The Sidekick

Chapter Sixty-One

Tera

One quick, awkward text to Max later we’re pulling up to the curb at Max and Trevor’s house.

I’m nervous. And excited. But mainly nervous.

Before Asher puts it in park Max is rushing out the front door with a giant grin. Trevor is slower to come out, his expression wary but hopeful.

My door is opened and Max leans in to give me a smacking kiss on my cheek.

“Where’s your bag?” He demands without missing a beat.

“Back seat,” Asher says in a calm tone. When I glance at him I can see he’s struggling not to laugh.

Max yanks the back open and takes out my bag like he’s going to hold it hostage.

“I know I shouldn’t be this excited, ok? I know your big bro is hurting. But god damn it, I’ve been waiting for this for so long I can’t help it.”

The rushed babble stops as he leans in and kisses me. A quick peck that turns into two and then a slower third.

“Let her inside, Max,” Trevor says in frustration.

“Or just out of the car,” Asher puts in drily. “Baby steps.”

“Fuck both of you,” Max mutters and backs away for me to get out.

He’s practically skipping up the driveway. When he reaches the front door he gives Trevor a happy peck on the cheek and brushes past him.

Trevor rubs at a temple as his eyes close. “Heads up. He’s going to be giddy all damn day.”

“Just him, huh?” Asher smirks and slides past him as well.

Trevor’s hand drops as he scowls over his shoulder.

“Thanks for this,” I stop in front of him with a pained smile. “I know it’s really sudden-”

“I don’t care,” he interrupts me with a scowl. “You’re welcome here anytime you want. You can stay as long as you want. The reasons you’re here don’t mean shit to me. You stepping inside is the important part.”

He twists in the doorway, extending his arm inside in welcome.

“Still,” I bounce on my toes to give him a peck on the cheek and hurry inside.

When he closes the door I hear a lock click over and glance back in surprise. Asher chokes on a laugh.

“Just in case,” Trevor says flatly while he glares over my head at Asher.

“Good call,” Max says as he comes back in. “How about a tour, Tera? Get comfy with where you’re going to be staying for a while. Maybe permanently. Who knows?”

“Jesus,” Trevor grumbles behind me.

I accept the tour, taking in the furniture and rooms. The comfortable couch looks older and worn in. Their TV is huge, like Shade’s. The kitchen is tidy with a small four-seater table in the corner. A door at the end of a short hallway leads to a guest bedroom that has yellow sheets and bright colors. My eyes narrow on the sunny room in suspicion. Before I can comment Max drags me to a central bathroom and what looks like a game room and an at home gym had a love child. Then the last door is thrown open with gusto.

The first thing I notice is all the dark colors. Mainly maroon and black. Then the gigantic bed in the center. It has a headboard and footboard made of solid wood. It looks heavy and expensive. It also has my bag set right in the middle of it.

“Why is the bed the most expensive thing in your house?” I ask dumbly.

Max’s reply is to wiggle his eyebrows.

I give him a flat stare back and return to the living room.

Max settles on the couch in a rush and pats his lap for me to sit down with an expectant grin.

“Max,” Trevor says in a dark tone of censure.

“Don’t care,” he sing-songs back without taking his eyes from me.

Asher passes me with a pat on my butt that startles me. He gives me a sly grin and does his own tour while Trevor watches him.

I sigh and give in. I don’t have a problem sitting in Max’s lap. I could actually use his version of comfort right now.

I settle on his thigh and press my side into his chest, resting my head on his shoulder. His arms go around my waist as he settles back.

“Tell me all about it,” Max mutters and presses a quick kiss to my head.

The cushions dip as someone sits behind me.

“They ditched him,” I mutter sadly. “We can do the pranks but I’m waiting for Andi to call and tell me they’re gone first. South promised she would watch Shade while he processes but I don’t know how long that will take.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Trevor says from behind me. “You can stay as long as you like.”

“I’ll pay rent,” I promise without looking at him. “We can split bills or however you want to do this.”

“Um, no,” Max says in a surprised tone. “We’re taking care of all of this.”

“We are huh?” Trevor is smirking, I can tell.

