Page 53 of In Plain Sight

I nodded.

“What’s her problem this time?”

“She’s angry I can’t just drop everything whenever she wants because I work irregular hours.”

He arched one eyebrow and put his glass back on the table. “You mean the hours you’ve worked for five years?”

“Yup.”

“Why do parents do that?” he asked. “It’s like they think that because they made us, they get to have complete control over what we do. Like our whole purpose in life is to make theirs easier.”

I ran the tip of my finger over the rim of my glass. “I think a lot of parents forget their kids are autonomous people. That we’re not just mini versions of them, and they don’t know how to handle it when we try to assert our independence.”

“Does your mom ever do the ‘I gave you life’ argument? Like being born was your choice, and you’re supposed to be eternally grateful that you exist?”

“Constantly.”

He sighed. “Mine too. And they act like feeding me and putting a roof over my head is something I need to repay, like it’s not the bare minimum of what a parent is supposed to do.”

“Are we talking about shitty parents?” Isaac dropped down onto the chair on Asa’s other side. “Because I’ve got two that suck donkey balls.”

“I see your two shitty parents and raise you two asshole stepparents.” Asa toyed with the chain necklace he wore when he wasn’t at work.

“So glad I don’t have to deal with that shit,” Isaac said, his gaze fixed on Jamie as he stood at the bar, his eyes narrowing as a pretty redhead approached his best friend.

Isaac’s glare deepened as the redhead slipped into the empty space next to Jamie and gave her long hair a flirty flip as she said something to him.

Jamie laughed and leaned against the bar.

Isaac’s lip curled up in a little snarl.

I exchanged a look with Asa.

Jamie and Isaac were two of the most laid-back and happy-go-lucky guys I’d ever met. They were also insanely high energy and had made a sport out of turning pretty much everything into a competition.

A perfect example was the shirt Jamie was currently wearing under his tee. The thing was tiny and ridiculous, more of a leotard than a shirt, but instead of being solid, it had a mess of tiny cuts and slits that gave it a spiderweb of patterns that cut across his skin. Apparently he’d lost a bet and had to wear it as punishment, but Isaac had been gracious enough to let him wear a t-shirt over it because of how indecent it was.

Was something going on between them? Isaac wasn’t acting like someone who was angry at their best friend; he seemed angry at the redhead for flirting with Jamie. Was he jealous?

Asa gave me a little shrug, but his expression told me he had the same suspicions I did.

As far as I knew, Isaac and Jamie were both straight, but they were so close and so in each other’s pockets that it wasn’t shocking that there might be some underlying tension between them.

“Thank fuck mine mostly ignore me,” Isaac continued, his eyes still on Jamie and the redhead. “Absent shitty parents are way better than present ones.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Asa ran his finger over his necklace, his black nail polish shining under the lights. “It would be nice if mine could ignore me for a while.”

“Looks like Luka’s in for a good night.” Issac tore his gaze from Jamie and glanced at Asa and me. “Or a really good night, depending on how adventurous his new friends are feeling.”

Asa huffed out a soft laugh. “Not everything is the opening to a porn.”

“It is if you have a vivid enough imagination.” Isaac grinned.

An image of Luka tangled up in bed with the blonde who was currently pressed up against his side and rubbing his stomach suggestively flashed in my mind.

I shook my head before my imagination could conjure up an image of Luka in bed with all three women.

More jealousy churned in my gut, making the beer I’d had sit heavy in my stomach.

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