Page 26 of Morgan

He playfully shoves me. “Asshole.”

“Do you want me to lie to you?” I’m lying right now, of course, because Morgan is and has always been the most beautiful man in the whole fucking world to me.

“Some best friend you are.” Morgan wraps his arm around me and kisses my temple. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Being you…and never being afraid to put me in my place, even when it’s annoying as shit.”

“I aim to please.” Inhaling, I take in the scent of him and try to hold on to this moment for when he’s gone. “Now, are we gonna get to work or what?”

“Christ, yes, let’s do it. I had no idea you were so bossy.”

“You haven’t seen the extent of it yet.”

After that, we give my car the attention she deserves. About two hours later, my stomach growls, and Morgan pops his head up. “Shit. You should have said you’re hungry. I wasn’t even thinking. What do you want?”

I shrug. “I’ll eat anything.” I’m not known for being picky when it comes to food.

“How about we stay here, and I’ll order pizza. I’ll even break the no-pineapple rule for you this time.”

“It belongs on pizza, Morg.”

“No. It really fucking doesn’t.”

We’ve been having this argument our whole lives. Mostly just for fun because while Morgan doesn’t eat it, he always got me what I wanted. Sometimes he’d surprise me and show up with pepperoni and pineapple pizza even if he playfully complained the whole time.

“One day I’ll get you to taste it.”

“Never gonna happen.”

“Is you ordering me dinner gonna happen? Because my stomach is about to eat itself.”

He chuckles as he tugs out his phone and puts in an order. We continue working until the delivery driver messages from outside to let us know he’s there.

“You can stay here. I’ll go get it,” Morgan tells me, and I nod. I take a quick trip to the bathroom, wash my hands, and when I get back, he’s sitting on the concrete floor, against the wall, with two pizza boxes, paper plates, napkins, plastic cups, and a two liter of pop.

“You know there’s a table in the breakroom in the back where Easton and I eat, right?”

“Something wrong with right here?”

No, there’s not. I’ve always loved that Morgan is the kind of guy to wear expensive suits and go to expensive parties, but he’s also fine sitting on the floor, eating pizza, with the smell of car parts all around us.

“Nope. Just wanted to make sure.”

He pushes to his feet. “I do need to take a piss and wash my hands, though.”

I nod and sit on the floor while Morgan goes to take care of his business. I put a couple of pieces of barbecue chicken pizza on a plate for him, then grab some of mine. When he comes back, I say, “I can’t figure out why you think pineapple on pizza is weird but not barbecue.”

“Because everything you do is weirder.” Morgan plops down beside me, the two of us leaning against the wall and eating. After a few minutes, he says, “I’m not staying at Dad’s tonight. Rhett lost his shit about it, when really, it makes no fucking sense. Dad is okay. I think he just wants to control everything, wants to feel like I’m doing something he says I have to do because I haven’t been here for so long. I’m probably going to grab a room for the night. I just…can’t be around Dad.”

My gut clenches as I wonder what Gregory did this time. “That bad, huh?”

“I feel like a child when I say this, but sometimes I really think I hate him. I’ve tried to tell myself I shouldn’t. He’s my family, and that’s not what Mom would want, but…”

“But you’re allowed to feel how you feel. And love is earned, so is respect, and like, it’s not something people get just because they share the same blood as you.”

“Fuck. Thank you. I know that, but sometimes I just need to hear it from you. Hell, if it wasn’t for you and Easton, I would have already jumped back on a plane for home.”

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