Page 14 of Ruthless Rebel

This time my twin does laugh as she chimes, “Oh please, remember when mom bought me a dollhouse for our birthday when we were seven and you sulked for a whole week? That was just the start of your jealous streak.”

I scoff, “I do not have a jealous streak.” But all my words do is make them all laugh, and I sulk into my steak much to their amusement.

The rest of the dinner is pleasant enough, more jokes back and forth, but I can’t stop my thoughts from running back to Lincoln and Asher. Which is stupid because they work together everyday, they see each other all the time, but I swear there has been a shift between them lately and I don’t think they even realize it. Lincoln has been openly taunting him ever since Ash came blazing into the house a few months ago, screaming at Lincoln before they went off into private with one another. We all heard Asher scolding him for something, but by the time I caught up with them, they were in a silent stare-off that ended with Asher storming away.

I asked Lincoln about it but he silenced me with his mouth on mine and it was never brought up again. Yet since that day Lincoln has grown bolder, and Asher more watchful of him, as if they share a secret bond, and it leaves me with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Is that jealousy? Maybe it is, but I guess that’s my own fault for falling for two monsters.

Dinner soon comes to an end and though Zack invites us to a bar for a drink, I excuse myself and leave the three of them to hang out. I call for my car, and the whole ride back to my apartment I tell myself everything is fine, but by the time we reach it I have almost cracked my phone from holding it so tight. I barely make it to my front door before I am calling him, and I know I shouldn’t, that I ambeing ridiculous, but as the phone rings out, I hold my breath.

I almost think he is going to ignore me, but just as I am about to give up... “Logan?” he answers with a pant, and just that one word falling from his lips settles me, yet he sounds out of breath.

“Yeah, it’s me, everything okay?” I ask, holding my own breath for the answer, and wishing I could see his face right now.

“Yeah, just finished working out,” he huffs back, and I imagine him shirtless and sweating, and suddenly I am smiling.

I move over to my sofa and drop down onto it, putting my feet up as I flirt back, “Without me? How dare you.”

Lincoln laughs, and I hear the clanging of something in the background and I presume he must have discarded his workout tools. “How was your day?” He asks, and it seems strange to have such a mundane conversation with him, yet also nice.

“My day was good,” I reply with a smile, replaying all the work I did, and the dinner I just had. “A little tiring but good, how was yours?”

Silence lingers a little and I swear he must be shrugging at me before he realizes he actually has to answer. “The usual,” he grunts, two little words, and it’s more words than most people would get, and they have me grinning like a fool just because I know what his usual is.

“Oh I don’t know, I wouldn’t call being told you have to travel on a plane with Asher Donovan alone the usual,” I muse, and he laughs, a sound that sends butterflies zooming through my gut.

“Ah, you heard about that, did you?” He asks in almost a playful manner, and it makes me wish there wasn’t a two hour drive between us right now.

“Oh yes, my brother seems to think I’m jealous,” I ponder aloud, expecting another laugh from him, but instead he hits me with another two words that render me under his spell.

“Are you?” The question throws me off guard because I never expected him to care, let alone ask. Casual, that’s our thing, despite me feeling anything but. I knew what our understanding was, yet I can’t help but feel excitement at his question.Does he want more?

“Don’t be absurd,” I snap back with just as much defense as I did with Zack and Max earlier, although for some reason it doesn’t hold anywhere near as much truth as it did when I said it to them. I suppose I can lie to them, but I can’t lie to myself, to him.

“It’s okay if you are,” he tells me, his tone a little gentler, the sweet side of him that he doesn’t even realize he has coming out in full force, and I crave everything about it.

“Even though we aren’t exclusive?” I ask, with a laugh of my own, and I can almost bet he is nodding at me, yet still I wait for his response.

“Even though we aren’t exclusive,” he repeats, and I can hear the lightness in his tone, knowing there is a smile on his face, that I almost don’t want to ruin, but of course I do.

“What if we were?” I ask with bated breath.

“What if we were what?” He repeats back to me, and I can tell he is distracted with something, but it’s now or never.

“What if we were exclusive?” I confirm, and I swear I feel the silence of everything stop around us, and I instantly wish I could take the words and shove them back down my throat.

“Just you and me?” He cuts into my regret-infused thoughts, and I find myself nodding slowly in disbelief that he even responded.

“Just you and me,” I confirm slowly, wishing I could see his face right now to gauge his reaction, but I doubt I would have got the words out, especially not when I add, “Just you, me, and him.”

“Him?” He immediately questions, asif he hasn’t a clue who I am talking about, but I know him better than that.

“Don’t play dumb with me now, Lincoln, I know you want him as much as I do, that your cock aches to take him, do you really think I would take that away from you? I would give you anything you want, especially him.” I lay all my cards on the table, praying they don’t force him to retreat back into himself, not when I feel like I am finally breaking through, and I don’t miss the gentle sigh he lets free at my words.

“You and me,” he repeats, still sounding distracted, before quietly adding, “And him.”

The butterflies in my stomach explode, and I will for my tone to remain calm as I joke, “So Lincoln Blackwell of the South Side Rebels is my boyfriend then?”

I expect to make him laugh again, but there is a quiet pause, as if he too wishes he could see me before he replies, “Yeah, I guess I am.”

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