The two guys headed out the door with their contraption, and I squinted toward the dirt road. Was that him? Was that Noa? If so, I had a good shot at stopping him. It looked like he was carrying a skateboard, and if I remembered correctly, his boyfriend Cam had taught him.
Now was my chance.
I walked carefully out to the lobby, staying behind a bit so the dipshits could put some distance between us, and I inched closer to the door. If I went out right now, maybe they’d think I had overheard them, so I waited another few seconds. Noa—and it had to be him—still hadn’t reached the last stretch of the driveway.
Three…four…five…
Welcome to House Mclean, Jordan. What an uneventful day with no horrible surprises.
This was exactly how I wanted to meet my friends for the first time.
Feeling my fingers tremble a bit, I ran them through my hair and sucked in a breath. Then I stalked outside and started crossing the lawn. In my periphery to the left, I saw the shit-talking bastards, and I hoped for their sake this didn’t escalate.
Hi, Noa. It’s me, Jordan. Yeah, funny running into you here. Nice to meet you in person and all that.
When some forty feet separated us, I caught Noa tilting his head, as if he was puzzling things together. Yeah, it was me. I was here. Yeah, I was shorter in real life. Almost as short as him!
I tested a smirk that held no confidence, so I was sure I looked ridiculous.
Thirty feet.
“Jordan?”
I nodded with a dip of my chin. “Hi.”
He flashed a lopsided grin, looking way more casual than someone who might be planning on talking with his fists soon.
Twenty feet.
“At long fucking last, man.” He picked up the pace. “You’re even hotter in person.”
And with those words, he punched all the nervousness out of me. I exhaled a laugh, and I could almost fucking cry. Sweet Jesus. The relief was so immense.
Ten feet.
“You’re one to talk.”
All of a sudden, it was as if we’d known each other forever. We exchanged a grin and closed the last distance, and it felt completely natural to just hug it out. Weeks of fretting and worrying were gone in an instant, and I was so dumb. This happened every damn time. Every time!
After almost knocking my elbow against his skateboard, I eased back and?—
“Are yousureyou and your hubby will be exclusive?” Noa didnotbeat around the bush. “If things don’t work out with Ash, call me. Even if things do work out, call me. KC has reduced humiliation sluts into pleading puddles before, and it’s hot as fuck to watch.”
Good grief! Those images were going to invade my fantasies, weren’t they?
“Umm, let’s focus on the online troll before I consider that indecent proposal,” I chuckled, maybe a little nervously. Noa and his Daddy were way more open than James and I would ever be, but I couldn’t deny that the thought had struck before. Like, having kinky fun in a group. It was one of the many reasons I needed Ash and Nathan to pull through.
Four was more than three, and so forth.
“What about him?” Noa peered over to where the two dipshits were setting up their X-cross. “You can’t talk me out of this, you know. I chose not to respond to your texts for a reason.”
“And what exactly is that reason?” I pressed. “Do your Owners know you’re here? What if it turns into a fight? I’ll happily help you, but they’re both significantly taller than us, and I’m not super strong. We’re just gonna look like two miniature Dachshunds barking at two Rottweilers.”
“That’s a very specific image.”
I shrugged. “I love Dachshunds. I’m trying to convince James that we should adopt one.”
He scratched his nose. “Well, I’m the attack dog in our family, and I’ve had it with that Rottweiler’s bullshit. Have you checked out his activity in the app?”
