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He takes my hand and places a small kiss on top. “I have waited six years for you, Shortcake. What’s a little while longer?"
“Thank you.” I smile weakly at him, not really knowing what else to do. He’s such a beautiful man; it’s why I fell for him in the first place—well, there was the good looks as well and how hot he looked playing football, but mostly it was the way he made me feel. How he showed me I was so important to him. And this weekend he’s done it again, putting my needs over his. It kind of makes me feel even worse, because instead of opening up to him and explaining why I’m so messed up, I’m pulling away from him again. He deserves so much better than me and my fucked-up head.
"But just so you know, you will be mine again.” And when he says it like that, I know I'm fucked in the head, because knowing how possessive he is of me makes me want him even more. And that is fucking scary after everything I have already been through.
I regretfully walk away from him, spotting my mom's car instead of Jasmine’s, and I'm grateful she didn't come into the terminal to find me. My stomach churns with an uneasy feeling. I hope Jasmine's okay, she never did call me back, and I was so distracted with Brandon I forgot to check in with her again.
"Hey, Mom." I offer her the best smile I can.
"Hey, sweetie, how was your trip?"
"It was—uneventful," I tell her, lying through my teeth. "Where's Jasmine? Not that I mind you coming to get me, but I thought she was coming."
Her eyes flash with a look I don't like. My stomach was right, something has happened. "She's at home resting. You sure picked a good weekend to get out of town. Not that any of us knew anything about what was going on in her life until she came home with Axel Stone yesterday." Her eyes go wide as she says his name, then she glances at me. "You're not keeping some massive secret from the family too, are you? I feel like I have no idea what's going on with any of you girls these days."
"No secrets here," I utter nervously. I hate lying to my mom, but it sounds like she's had enough drama for one weekend. "What happened to Jasmine?"
"I'm sure she will catch you up to speed when you get home." She sighs heavily.
BRANDON
I DROP MY BAG on the marble counter and open the fridge door, looking for food. Anything to fill the void that's slowly creeping in. Keep myself busy and stop me from turning up at her parents’ place and demanding she come home with me. That would go down about as well as a well as a lead balloon.
I know I need to tread carefully with her. She’s fragile, like a delicate little bird that needs to be nursed back to health, and I'm the one to do that for her. I thought I told her as much last night. But still she panicked at the reality of being home. I'll give her some time to work out what she needs, but I won't lose her to her father again. I have been waiting for her to work out what he is actually like by herself, but if I have to, I'll show her he's not the wonderful daddy she thinks he is.
My stomach rumbles when I lay eyes on something our cook must have left me. It's after eight and the boys would have already eaten without me.
"Ace is dead," sounds Kobe's voice from behind me.
I slam the fridge door shut, suddenly not so hungry. I turn to see Kobe grinning like he's just won the lotto. "Well, welcome home to me. How the fuck did that go down?"
"Crazy motherfucker went up against Axel Stone and lost. Blew himself up rather than get taken in by the cops." He laughs, wiping a hand over his sweaty brow. He's dressed in gym clothes, probably from a late session in our gym with Jett.
"Saved us the trouble then." The four of us have known Ace a long time, but he had gone from bad to worse lately, and we could all see it. He was reckless and out of control, and it was only a matter of time before he ended up on the wrong end of a gun, and if we didn't get the situation under control before he really did something stupid, it would have been one of ours.
Jett's grin matches Kobe's as he walks in the kitchen, sweat dripping from every part of him, and he sits on the counter, drinking one of those disgusting green smoothies he loves so much. "Always knew he had a screw loose."
"What, more than you?" Kobe teases, trying to get a rise out of his brother. I can only assume their session mustn't have gone well.
He shrugs one shoulder like he doesn't care if that is the truth. None of the Rivera brothers are what I would call mentally stable; kind of comes with the territory.
"So, where's Leo?" I ask, wondering if there is something I need to take care of or if he has it covered.
"At The Joker, sorting out the mess," Kobe answers, handing me a bowl of some sort of a stir-fry-looking thing that he's just reheated.
I take it with a nod and slide into one of the stools at the kitchen island. "Good." This is Leo’s show, and it may have gone down a little differently to how we planned, but if anything, this is better in the long run. Less chance of a mutiny from the rest of the Acevedos.
Kobe pulls two Cokes from the fridge and hands me one, popping open the other for himself. "How did it go with the redhead?"
"Shortcake? Better than I thought it would." I dig into my food.
"That's it? You have been moping around the place for weeks like a lovesick puppy dog, and all you have to say after four days with the chick is ‘better than I thought?’"
"What, do you want to hear that we fucked like bunnies in every dark dirty corner we could? I'm not an oversharing sex maniac like you."
"I don't overshare," he grumbles, disappointed I'm not giving anything more.
Jett throws his smoothie cup in the sink. "Oh yeah? What about the blonde from the club you were just telling me about? You couldn't remember her name, but I got a play-by-play of every explicit detail on how you fucked her."
