AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you really give a shit what society says?” Tyler asks, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Relationships as a social construct don’t matter to me. Want to know what does?”
“What?” I whisper. Tyler is insinuating he’d be willing to share me, but that’s insane. Draven hasn’t shown me he has any interest in me other than as a possible passing phase. I’ve been there with Atlas and Mav, and I refuse to be anyone’s playtoy ever again.
“You matter to me, Little Flower.” Tyler grins. His glasses are a little skewed as he drops his head back on the couch, and it’s adorable. “I know perfectly well that you can handle your shit, but I am still willing to burn the world the second you give me the go ahead. If you find yourself tied up in knots at some point because you feel like you may like Draven, give yourself a break.”
“Is that what these weird butterflies are? He keeps calling me baby chick, and it doesn’t seem like a pet name,” I say ruefully. “Age is such a big deal to people, but you don’t seem to care.”
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Tyler admits. “I hate people, the frivolity of getting to know them and small talk. We didn’t have any of that, and I started falling for you the second I saw you. That’s what matters to me. Any experiences you haven’t had yet or want to have, I get to be a part of. Maybe that makes me a selfish bastard?—”
“It makes you mine.” I grin, knowing he’ll understand I’m not calling him a bastard. Kissing him hard, I move to straddle him. Tyler’s fingers tangle in my hair as he groans into my mouth.
“Don't let me interrupt anything,” Draven says, letting the door hit the wall as he comes in. The closer he gets to us, the more the overpowering scent of weed gets.
Wrinkling my nose, I turn to see his goofy, relaxed smile and red eyes. Ugh.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, but I’m not in the mood to be entertainment,” I grumble. “I think I’ll make that call after all, love.”
Tyler gives me an understanding smile as I get up. Ever since Roark almost overdosed a few years ago, I’ve found myself really intolerant of all drugs. I know people don’t typically overdose on marijuana, but it still bothers me.
“I needed to take the edge off, chick,” Draven says, taking a step toward me as I walk past him. “I would have just showered and changed in Atlas and Mav’s room, but I don’t have clothes there. Does this really bother you?”
“Yep,” I say, closing the door behind me. I swear, the smell was so strong, I can still smell it.
“Layla, are you just going to hide from me?” Draven asks through the door. “I’m a full grown adult, I don’t need you to ‘mom’ me.”
A grunt makes me smile, because I’m pretty sure Tyler got up and elbowed him.
“You can do anything you want to do, Draven. I was worried about you, but it’s clear I didn’t need to be,” I tell him as I pull my sister’s number up and climb into the bed.
The silence is telling as he walks away and closes the door to his room. Asshole. I really need to stop sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong. Admitting that I was worried about him wasn’t what I planned to do either.
Fuck.
Draven has been fending for himself for a long time. I’m sure Atlas and Mav had their reasons for getting high with him if that’s what he needed.
Hitting the call button on my phone, I brush away my thoughts about the blond haired, blue-eyed drummer.
“Hi, sis,”Lennon says as she answers. “How are you? I caught the radio show.”
“You did?” I ask in surprise. I figured it would be too early, and I didn’t really give her the schedule. It wouldn’t have been hard for her to get though.
“Of course I did,”she chuckles. “The kids make great alarm clocks, so I was already awake. How the hell did Jordan let that get past?”
“Oh… I forgot to tell you,” I sigh. “Jordan isn’t with me. The label pulled him to work with someone else, but I’m a little concerned because he went to that Irish bar I played at a couple of nights ago to make sure we wouldn’t have any issues.”
“You told me about the dead body, but not Jordan,”Lenny snorts in amusement. “Have you heard from him at all? I texted him after the interview, but haven’t gotten a message back.”
“No. I haven’t heard from him at all, and that’s not like him. What if something happened to him? I made a joke that I promised I wouldn’t get kidnapped, but now my mind is racing. Our family doesn’t have a great track record.”
“Fuck, don’t even joke about it,”Lennon mutters. “Hey, Orion? Can you help me out with something?”
I can hear his deep voice as he comes closer, but not the words.
“I’m putting you on speaker,”she warns. “O, Can you see if Jordan made it home after he went to O’Malley’s? They seem to have some mob ties, and Layla was pulled into helping them a couple of nights ago.”
“Yeah, I’ll check cameras, and see if his location is turned on his phone,”Orion murmurs. “I would ask that you stay out of trouble, Layla, but that would be silly. It has a way of following people.”
It doesn’t seem like an admonishment, but my lips still twitch in amusement.
