Page 67 of Piston

I grin before Perrie rushes over to us and leans and whispers, “Jackass is here,” in my ear, causing both men to narrow their eyes at us, but we ignore them as we lock eyes once she pulls back, mine widen a little.

Acid leans forward. “Nuh uh, no secrets, share with the class….”

I wince as Perrie turns her head away from him, her light blue eyes looking a little sad.

Acid’s jaw tenses and before either of us can say anything, Chris is suddenly leaning around her and says, “Nat-Nat, I thought that was you; you’ve been dodging my messages, baby. Can we talk, please?”

Perrie elbows him, and he grunts. I grin at her while she acts like nothing happened, checking her nails.

I must admit, having her as a friend is awesome, it helps that we’re basically the same the age and were in college together before she changed courses, moving to the community college instead.

I’m just glad we managed to stay friends.

I can feel the tension coming off my husband in spades, and I gently lean into him. I give Chris a fake smile, and say, “Hey Chris, how’s my step-monster? Are you still screwing each other?”

Perrie snorts but coughs to hide it, giving Acid the chance to grab her hand and force her to sit next to him. He whispers in her ear, but she shakes her head and looks my way, her eyes wide, wanting help. Acid smirks seeing it, and I stick my tongue out at him, making his smirk turn into a grin.

Chris sighs, getting our attention, and I look to see him running a hand through his messy dark red hair. "It wasn’t what it seemed, baby. I-I, I was just helping her, is all….”

I nod. “Helping her bynotgiving her an orgasm; well, we both know you have no idea where the clit is, let alone the G-spot.”

His face reddens, and he takes a step forward but freezes when Elijah leans forward a little and growls, “Take another step toward my wife, and I’m going to gut you.”

His eyes go to Elijah's left hand on the table, to his ring, then to his cut and then Acid, who now has his arm around an uncomfortable-looking Perrie.

I grin at her, but she scratches her cheek with her middle finger, making me chuckle a little.

“I…uh, um…well, it was good to see an old friend from high school,” he backtracks, and I laugh as he bolts. The boys follow suit, laughing along with me, giving Perrie the chance to stand.

Acid growls, “Perrie….”

She ignores him, looks my way, and asks, “The usual?”

I nod along with Elijah, and she smiles before leaving us to it. I turn and raise a brow at Acid, who groans.

“You know, don’t you?”

I raise a brow and ask, “Know what? That you slept with her, then told her it was a mistake right after?” He groans again, and I confirm, “Yeah, I guess I do know. Jackass move, by the way.”

He narrows his eyes as Elijah snorts, and I sigh.

I side-eye my husband, then tell my brother-in-law, “I understand, and I meanI understand.” I tilt my head to Elijah, who tightens his arm around me. Acid’s eyes soften, and I admit, “But letting him in, him letting me in was probably the best thing to ever happen between us…. If you keep pushing her away, she’ll find someone who does want her, and then you’ll have to live with yourself as you watch him dote on her, make her his wife, and watch as she has his kids. Can you do that?”

His jaw ticks, confirming he can’t. “And how do you expect her to forgive me for fucking her best friend a week after finally having her?”

Ha, best friend my ass—more like bitch from hell who gives my step-monster a run for her money.

Andrea has always wanted what Perrie had: her family, her friends—not me, even though she tried—her boyfriends, and most of all, Acid, and he let her because he ran scared.

I sigh. “I don’t know, that’s something you are going to have to find out, because I’ve seen that lawyer sniffing around her again, the one she dumped when she realized she only wanted you….”

He gives me a tight nod as Perrie brings out my pancakes and the boys' lumberjack platters. I thank her while Acid does one better and grabs her hand, gently kissing it.

They make eye contact before she breaks it first, removing his touch, and then high-tailing it away from our table.

He smirks. “Yeah, she still wants me.”

I snort and lean into Elijah as he feeds me some of my pancakes, making me hum in contentment, hopeful for the first time in forever.

---