by E. L. Todd
“I lapped you already, idiot,” Zeke said back. “You’re still behind me.”
“Ah, shit,” Rex snapped.
I rolled my eyes then walked into the living room. Rex had hung out at the house all day yesterday playing this stupid game. Zeke barely paid any attention to me until Rex finally left at ten o’clock. But we just had sex then went to sleep. I didn’t give him a hard time about it because I didn’t care if he spent a lot of time with Rex once a week. But two days in a row? That was a little much. “Hi.”
Rex tilted the controller as he rounded a curve. “Pedal to the metal…”
“I said hi,” I repeated.
Rex kept his eyes glued to the screen. “Yeah, whatever.”
“Whatever what?” I snapped. “You’re in my house. Just say hi back.”
“I’m in Zeke’s house,” Rex argued. “Get it right.”
I placed both hands on my hips and glared at the back of his head.
Zeke hit the pause button then stood up. “Hey, baby.”
“Goddammit.” Rex dropped his controller on the cushion next to him. “We’re in the middle of a game.”
“It can wait.” Zeke walked toward me in his jeans and white t-shirt. He showered when he got home from work, and his hair was still a little damp because he didn’t dry it. Rex must have been waiting for him so he didn’t want to spend any extra time getting ready. The smile on his face went straight to my stomach. His eyes were lit up with affection, and he was eager to see me. His arms moved around my waist, and he kissed me. “Missed you.”
My arms circled his neck, and I kissed him again, missing him now that I was competing for his affection. “I missed you too.”
“Yuck.” Rex stared straight ahead so he wouldn’t have to look at us.
“Get used to it, asshole,” I barked. “Or leave.”
“Why don’t you go in your bedroom?” Rex snapped.
“Why don’t you go home?” I countered.
Rex didn’t have an argument against that. “Hurry up and kiss your woman. We’ve gotta finish this race.”
Zeke hugged me to his chest and gave me another squeeze. “Have a good day at work?”
“It was alright,” I said. “Just another day of garbage and microbes.”
“Saucy,” he said with a smile.
“What’s for dinner?” Rex turned around and looked at me from his spot on the couch.
I glared at him. “Why do you ask me that?”
“Because you belong in the kitchen,” Rex said with a straight face. “That’s why.”
Zeke grabbed both of my wrists before I could smack him upside the head. “You know he’s kidding.”
“No, I’m not.” Rex turned back around. “Kayden can bring something by. She usually cooks.”
If I didn’t love my brother so much, I would murder him. “I was gonna make tacos tonight—for the two of us.”
Rex turned back around. “For real? Man, I love your tacos. That sautéed ground beef with the taco sauce and fresh tomatoes…heaven.”
It was a compliment, but I didn’t take it that way. “Who said anything about you having dinner with us?”
“Oh, come on,” Rex said. “I’ve made you dinner loads of times.”
“Have not.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“When you and Zeke broke up, I cooked for you every night. Don’t act like you don’t remember that.”
I quickly remembered all the trouble Rex went through to make sure I kept eating. But that was a different circumstance. “Did you and Kayden break up?”
“No,” Rex blurted. “You think I’d let that hot little number go?”
“Then I’m not cooking for you.” I wanted to move into Zeke’s body again, but having my brother sitting there and watching made me uncomfortable.
“Fine.” Rex turned back around. “I’ll order a pizza.”
Zeke grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen. “You really want me to kick him out?” He kept his voice low so Rex wouldn’t hear.
Yes, I wanted to spend the evening with just Zeke and the dogs. I cherished nights when it was just the two of us. But I knew I spent a lot of time with Kayden and Jessie, so it would be hypocritical of me to make a big deal out of it. “No. But tomorrow, you’re mine.”
“That sounds fair.” He backed me up into the counter and gave me a kiss that wasn’t meant for an audience. His hands moved underneath my shirt, and he felt my tits through my bra, squeezing them with perfect pressure. His cock hardened in his jeans, and he pressed it right against my hip.
He reluctantly pulled away, his hands wanting to continue to explore. “Should I order a pizza?”
“No, I’ll cook.”
Zeke smiled, preferring my cooking to anything we could order. “Great. Need any help?”
“No. You have fun with your friend.”
His hands squeezed my hips. “You’re the best. You know that?”
“I thought I was the best because I give great blow jobs.”
He grinned. “It certainly helps.”
When Rex finally left, we got to spend some alone time together. We had sex on the couch, my leg hooked over his shoulder. He gave it to me good and hard, bringing me to a climax that hurt the dogs’ ears.
Then we went to the bedroom together and did our nightly routine. I washed my face then lay in bed. Zeke sat up and read on his Kindle, looking through published research in dermatology. He never read fiction for pleasure, always choosing to focus on factual information in his field.
I wouldn’t want to read about cystic acne before bed.
When Zeke saw me staring at him, he turned to me. Shirtless and with messy hair, he looked sexy right before bed. He looked sexy in the morning too. Come to think of it, he looked sexy no matter what time of the day it was. “What?”
“What?” I countered. “I can’t just look at you?”
He turned back to his Kindle. “Seems like something is on your mind.”
