Page 133 of Betrayed

“Vaguely.” That night had been a tornado of emotions and exhaustion. I remember her being polite, but I was so out of it, I wouldn’t have noticed if she was scowling at me the whole time.

“Hey,” he squeezed my hand, “there’s nothing to worry about.” AJ addressed my unspoken fear. It was unnerving how easily he read my facial expressions. Better than anyone else I’d ever known.

Two hours later, we parked outside Jamie’s house. We were late because AJ had carried me to the bedroom and showed me just how much he loved me.

Heat crept up my neck at the memory.They’ll know.

AJ carried the veggie tray with one hand and held my hand with his other. He let go just long enough to knock, but before he connected, the door opened.

Jaden opened the door wide and said, “It’s about time. I’m starving, but Meg and Emily said we had to wait for you to eat.”

I looked down, worried I’d upset them because we were late.

“Don’t be a dick,” AJ said as he put his hand on the small of my back and urged me into the house.

“Sorry, Dude, but I’m starving.” Jaden closed the door behind us. He sounded more cheerful when he said, “Hi, Blake.”

“Hi, Jaden,” I replied.

“You can call me Jay; everyone else does.” He smiled. “You guys want a beer or something?”

“That’s more like it. I’ll have a beer. Blake?” AJ asked.

“Wine sounds good, thanks.” If I wasn’t worried about embarrassing myself, I’d ask for the bottle. It’d been that kind of week.

We crossed the open space to the kitchen, where AJ handed off the tray to Jack before hugging Meg and Emily.

I wasn’t expecting the surge of jealousy as I watched Ashley hug him.Does she still want him? What if he realized Ashley was more his type? She was thin, beautiful, and full of life.

And her father probably isn’t in jail.

“Ashley, you remember my girlfriend, Blake?” he asked.

Girlfriend. It was silly, but hearing him introduce me that way for the first time made me giddy. I blushed as a huge smile spread across my face.

“Of course. Hi Blake, it’s good to see you.” Ashley stepped forward and opened her arms, then hesitated. “Sorry, I should ask. Are you a hugger?” Her friendly smile was infectious.

“I am.” Ashley was the first person to hug me, but not the last.

The guys hugged me, too. I finally had all the J names down. Getting to know them had helped. Jamie was the oldest, and the shortest, and had compassionate hazel eyes. Jack looked just like his dad. Jaden, Jay, was the youngest, the biggest, and by far the most colorful. Tattoos covered every inch of his arms, at least what I could see.

I thanked Jay when he handed me a glass of sparkling rosé.

“Hope you like it; it’s Emily’s favorite,” Meg said. It didn't surprise me to see a glass of water in her hands.

“I love a good rosé.” The bubbles tickled my nose as I took a sip. “Thanks.”

“Me too. Thanks for bringing the veggie tray,” Emily said as she took the lid off. “Now we can pretend we’re eating healthy.” She grabbed a carrot and took a bite before picking up her wineglass. “Cheers.”

Standing around the island, we all lifted our glasses and clinked.

“Let’s eat,” Jay said.

My stress slowly drained away as we ate. It felt good to let go, even if it was only for a few minutes, and relax with my new friends.

After cleaning up, we settled back down in the living room. At one point, Jay looked at Ashley and ask-yelled, “What? Do I have something on my face?”

He rubbed his hands over his messy stubble.

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