Page 20 of Double Dare

“No, but I trust Laken to know when to bring me in. If he needs help and she can’t handle it, she’ll tell me.” She looks at me, at Jed, and then at the rest of the assholes as the table starts to fill.

“What the fuck is he going through?” Hardin asks. “This isn’t like him.”

“Maybe he knocked his girlfriend up,” Bass says.

“I always wanted to be an uncle,” Kolt adds, pulling out a chair and tipping it over as soon as he sits in it, crashing to the floor with a string of curses. Leave it to Kolt to be idiot enough to add some comical relief to our stress. What a twat. I smack him while he’s down because all is fair around the dinner table.

“Ow, you dick!” He kicks my chair leg, but all it accomplishes is another string of curses from him.

“Maybe he’s in debt to some thug,” Hardin says.

Kolt pulls his chair up, acting like it never happened. “If he was in debt to some thug, why would he go to little Laken for help?”

“Because she’s more badass than you are,” Zahn snaps at Kolt, enticing him into a verbal war that has a hundred percent chance of turning physical.

Gen splashes a bucket of water on their fight by being humble. “Perhaps he just needed someone to talk to, and Laken is a wonderful listener.” She flushes as soon as she says it, all our eyes on her and that cute as fuck blush. Goddamn, Genny. In the running with Gar for cuteness.

Four is smiling at her like a dipshit, heart eyes and all. I try to lock that shit down when I look at Laken, and now that I see how obvious it is when he does it, I’ll up my game and make sure I look like a proper asshole from now on.

“He’s probably asking Lakes why he uses regular condoms when the rest of us use magnums.”

Buns fly at Rydan for that comment. He’s always been the cheesy one, and somehow, it works for him. My bun flies the hardest, smacking him right in the face.

“You’re probably still using the same box of condoms from high school.” Bass laughs.

“God, you’re lame,” Kolt says, not even having a leg to stand on. I mean, Hardin is the nerdiest one of us, all techy and shit, so you’d think he’d be the lame one, but nope. Rydan has that title in the bag. Kolt’s just something else.

“Stop throwing my buns! I worked hard on those.” Mom smacks the table. By worked hard on them, she means Dad made the dough, let it rise, shaped it, baked the buns, and left them warm in the oven for her to serve as if she made them. Mom’s good at many things, but cooking isn’t one of them. “Jed, don’t forget you have to be at the airport at eight.”

Jed nods, mouth full. The guy he bought the gym from is coming back for a visit, so Jed is picking him up and playing host.

The front door opens, and Laken’s tired face morphs into a polite smile, trying to hide that fatigue from us. “Ray and Corbin, I need you for a minute,” she says.

Mom and Dad stand while the rest of us throw questions at Laken so fast she can’t even keep up. She stops trying, heading out front with my parents.

“This is so fucked!” Bo slams his palms on the table. “How many times have we relied on him? He can’t come to us for one thing?”

I’m fighting my instinct to go out there and figure out once and for all what’s going on with Dom, and Jed has the nerve, or the common decency, to grab my shoulder to calm me down. I shrug him off and try to eat something. Guilt again. Laken is his girlfriend; I should be the one checking on him to make sure he’s okay instead of worrying about her myself.

An hour and a half later, Laken comes back without Mom and Dad. When she gets bombarded with questions again, she glares at everyone, forgoes dinner, and shuts herself in the bathroom. Jed stands, giving me a look, and I don’t have time to question that look. We follow her to the bathroom, shoving the door open before she gets the chance to lock it. Because Laken never skips dinner.

“What?” she snaps at both of us.

“What the fuck is going on, love?” Jed asks, trying to calm her down. “Tell us what we can do to help!”

“Now,” I add like a dick. “Fucking tell us what you need. What he needs.”

She scoffs.

“Laken!” Jed shouts at her. “Tell us something!”

“Jesus Christ,” she groans, ignoring us.

I grab her arm and spin her around. “What the fuck is going on, Bossy?”

She looks at me, at Jed, and then she chooses violence. She rips her arm from my grip, shoving me so hard in the chest my back hits the door, closing it. Then she does the same to Jed when he tries to steady her. Shrugging out of both our holds, she seethes. “I can’t tell you! I’m tired, I’m sick of the questions, and I’m sorry, okay? But I need some fucking space. I just want to have a shower without any of you pestering me for answers I can’t give you. Leave.”

We don’t leave, and my dick is getting hard. Never seen her angry like this before, and I gotta say, I’m here for it. Her body might be petite, but her anger packs a lethal punch, and it’s hotter than I thought it’d be.

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