AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My chest bounces with silent laughter, but as soon as Bobby’s teeth close around my earlobe, I melt back into his chest with a soft groan. He can do that forever, and I wouldn’t mind.
Winding his arms around me securely, he cocoons me in a hug and lets out a contented sigh that feathers across my forehead. “I really like the feel of you in my arms right now.”
I sigh. “You give really good hugs.”
“Looks like the boys get along just fine.” He nods toward his brother and mine. “No need for you to worry tomorrow night… I mean,” I can feel his smile against my forehead, “you could be out, say, all night, and he’d be fine.”
I look up to find his big mischievous grin. “Yeah, I guess I could. Who knows what we could get up to in all that time… Several games of mini golf, at least.”
Bobby’s not thinking about mini golf – I’m fairly sure. His erection grows and presses against my lower back, and my silly jokes come to a screeching halt.
Can a guy smell a woman’s desire? Pheromones in the air?
Can he smell mine? Because I’m pretty damn sure all the dogs in the street will come looking soon. “I had fun tonight.” I nervously change the subject. “Thanks for inviting us.”
He laughs under his breath. “Deflection queen. I’m figuring you out now. You’re a puzzle, but I’m piecing you together.” He drops a kiss on my neck. “And you’re welcome. I’m glad you stayed. Jack’s timing was spot on. If he didn’t get into a fight, he wouldn’t be in trouble. No trouble means I never would’ve known you had no plans for tonight. This is like a bonus date before the real date.”
I know he’s just playing, he’s trying to make me laugh, but all he really does is remind me that Jack got into a fight. I’d brushed it aside for the last hour or two, but now anxiety ricochets in my gut and turns the pizza and cider bitter. “How was he today? Was he good?”
“Yeah, he was good. Did everything he was told to do.”
I turn against Bobby’s chest so I can look into his eyes. “Why was he sparring when I got here? I thought he was on cleaning duty?”
“He was. He did heaps of cleaning, but I ran out of ideas, so we threw him in the ring. I haven’t had much of a chance to watch him train yet. I wanted to know how he does.”
“Oh well, that’s good… I guess.” How do I explain to Bobby that if Jack keeps getting into trouble, I have to pull these classes? I can’t continue to reward him with training if he’s going to repay me with suspension from school. And what’s worse, is how am I going to follow through with my threat when it’ll hurt me so bad to quit, too?
I’ve come to rely on these three times weekly sessions. It’s my downtime, my hour of companionable silence with a sweet man while I knew Jack was safe and well behaving elsewhere in the gym.
“Hey…” He waits until my eyes lift to his. “Don’t be too hard on him, okay? When you talk to the school, I think you’ll find that he’s not completely to blame.”
My spine snaps straight in defense. “What are you talking about?”
He frowns at my quick disappearance from his lap. “He and I talked today. I wanted to set him straight on how we expect people who represent the Rollers to behave. I also wanted to remind him that you’re all he has – so he could work on not being such a prick.”
My eyes narrow with rage. “You overstep, Bobby.”
“Just hear him out, okay? That’s all I’m saying. It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“So you’re saying he’s innocent? He didn’t fight and get suspended?”
It’s a trick question. We already know the answer to that question, but he pushes on anyway. “I mean, yes, he got into a fight. That’s not okay, but his reasons were honorable.”
“Honorable? What the f–”Don’t swear. Don’t say fuck. Don’t scream in his face because my family’s messed up.“Jack’s a teenage ass with a giant chip on his shoulder. How could he have possibly convinced you he did the right thing?”
Only minutes ago, I was lazy with pizza and cider and a good fucking hug, but like the flip of a switch, I’ve moved to red hot pissed.
The last six months have worn me to nothing. I’ve developed an actual eye twitch from the stress of keeping my kid brother out of jail. I’m tired, emotional, and thanks to this guy next to me, I’m sexually frustrated and hormonal. The guys look toward me as my voice rises and a growl tears up my throat. As I ready to tear Bobby apart limb by limb for being a dumbass and taking Jack’s side, he grabs my arm. “Hang on.” He jumps to his feet and pulls me to mine. He holds the ropes open with one hand and a foot, then takes my elbow with the other hand and walks me out of the main room.
Walking down a hall I’ve yet to use before, we stop in front of an office door. He gestures me in silently, and following me in, he closes the door with a soft snick.
A worn and dented desk sits in the center of the room, and towers of paperwork stand haphazardly in teetering piles. Picture after picture clutters every wall, and stepping closer to study them, an emotional bubble lodges in my throat. Pictures of Bobby and his brothers, some present day, some when they were just boys. Some are of teens, though they’re easily recognizable as the men they’ve grown to become – plus Izzy.
He wasn’t kidding – they’ve known each other forever. I stop on a picture of Bobby and Jon in the cutest karate Gi’s ever. They can’t be much more than six or seven years old. Baby Jimmy sucks his fist on the ground in front of them, then a toddler aged Aiden runs around with chocolate on his face and wild eyes. The next image is of Bobby, aged ten or so, with a high kick suspended in the air. Another shows the four boys, early in the pre-teen age, all sweaty faces and hair, and grinning from ear to ear.
So much love.
So much history between these guys.