Max clears his throat angrily. “That money is half mine. So what if it’s in one account?”

Asher comes back in, takes in the lack of seating, and sits cross-legged on the floor.

“A recliner or one of those cushy chairs,” I tell him and he looks at me with a tiny smile.

“On it,” Max shrugs as if it’s a done deal.

I frown and pull away from him. His jaw clenches as his arms tighten around me as he glares.

“I can afford my own stuff, you know. I have money now.”

“Oh, really,” Max smirks at me.

“Yeah, really,” I smirk back just to be a jerk. “As a matter of fact I could just go get a house of my own.”

It isn’t something to be proud of considering how I came into the money but the surety surprises me. I’ve been working to keep myself sane and to be around people but I’m not working because I need to anymore.

“Huh,” I say in a wondering tone.

“What?” Max laughs at my befuddled expression.

“I don’t have to work,” I mutter back with a frown. “I’ve gotten so used to it that I automatically assume I have to be doing it.”

His brows furrow and his eyes shift to Trevor in a panic.

“What do you mean,” Trevor asks softly. He sounds unsure of where I’m going with this.

“I mean, in today’s economy I don’t think it would last for more than maybe ten years but it’s still something.”

“Are you saying you’re rich, babygirl?”

“I guess?” I don’t sound confident about it at all.

“We are too,” Max says stubbornly.

“Damn it, Max,” Trevor snarls.

“What? It’s Tera, Trev.”

He lets out an exasperated sigh and doesn’t say anything else.

“Because of Andi?” I ask hopefully. “She bought the bar and gave you guys a good price?”

“Yeah,” Max grins smugly.

“I’m so happy for you,” I grin and give him a big hug.

“You’re all rich,” Asher says in a flat voice.

I look back at him with a smile. “You can be comfortable for a while. Take a break from work?”

He blinks at me, completely silent.

“Or not?” My smile wavers. “Whatever you’re comfortable with but the offer is there.”

“Angel,” he sighs as if he’s disappointed and shakes his head.

“What?” My eyes widen. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” he barely laughs. “Get your ass over here for a second.”

Max releases me as I hurry over and go to my knees in front of him. He doesn’t hesitate to pull me in for a thorough kiss that scrambles my thought process for a minute. When he’s done we’re both breathing heavier and Max is clearing his throat loudly.

“I’m not taking your money,” he tells me softly. “I’m going to work. We can mix up bills however you want but you aren’t footing everything alone between us.”

“Or us,” Max insists. “I bet we have more money than you.”

“Max,” Trevor barks.

We get quiet and take in Trevor’s expression of absolute rage.

I’m an idiot.

Money is a big trigger for Trevor. Here we are discussing it like it’s no big deal and he’s freaking out. Maybe somewhere in the back of my mind I thought he would be happier knowing that I don’t need to take anything from him. If so, the back of my mind is an idiot too.

“Is there a problem?” Asher asks, his voice going cold.

“No.” It pops out of my mouth and gets everyone’s attention. I flounder for a second and then my mouth moves without permission again. “This is something we can work on. We can reach a comfortable compromise, I promise. Something that will make everything even.”

Trevor’s green gaze slides to me as his jaw ticks. I give him a hesitant smile.

“I promise,” I insist.

A light bulb finally goes off over Max’s head and he grimaces. “Let’s discuss this kind of stuff later.”

“Or not at all,” Trevor grits out as he glares.

“Let’s focus on something positive for a second?” I ask hopefully. Asher grips my hand and pulls me closer to him, keeping a wary eye on Trevor.

“Yeah, revenge,” Max nods eagerly and I shake my head in confusion.

“I was going to say the spare room,” I mutter.

“Oh,” Max deflates quickly. “What’s up?”

“I know you said I’m welcome any time but would you guys mind if Asher stayed here sometimes too?”

They both stare between us for a second and then look at each other.

“Angel,” Asher protests and I put a hand over his mouth before he can say anything else. I don’t want demands right this second. I want some assurances not just for my sake but for his too.

