“Jesse!” Emmie called out again, and I rubbed a hand over my face to try to clear it of the sleep that still lingered. “Are you in the house?” I heard her soft padding of footsteps and sat up.
“In here, Em,” I called back just as she appeared in the doorway of the living room.
She frowned down at me, concern in her green eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Just tired. Haven’t been sleeping lately.” Her eyes darkened with worry. “I’m fine, Em. I swear. I’m not sick or anything.” Just constantly hard because my little goddess was driving me crazy with want!
She still looked worried. “Dinner is ready. Are you hungry?” My stomach grumbled loud enough for her to hear, and her worried expression eased into a small smile. “I’ll take that as a yes. Come on, I made meatloaf.”
“Not with bacon.” I didn’t think I could handle bacon tonight.
She laughed. “No. I only put it on a small portion.”
I followed her into the dining room where Drake and Shane were already loading their plates down with mashed potatoes, homemade baked mac and cheese, and fresh green beans. Nik was putting a basket of yeast rolls on the table and taking his usual seat. We had been eating homemade meals like this all summer, and I had gotten used to it. I loved sitting down with all the people that mattered to me and sharing food that had been made with some TLC.
Emmie took her place, and I finally dropped down between her and Drake. The first bite of one of the rolls made me groan. “God, Em. This is amazing.”
“Thanks, but I didn’t make them.” She was drizzling a little ketchup over her bacon crusted meatloaf. “Layla helped me out in the kitchen before heading out. I’ll let her know that you like them.”
Layla. Just the sound of her name made my dick twitch, and I took my time savoring the rest of my roll and two more. Conversations were going on around me and I tried to keep up with them, but I was too consumed with thoughts of Layla to pay close attention to what was being said.
“Jesse, can you do it?”
My head snapped up at Nik’s question. He was frowning at me, as if he were worried about me. I sighed and realized I had missed an entire conversation that probably had been important. “Sorry, man. What?”
“Em has a doctor’s appointment in the morning. Can you take her since we don’t really need you in the studio tomorrow?”
“You know I will.” I pushed my plate away and reached for my barely touched beer. “What time do we need to leave, sweetheart?”
She shrugged. “About ten thirty. So you can sleep in if you want.”
“Sounds good.” I didn’t mind going with Emmie to the doctor. I meant that I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat, and it never failed to move me. My little ‘niece’ had already invaded my heart.
As soon as he was finished with dinner, Drake stood and muttered an excuse. I figured he was going to go hit a new bottle of Jack Daniels. When he was out the door, we all shared a dark look but went back to our food. I hated that my friend was so dependent on a bottle to get through the night. I hated even more his reasons for needing it...
Pushing those dark thoughts away, I helped Nik clear the table. We filled the dishwasher but didn’t turn it on because really neither of us knew what was what on the stupid thing. I shut the door and turned to find Nik pulling a beer out of the fridge. “Want one?” he asked.
“Nah, man. I’m good.” I wasn’t in the mood for more beer. Instead, I pulled a can of coke from the fridge and popped the top. The sugary soda woke me up, at least for the moment, and I followed Nik out onto the patio where Emmie was already curled up on one of the loungers looking up at the star filled sky.
It was cooler out and Nik spread a thin throw over the both of them as he sat beside of her and pulled her close. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, enjoying the sound of surf crashing on the beach. Shane came out mumbling something about a run but no one bothered to say anything as he headed down the beach.
It was so peaceful that I started to drift off. Then the sound of laughter from the yard caught my attention and my eyes snapped open. It was a rare sound, one that I hadn’t heard to its full extent in what felt like forever, but I knew who it was.
Drake was laughing—a sound so happy that it had to come from his very soul.
When the laugh was followed by a very feminine giggle, my hackles rose and I glanced over at Emmie who had sat up straight in the lounger. Our eyes met. Mine were filled with a mixture of emotions. I knew who was giggling, and it wasn’t Layla whose laugh went straight to my dick. I knew that Lana was safe with Drake. We all did. But was Drake safe with Lana?