by Nicole Dykes
I wouldn’t be surprised if she planted that idea in Vanessa’s head.
The food is finished shortly after, and we all sit down to eat.
Before everyone digs in, Jax stands up. He’s holding his beer and tips it toward me. “To Shriller. Happy birthday man. It’s damn good to have you home.”
“Yeah, all it took was breaking a few bones to get you here,” Luke jokes.
I nod to Jax as everyone raises their glasses to toast me. “Thanks everyone. It’s good to be home.” I mean that more than they know.
Alex’s eyes catch mine briefly before Brooke speaks up as she passes around food. “You know you could move back.”
“That would be awesome!” Gabby says with an excited smile.
I look at her adorable face and am careful not to crush her hope. “Maybe someday.”
“Come on, you hate California,” Luke says.
“Nah, it’s not bad. Always something to do.”
“He has to think about his career. I mean with a pretty face like that, he books a ton of modeling jobs out there.” Dylan says with a mocking tone.
“Thanks for the help, buddy,” I say sarcastically. He and Jax love to give me shit about selling out and modeling. The nice checks help soften that though.
Brooke shakes her head. “You can model and race here.”
I could definitely still have a racing career here, that’s if I still have one, but I went to L.A. to be closer to managers that could further my career and maximize my profits as much as possible.
“Damn, woman your husband is right here. Don’t lay it out there just how much you miss me in front of him,” I joke and nudge Dylan in the shoulder.
He laughs at that, totally secure in his relationship. He’s a better man than me by far. How the fuck he can not only be friends with his wife’s ex, but invite me into his home and family, I’ll never know. Not that there is anything between Brooke and me. I honestly don’t see her that way anymore.
We all go about eating and making small talk and I really enjoy catching up with everyone’s lives.
It’s not fair, I was a loner before I met this family. They’ve fucking ruined me because sitting here with them, I realize how lacking my life in L.A. was, and how much I missed this.
Chapter 28
Alex
I
listen to Cass and Dani planning out their summer at home while sitting across from Shriller at his birthday dinner. Brooke loves to throw parties, so she was thrilled that he’s actually here for his birthday this year.
I smile over at my best friend who looks so happy as she looks at the full table. She was a foster kid, raised by her grandma when she was healthy enough. To someone who grew up that way, this is a dream come true.
I look at Shriller who was also one of those kids, and wonder if he feels the same way. I know he doesn’t want marriage and kids, but he’s a part of this family. That has to mean a lot to him, even if he doesn’t admit it often.
This last week has been incredible. It’s crazy how carefree it’s been. We don’t have to deal with the normal couple shit, we are just ourselves with occasional hot sex sprinkled in. It’s been freeing and I feel more like myself than I have for a while.
Although, I do miss the idea of Stephen. The promise of marriage and kids was nice, but I know it wasn’t right and I would have been miserable.
For now, I’m just living in the moment and enjoying the hell out of what Shriller has to offer.
I let my foot creep up his leg and slowly caress his thigh as I say to Dani, “Hell yeah, you should go to as many concerts as you can this summer.”
I see a slow grin come over Shriller‘s face as he looks at me hungrily before focusing back on Dylan. “Seriously, love the pool party, but where the hell is my pony ride?”
Dylan laughs, “Hey at least there are snow cones. Didn’t hire a clown either, though.”
“Well damn man, do better next year.”
I shake my head at their banter and slide my toes a little higher up and watch Shriller shift slightly in his spot. His hand goes to his lap. I feel it grip my bare foot, massaging it gently.
God, his touch makes me hot.
“So, how is shacking up, Cass?” Dani’s question momentarily snaps me out of it
I turn to Cassie, “You and Hunter are living together?”
Cassie shakes her head. “Well, just for the summer. We rented a house with Vanessa and Cam.”
These kids. I can’t even imagine how much drama is going to go down over the summer. Two ex’s living together is a bad idea. “Well, that’s good for you and Hunter. And your brother was cool with this?” I ask.
Cass shrugs her shoulders, “I’m nineteen and besides Dylan really likes Hunter.”
That’s true. Never thought Dylan would like anyone Cassie dated, but Hunter Thompson is kinda hard not to like.
As people finish eating, Brooke starts to clear the table and I drop my foot out of Shriller’s grasp and stand up to help her.
We go into the kitchen and Brooke asks, “So is everything set for tomorrow?”
I scrape some leftover food into the trash and answer, “Yep. Are you sure you can’t go?”
She nods, “Yeah I have to take this troubled kid out for some fun. I promised, and she really needs it. Then, I should really spend some time with the kids before I handle some paperwork.”
Man, she has a hectic life, but she thrives on it. “Brooke Monroe saving the world, one kid at a time.”
She laughs. “Someone better record it! He’s going to love it.”
“We will.”
She’s putting the condiments into the fridge when she turns to me. “So how are you doing?”
I told Brooke about Stephen and I breaking up a couple of days ago and she was super supportive. I haven’t, however, told her about Shriller and I hooking up, which feels icky. But I already know she won’t be a supporter of that. I mean, who would be?
“I’m okay, Brooke. Really.”
