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Pretty Boy: Done yet?
Marc: Oo, with what?
Pretty Boy: A woman ;)
Leo (nardo): You're lying.
Marc: OHMIGAWD, deets NOW.
Me: Nothing.
Slamming my car door behind me, I sigh when my phone continues to blow up with our group chat.
Pretty Boy: I have snacks! Dirty Duo has the beers. Get your ass home, JJ. FOOTBALL PRE-SEASON BABY.
Throwing my car into reverse, I make it home before I even realize I put the car in drive.That conversation has got me really fucked up, damn it.
The sounds of the guys laughing and fucking around reach me immediately as I open the front door. Heaving a sigh, I toss my keys onto the dining room table and find them making a mess of the living room.
"Hey, Jack." Leo's soft voice makes my stomach swoop too fast for me to stop. Sitting on my leather sofa, the man has his toned arm hung on the back and his platinum blonde locks ruffled. I wonder if the three of them fucked before I got here.No.I don't want to know why my lithe best friend looks freshly fucked and completely divine, resting on my couch.
Fighting the urge to touch him, I snag a beer and plop my ass down beside him with a foot of space between us. "Hey, how are you, man?"
"Fine." Still quiet, his eyes trail over me, from my crossed legs, over my crotch, and up my tight t-shirt.Son of a bitch."You okay? You look tense."
"He always looks like that, Leo." Jude snorts. "Seriously though, how'd it go?"
"How did what go?" Marcus, in a pair of sweats and wife beater, lays his palm precariously high on Leo's thigh. His short dark hair looks messier than usual, too, and I swear he has a scruff rash on his collarbone.
I have to keep reminding myself that they aren’t mine.
Jude jumps into his dramatic retelling. "So, remember that woman I was telling you about?" They nod, Marc looking like a fucking diva excited about some gossip. "Turns out she is subleasing one of our townhouse properties with her daughter. When we went to pick Gabby up over there last night, you can imagine my shock when the woman who turned me down was hanging out with our sister!"
Okay, so he missed a lot of context.
"And?" Leo prods gently, picking up on the shitty depiction of what actually happened. I fight the smirk that wants to emerge at his cleverness.
"Oh, well, JJ was going all brotherly asshole and scared Rylee."
"You scared her too, asshole," I snap, because there is no way he wasn't part of the damn problem.
I barely notice the straightening of Marc and Leo beside me. They exchange a glance and mutual frowns.
Jude rolls his eyes at me from his spot on the floor. "Yeah, well, when I recognized her, I wanted to go to her and calm her down." All humor drains away when his eyes drop to his lap. "She started shaking harder and seemed really panicked that we were there. Gabs kicked us out, and we drove her home. I looked back in some of the paperwork and confirmed that it was the same woman and kid that moved in."
"I went to apologize."
"What did you say the woman's name was?" Leaning forward, Marcus rests his elbows on his knees, looking between us.
"Rylee and her daughter's name is Layla." Smile back in place, Jude looks up at us with a twinkle in his eye.
Sputtering on his beer, Leo chokes, sending my heart through the fucking roof. I don't hesitate to scoot into his space and pat his back. "Shit, bab—Shit, Leo, breathe." My trip over the pet name I instinctively wanted to call him almost made me choke right alongside him.
"I'm okay, Jack," he croaks, dropping a pale hand on my knee and giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. Which absolutely doesn’t help the thundering in my chest or the heat creeping into every place we touch.
Clearing his throat, my eyes shoot to Marcus as I shuffle away from his man. I avoid thinking about the smirk he melts me with. With a lingering look at me, he turns his attention back to Jude. "Remember the woman we told you about too?"
Jude sits up straight with a little frown between his brows. He nods.
