An hour later, every single one of us has had way too much to drink.
Everybody is having a great time and talking animatedly when Izzy starts laughing at her phone. We all look over at her as the laughter completely takes over her. She starts to tumble forward and I shoot out a hand to stop her from falling to the ground and smashing her head into the concrete.
“What the hell are you laughing at?” Imogen questions with a grin as she watches her best friend.
“Oh, God,” Izzy laughs as she tries to get a hold of herself. She brings up her hand and wipes at a tear that’s fallen down her cheek. “I just saw this video on YouTube,” she starts.
“No, no, no,” Rylee cuts in. “The last time you saw something on YouTube, you and Imogen ended up playing Swiss ball roulette, and from memory, you both had nasty bruises on your asses for weeks.”
“This is so much better than that,” Izzy says.
“What is?” Imogen questions as she reaches forward and swipes Izzy’s phone right out of her hand. She presses the home button on the phone to light up the screen. Her YouTube app comes up and Imogen instantly hits play on the video she’s just watched.
I look over her shoulder and grin at the video of a bunch of drunken dickheads running around playing soccer with fucking trash cans on their heads.
“I’m so up for this,” Imogen announces.
“No way,” I laugh. “You’ll get yourself hurt.”
“What was that?” Imogen teases. “Sounds like there’s a pussy in the house.”
My mouth drops open as I look at my woman. “You’re fucking on. Girls against boys.”
“Ha,” she scoffs. “We’ve got this in the bag. Losers buy dinner.”
“Hold up,” Cole demands and he reaches across Rylee to grab the phone. He watches the video and a moment later is grinning. “Fuck yeah,” he laughs before handing the phone around and filling everyone in. He looks to Imogen. “I want a fucking feast for dinner,” he warns her.
“That’s great,” she whips. “I plan on dining in France tonight.”
Jesus. The challenge has been set now and once these two siblings are involved, there’s no going back.
Xander laughs at the video, prompting Cole to turn to him. “You’re out. I can’t afford any injuries with you.”
“What?” he grunts. “No way.”
“You can referee.”
He sulks back into his seat and crosses his arms over his chest like a pissed off kid having a tantrum. “Fine,” he groans, “but I get my dinner no matter which team wins.”
I think it over for a second. “Dude,” I grunt to Cole. “That’s five against three.”
Imogen holds a hand to her ear and I see the shit-eating grin on her face. “What was that?” she teases. “Someone sounds scared.”
“Get fucked,” I laugh as I shoot to my feet. “Let’s do this.”
“Wait,” Jace says. “Where the hell are we going to find eight fucking trashcans?”
Ten minutes later, we stand on the grassed area of Cole’s backyard with all of his neighbor's trash cans covering our heads, and for some of the girls, the trash cans go right down to their thighs. We even went as far as to drill little eyeholes into each of the trash cans, otherwise, we wouldn’t see the fucking soccer ball.
A moment later, Xander blows a whistle and our game gets started. I dash forward and have to hold the trash can up a little to stop it bouncing down on my head. I kick the ball but have no idea where the hell it goes. I hear a crash a moment later and stop in my tracks as I try to readjust the eyeholes.
From where I’m standing, it looks as though Rylee and Izzy have crashed into each other and I can’t help but laugh at the sight. I search around and find Imogen running the wrong way while Charli’s on the ground laughing so hard and yelling about possibly pissing herself.
“I fucking got it,” Jace yells out a moment later.
I follow the sound of his voice but get slammed into by Cole who tries to run after Jace as well. “Fuck,” we each grunt as we fall to the floor.
Jace carries on with the ball, but who the fuck knows if he’s going the right way. Xander blows his whistle declaring a goal for us and we all cheer. It’s not over yet though, we agreed on the first team to three points will win.
Imogen gets herself ready in the middle, more determined than ever to win. “I’m coming for you, Caden,” she warns.
