6
Thor
I hada lot of memories when it came to Morgan. We’d been friends the longest, before I ever knew the others. We went to the same kindergarten, and our moms had been best friends. Morgan and his mom came over to our house every Saturday, and while our moms gossiped, we played with my dinosaurs and motorcycle toys.
“You’re weird, but I like you,” he’d said when we first met—words I’d never forget.
Now, I stood outside his house. My stomach quivered with nerves and the urge to turn around and walk away fought against me being here. It’d be easy. All I had to do was stride back to the Harley, get on, and drive off.
I knew Loki wouldn’t let me punk out, however. He stood at my side like the pillar of strength he’d been since we’d gotten here. I’d fucked all my frustration and nervous tension into his ass last night, and he’d accepted it, craved it, and if that wasn’t the biggest turn on, I didn’t know what else could be. It was as though he’d been made specifically for me.
I finally gathered the confidence I had when it came to the club and kicking our rivals’ asses and raised my hand to knock. My fist didn’t collide with the door because it opened before I could. My gaze swept from the empty air in front of me down to Morgan, who sat in his wheelchair.
Morgan smiled, his face alight with a happiness that had me stepping back. I’d forgotten how much he could brighten up a room with a simple look. He hadn’t changed a bit since I’d last seen him. He looked as young as he always had, with a soft heart-shaped face and big blue eyes. His brown hair was short and well-kept, and his chin had groomed scruff on it.
“I wondered how long you were going to stand there. I had just about enough of watching you from my security cameras and thought I better come get you before you ran off.” Morgan gripped the wheel of his chair and rolled it backward, gesturing for us to follow. “Come on in. This way.”
Loki cocked his head at me, and all I could do was grin. There was no real way to explain Morgan and his overabundance of energy. It was good to see that even the chair couldn’t keep him down. Before I’d left, I’d been so convinced he hated his life that I refused to see him. He’d came to my house a few times, begging to see me, but I’d given Mom no choice except to send him on his way.
We followed him into the house, and Loki closed the door behind us. This wasn’t what I’d imagined Morgan’s home would look like, but I’d never considered that a wheelchair changed everything. The hallway was wide without any obstacles, although he had some pictures hanging on the walls. One photo caught my eye especially, and I stopped to stare at the six of us—our band of misfits, as we’d like to call ourselves—in the picture. We went to Kissing Cave that day and a jogger had offered to take our photo on the beach. We’d stood in front of the ocean, our arms locked around each other. I’d been standing next to Andy and Dana, with my eyes focused on Andy. Even then I’d been drawn to him; I just hadn’t noticed.
It was a beautiful photo.
I touched the glass, tracing each of our innocent faces. Life changed too quickly.
“Are you coming?” Morgan hollered from somewhere deeper in the house.
Loki touched my back, and I smiled at him, forcing myself to move. We came to an open-plan living and dining room, and Morgan was already sitting on the couch, his legs hanging off the front and tilted to the side, like he’d arranged them. His wheelchair sat at his side so he could easily maneuver himself onto it if he needed.
“You have security cameras?” I asked, when I walked into the room.
He blinked at me, then laughed, lines rippling around the corners of his mouth. “Of course. I like to know who’s at the door before I make the effort to answer it. If it’s salespeople, it’s not worth the trouble it takes to get there.”
His logic made sense. He patted the couch beside him. “Come sit down.” Reaching out a hand to Loki, he said, “I’m Morgan.”
Loki shook his hand and gave him his most charming smile. “Loki. I’m Tobias’s boyfriend.”
“I knew it!” Morgan laughed again, the sound echoing through the sparse living room, which was spacious yet cozy, with a stone fireplace to the left of us, white-brick walls, offset white couches, and a low wooden TV cabinet with a wide black TV against the wall ahead of us. “I knew you were gay. I told Andy you were.”
“You did?” I asked, surprised. Taking a seat beside him, I frowned.
Loki took the spot on the single armchair to the right of us and leaned back into it, grinning.
“Of course. It’s why Andy kissed you at the party.” Morgan’s dark eyebrows dipped. “Which I told him wasn’t entirely appropriate considering you were dating Dana and he had Karma. He told me he was going to break up with Karma and ask you out.” His mouth turned downward and he slumped forward. “That was before we got into the car.”
Guilt churned inside me again and I curled my hands into fists. “Morgan, I’m so—”
“Don’t say it,” he interrupted. “Don’t apologize, Toby. It’s in the past. I didn’t ask Marion to tell you to come here if she saw you because I wanted apologies. You know me, I’ve always believed everything happens for a reason. We’re predestined in this world.”
Morgan had always been like that. He lived life to the fullest and ran with whatever punches were thrown his way. I’d always been jealous of his attitude.
He lit up again and patted me on the knee. “Tell me what you’ve been doing since you left. I asked your mom, and she said you joined a motorcycle club. I wasn’t surprised. I remember how much you loved bikes, even when we were kids. When Jalen gave you that Harley, I thought you’d jump high enough to reach the clouds.”
I laughed. “Yeah, Loki and I are part of the Norse Lords MC down in Pleasant Beach in Cali.”
“Nice.” Morgan flicked a look at Loki. “So that’s your road name, right? When Mrs. Langley told me about what Tobias was up to, I did research and I heard you get road names.”
“No, Loki’s my actual name,” Loki said with a chuckle. “But you are right. We do have road names. Tobias’s is Thor.”