If they can’t accept that Asher is in my life this won’t work. I know they’ve all talked about it but the reality of the situation has been thrown at us all much faster than we thought it would. Or, at least faster than I thought it would.

“I want to be open and honest,” I tell them with a wince. It still bothers me that they talked about me before all of this. I also feel guilty that I messed around with Asher before I knew any of that. None of us were really official at that point but we should have talked to each other more.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” Max says thoughtfully.

“I don’t want him in our room,” Trevor snaps back.

Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up. He’s still angry and I don’t think he’s going to calm down any time soon.

“No one is saying that,” Asher pulls my hand away gently. “I’m not interested in either one of you. I’m here for Tera. I have no plans on either Max or you.”

Trevor looks at him with disbelief.

“There isn’t a bi bone in his body, Trev. Give it up,” Max says and crosses his arms over his chest. “There’s also the fact that I, your boyfriend, am not interested in Asher. I don’t know which part of him I like less. The ice or the barbed wire. Either way I’ll lose my dick.”

“So Max and I are exclusive and Tera bounces around all three of us?”

“Watch your tone,” Asher says flatly.

I am a little hurt at the phrasing. He makes it sound like I’m using them all for a good time.

“M-maybe this isn’t a good idea,” I mutter helplessly.

“No!” Trevor barks at me, suddenly on his feet.

My eyes widen as Asher leaps up to meet him chest to chest.

“Shit,” Max panics and so do I.

“Please stop,” I beg. “I’m so sorry. We’ll just go.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Trevor shakes his head hard and backs away from Asher. “I need a second.”

He walks out the front door, his hands clenching and unclenching, and slams the door behind him.

“His anger management is teaching him-”

I cut off Max’s hurried explanation. “Walking away is the hardest part. You never know if it’s time until it’s almost too late.”

Max gapes at me for a second. “That’s actually the best explanation for this that I’ve heard. He’ll walk away at the most random times and I haven’t been able to get it.”

“He’s trying to calm down so he can talk without the anger getting in the way. I use breathing exercises so I don’t panic. You yell cuss words. We all have a method. It may sound dumb but I’m proud of him for taking a minute.”

“I’ve never had an issue with this,” Asher says with a frown. “Can you help me understand more, angel?”

“I think so?” I cringe. “I don’t want to tell you wrong though. I’ll bring it up to Dr. Robinson and see if she has any advice.”

“I’ll ask Trev if he can do the same with his doctor,” Max nods enthusiastically.

“There will always be bad days,” I say sadly. Trevor isn’t the only one that has issues to deal with.

“That’s why we have us,” Max points at Asher and then himself.

“We can do this, angel. We just haven’t gotten a rhythm yet,” Asher assures me.

“Don’t give up at the first hurdle,” Max says in a pleading tone.

“I panicked,” I confess and shake my head. “What a mess.”

The door opens and Trevor comes back in, taking deep breaths. He closes the door behind him calmly and sits back down.

We wait in tense silence.

“I think I’m ready now,” he mutters. He still sounds angry but it isn’t the rage that he had a minute ago.

“I’m sorry for saying that, Tera,” he continues without looking up at me. “That was not what I meant at all.”

“I’m sorry too,” I tell him quickly.

He glares at me in a more subdued fashion.

“I threw us all in the deep end and I barely walked through the door.” I shrug sheepishly. “I want a tied-up bow and a happy ever after and that’s not how life works.”

“It can be,” Asher says with narrowed eyes.

“Not without work,” I remind him. “I’m not afraid of a little heavy lifting.”

“Me either,” Max grins and glances at Trevor. “Obviously.”

“We take our time,” Asher says thoughtfully.

“Get to know each other,” I add in.

“And see where we go from here,” Max finishes happily.

“I can see it now. I’m fucking outnumbered,” Trevor wipes a hand down his face. “Yes, we all need to know each other better. I agree. No, I don’t want to keep Asher out of the house or from seeing you. If he spends the night it’s the guest room only. For right now, can that be enough? No boundaries crossed until we’re all ready?”

“Sounds good,” Asher looks at Trevor with a frown.

“I’m good with that,” Max pipes in.

