Page 11 of At The End Of The Day

As soon as we saw one another, his hazel irises darkened and the corner of his mouth curled. A brow arched slightly, his sight roaming down my figure so goddamn slowly, it stole my fucking breath.

Jesus christ, why was that so damn…erotic? And why the hell was I standing here, almost breathless, appreciating being viewed and viewing him right back?

Violetta stopped chatting when she glanced at her brother. Bristling, she followed his line of sight and stared at me, batting her lashes. “Uh, what’s going on?”

“Hm?” He coughed and resituated his stance to straighten his spine. A hand raking through his hair, he scratched the back of his scalp and chuckled huskily under his breath.

Tingles rolled down my back and broke me out in goosebumps. What the fuck was happening? This was my best friend, a man, for fuck’s sake! Yet here I was, standing before him, feeling like I did when I was fourteen facing my first crush. What the hell happened? Ten minutes yesterday evening and it felt like my whole world was turned upside down because I literally could not stop thinking about him.

Before he could answer, Edwina screamed and Eddie started crying. Violetta clucked her teeth and rolled her eyes, shaking her fists in the air. “I swear to god, we should have at least grabbed some of their toys. It’s only been a few days, and they’re at each other’s throats.”

Stomping past me still hovering in the archway, she turned and hopped down the couple steps into the living room, barking orders at the fighting kids.

I cleared my throat and crept further into the kitchen, tucking myself in that awkward, narrow corner between the archway and the counter. “Hey, bitch,” I grumbled, bowing my chin to stare at the floor.

Tyler clucked his teeth and threw his head back, shrugging his arms out. “It would kill you, it would physically kill you to say my name, won’t it? Say my name, Dash. Say my fucking name.”

Vincent snorted so I shot an infuriated glare his way. Grinning, he began singing Say My Name by Destiny’s Child, pushing off the counter to get a beer from the fridge.

Returning my focus to Tyler, I seethed, “I call you what you are. You’re a bitch. You always will be.”

He huffed and shoved past me, knocking me against the wall when he walked through the archway to join Violetta in the living room. The kids were still trying to argue with her, blaming the other for their outburst, but she was settling them down pretty quickly. Always a good mother before anything, she was firm but gentle, owning their tempers and putting them in their place without fault.

My eyes rolled and I cursed under my breath. That was a shit thing to say, even I had to admit that. I wasn’t angry at him, I was frustrated about what happened last night, confused about how it had my mind all fucked up, and lashed out. The list of things I needed to apologize to that man for was stacking up and it was only filling my head with more confusion.

“What the fuck’s so funny?” I hissed, crossing my arms.

He snickered and ripped off the cap. “‘Say my name,’” he mocked, bopping his head side to side. “Insert sexual innuendo here,” he added while strolling back to his original spot.

Bending forward a bit, my palm slapped to the corner of the island, temper heating my blood. “You think that’s fucking funny?”

The smile fell away and his brows lifted in surprise. “Dude, what’s your problem?”

Stabbing a finger to the surface, I seethed, “You really think it’s cool to make jokes like that after last night?”

Deflated, he heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes, rubbing his forehead. “Jesus, Dash. Is that what your problem is?”

“Are you fucking serious right now? How could you not know—”

“Dash!” he snapped but then fell quiet, his focus darting toward the living room. “Relax, man. Nothing happened yesterday.”

Taken aback, my spine snapped straight. Nothing? He considered what happened nothing? How could it be nothing to him when it completely knocked my entire universe off kilter?

“Really? Nothing?”

Groaning, he shifted his weight to one leg and set the bottle on the counter, leaning into his palm. “Look, I was just messing around. Clearly, you’re upset, so it won’t happen again. No one needs to know what happened, it’s a secret I’ll take to the grave.” Snatching the bottle, he brought it to his mouth, muttered, “I’m fucking great with secrets,” and then downed most of it while averting his gaze.

Dread sank my stomach and, for some weird reason, I was offended at his comment. Why the hell did it feel like I was being rejected? This was all fucking crazy. I was an admitted homophobe, so what the hell was going on? What were these feelings?

Instead of arguing, I simply bobbed my head once and looked away, folding my arms once more. I really didn’t know what the hell to say to him. I was upset it happened, upset I liked it, upset I couldn’t finish without him…upset he acted like it was no big deal.

He strolled forward but didn’t try to make eye contact. “I’m gonna take watch a couple hours and give you a break. Get something to eat. You ain’t left your room since yesterday. We can’t have you getting sick or weak. Gotta stay on guard, brother.”

I nodded again but abruptly stepped to the side to avoid getting close to him. He paused at my movement and cast a sideways glance. Frowning, he sighed and continued through the archway, disappearing around the corner. A moment later, the stairs creaked under his weight.

My palms on the island, I bent forward, dropping my head between my shoulders and closing my eyes. Mostly, I was upset that there was now a silent wedge between me and one of the most important people in my life. The list of priorities was my daughter, Jackyl, Vincent, Mary, and then Violetta, followed by the Serpents. My wife was dead, Jackyl would be soon, all I had left was him and Piera. Why was there a heavy, ominous sensation sinking my gut, warning I was about to lose him, as well. If I lost one, I had to lose the other, I couldn’t maintain a relationship with the sister without the brother. All of us being Serpents, it was promising of a very awkward future.

The kids giggled from the living room, drawing my attention. My head tipping, I stared at the fridge as if I could see through it and the wall to see the four of them now having a good time. If everything worked out as planned, soon, I’d lose Violetta, regardless. Tyler would whisk her away to Tennessee so they could start a whole new life without the Serpents.