“I can’t wait,” I tell her, knowing the extra challenge will stir her.
The girls line up before us and we stare each other down through our tiny eyeholes. I have to turn my whole body to be able to see Xander, but when I do, I notice he’s videoing the whole thing. I groan as I realize this is going to end up on the Rebel’s Facebook page, but I’ve drunk too much to care right now.
I turn back to the girls just in time for Xander to blow the whistle for round two. We charge forward for the ball and I laugh as Jace trips over his feet and eats dirt. Imogen and Cole crash in the middle which somehow makes the ball rebound in my direction.
I charge after it and get the ball under my feet when booming laughter cuts through my concentration. Wait. Is that?
“What the fuck are you idiots doing?” A familiar voice laughs.
I practically throw the trash can off my head before whipping myself around.
I stand in shock for the shortest moment before I finally recover. Luke stands before us, grinning at us like this very moment is one of absolute beauty. There’s a calmness over his face that looks really good on him, though, it’s not as though I don’t notice the cuts and bruises that go along with it.
“Fuck,” Jace grunts as his trash can goes tumbling to the ground. He’s the first one to reach him and they wrap their arms around each other. Jace claps him on the back while Luke just holds on for dear life.
We all stand back, allowing them to have this moment together before we intrude. I walk up to them to catch the tail end of their conversation. “I should have been there with you,” Jace tells Luke.
“No, you shouldn’t,” Luke argues. “None of us should have been there. It was a fucking trap.”
“I know,” he sighs before pulling him back in. “I’m so fucking happy to see you.”
They hold onto each other a moment longer before they pull back in their desperation to maintain their usual manly selves. Luke goes around the group as we all welcome him back. Imogen gets tears in her eyes as she hugs him before she falls into my arms.
I hold her tight and run my fingers through her hair as she pulls herself together. Luke watches us for a moment before his mouth pops open. He looks at us then cuts across to Cole as if what he’s seeing couldn’t be real. “What the fuck?” he grunts with a panicked look on his face as he looks to Cole again.
I grin at his reaction. “A lot has happened since you’ve been away.”
“Yeah,” he grunts. “No shit.”
We get him settled in and Rylee rushes around to find him a beer. As he takes a seat and props his feet up, he looks relieved. I can’t help but know. I need to ask.
“How are you?” I say, hoping it’s not too soon to be bombarded with questions, but the curiosity is too much.
He averts his eyes and puts on a smile that is as fake as Jace’s Rolex. “I’m good,” he says.
Not one of us believe him, but it’s a clear warning that he hasn’t come to terms with it all. “So, you got out?” Jace questions.
Luke looks over to him and from the look on his face, he’d prefer not to talk about it, but he knows he needs to. “Yeah,” he replies. “I was stationed in Iraq. We had received intel that a group of Americans were being held and tortured for information on our government by a group of men known to us for extreme methods. Their torture sessions were filmed and uploaded so we were able to find their location, and since we were close enough, we went in.”
Imogen latches onto my hand as she listens intently to Luke’s recap of the story with a broken heart. “What happened?” she
whispers.
At that, Luke looks down at his beer. Clearly what he’s about to say is still very raw and hard to talk about, so I’m not surprised when it comes out mechanical and void of any emotion. “We went in, but they were waiting for us. We hardly stood a chance. The second we were spotted it was a shootout. Me and two others went in There weren’t even any American’s there. It was discovered later that the video which was uploaded was old,” he informs us with a scoff.
Luke continues, unable to meet our eyes. “There were more men inside. Jonesy went down almost immediately and we had no choice but to retreat. I wanted to go back for his body, but we didn’t have the time. Ben though, he’s only a kid, he went back for him and I couldn’t leave him behind.”
Imogen’s hand tightens in mine and I pull her in closer. Luke sighs as he continues. “We never got out from there,” he states.
“But,” Rylee cuts in with tears in her eyes. “You’re ok, though? They didn’t hurt you?”
