Rooftop weather? I didn’t know what the hell that meant. I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
It definitely meant something to Cord. He pressed into her harder. It was Thursday night, the start of the pre-weekend festivities, and the street was fairly busy. Neither of them seemed to give a damn that they were turning on the whole neighborhood though.
Suddenly Saylor laughed and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go before Truly starts thinking we’re no better than a pair of rabbits.”
“I already thought that,” I said cheerfully as we headed in the direction of The Hole. There wasn’t any reason to drive. It was a short walk and parking was limited over there.
Saylor untangled herself from Cord long enough to reach over and squeeze my arm. “So happy you came out with us.”
“Ah, well,” I stammered, a little embarrassed. I was glad to have Saylor. It was nice to find a friend in the world to share a few things with, especially if you’d kept yourself buried for as long as I had. I scarcely spoke to my sisters and my roommate was kind of an odd bird who I’d failed to connect with so far. Friendship was something I’d been without for a long time. I’d grown used to doing without a lot of things.
Maybe it was time to put all that restraint aside, just for a little while.
“It’ll be a good night,” I said with a sudden inexplicable thrill.
“As every night should be,” agreed Cord, holding Saylor even closer.
CHAPTER TWO
CREED
“You found it yet?” Chase wanted to know.
I’d been nursing the same beer for the last twenty minutes. If I went at it too hard my head got messed up. I wanted to do something tonight besides get pissed and pass out.
“Found what?” I asked.
My brother grinned wide. “The hole.” He was being clever. The Hole was the name of the bar we were sitting in. It was also a place I planned on entering in a different way.
“Still taking stock,” I answered, mulling over the teetering selection of college girls as they looked over at us. We could take our pick, as always.
It felt good to be out and I was fairly busting to get a ride. The last few months had been tough. First there was the agony of Chase’s injuries after he’d been jumped behind a gym and beaten to within an inch of his life. Then came the grim knowledge that I was a marked man. Day after day I waited for the hammer to fall. I still knew it would. I’d made a deal with Gabe Hernandez. He’d given me some information when I needed it. In return I agreed to bleed for him in the ring. I was just waiting for him to tell me when. It was a tough thing to live with and I’d spent many nights since then in an alcoholic stupor. When I was in that fog I didn’t want the company of even the most eager female. My brothers worried about me. As I saw Chase trying to measure my interest in any of the passing bodies it seemed like my brother wanted me to get fucked even more than I did.
“That one?” he pointed, casual as if we were shopping for a new table lamp.
“Nope.”
I noticed plenty that I could make do with, but nothing special. There was nothing worth unleashing several months of pent-up-balls-deep-fury inside of.
I checked my watch. It was early, only half past ten. Cord had wandered away some time ago to pick up Saylor. Sometimes it still felt a little strange that she was around all the time. Life had revolved around the three of us for so long and now there was some chick in the middle of it all. Chase didn’t seem to mind. He and Saylor had settled into an easy friendship. I tried like hell to be polite but I couldn’t shake the idea that she still thought I was an asshole. Maybe that’s just how things were going to stay between us. Of course, I couldn’t help but feel a little soft about the girl who had brought such peace to my brother’s life. Cord was our backbone and we might have been leaning on him too long and too hard. I knew damn well he’d never been this happy before.
The music kicked up a notch and some girls climbed up on the bar to dance. They danced badly but they had enough assets that it didn’t matter. Watching them was making me hungry.
Chase nudged me and pointed to a blonde gyrating atop the bar in underwear shorts and a halter. Her braless tits bounced around like half deflated balloons. She kept missing the beat because she was staring over our way. Chase raised his eyebrows to see if I would bite but I just shook my head slightly. I wasn’t going for something common, not tonight.
My brother was exasperated. “What then?”
“I’ll know when I see it, junior. But you go ahead and take a stab at that offer if you want.” As I gestured to the dancing blonde she jerked in surprise, losing her footing as her heel caught on the edge of the bar. She wobbled for a few seconds before toppling into the crowd with a shriek. Chase started laughing. The girl popped up, sputtering, her shirt over her face and her tits flopping. Chase laughed harder.