“Rex is a little annoying…”
“It seems like something bigger than that.”
There had been something on my mind. “I’ve been thinking about Ryker a lot…” The mention of his name used to really piss Zeke off. It made him so angry he couldn’t see straight. But now that Ryker was into Austen and on the other side of the country, he didn’t seem to care. We were living together and blissfully happy. There was no reason to be jealous about anything.
He knew this conversation wouldn’t end quickly, so he set his Kindle on his nightstand. “What do you mean?”
“About this Austen girl. The way he talks about her…seems like he’s really into her.”
“Probably is.”
“He claims I’m the reason he’s holding back…but I don’t think I’m a problem anymore.”
“Meaning?” he asked.
“He says he still has feelings for me…but I don’t think he does.”
Zeke turned off the lamp at his bedside. It brought the room into darkness but we could still see each other clearly. “I think a man knows how he feels.”
“I think he just assumes he feels that way. But if he really did, he wouldn’t be so hung up on her. I think she’s replaced me in his heart, but he doesn’t realize it. And I wish he did.”
He shrugged. “Sounds complicated.”
“Not really. And now she’s seeing that other guy…I wish I could fix it for him.”
“Fix it?”
“Yeah. Bring them together so they can be happy. I’m worried Ryker is gonna blow this and be miserable for a long time. He’s very picky when it comes to women, and I’m afraid he’s never gonna find another incredible person. I don’t want him to be alone. I want him to have what we have.”
Zeke shook his head. “I have to say, Rochelle would never care about my happiness the way you care about his.”
I shrugged. “I love him…as a friend.” Ryker and I used to be really close. Now that I was in love with someone else, my feelings for him had cha
nged. He was still important to me, just in a different way. “I want him to be happy.”
Zeke adjusted his pillows then lay back on the bed. His hand rested on his stomach and he turned his head so he could look at me. “You’re always fixing people. It’s cute.”
“I’m not sure why I’m like that.”
“Maybe because you and Rex had to take care of each other when you were young. You’re the mother hen.”
“Maybe.”
“But I’m not sure how you can fix Ryker’s life. He’s on the other side of the country.” He turned his head and faced the ceiling again. He usually fell asleep pretty early in the evening since he woke up so early. He headed to the gym then worked directly afterward.
An idea popped into my head. “What if I go there and help him?”
“What?” he asked with a laugh. “You mean, go to New York?”
“Yeah. I can have girl talk with Austen.”
“I doubt she wants to see you in person,” he said. “That’ll just make her more jealous.”
“Why?”
He rolled his eyes. “Because she’ll see how hot you are. That’s why.”
“Oh, shut up.” I smacked his arm. “Just because you find me attractive doesn’t mean the whole world does.”
“Trust me, the whole world does.”
“Anyway, if I just talk to her, maybe I can make her choose Ryker and forget about that other guy.”
“I suspect Ryker wouldn’t be happy if he knew about this.”
“So what?” I asked. “If it works, what does it matter?”
“But what if you make things worse?”
I would hate myself if I did. “I have to do something. I have to convince Austen that he doesn’t love me anymore. If that’s the only reason why she doesn’t want to be with him, then she needs to know the truth. She could pick the wrong guy, and Ryker will be miserable forever.”
Zeke sighed like this conversation was boring him. “So you’re serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“You want all of us to go there?”
“Who said anything about all of us?” I asked. “I can just go. I’ll leave on Friday after work.”
“You know we’ll be totally helpless without you. We won’t know what to do with ourselves.”
“Shut up, you’ll be fine.” Kayden could cook for Rex, and Zeke knew how to survive before I came along.
“I want to come along. Maybe I can help.”
“Rex can’t help. He’ll just make things worse.”
“He’s always wanted to go to New York. Says he wants to try the other Mega Shake to compare.”
Rex was the biggest idiot on the planet. “It’s an expensive trip just to interfere with Ryker’s love life.”
“So what? It could be fun. Maybe we can help.”
“You might be able to help,” I said. “Rex will just say something stupid.”
“You know, some of the stupid things he says are helpful.”
“How?” I asked incredulously.
“It doesn’t matter how bad the situation is. That guy can always make you laugh.”
“What are we gonna do first?” Rex asked. “Statue of Liberty? The Empire State Building? Strip club?” He grabbed his bag from the baggage claim and hoisted it over his shoulder.
Kayden gave him a dirty look. “No strip club. You want a stripper? I’ll oblige.”
Rex’s face lit up like Christmas morning. “That would be the best thing ever. What hotel are we staying at?”
I walked away with Zeke so I wouldn’t have to listen to the details of their strange sex life. “Let’s take our stuff to the hotel then meet Austen.”
“How are we going to do that?” Zeke walked beside me, holding his bag as well as mine. “We don’t know where she lives. We don’t even have her number.”
“Maybe we can look her up?”
“Do you know her last name?”
“Uh…no.” I doubt Ryker ever told me.
“Maybe we should have thought this through before we traveled across the country.” Zeke was never thrilled about this plan, but came along to be supportive. When he tried to make things right with Rochelle, I was on board. I’d do anything for him, and he always did anything for me.
