Page 96 of Forever Always

“Jay! C’mere! We’re fine.” Riley chuckled as he leaned over the bed to grab my discarded sweats and slide them on. Even if they were way too big, I still fuckin’ loved it.

There was some commotion outside the door and then it burst open, a frazzled Jay practically fell through. Behind him, a much more composed Wes and Dakota followed.

Jay launched himself onto the bed. The movement made me wince.

“What the fuck? Three days, Beck! Three fuckin’ days and all I was gettin’ were cryptic ass calls from Riley’s sperm donor. You weren’t answerin’ your phone or texts. Neither of you were! And THEN I go by the apartment and this Batman lookin’ motherfucker is there layin’ carpet! Why the fuck was he puttin’ down new carpet in that shitbox?”

“How did you know we were here?” Riley asked, ignoring the rant completely.

“I told him,” Wesley answered. “After I accidentally heard your . . . activities this morning, I figured I could put the poor kid out of his misery.”

Riley turned beet red. “Y-you heard that?” Yeah, where was all that big talk about not giving a fuck now?

Jay’s gaze snapped back and forth between both of us. “Really? Y’all fucked but couldn’t send me a fuckin’ text? And why are you even here? And why are you beat to hell?”

Shit, I was such a fuckin’ asshole. “I’m sorry. I don’t even know where my phone is.”

“I have both of their phones,” Wesley answered. “Neither of them was in any condition to have them. Plus, Beckett can’t have screen time for a little while longer.”

Screen time? Way to make me sound like a 5-year-old with tablet time restrictions.

The annoyance drained from Jay’s face and was replaced completely by concern. “What happened?” he asked seriously.

I glanced toward Dakota. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him, but he was still a regular person with a regular life. I didn’t know a lot about him, but I knew he was close to his family and had mentioned something about family dinners once. I wasn’t sure if anyone who had weekly dinners with their parents would understand.

Luckily, Dakota was a cool dude and immediately understood. He looked toward Wesley. “Do you mind if we wait out there? I think they need some time.”

Wesley nodded. “Of course. Once you’re done, come on out. I’ll make some breakfast. I’m sure you’re all starving.”

My stomach rumbled on cue. He chuckled and led Dakota out of the room.

“Okay, fuckin’ spill.”

So I did. I kept Riley’s part to a minimum because that wasn’t my story to tell, but Ri filled in the blanks.

I then told him how I’d called Wesley because of his job and that he and his buddy had helped clean everything up. I still didn’t know what they did, but I figured I would soon enough.

When we were done, all three of us were crying. It was still so weird for me to cry. I’d spent my whole childhood avoiding it. Even when I’d wanted to, tears wouldn’t come. Now, though, it felt right. We hugged each other.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner,” I directed at Jay.

“S’okay. That was a lot.” He looked at Riley. “I’m proud of you, slasher. Didn’t know you had that in ya.”

Riley grinned, clearly enjoying the ridiculous nickname. “Beckett needed me.” It was the only explanation either of us needed.

CHAPTER 35

RILEY

It took a little longer than I expected for the three of us to finally leave the bedroom. By the time we did, the scent of bacon filled the apartment, and my mouth watered. When was the last time I’d eaten?

Jay bounded into the main living space and immediately scooped Dakota up and had him in his arms, and kissed him. It was still a little odd, even though I was thrilled for him. It was really nice to see Jay so free and affectionate.

“Just in time,” Wes called out. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

I took a moment to look around the space. It was nice. It wasn’t one of those ridiculous penthouses you saw on TV, but the open-concept living area was really spacious. The flooring was wood and not stained and moldy carpet. The one wall was just all really large windows that seemed to open up to a balcony. The island Wesley was currently working on was large and clean and was made outta granite or one of those other fancy countertop materials. I wasn’t sure.

Becks crowded me and kissed my neck. “You okay?”

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