Page 79 of Shattered

Thankfully, what Jason said doesn’t even seem to faze Sienna, and she rolls her eyes at his comment about Erika’s body.

“Yeah. I only started using it when I moved to the city,” I reply to him.

“Fucker. You never told me our whole childhood.” He chuckles and drinks his beer, so it doesn’t seem like he’s too mad about it.

I find my eyes continually bouncing back to Sienna any time Jason isn’t looking at me, and when she catches me, the tiniest smirk appears on her lips before she looks away.

“She seemed pretty nice. Hot, too,” Jason continues. “Wouldn’t mind getting to know her. Hook me up?”

“Oh, my goodness,” Sienna groans. “So, you can talk about hooking up with girls, but I can never even talk to a guy? Or date one?”

Interested in what he’ll say, I look at him, watching as his lips flatten. “That’s different.”

“How?”

“Well,” he shifts forward, resting his elbows on his knees, “most guys are after one thing.”

She pokes him in the arm. “You, maybe. Not all.”

Jason grins at her. “Maybe. But whoever dates you has to be perfect, and no one is.” He shrugs. “I’ll probably end up ripping his fucking balls off, anyway.” He says it just as I’m sipping some water, and I almost choke on it, causing him to pat my back with a chuckle. “Sorry, bad timing.”

Shit, if he knew she was in my bed this morning, he would not be trying to stop me from choking—he’d be the one doing it.

With a shake of her head, Sienna gets to her feet. “Jason, you’re ridiculous. You said you were going to be better about it.” Then, turning to me, she says, “Neilix, I hope your son is nothing like him.”

“Hey!” he calls to her as she walks over to join her dad and Adi. “I’m going to teach him all sorts of things.” She ignores him but manages to send me a wink without him seeing.

Settling further into my chair, I lean back and look up at the stars. It’s weird to think how much things have changed over the past little while. I remember looking up at the sky in my backyard, being lonely as hell, not all that long ago. Now, I suddenly have all these guys as a family again. It’s hard not to feel like it won’t come crashing down at any moment, but I try to keep those thoughts to a minimum.

“I’m glad things aren’t weird between you and Sienna.”

Jason’s comment jerks me out of my thoughts, and my head angles back to him. “Why would it be weird?”

He flicks his hand against my arm. “Come on, man. You know why. Anyway, I’m just glad things are the way they are now. Makes it less complicated when we have stuff like this, you know?”

My shoulders sink a little and my stomach tightens. Now would be a good time to tell him I’m interested in her. I should tell him that I love her. But he just finished threatening to rip my balls off—unknowingly, but still—and he said he’s happy with the way things are. I doubt he’ll take it well, and I don’t want to ruin the great day we’ve all had.

“Yeah,” I answer, leaving it at that.

I turn and watch him for a moment, observing as the smile slowly fades from his face and he stares out at the yard. That same unfocused look from earlier returns, like he’s lost somewhere in a dark place.

Then, as usual, he shakes himself out of it, and after taking a drink of his beer, he leans in closer. “So, this neighbor . . . what’s her name?”

...

Sienna: By the way, have you told Navi about me?

Neilix: I have. She said you’re always lovely to her and she’s happy for me.

Sienna: So, she doesn’t have a problem with me working at the daycare?

Neilix: Not at all.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Neilix

I stare aimlessly at the fish tank while waiting for Sienna to turn up any minute. I had to drop Adi off with Navi after the barbeque, and Sienna was going to make a stop at home to get her things before coming here.

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