“We’ll figure it out. I can tell Ryker I’m in town and we can hang out. I’ll get her number from his phone.”
“That’s pretty 007.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“But maybe you should just ask for her number. Or it’s kind of a breach of privacy.”
“No. If Ryker knew what I was planning, he would tell me to go home.”
Zeke nodded. “And for good reason.”
“I’m not turning back now. If I can do some good for him, I will. He deserves to be happy.”
Zeke sat at the desk with his laptop out. He was checking his emails since he skipped work that day. He moved some of his appointments around and even referred a few to one of his colleagues so we could make the early flight. I told him he could stay behind, but he didn’t want to.
We heard a loud thump from next door.
Zeke looked up from the email he was reading. “Rex and Kayden seem to be enjoying the room…”
“Why did they put us right next to each other?”
“Probably because both rooms were charged to the same credit card.”
“Lesson learned.” I pulled out my phone and pulled up Ryker’s number. “Alright, here goes nothing…”
“Good luck.” Zeke turned back to his computer right when another thud sounded.
I walked to the wall then slammed my fist against it, thinking that would shut them up.
Of course, Rex purposely made another thud just to annoy me.
Zeke shook his head. “Baby, just leave it alone. You’re going to start a war that you’ll never finish.”
I sighed and made the call.
Ryker answered after a few rings. “Hey, Rae. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Ryker had a naturally sexy voice. He could read audiobooks for a living if he wanted to. He sounded both confident and playful at the same time.
“I have a big surprise for you.”
“Hmm…you sent me an Edible Arrangement?”
“No…”
“You got another dog?”
He would never guess it. “How about I just tell you? I’m in New York right now. Rex, Zeke, Kayden and I decided to take a quick trip to the city.”
“Seriously?” The smile was heavy in his voice. “That’s awesome. We have to meet up. I can take you to all the great local spots, none of those tourist trap places.”
“Yeah, that’d be great. Are you free tonight?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.”
“Perfect. We’ll meet you at seven?”
“Sure thing.”
“Are you gonna bring Austen along?” If he brought her, that would make things easier. He had to go to the bathroom sometime, and I could make my little speech.
“No.” His buoyant attitude dropped immediately. “She has plans tonight.”
I had a feeling I knew with who. “We’ll meet you then. The gang is excited to see you.”
“And I’m always excited to see them.” He hung up.
I tossed my phone on the bed. “We’re gonna see him at seven.”
Zeke closed his laptop like he was finished. “I know, I heard. That gives us a few hours. What should we do?” He rose out of his chair and came toward me, his strong arms swinging by his sides.
“Hmm… I don’t have any ideas.”
“I do.” He stopped when he was directly in front of me, his face just inches from mine. His confidence was naturally sexy, the way he carried himself with authority. I liked to be the one in charge, but whenever Zeke did it, I always yielded.
He pushed me onto the bed then pulled his shirt over his head. A powerful physique with an eight pack was revealed, chiseled and defined like a statue made out of marble. He yanked my shoes off then undid my jeans, doing
it as quickly but calmly as possible.
I was eager for him to be inside me, to feel that wonderful stretch that always made me feel like a woman.
He pulled my jeans and panties off and didn’t bother with my top. He removed his own bottoms and shoes and crawled on top of me, his hard cock ready for me. I didn’t think about anything else but the two of us. Ryker wasn’t on my mind, and neither was Rex and Kayden. It was just the two of us.
Together.
We found Ryker in the bar sitting in a booth. He had a beer in front of him. In a red t-shirt and dark jeans, he looked exactly the way I remembered. He stood up when he saw us and pasted a genuine smile on his lips. “There’s the gang.” He hugged me first, the kind of embrace that was purely friendly. It was quick before he moved on to the next person, shaking Zeke’s hand before hugging Kayden.
I watched Rex fist-bump him. They were definitely making progress.
We took a seat in the booth and ordered our beers. Judging by the looks of the bar, it was definitely a place for locals. There were TVs on most of the walls along with signed jerseys from the Yankees. The owner must know someone associated with the team.
Rex chugged his beer like he hadn’t had a drink all day. “Ice-cold beer…nothing better.”
“Had a long day?” Ryker asked.
“That flight was long as hell,” Rex answered. “I’ve never traveled that far before.”
“Take some Nyquil on the way home and sleep through it,” Ryker suggested. “Makes the flight a lot shorter that way.”
Rex gave him a thumbs up. “Noted.”
“How long are you guys here for?” Ryker asked.
“Just the weekend,” I answered.
Ryker raised an eyebrow before he took a drink. “That’s a short trip.”
“We just wanted to get out of Seattle,” I lied. “You know, all the rain gets old.”
“I thought you liked the rain?” Ryker asked.
“I do,” I said. “But it’s been raining a lot lately. Like, too much. I haven’t been able to take the dogs out much, and they’re pretty miserable.”
“Poor guys,” Ryker said. “How are the pups doing?”
“Good.” I smiled when I thought about our two dogs. “Safari is really happy having someone to play with. He has someone to hang out with all day while Zeke and I are working.”
