Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Declan and Sebastian had a secret, no-strings-attached thing going for a long-ass time before the rest of us found out about it, and they actually fell in love. Sebastian would contact Dec when he was in town, and they’d do their thing. It took Declan forever to acknowledge it, but Sebastian had always been special to him.
I turned in my seat, watching as Kai handed glasses to a group in the corner. It was clear he was being flirty with them the way he was with me before heading over to take other orders.
When Declan said, “I need to get to work. I’ll be back,” I realized I’d been watching Kai like the creeper guys he’d been talking about, so I forced myself to face forward again.
“You like him,” Corb said.
“I don’t know him.”
“You want to fuck him.”
“And you wouldn’t?” I raised my brows in question.
“Well, yes, but that’s beside the point. He calls out to that caretaker nature in here.” He tapped my chest, over my heart. I rolled my eyes. They were always saying shit like that to me, but I didn’t see it. I liked to help my friends, yeah, but that didn’t make me any more special than anyone else.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that he can take care of himself,” was how I chose to answer, not sure what else to say.
“Taking the easy way out, are we? I see you, Marcus.” Corbin grinned. “And that still doesn’t mean you don’t want to be the one doing it for him. But I’ll shut up now before you start calling me on my shit.”
I laughed. “Smart man.” After taking another drink of my beer, I turned to find Kai again. Damned if the little brat wasn’t staring my way…and he winked at me.
I forced myself not to look at him again, something I wasn’t used to having to do. I didn’t like feeling as if I wasn’t completely in control of how I felt or behaved, which meant Kai was a whole lot of fucking trouble.
About half an hour or so later, just as Declan returned to me and Corbin, Kai ducked behind the counter. “Holy shit. I think I just found a place to live,” he told Dec, who frowned. “Um…what’s that look for?”
“With whom?” Declan asked.
“The guy in the corner. Ricky. We hooked up once. I mentioned looking for an apartment, and he has a room for rent. It’s a good price, so I’m going to go look at it with him when I get off tonight. He—”
“You don’t know him,” I cut him off.
Kai crossed his arms. “Are you slut-shaming me?”
“I wasn’t talking about fucking him. I meant moving in with him.”
“So? When does anyone really know someone when they rent a room from them? They find a place online, meet, fill out the application, and boom—roommates.”
Okay, so maybe the little shit had a point, but still, I didn’t like it. I’d always trusted my gut. “I’ll look for rentals for you.”
He rolled his eyes. “I can’t afford much, and I can handle it myself, Dad.” He leaned over the bar, face close to me. “Daddy is sexy… I can work with that. The other, not so much. Unless you plan on giving me a good reason not to take this offer, it looks like I’m moving in with Ricky. But regardless, what I do is my choice.” He plucked two beers off the counter and walked away.
“Wait…did he just leave Marcus speechless? I’m pretty sure that just happened, and I’ve never seen it before,” Corbin taunted playfully. The crazy thing was, he wasn’t wrong.
“I’m not speechless,” I lied.
“Pretty sure you are,” Declan countered.
“Stop agreeing with him,” I grumbled. We all knew I was full of shit, but I planned to deny the hell out of it as long as I could. “I’m sure you don’t like this idea either.”
“No, but it makes more sense for me. I know Kai better than you, and I’ve always worried about him. But ultimately, he’s right. He’s a grown man who can make his own decisions.”
“Wow…that was very adult of you. When did that happen?” The joke rolled right off my tongue, and I hoped it would pull the attention off me and whatever the fuck weirdness I was dealing with. This sure as shit wasn’t typical for me. I was the logical one in our group, the realist, and my protectiveness over Kai felt nothing like logic.
Declan said, “You’re lucky I’m busy. Otherwise, we’d be having a conversation about why you’re trying to change the subject from you to me. Corbin, deal with him.” Declan smiled as he walked away.
Corbin opened his mouth, but I cut him off. “I have to take a piss.”
“Convenient.”
“Want to go with me to make sure I’m really peeing?”
“Is that code for asking if I want to see your dick? Because I love you, Marcus, but you know I don’t see you that way.”