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It took me months to rid the office of the old staples. They were the bane of my existence. "The old ones are garbage. They curl up too much when you use them, and I end up with paper cuts. They're an HR issue."
"Ah, Poor baby. You'll adjust, fucker."
I might actually roar as I tackle him. Then we're back to wrestling, all seven of us. Ransom, John and Maverick are off doing something, but the rest of my brothers are here. I needed to burn off some steam, and Kade's stupidity is the perfect way to do that. The frustration with Janey is almost burned out of my body.
I have Kade in a headlock, and he's rolling me like a crocodile does its prey. The rest of my brothers are grunting and punching each other, but no one's bleeding, so I keep my focus on Kade. I'm going to knock him out and tie him to a urinal until he agrees to leave my staples alone.
A piercing whistle cuts through the room. I throw my hands up and cover my ears, giving Kade the room he needs to pin me. I don't fight, because making sure my eardrums remain intact is my priority.
Becca lowers her hand from her mouth, then props her hands on her hips and studies us. "Kade, get off Jonas, please."
Kade rolls off, but not before he jams his elbow in my kidney. I give him a donkey kick in retaliation, and I'm satisfied with his grunt of pain. Becca snickers but doesn't make any move to protect him.
That's one of the things I like most about her. She's not bothered by any of the dumb stuff we do.
She often instigates it.
When Kade's finally sitting upright, Becca pins him with a glare. "You can stop sabotaging my car. You too Jonas." Her glare shifts to me, and she points a very angry finger in my direction. "No more touching it. I want you to promise. It will sit there and you will all leave it the fuck alone. If you make me this promise, then we can go to the dealership now, and I'll pick out a new car."
Kade and I both open our mouths to object, but then her words register. "Wait, you're letting me buy you a car?" Kade asks.
"Yes. But I get to pick it. And we're doing this now. No talking it over anymore."
His mouth drops open. "So wait...we're going to a dealership? In person? Right fucking now?"
Becca scowls at him. Behind her, the rest of the women funnel out of the room. As always, my eyes are only on Janey. Her cheeks are red, and some of her hair is sticking to her forehead. She looks beautiful. And I bet she'd taste salty. I want another taste. I realize I'm staring about the time a blush covers her cheeks.
Kade's still talking. "But we don't go to dealerships. We call them, and they bring the car to us."
Becca rolls her eyes. "I don't know which one I want yet. I have some ideas, but I want to try them out. We're doing this my way. No luxury car. No white glove delivery. We're doing this the right way. We're going to go to the dealership, sit in ugly vinyl chairs, and negotiate like our life depends on it."
Her mind is made up. I see it. I know Kade does too. The rest of my brothers start muttering about dealerships. "I'm going too. To make sure you get the right safety features," I tell her.
Becca rolls her eyes again but doesn't object.
"Wait," Holly says, wandering over to Micah. He kneels, putting one leg up. Holly sits with a sigh and absentmindedly rubs the back of his neck. Their easy connection is exactly what I crave from Janey. What I had last night. Until her stupid brother interfered. "Are you telling me that you guys have never been to a dealership? Ever? How is that possible?"
"We're rich," Nick, Zach and Micah all answer at once.
Colton stands and shakes himself off, pulling his white top down from around his armpits. "All the cars we had before were used and came through the garages. Once we had the money for new ones, we didn't have the time. We know a guy that owns a bunch of dealerships, so we just call him when we want something, and they drop it off." He rubs his hand along his beard. "Might be fun. I'm in."
"Wait...what? Does this really have to be a family trip?" Becca asks, wide-eyed.
We all stare at her. She's been with us long enough to know this is how we roll. And together, like we planned it, we all answer.
"Yes."
Janey's soft hand slides into mine. "I'm sorry," she says, staring at Becca and Kade as they argue over the roof of a very small car.
I tighten my hand on Janey's and just breathe, trying to process the jumble of emotions rattling around in my chest. "It's okay," I finally say. I don't know what else to say.
"Is it though?" she asks, turning to plant herself in front of me. I look down at her and can't resist tucking her hair behind her ear.
"No," I say honestly. "It's not okay. But I can't force you to trust me, Janey."
Her lower lip trembles and I wish I'd lied. I don't lie. It's uncomfortable and generally ends up creating bigger problems, but for her, I'd do it.
"I...it's not --" she clamps her mouth shut and glares at the middle of my chest. She takes a deep breath. So do I. Together, we count to ten. She looks up at me with a small smile, and puts her hand on my chest. "Our life is so removed from my old one. Is it so wrong to want to move forward?"
