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“Damn straight,” Bubba added. At least that little bit of good also came out of the day.
“Still need to get costumes,” I mused.
Archie snorted. “I have an idea, and I’m pretty sure it will make her laugh her ass off.”
After he explained, I had to agree.
She’d laugh at us.
But I didn’t mind. We drew straws, Coop got stuck with whatever was left since he was asleep. Lucky bastard on two fronts, but Bubba just chuckled.
“I can totally be the dog. Maybe it will get me out of the dog house.”
Maybe.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Every Step
Frankie
Archie’s birthday got off to a fun start when the guys pounced him for a birthday pillow fight first thing. I clung to the laughter. It was a much better feeling than the despair I’d gone to bed with the night before. As if conjured by the thought, Cheryl’s tear-streaked face popped to mind. I discounted her. In some ways, I let myself believe that just because she was an ‘air-head,’ she couldn’t possibly hurt me. Hurt us.
Wow. Had I been wrong.
“Hey,” Archie said, dropping onto the bed next to me, face flushed and eyes gleaming. “Birthday boy still get his way?”
I smiled. “Absolutely.”
“Then you don’t worry today,” he said, touching his finger to my chin before he tilted my head and gave me a proper kiss.
The slant of his mouth over mind left no room for escape or breathing. I drank in the taste and touch of him, even as Jake whistled and Coop chuckled. Archie didn’t let up until some of the tension cording my shoulders eased and heat flash-fired through me.
When he lifted his head, he smiled. “Better,” he whispered.
“Happy birthday,” I told him, and the curve of his lips deepened.
“It is now.” Then he brushed my nose as he stood. “Need help with your shower?”
“Not telling you no,” I admitted, and let him tug me up. “Birthday boy gets his way.”
I locked gazes with Ian for a moment and braced for the hint of rejection. He’d not been thrilled with all the kissing before. Instead of objection, I found sweetness and a smile. Taking that little kernel of hope, I bumped his hip on my way past. I really hadn’t gotten to talk to him about the Sharon thing the last couple of days. We’d literally not had the time.
But I promised I would make a point of it this weekend. After Archie’s birthday. Archie got his first birthday present in the shower. Or maybe I should say he gave me a present, too. Either way, I was a lot looser and more relaxed after the shower than I’d been when we went in. The fact that he’d pinned me against the wall and made me come until I’d actually screamed had me flushing red the minute I came face to face with Coop’s knowing eyes.
“I hate you right now, Arch,” Coop told him without an ounce of real heat. “I’m gonna be fighting a boner all day now.”
“Fighting one? I already lost the battle,” Jake said. “That was hot.” He snaked me close for a hug.
“It definitely sounded good,” Ian commented, and I glanced at him. “But I think we should be giving Archie hell, not Frankie.”
“Not giving her hell,” Coop argued, but when I snorted, he grinned. “Okay, maybe a little bit of hell, but I’m dying to ask what he did right there at the end that had you screaming.”
“Consider it a challenge,” Archie teased while he grabbed a Pop-Tart and dropped it in the toaster.
“Oh, the make Frankie scream challenge?” Jake perked right up, and I swear, all four sets of eyes locked on me like laser beams.
“Challenge accepted,” Coop said, clapping his hand down on Jake’s shoulder. His gray-green eyes twinkled with absolute mischief when he continued, “But I’m pretty sure Jake and I are already ahead on that, aren’t we?”