She closes the refrigerator door and gives me a sympathetic smile. “Well if you want to talk, you know I always have time for you.”
I do know it. She’s always been there. Brooke takes the huge cake she made for Shriller out of the fridge, and we proceed to put thirty-one candles on it before carrying it out to the backyard.
We all gather around where Shriller is sitting and belt out, “Happy Birthday.”
Gabby is bouncing up and down at his side when we finish singing. “Make a wish!”
He grins looks right at me and winks, before blowing out the candles.
Oh shit. What the hell did he wish for?
Chapter 29
Shriller
A
fter stuffing our faces with cake and ice-cream almost everyone is in or around the pool. Brooke and I are sitting on the deck while she bounces Sylvie on her knee, trying to get her to take a nap. The one-year-old is showing no sign of that happening as she giggles and watches everyone splash in the pool.
“So how are you doing?” Brooke asks.
“Fine.”
She nods her head and the asks, “So, good birthday?”
I smile over at her. “Great birthday.”
Brooke looks pleased. She loves birthdays. “Even better than last year?”
I feel the stubble that’s starting to grow on my chin, pretending to think about it. “Hmm, I don’t know. Last year I was in Atlanta for a race.” I tease, but then add, “Yeah, this year was better.”
“I know you miss it.” Her face saddens a little and I hate it. I don’t want a real talk right now. I’m tired of all the pity.
“I’m fine, Brooke.”
She’s about to argue when we hear Alex’s voice. “Don’t do it, you big son of a bitch.”
We both turn, and I see Alex threatening Jax, who has been having fun all afternoon throwing people into the pool. Some willingly, some not.
Charlotte is in the pool laughing and looking up at Jax. “I wouldn�
��t honey. She’ll kill you.”
“You’re damn right I will.” Alex says and screams as Jax picks her up and tosses her into the pool.
Oh shit. It was nice knowing him.
I swear everyone freezes except for Jax who laughs, which in turn makes everyone else laugh. I watch Alex as she bobs back up from under the water.
She doesn’t look as pissed as I would have thought. Probably because the kids are here and they were the ones encouraging it. She loves them to death.
She climbs out of the pool and shoves Jax in the shoulder as she walks past him and into the house.
Brooke shakes her head. “It’s never boring around here.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
She laughs, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I stand up and offer an explanation to Brooke before she even asks, even though it’s a lie. “Gotta piss. I’ll be back.”
She nods and goes back to rocking her daughter. I make my way inside, my eyes searching for Alex.
I look all over and finally find her in the laundry room off of the kitchen. She’s sopping wet and drying her hair with a towel. She looks sexy as hell in her black bikini. “I really thought he would at least get kneed in the balls for that. You going soft on me?”
Alex grins, “I’m evolving.”
“So you’ll get him back later then?”
She nods her head. “Of course. What are you doing?”
I close the door to the small laundry room behind me and pull her body to mine. “Getting my wish.”
She rolls her eyes at me and pulls out of my arms, with a cute smirk on her face. “I knew you’d wish for something dirty.”
She turns around to toss the towel in the hamper and I wrap my arms around her bare waist. “Of course, I did.”
She laughs at that but doesn’t move, allowing my body to press up against hers. “You know most people in your position would have wished for something else.”
I move my lips to her ear, “That’s not what was on my mind at that moment.”
I’ve been thinking about getting her alone all damn day.
She looks at me over her shoulder. “Shriller, we can’t. Everyone is right outside.”
“Exactly. They’re outside. We’re in here.”
“They could come in at any moment,” she shoots back.
That’s kinda hot. “So, we will be quick.”
I press my hard cock against her ass, and she responds by pushing it back into me. I’ve got her.
My lips move down her neck slowly as my hand makes its way under her bikini top.
Alex moans, and I remember I have on swim trunks and don’t have a condom on me. Fuck! My voice is harsh when I whisper into her ear, “Alex, are you on the pill?”
“Since I was fifteen.” She must get where I’m going with this as she wiggles her firm ass against my crotch and asks, “Have you been tested?”
“I’m clean.” Not that I needed to be tested, I always wrap up. Always. “Do you trust me?”
She sighs as my lips kiss her bare shoulder. “More than anyone.” She answers with an honesty that drives me fucking wild.
I don’t wait any longer and pull down my shorts as she simultaneously pulls down her bikini bottoms. I push into her and we both let out a fucking loud moan at the sensation.
I kiss along her neck as she leans against the washing machine. We move in sync and it doesn’t take long before her moans get louder and louder. I feel her pussy clenching around my cock, and I quickly move my hand over her mouth.
The cries of her orgasm are muffled slightly by my hand as I thrust inside her a couple more times before finding my own release.
She leans forward on the washing machine, and I let my body drape over hers. “Damn,” I pant.
Alex giggles at that, and we both slowly stand back up. We both get dressed and she looks at me confused, “Where is your crutch?”
“Outside the door.”
Her eyes widen. “So, if someone comes looking for you, that’ll be a giveaway.”
I laugh and put both hands on her shoulders. “Relax. No one is looking for me. Let’s go.”