Luke presses his lips together and gives her a sympathetic look. With just that look he’s answered her question. They did things to him that he’s not about to talk about. That fact alone has Jace hanging his head as he leans forward on his elbows.
“Look,” Luke finally says after a moment of drawn out silence. “All you guys need to know is that I’m here now. I went through some shit and I’ve come out the other end. I’m home for good and I don’t plan on going anywhere.” I know he says it mainly to help the girls with their grief, but it goes a long way to help my concern. “Now,” he says, trying to move on. “Why the fuck aren’t you dickheads at my gym?”
With that, everyone lets out a breath and pulls themselves together. The girls hastily wipe at their eyes as the boys come to terms with the fact that he’s here, and so far, he’s doing ok. He probably has a long way to go and some deep issues to sort out, but for now, he’s home and he’s physically safe.
A smile comes over my face as relief finally settles over me. There’s been a hole in our family since the day Luke was deployed and now with him home, that hole is closing up.
Cole holds his beer up and at once, we all do the same. “Welcome home, man,” Cole says. “You don’t know how much we’ve missed you.”
“Trust me,” he says with a grin. “I missed you guys more.”
Chapter 22
Caden
I practically bounce on my toes as I wait for Brandon to walk through the door. My foster license finally came through and so did the approval for me to permanently care for Brandon.
The kid is going to lose his mind when I tell him. I mean, seriously lose his mind. He’s going to go nuts and I can’t fucking wait.
It’s been just over four months since I applied for my license and four months of listening to Brandon complaining about his living situation. Don’t get me wrong, he loves Katia and is grateful for everything she’s done for him, but his father still haunts him so he hardly sleeps at this point. Imogen is working her ass off during their therapy sessions to try and help him, but we both know this big move is going to do wonders for him.
Imogen and I have spent the last few days getting my place ready for him. We’ve put his bedroom together and I even changed my bedroom around, because, little does she know, Brandon won’t be the only one moving in with me.
Imogen had also applied for a foster license as we knew our relationship was heading in that direction, but I don’t see the point in waiting, and besides, I’m a selfish prick, I want her with me. I want her coming home to me each night. I want her in my kitchen, barefoot and pregnant. I want to hear her call my home ours.
The door opens and an excited Brandon comes flying through. I absolutely love that he’s so excited to be here. It’s the highlight of my day.
He’s come so far in his training that I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked to start competing in the next season. He could really go far and I can’t wait to watch him grow and develop into an amazing fighter.
I’ve surprised him today with a session held by Xander. The kid idolizes him. It’s kind of sickening really, or maybe I’m just a bit jealous. Who knows?
Katia is next to walk through the door and she gives me a knowing grin. She has secretly packed all his belongings into the trunk of her car so we can surprise him after his session. Though I have to admit, I’m a bit nervous. Following his session, I’ll be taking him home.
I’m a bit anxious, I mean, what if he doesn’t want this. I know a few months back, he was begging me to take him, but things change, especially with growing boys. They change their minds all the time. I just hope living with me isn’t one of them.
Imogen and Susan walk in afterward, and as usual, I look up at Imogen to soak in the radiant smile I know she’ll give me when she sees me. And as usual, she doesn’t disappoint. She blows me the fuck away.
“You’ve got it bad,” Luke murmurs as he passes behind me towards the studio room.
“Shut up,” I say, but he’s right. I do have it bad.
Luke pretty much jumped straight back into his old routine, here at Rebels Advocate. The very next day after he returned, he was in the gym, going through all the emails and getting up to speed. I admire his dedication but I feel that he’s using it as a distraction rather than dealing with what happened.
Imogen has been dying to get in there and do her therapy thing on him, but she wouldn’t dare cross that line with him, not unless he wanted her to. I’m still holding on to the hope that he will deal with it in his own time. For now, I’m just happy he’s home and safe.
