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“There you two are.” The second I register Rita’s voice, I instantly duck away from Atlas, both relieved and disappointed to see my brother isn’t with her.
In a way I wish he would just catch us already. That way I won’t have to keep lying to him and Atlas will be forced to make a choice. Either he wants to be with me, and for more than sex, or he doesn’t. But at the same time, I don’t want to know that answer. Because deep down I think I know what he’ll choose and I’m not ready for this to be over yet. Then again, I don’t know how much longer I can do this. The more time that passes, the further down the rabbit hole I go. At this point, I’m not sure I could find my way out even if I wanted to.
“Here we are.” I smile, grabbing a fresh cup. “We were just getting something to drink.” I try to play it off like she didn’t just walk in to find Atlas and me in a very compromising position. I fill the cup, turn, and hand it to Atlas who’s leaning against the kitchen island watching me, then grab another cup. “You need one?” I ask Rita, looking to my right when she steps up next to me.
“Yes, please.” She nods in thanks when I hand her the cup, grabbing another for myself.
“Where’s Brennon?” I ask, lifting the cup to my lips the moment it’s full. I suck back half the contents in one drink, completely parched.
“He stepped outside with Brady, or Brody, shoot, I can’t remember his name.” She laughs at herself. “I told him I’d get drinks.”
“Oh, well, here.” I set my cup on the table and quickly fill one for my brother before extending it to her. “Are you going outside?” I ask, topping my beer off before turning toward her.
“Yeah, I’m sweating so bad. This leather is sticking to places I don’t want it to.” She grimaces.
“We’ll join you. I could use the fresh air.” I look over my shoulder at Atlas. “You coming?”
“I follow beauty.” He gives me and Rita that heart stopping, dimple filled grin of his. “After you, ladies.”
“Such a charmer.” I roll my eyes playfully, allowing Rita to lead the way outside to where my brother is lounging on the front porch, a cigarette dangling from his hand, talking to some guy I can’t say I’ve ever seen before.
“What the...” I start, stopping when Atlas steps up next to my brother, takes the cigarette, inhales a long drag, and hands it back to him. I look between the two of them, a little shocked to be honest. “Since when do you two smoke?” I ask.
“We don’t.” Brennon takes a long drag and blows it out slowly, passing it back to Atlas.
“Yeah, I can see that.”
I watch as Atlas lifts the cigarette to his lips and while I’ve always thought smoking was kind of gross, there’s something so sexy about the way Atlas does it. The way his mouth tightens around the butt. The way his cheeks cave slightly as he inhales. The satisfied look that crosses over his features as he blows out, the smoke billowing around him.
I’m starting to think there’s nothing this man could do that I wouldn’t find attractive. Like seriously, who the fuck watches someone smoke a cigarette and gets turned on by it? Yeah, that was a rhetorical question. Obviously, the answer is me. I’m who.
“I’ll catch you guys later. I gotta get inside and find my woman.” The blond guy standing next to my brother offers him a fist, to which Brennon bumps. He does the same to Atlas, sliding past us and into the house after they tap knuckles.
My gaze goes back to Atlas, who clearly reads my expression.
“Relax, B. We only do it sometimes.” He takes another drag.
“How is it that I did not know this?” The question is to both men but my focus is on my brother who shrugs and takes the cigarette back from Atlas.
“You’d be surprised by how much you donotknow.” Smoke pours from Atlas’s mouth as he speaks.
He and Brennon exchange a look.
“You know what, let’s keep it that way.” I decide if I don’t already know it, it’s probably for good reason. And while I love my brother dearly, there are certain things about his life that I don’t need to know about.
The two laugh.
“Where have you been?” Brennon asks, lifting his chin at me.
“I was dancing.”
“You?” He snorts out a laugh, stubbing the cigarette out into a bucket filled with sand that you can barely see through the ridiculous number of butts piled inside.
“Don’t look at me like that. I know how to dance.”
“It’s not that you don’t know how to, I’m just not sure if I’ve ever seen you do it.” He scratches his chin like he’s really trying to think about it.
“You’re drunk.”
