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“You didn’t think to look up what that meant?” he snorts. “It means shit.”
“Perfect,” Draven groans as Ci and I laugh. “I quite literally will never live this down.”
“You have ink over it now at least,” Nox shrugs. “That’s something. I suggest you have a very good plan before you attempt to speak to Noor, guys. You may only get one chance.”
The thought roots itself in my mind as I bob my head absently. The regular season ends next week, and then we’re going into the playoffs. The schedule will be brutal and busy, but there’s always down time.
“Is it possible to do therapy together, or is that not allowed?” I ask. “We’re going into this as a unit, and we’ve done everything this way since we were kids. It feels counterproductive to be separated. What if we need to be aware of something that comes up?”
“Dr. Storm isn’t someone who worries about unconventional relationships,” Nox says. “Come into the kitchen and bring the computer if you want to keep looking at the photos. I just don’t want to burn anything.”
Ci grabs the laptop while I stand slowly, feeling as if my entire world just realigned. This is a second chance. We don’t deserve it and Noor could tell us to go fuck ourselves, but it’s hope I didn’t have before.
My feet drag along the floor as I walk, and I force myself to lock in. If I try to think too far ahead, I’ll spiral out. There are too many unknown factors…
“Wait. Who’s the guy?” I ask. Damn, my brain is moving really fucking slowly.
“I don’t know, but they looked cozy,” Ci murmurs. “We can’t break them up if it’s serious.”
“Then where does that leave us?” Draven asks.
“The three of you are in a relationship,” Nox scoffs. “If you can’t share her with someone else, then this won’t work. I’m not saying this is what will end up happening, but this guy was really careful about how he held her. I don’t think it’s a random fling.”
“He’s right,” Draven groans. “We’ve been fucking since freshman year of high school. I don’t think we can judge how Noor chooses to move on from us.”
“Dude,” Nox mutters, shaking his head as he pulls food off burners and begins plating. “I do not need to know that. You deflowered my brother’s asshole.”
“It sounds worse when you say it like that,” Ci snickers. “Please stop talking about my asshole when we’re about to eat.”
“It’s disturbing how much I love and hate you right now,” Nox grumbles.
As I get up to grab glasses and silverware, I have to admit how nice it is that he’s around. Ciaran had a hard time when he went into prison. Our new normal isn’t very normal at all, but that’s okay.
We’re not strangers to hard work, even if this involves internal shit.
“Thanks for making dinner. You sticking around?” I ask, already seeing the four plates on the table. Sometimes, I need to hear the obvious stated.
“May as well eat your food and get your first appointment scheduled. Someone has to vouch for you all,” Nox sighs. “It’s like I gained two more snotty brothers.”
“The snot isn’t the problem,” Draven snorts, digging into his food.
I chuckle as I nod. “Beware of the bubble guts.”
“For fuck’s sake.” Nox pulls up a phone number and I listen as it rings on speaker phone.
In for a dime, in for a dollar. Let’s fucking make this happen. All it takes is that first step and Noor is definitely worth revisiting some of the demons of our past. I think she’s the only one we’d ever do this for.
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
MAY
NOOR
“Mommy, my birthday is soon.”
Zayn has swim class today after school, and I didn’t want to cook today. After my previous experience with water, I decided my son would learn how to swim. I get sporadic lessons with Jared in Emil’s pool, but I know that’s not enough for Zayn.
