Page 61 of Claim Me

Bear grunts as if he’s been denied what he wants. I watch him disappear inside while Tack hangs close to Golden and me.

“We are friends,” Tack announces and pats our shoulders. “We are brothers. We need to be on the same page.”

I assume Tack is talking to Sync more than Golden and me until he adds, “And we need to stop making fun of how our moms died.”

“I’m sorry your mom was a lush,” Golden tells Tack. “Mine was a crack whore.”

“Well, I never mention your mom, so maybe stop mentioning ours.”

“By ours, do you mean Indigo’s mom?”

Tack’s blue eyes flash with anger. “Fucking duh, Golden.”

Smirking at the rage he’s triggered, Golden sighs and casually shrugs. “I don’t know, man. It’s my way to push back against Indigo’s repressed bitch garbage. Does he plan to stop shitting on my dick’s natural exuberance?”

“I don’t care about your dick,” I snap at him. “I care how you treat the dumbass women who want your dick.”

“Those dumbass women have names,” Golden sneers at me. “I assume, anyway.”

Sync strolls down to where we stand and pats Golden on the back. “Here’s how we fix the problem. The next time Indigo gives you guff about getting laid, you punch him in the dick,” Sync says and looks at me. “And the next time Golden says shit about your mom, you punch him in the dick. I feel like you’ll both behave if your dicks are on the line.”

“Indigo doesn’t even use his dick,” Golden mutters. We all stare at him while he remembers how I’m living with Siobhan. I see the exact moment when he catches up. Golden shrugs. “Well, all right, then.”

As Golden struts back to his chair, Bear sets up another one and cracks open a Monster can. Tack glances between Sync and me before deciding I’m a big boy. He takes the Monster drink Bear hands him and settles into a third lounge chair.

Even knowing this conversation was coming, I’m unsure what needs to be said. The facts are already out on the table.What more can I add?

“I figured I’d need to track you down,” Sync says.

“I’m not apologizing.”

Sync shoves his grease rag in his back pocket and crosses his arms. “Apologize for what?” When I only shrug, feeling like he’s setting a trap, he asks, “How long have you been sniffing around Siobhan?”

“I’ve been in love with her for a while. That’s one of those things I’m not apologizing for.”

“I get that, but for how long?”

“Years.”

Sync cocks an eyebrow. “Back when she was with me?”

“Some of that time, yes.”

Sync frowns. “If you were waiting around for Siobhan and me to break up, how come you took so long to make your move?”

“I wasn’t waiting around.”

“Well, you wanted her. Now you have her. What were you waiting for?”

“I figured she might still be into you.”

“She probably is,” he says and scratches his jaw. “I’m her first everything, and we made the twins.”

Narrowing my gaze, I mutter, “Siobhan says she isn’t in love with you anymore.”

Sync snorts. “I’m just fucking with you, man. Why would you ever think she was nursing feelings for me all these years?” he asks, and I wonder if he regrets ruining things with Siobhan.

“You said she was the only woman you’d ever love.”

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