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I take it back. I don't want to move in with Ben. I want to murder Ben, the little cockblocking shit.
Jackson's forehead drops to my chest as he groans again. “You can't do it without me?”
“We need those muscles, big boy!”
Even pissed off and horny, Ben's dramatically husky holler still makes me laugh. The moment ruined, I push on Jackson's shoulders until he rolls off of me. “Go. I have to get ready anyway.”
A third groan and a brief moment of rearranging below the belt later, Jackson rises from the bed. “I'll be right back,” he promises before sloping towards the door and ripping it open. Ben is waiting for him, a shit-eating grin on his face. He pumps his brows twice at me, dodging my boyfriend when he goes to thump him. He shoves Jackson down the hall and disappears after him, barking out orders about how furniture needing to be moved, orders that end in a pained yelp as Jackson apparently succeeds in his second attempt to punch him.
The sound of their bickering doesn't let up, even as they trudge downstairs. I flop back on the bed again, smoothing my hair from my face and letting out another laugh.
Yeah, it's good to be back.
* * *
It feels weird to be back at one of the boys’ infamous house parties.
Like I've been teleported back in time.
I find myself thinking about the first time I was here, before I knew any of them and God, it feels like a fucking lifetime ago.
Unlike that night, I don't have to practically bulldoze my way to the kitchen, elbowing horny men out of my way. Instead, I have my own personal bulldozer in the form of a large, slightly overbearing, very scowly boyfriend. Jackson shoves his way through the crowd for me, clearing a space at the kitchen island for me too, and even sneaks an unopened bottle of vodka from one of the upper cabinets. A second later a carton of cranberry juice appears too.
“For me?” I simper dramatically, a hand pressed to my chest. “You really do love me.”
I almost spill the drink I’m pouring when a hand comes down hard on my ass. One arm flailing behind me to slap whatever body part I can reach, the other reaches for a couple of shot glasses. I pour one for myself but when I hold the other out to Jackson, he declines. “Not drinking?”
Snagging a beer, he shrugs. “Not a lot.”
“How come?”
“Can't take care of your drunk ass if I'm drunk too, can I?”
I snort. “I can take care of myself.”
“Oh, I know.” Something dark and fucking dirty flashes across his face as he steps closer, forehead dropping to nudge mine. “I've seen it myself.”
When I sock him in the ribs, he chuckles lowly, shifting to whisper in my ear. “Can't do all the things I want to do to you if I'm drunk, Luna. Or if you're drunk.”
I set that shot down on the counter so quickly, it sloshes all over my hand.
I discard my other drink too, leaving my hands free to slink around his waist and settle in the back pockets of his jeans. Propping my chin on his chest, I crook a brow. “Oh yeah?”
He hums a response, the noise vibrating through me as he kisses the corner of my mouth.
“Jesus Christ, get a room.”
Despite the intrusion, the familiar voice has my lips curving upwards. Twisting in Jackson's grip, I grin at an approaching Pen. A condition of me coming tonight was that she come to; I wanted her to finally meet everyone, and she needed to get out of that damn hotel room. After the latest blow-up with her dad, she tried to pull a me and hole up in there. Refused to talk to anyone, broke up with her boyfriend, all that fun stuff.
Luckily for her, I inherited all the stubbornness in the family so it only took a day to coax her out of there.
My sister lands a noisy kiss on my cheek, doing the same to Jackson before brandishing a bottle of booze in either hand. “I come bearing gifts.”
“I like her.” Cass joins us, smirking as he surveys Pen and her loot. When his gaze lingers a moment too long, my eyes narrow. I'm about to warn him off when I’m distracted.
“Hi, stranger,” Amelia coos in my ear as she rips me from Jackson’s grasp and into her own. Kate does the same, holding me by the shoulders and scanning me in a quick once-over as if checking I’m all in one piece. “We didn't know you were coming tonight.”
I shrug, feeling weirdly timid under their excited gazes. A presence appears at my back just before a hand slides up to cup the nape of my neck, fingers squeezing gently, comfortingly. The girls' smiles brighten to practically blinding potential. “You guys are back together?”