“Yes,” I nod happily. “Thank you, sir.”

All three of them look at me with varying expressions. Asher’s eyebrow is raised, Max is smug. But Trevor’s eyes have darkened as his hand falls from his face. He licks his teeth, eyeing my kneeling form and nods.

“Then we’re good.”

***

Andi doesn’t call, she texts me. She’s busy moving Shade’s car so that the a-holes can’t find him there. I know South will recognize her from descriptions so I’m not too worried about a meeting between them.

All four of us load up for the adventure. I wish I felt mischievous about it but all I’m feeling is anger.

“I don’t feel like this is enough anymore,” I mutter as I watch the scenery pass by.

Asher is next to me in the backseat of Trevor’s truck with Max in front of me.

“We agreed,” Trevor reminds me and glances back. “Not too much.”

“Yeah,” I sigh sadly. “But now the power cutoff is a no go. They won’t even be here. I hope they stay away forever.”

“Then why are we doing this?” Max asks in confusion.

“So I can take pictures for Shade and send them to him when he’s ready.” South takes pictures of mayhem all the time. I’m taking a page from her book and doing the same. Shade will laugh about this, I’m sure of it.

Asher nods in agreement. “Our son deserves this.”

I lean my head on his shoulder to giggle weakly.

But all of the devious fun has been sucked out of it. It’s not even sneaky. They’re gone and no one will catch us. Andi gave me the code for the doors.All of the pizzazz is gone.

Until there was Max.

He delights in the entire thing. As soon as the door opens he is a nonstop whirlwind of energy. He has all the bathrooms taken care of before I finish getting everything out of the bags.

“Jesus, guys, get into it,” he demands and slams his hands on his hips as he takes in our dour expressions.

“Max,” Trevor sighs in frustration. “Read the fucking room babe.”

“I’m dyslexic,” he returns sharply. “There are cameras all over the place and we are going to make Shade a god damn movie out of this. Get into it!”

I glance up at the cameras and blink. He’s right. I don’t need photos. We can make a freaking movie!

“Ok,” I chew my lip and bounce on my toes.

“Yeah!” Max reaches for my hand and yanks me into an awkward tango dance across the living room that has me giggling. The difference in our size has never been more apparent as we trip over each other until I’m laughing out loud.

After that we each make our own special sign for Shade.

Asher’s is flipping off every camera as he passes them.

“I need to come back here with a banner that says camp was great, mom,” he tells me softly, making a laugh snort out of me.

Trevor glares up until he gets to the clown pictures. Once he sets eyes on them an unholy grin takes over as he finds drawers to put them in.

I dance while I hang the frames going up the staircase with the a-holes in various dorky poses that make them look like idiots. Max goes along behind me with a marker to add some finishing touches.

“Which room is the twin’s?” Max asks as he reaches the top of the stairs.

“I don’t know,” I grimace. “I don’t want to either.”

“Good enough,” Max grins and starts going into every room.

“Babe?” Trevor calls from the base of the stairs. I glance down to find Asher next to him.

I shrug helplessly.

He only spends a minute in each bedroom but the smugly satisfied look on his face makes me wary.

“What did you do?” Asher asks with a raised brow.

“Put muscle warmer on their toys and toothbrushes.”

“Huh?” I give him a baffled look.

“Jesus, let’s go,” Trevor shakes his head and starts for the door.

“Nope, we’ve got the shrimp and we need to make sure the air conditioner doesn’t come on,” Max replies in a giddy tone.

“I’m going to the truck,” Trevor returns and waves over his shoulder.

Asher smirks and assists with putting the half dethawed shrimp in random places all over the house. The smell is going to be horrible by the time they return.

“I call this house fully pranked,” Max yells as he gets down from a desk that made him the perfect height to hide the seafood in the curtain rails.

“Let’s get a late lunch,” Asher says and waves him down so we can leave.

“I know a place that does excellent shakes,” Max assures me as he passes.

Asher is right behind him.

It gives me a chance to stand in front of the camera and sign I love you to Shade. I don’t care how long it takes him to watch this with a laugh. I’ll still care, no matter what.