I open the door and we both walk out, right into Jax, who is standing there with his arms folded, looking amused as hell at the situation he’s stumbled onto. “Well, well, well. How long has this been going on?”
Alex glares at him. “Jax, what the hell? Were you listening?”
He laughs easily. “I just caught the ending. That shit was hot, though.”
I laugh, knowing damn well he’s just fucking around. “Of course, it was. I was involved.”
We laugh and Alex folds her arms over her chest, not amused. “You better not tell anyone, Jax. I swear I will cut your balls off and feed them to you.”
He doesn’t even flinch and just asks, “What, Alex? Are you ashamed or something?”
“Of course, I am,” she answers in a huff and walks out.
Jax just shakes his head at me and lets out a long whistle. “You are totally fucked now my friend.”
I grab my crutch and prop it under my arm. “Come on Jax. I’d expect a lecture from anyone else but you.”
He laughs and pats me on the back. “No lecture. You’re just fucked.”
He leaves it at that as we head back outside.
I try to shake off his words. He’s wrong, we’ll be fine. This system works.
Chapter 30
Shriller
“A
lex, will you just tell me where the hell we’re going?” I ask for the hundredth time. It’s Sunday and my actual birthday. Alex has kidnapped me, driving me to God knows where for the last hour.
“Just shut up and relax. We’re almost there.”
I look around and see a sign for Otter Creek. No way. It’s the first track I ever raced on, out in the middle of nowhere. “Alex,” I say her name as almost a question.
She just smiles mysteriously to herself as she turns into the park and drives down to the track. She parks her car and I turn to face her, “What the hell are you up to?”
She turns the car off, unbuckles her seatbelt and turns to me with a challenging gleam. “Get out of the car and find out.”
We both get out and I cautiously follow her to the track. My eyes widen with shock when I see a pristine ‘69 GTO parked there. Jax has a car like this, but his has red pinstripes. This one looks exactly like my very first car. It was a gift from my grandma when I turned fifteen. I turn to Alex with uncertainty, “What’s going on?”
She just folds her arms over her chest with cool confidence. “Why don’t you check it out.”
I limp toward the car since I’ve started leaving my crutch behind. Every single detail is the same as I remember my first car. I focus back on Alex. “Is this my car?”
It can’t be. I totaled it my senior year. I was going way too fast down a country road. It was totally my fault, so there was no insurance check. Last time I saw my car, it was parked at my grandma’s house.
Alex grins, “Yep.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “No way. That car was smashed all to hell.”
“Yeah, no shit. It took for-fucking-ever to fix.” I smile when I hear Jax say that as he comes out of the stands with Brooke, Dylan, and Charlotte. I was so preoccupied with the blast from my past to notice they were here.
I look at him still totally stunned. “No fucking way. It can’t be the same car. I always assumed it got sold for scrap or something.”
Brooke walks over, smoothing her hand over the hood. “Kay sold it to her neighbor, who had every intention of fixing it up, but he never got around to it.”
Dylan wraps his arms around her waist and says with a laugh, “Yeah, he jumped at the chance to sell it. Especially after we told him who we were buying it for. Said it was taking up way too much room and it would cost too much to fix anyway.”
“Of course, labor was cheap for us,” Jax adds with a smirk.
I stare at my friends with
total shock. “So, you guys not only tracked down my first car, but used your shop to fix it up?”
They all simultaneously shrug it off like it’s not the huge fucking deal it is. Dylan is the one to actually speak though. “What good is having a shop if you can’t do cool shit like this?”
“Yeah, happy birthday man,” Jax says with his arm around Charlotte.
“I’m paying you back. Bill me for the car and the labor.”
Dylan grins, “It’s called a gift man. Accept it.”
“Who the fuck gives cars for gifts?” I ask.
Everyone laughs and no one answers. Alex moves closer to where I am standing by the car’s driver side door. She tosses me the keys and I quickly catch them. “It’s yours. Get over the damn shock already.”
I look down into those devilish eyes, and I know without a doubt that this was all her doing. I don’t ask her about it now though. As far as I know, Jax hasn't told anyone about us and I don’t want to give it away. Last thing I want is an intervention on my birthday.
“Holy shit guys. This is amazing.” I look at them all, hoping they know how much it means to me without actually having to say it.
Jax moves away from Charlotte and smacks me on the back. “So, we gonna break it in or what?”
He nods his head to where his GTO and Dylan’s Camaro are parked. I can’t help the grin that comes over my face at the thought of flying around this track. “Fuck, I haven’t raced in a car for a long time.”
Alex opens the passenger door. “Yeah, yeah. Racing on four wheels is for pussies. Blah, blah. Get your ass behind the wheel.”
Brooke let’s out an excited squeal and hauls ass to Dylan’s car. Pretty sure Dylan is riding shotgun. I created a monster when I taught her to drive.
Dylan grumbles as he makes his way to his car and Jax and Charlotte head to his.
I climb into the driver’s seat and listen to the muscle cars roar to life. I turn my head to look at Alex. “I’m not sure I can drive well with my fucked up knee.”
She fastens her seatbelt and looks calm as hell when she says, “You have the flexible cast. Just don’t kill me or I’ll haunt your ass.”
