Page 123 of These Pucking Boys: Part Two

“None taken. I almost preferred when they weren’t speaking to us.” She takes a seat on the couch and stretches her legs, propping them on the coffee table.

“It’s a bit more peaceful for sure.” Lachy grabs a pillow and places it under her feet.

“Thanks, hon.”

“Hon...” He smiles. “I like it when you call me cute names.”

I shake my head. Lachy is such a marshmallow, which always works in his favor with June. Not that it bothers me. We have our own personalities that June loves, and that’s why we have the perfect relationship. We each bring something to the table that she needs, and in turn, she knows exactly whatweneed. I never thought it was possible for someone to know me so well that I didn’t even have to speak the words out loud. One look and June knows exactly what to say or do.

“So... who’s ready for the real dessert?” Ryan takes the tres leches cake out of the fridge.

June tries to look over her shoulder and winces. “Ouch.”

“Lass, you have to be careful.”

“I keep forgetting. I can’t wait until I’m one hundred percent recovered.”

Ryan brings her a piece of cake. “Here, love. This will make you feel better.”

“Thanks. Aren’t you having any?” Ryan smirks, and she adds quickly, “Not to eat off me!”

“I wasn’t thinking that... but now I am.”

I wasn’t planning on having cake, but this conversation made me crave some. I grab a plate, but before I can join the others in the living room, someone knocks on the door.

“Do you think your folks forgot something?” I ask.

“Maybe.”

I open the door without looking through the peephole first and balk when I find my mother standing in the hallway. “Mom?”

She smiles tightly. “Hello, Jake. It’s been a while.”

I don’t speak, just stare at my mother in her pristine black and white Chanel suit, perfectly coiffed hair, and subtle but grotesquely expensive jewelry.

“Where are your manners, Jake? Won’t you invite me in?”

“Yeah, of course.” I open the door wider and let her pass.

Mom has never visited me in LA before, and as she appraises my apartment, I wonder if she’s here because of the sex-tape scandal. I bet that rocked her inner circle on the Upper East Side. In a way, my mother isn’t much different than June’s mom. They both care too much about appearances.

“Did you throw a party?” Mom asks.

“Yeah. June came home from the hospital today.”

Mom looks at me, her gaze impassive. “The woman you share with your friends.”

“The woman I love.”

June, Lachy, and Ryan are standing in the living room, watching our conversation. Since my mother never came to LA or bothered to attend any of my games when I played in New York, she doesn’t know any of them.

“Mom, I’d like you to meet June Summers, my girlfriend, and Lachlan Stewart and Ryan Bertrand, my roommates and best friends.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Phillips,” June replies shyly.

I’m not surprised when neither Lachy nor Ryan greets her. They know what it was like for me growing up. Most of the obvious abuse came from my father, but my mother’s sin was letting him do it.

I grimace when my mother approaches June. I follow her, tense as fuck. I never had a girlfriend in high school, but Mom never liked any of the girls my brother dated. I have no reason to believe she’ll like June.

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