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Charlie shoots to his feet as Mom gapes. “THE FUCK?”
I cringe but keep my attention on Mom, knowing that she’s preparing herself for something. “Oceania Elaine Munroe. How many times do I need to ask you to distance yourself from those boys and now this? I forbid you from going back there. Do you hear me? Those boys have been nothing but trouble since the day they stepped into our lives.”
“Mom … I know. I told them that I was done.”
She goes to continue ranting and has to physically stop herself before looking back at me. “What?” she demands, confused by my willingness to accept her limits.
“They crossed the line. They’ve been lying to me all this time and so I told them I was done.” My eyes drop to my hands as I feel that familiar ache starting to creep back up.
Milo’s broken gasp from across the room draws my attention and I glance up at him to find his heart on his sleeve. Out of all the guys here, he’s the one who really got to see the dynamics within my crew and knows just how hard that decision would have been for me to make. He gives me a tight smile while sending a silent promise that we’ll cry this out with a bottle of wine until it’s completely out of my system.
Mom lets out a shaky breath, trying to calm herself before glancing around at the group of guys in the room. She looks back to me with a relieved smile. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that, sweety, but I think you’ll find you’ll be much happier here with these guys. They’re not so … tough.”
All four of the guys fly to their feet, Charlie being the first to comment. “Tough?” he demands. “We can be tough. We’re the toughest mother-fuckers around.”
Spencer instantly starts flexing. “Maybe you haven’t been around here long enough to know who I am,” he says, raising his chin and trying to appear intimidating and to anyone who wasn’t born and raised in Breakers Flats, it might have worked but to us, he’s like a cute little puppy begging for attention. “I have a reputation. I’m not exactly the kind of guy that parents want keeping their daughters company.”
Mom laughs and steps right into Spencer’s personal space before clutching his chin like a proud parent. “That’s sweet, darling. I’m sure all of you boys are the toughest, manliest men around.” She pats his cheek before glancing down at the pizza boxes. “Be sure to eat up, you boys are going to need all your energy to grow big and strong.”
With that, she walks out of the room and all eyes fall on me.
“What?” I demand. “I can’t help it that my mom thinks you guys are sweet little puppy dogs. You’ve got to understand that she comes from a town where the ‘tough’ guys are the heroes of gang war and facing down death every day. This here, despite all the bullshit, this is a breath of fresh air.”
“We’re tough,” Charlie comments. “You know we can handle our shit.”
“Oh, yeah. Of course you can,” I smile sweetly before glancing at Milo. “You seemed all too quiet during that.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “Because I’ve got nothing to say. I’m not tough and all you fuckers know it. There’s no point defending it.”
I shake my head. “To be honest,” I tell him. “I think you’re actually one of the toughest guys I know.”
Milo gives me a warm smile before Colton’s low voice rumbles throughout the room. “Alright,” he says, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Stop fucking with the boys. I have work to do.”
“The fuck you do,” Spencer says. “You work every fucking day. You’re staying right here with us and fucking around. Your work will be waiting for you tomorrow.”
He cringes, looking toward the door. “I don’t know, man. Do you have any idea how much shit there is to do? I doubt I’ll be at school this week either.”
Milo drops back down into the couch with a slice of pizza in his hands. “Apply for distance learning. The teachers will just email your work and you submit it before the due date. Easy fix. You’ll still be able to graduate and work at the same time. You’re Colton Fucking Carrington and your father was on the board, I doubt they’re going to deny you.”
Relief washes off him in waves and within the blink of an eye, Colton looks a million times lighter. “Huh,” he grunts, dropping back onto the couch and dragging me down beside him. “I didn’t think of that. It’s not a bad idea.”
“So, you’re going to do it?” I question, leaning forward and grabbing one of the many pizza boxes off the coffee table and putting it on my lap. I cross my legs under myself and get comfortable while Colton steadies the box on my lap.
