Page 60 of The Good Boys Club

He grabbed my hands, stopped me. “Did you prep? I’m so sorry, I’m too wasted to fuck.”

“I know, darling,” I said, play knocking my fist against his jaw. “It’s me, Mash. I don’t want to fuck you. I just want to get you to sleep.”

“Maasssh,”he said, drawing out my name on a long outward breath. A sickly, drunken smile slipped over his face. Then a second later, it vanished. “Wait—Mash? You meanmyMash?”

Ouch, my stupid fucking heart. “Yes, your Mash.” Always your Mash. “Know any other Mashes?”

“Oh my gods, did I barf in front of Dylan?”

“No, you didn’t. You haven’t barfed yet, but there’s a bucket here in case you do.” I tugged the hems of his suit trousers until they fell off him and he lay spreadeagled on my bed in only his pants and socks.

I forcefully manoeuvred him onto his side. “Bucket’s down here. I’m just gonna get you some water. I’ll be back in a second. Do not lie on your back. I don’t need my mate choking on his own vomit and dying to death in my childhood bedroom.”

When I got into the kitchen, Dee-Dee was there, leaning against the counter, squinting down at her phone, her thumb flying over the screen.

“Hey,” I said, thankful I had only undressed Ci and not myself as well.

Dee jolted and looked up. “Oh, hey, sorry. Seems to be the only place in the house I can get any signal.”

“Yeah, service is pretty shitty around these parts.” I took two glasses from the cupboard. “You want a drink?”

“Nah, I’m good.” She nodded to the table where a sweating, half-drunk glass of water sat. “I’ll be surprised if there aren’t a few sore heads tomorrow. Well, today now. How’s your mate? He seemed to be enjoying himself.”

I laughed. “He’s okay. In bed now. He’s got a bucket.”

“Riley too,” she said, and shook her head. “Kids these days.”

I scooped some ice into the glasses and filled them up the rest of the way from the tap.

“Can I ask you something?” I said. I got the feeling Dee-Dee could be trusted, but I wanted to find out how trusted.

“Shoot,” she said.

“You and Riley. Are you . . . a thing?”

Dee smiled. “How did you know?”

“Well, not sure how many co-workers who aren’t packmates bunk together at Harvest Fests, but also, I dunno, there’ssomething else . . .” I shrugged my shoulders. I had no evidence other than a gut-deep instinct. And usually my instincts were way off. “I won’t say anything.”

“She turns twenty-five in December. Her alpha’s not going to be happy about the age gap between us, but she’ll be considered old enough to make her own choices then.”

“What about your alpha?” I asked.

“Oh, Jan won’t mind. She just wants to see her pack all mated. No lone wolves, that’s her motto. You’ve done extremely well with Cian.”

“Thank you,” I said. The smile that followed was genuine, and then suddenly, I felt a hollowness. None of it was real. Not that I ever wanted to mate.

I couldn’t make a relationship last longer than three dates; I wasn’t about to trash a fifteen-year friendship.

Especially not because I was curious.

I threw caution to the wind. Cian could chastise me later. “He works in tech development.”

Dee’s ears twitched. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, he’s like, senior architect for Howl Ya Doing.”

“Wow, that’s impressive.” She pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table. “Does he enjoy it?”

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