore. We eagerly wait for her messages, listening for the phone’s buzz. We fight over replies like assholes.
Dash sprawls across the couch beside me while typing one-handed.
Bet you look hot when you’re annoyed.
Her reply comes quickly:
Bet you say that to everyone.
Dash grins wickedly.
Only the pretty ones.
“Jesus Christ,” Chief mutters.
“What? It’s effective.”
Unfortunately, it is. Sadie responds:
I’m starting to think you are trouble.
I take the phone back before Dash can answer again.
You like trouble, though.
I mentally cross my fingers as I wait for the reply.
The typing bubble appears. Stops. Starts again.
Maybe I do.
God, I want her. I want to be with her right now.
I want to move this beyond just texting.
I want to know what she looks like when she sends these messages, whether she blushes, whether she bites her lip, whether she’s touching herself while we talk.
Fuck. The restless energy radiates off me, and suddenly I can’t sit still.
I spring up from my seat, pacing, trying to think of a good way to ask where she lives, wondering how she would react if I simply showed up.
She’d probably mace me. I’m not exactly the kind of stranger you want turning up on your doorstep in the middle of the night.
All of a sudden, I regret the patchwork of tattoos I can’t hide, the snake that runs up my chest and neck.
I’d flay them from my body to be able to hold her right now.
Chief notices the shift in me immediately. “Easy.”
I glare at him. “Fuck off. I’m fine.”
“No,” he says calmly. “You’re getting wound too tight.”
“Maybe because every time I touch the phone, one of you assholes climbs over me trying to take it.” I pace, running my finger through my hair.
Dash points. “That’s because she likes me best.”
“She literally called you annoying.”
“In a flirty way.” Sometimes I wish I could have Dash’s confidence. Nothing fazes him.
The phone buzzes again, and I pounce on it.
So, which version of you is up talking to me right now?
I stare at the screen. Then type:
The dangerous one.
Her response comes quickly.
I knew it. Hi there, trouble.
Something possessive unfurls hot beneath my ribs again. Mine.
Dash groans loudly. “You two are unbearable.”
I grin slowly.
You scared?
The pause this time is shorter.
Maybe a little.
Chief watches me carefully from across the room.
He knows that this stopped being harmless somewhere along the way, that I’m in too deep to stop now.
It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like this about a woman.
It’s never ended well. Despite that, I can’t quit.
I’m already hooked. Maybe I need her to end this, before I hurt her, before I lose control.
I type before I can stop myself.
Good. You should walk away now, while you still can.
“Jesus fuck,” Dash mutters. Chief shoots me a glance that I think is appreciative but could also be judgmental. After all, why should they give her up because of me?
Sadie takes longer to answer this time. Long enough that the tension starts crawling beneath my skin.
Then finally:
I’m not some innocent wallflower that needs protecting, you know.
I don’t need to think about my reply.
I’m just being honest. You’re right—I’m trouble.
Three dots appear immediately. Disappear.
Maybe I want a little danger in my life.
Shit. “Well, I tried, boys,” I say with a shrug, showing them the screen.
Dash snatches the phone from my hand and types:
Then we’re the man for you.
I glower at him. “Way to fucking ruin it and give it away. She still thinks she’s just talking to one guy.”
“No, she doesn’t. Not for sure,” Shadow says with certainty.
I open my mouth to disagree when the phone buzzes again.
If you’re so confident, then come over.
The music suddenly feels too loud, the room too busy, the lights too bright.
Dash slowly sits upright. “Well. That’s interesting.”
Chief’s jaw tightens. Shadow crosses his arms. Every muscle in my body locks instantly. Shit just got real.
Dash recovers first. “Obviously, she means me.”
“Why the fuck would she mean you? She was just talking to me,” I snap.
“Because I’m charming.”
“You’re exhausting.”
Chief holds out his hand calmly. “Lemme see.”
I don’t want to give him the phone. Which apparently tells everybody exactly how bad this has gotten.
Dash whistles low. “Trigger’s gone full caveman.”
“Shut up.”
Chief reads the message once. Then again. “Is she drunk?”
Shadow finally stands, stretching slowly before taking the phone off Chief. “No. She’s lonely,” he says quietly, setting the phone down.
Beneath the flirting, dirty jokes, and teasing, we all know he’s right. We hear it in the pauses. The late-night replies that come almost instantly. The way she lingers even after saying she should sleep. Sadie doesn’t want the conversation to end. Neither do we.
“So, is one of us going to go? Should we all go?” Dash asks, looking between us.
Chief shakes his head. “No. If Trigger is right and she thinks it’s just one guy, it will scare the crap out of her if all four of us show up on her doorstep.”
“Even if she does know, all four of us showing up would be overwhelming,” Shadow agrees.
“So just one of us goes.” I nod, confident that it will be me. I love my brothers, but I’m willing to fight them for this.
Dash stands and loudly claps his hands once. “Alright. We settle this fairly.” He looks at me pointedly, fully aware of what’s going through my mind right now.
“Fairly?” I repeat slowly.
“Yes.” He grabs a quarter from the counter, tosses it in the air, and catches it with a flourish. “Heads or tails.”
Chief looks deeply unimpressed. “We’re not deciding this like horny teenagers.”
“Too late,” Dash says. “This is the fairest way.”
Shadow snorts quietly. I’m already standing before I realize I moved. The idea of one of them going instead of me suddenly feels wrong enough to make my teeth hurt from clenching them too tightly. My hands ball into fists. She’s mine, the monster inside growls.
Chief notices. So does everybody else. Dash flips the coin once across his knuckles. “Winner rides out.”
Chief slowly rubs his jaw. “You sure this is a good idea?”
“No. Absolutely not. I should go,” I snarl.
Chief fixes me in his stern gaze. “You’re not exactly in the right frame of mind right now…”
“Fuck you,” I snap.
“It’s the coin toss or nothing, brother,” Dash taunts.
Sadie’s message burns bright against the screen in my hand.
Come over.
Attached is a location pin valid for one hour. She’s close. So close. She’s been under our noses this whole time.
Every part of me already knows I’m going. Whatever the coin toss says.