The other good thing that returned with Luke was the normal Jace. The Jace who’s a shit-stirrer and purposefully goes out of his way to play stupid pranks on me and Cole. It’s a sweet sound hearing both Jace and Luke chuckling after tackling Cole to the ground and wrapping duct tape around him from head to toe. I was just fucking pleased it wasn’t me, though I know it’s coming.
I get my ass over to Brandon and the girls. The second I step in front of him, he holds his hand up and we launch into our secret handshake, which after all these weeks, we’ve finally perfected. I lean over and give Imogen a quick kiss as I can’t possibly continue without it.
“Come on,” I say to Brandon as I place a hand on his shoulder and lead him deeper into the gym. I get him started on his warm-up when Xander walks over.
Brandon practically freezes to the spot as he looks up at his idol. It’s pretty fucking hilarious to watch seeing as though Xander talks to him all the time. “Hey, kid. What’s up?” Xander says, holding his hand out.
Brandon’s hand shoots out faster than lightning in his desperation to talk with him. “Hi,” he says with wide eyes, though nothing else comes out.
I grin as I place a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention. “How would you feel about having a session with Xander today?”
“Are you serious?” he asks as he looks between both me and Xander. “That’d be so cool.”
“Alright,” I laugh before ushering him forward towards Xander.
“What are you working on?” Xander questions.
Brandon instantly pipes up. “I’ve been learning about the different submission holds, but I really want to learn how to do a tornado kick, but Caden says I’m not ready yet.”
Xander looks at me with a sparkle in his eye before focusing back on Brandon. “You’re on,” he tells him. I groan as he puts his arm over his shoulders and leads him away. “Have you learned roundhouse kicks or spinning kicks yet?” I hear him question.
“No,” Brandon replies.
“Well,” Xander says. “This is going to be interesting.”
With Brandon preoccupied, I take the chance to go out with Katia to get his things put into the back of my truck. When I get back inside, I sit down with Imogen and we watch Brandon’s session with Xander. He’s always perfectly behaved with me, but the level of concentration and effort he’s putting in for Xander is enough to have my mouth popping open.
Today’s session is goin
g to go a long way in helping him with his confidence and simply just fill him with absolute joy. I find myself excited for it to be over as I can’t wait to hear the way he’ll go on and on about it.
Just as expected, when he’s done, he comes running over to tell us all about it. I can’t help but grin. Imogen and I keep our mouths shut and eventually the other boys come over to watch how this all goes down.
Katia stands up and grabs her bag off the seat. Brandon takes a step in her direction, thinking he’s about to leave when I call out to him. “Hey, Brandon?” He turns back around and looks to me with a question in his eyes. “How’d you like to come home with me?”
His face scrunches up in confusion and he looks at Katia who watches him with pride in her eyes. “Huh?” he grunts, making a massive grin rip across my face.
“You heard me,” I tell him.
“What? You mean…?” he questions, looking back up at Katia again, completely confused with what’s going on here.
The boys snicker and chuckle around us as they happily watch the confusion on his face. “I mean, I have a bedroom at my place with your name on it and it’s all yours if you want it.”
“Like forever?” he questions.
“Yeah,” I laugh. “Forever.”
He charges forward and nearly knocks the wind out of me as he wraps his arms around me. “Thank you,” he cries, holding onto me with everything he’s got.
I try not to get emotional around all the guys as I wrap him up in my arms and give him the hug he needs. “It’s ok,” I murmur quietly.
He eventually pulls back and looks at Katia. “So, I’m not staying at your place anymore?”
“No, sweet boy. You’re not,” she tells him. “All your things are already in Caden’s truck.”
He nods his head and it’s clear that he’s become quite fond of Katia over the time he’s been staying with her. He gives her a hug and thanks her, and before we know it, both Katia and Susan have left, leaving us to get on with it.
Caden: Rebels Advocate (Book 2) Page 16
