Page 17 of Worlds Collide

WOLF

“I have an announcement to make,”CJ says loudly as he stands, and he has my attention instantly.

Not that he hasn’t had it for the whole damn day.

The whole weekend.

The thought makes me scowl.

Carter’s arm bumps against mine for the millionth time when he raises his millionth beer bottle of the night to his mouth, and that just makes it all worse.

“All good, roomie?” he asks me with a shit-eating grin. I just grunt back at him in the hope he will never call us that again.

He’s been guzzling down alcohol all day as far as I can tell and the dude is seriously drunk. I can only imagine what a pain in the ass it’ll be to not only make sure he makes it safely to bed, but to sleep in the same room as him. I checked out the couch that’s shoved against one of the walls of the room and I think it’ll be comfortable enough for me to sleep on tonight—there’s no way inhell I’ll sleep next to someone who’s going to be seeping alcohol out of his invisible pores all night.

Flawless sepia skin aside, the night only promises to get worse from here on out.

I get a good minute to look around while everyone, one by one, turns their attention to CJ and settles down. Hawk finishes laughing after once more recalling how I told some of the wealthiest people in the world to unclench their asses. He’s pretty drunk too, but he’s Deedee’s problem now. I don’t have to deal with his incessant giggles or with the worry that something might happen to him while he’s intoxicated.

I clench my jaw in an effort to stave off the guilt that immediately follows that thought. I shouldn’t be so relieved that I’m not the only one taking care of Hawk anymore. Even though Deedee has been a big part of our lives for more than four years now, it’s only after they got married that I felt truly safe knowing Hawk will never be alone no matter what happens to me.

I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I haven’t brought it up in a meeting—because I know damn well that the codependency is strong with us, and that it’s problematic. I don’t need other people pointing it out to know it’s true. Just like I know neither he nor I want anything about our relationship to change, so why should it?

Everything is absolutely fine between Hawk, Derek, and me.

Everyone around the circle of chairs quiets down and I can finally focus on CJ without having to hide it. I can tell the moment he realizes everyone’s waiting for him to explain, because he pulls his shoulders back and puts his version of a game-face on and loses the nervous frown.

“I legally changed my name,” he announces in a bold, clear voice.

Judging by the way everyone’s faces scrunch up, I’m not theonly one who’s confused. He introduced himself as CJ to Theo’s grandmother yesterday, and to some of Mike’s cousins today... So what gives?

“What was your name before?” Hawk asks, and... Fuck, I don’t even know what the man’s damn name is. I look at CJ, invested in his answer now.

“That’s not important.” He just shakes his head and waves Hawk’s question off.

“What’s your name now?” Carter asks in a slur.

“CJ,” he answers with a proud smile, and no one seems any less confused. That’s good then, they’re on the same page as me.

“Okay, but what does the C and the J stand for?” Sebas asks slowly and with an exaggerated eye roll.

“Nothing. It’s just CJ. The letters.” A beat of silence passes and it thankfully clues CJ in to the fact that no one knows what the hell that means. His shoulders slump and he looks around the circle like we’re the ones being unreasonable. “You can change your name to only letters, and since naming myself is... weird for me, I decided to just stick with letters and not fucking torture myself over yet another decision I have to make.”

“Another decision?” Mike asks, looking lost. “What other things have you been deciding?”

“Well, you know I got my trust fund last month?—”

“Uh, yeah,” Josie interrupts with theduhimplied in the words. “The whole fucking world knows you’re, like, stupid rich now. What about it?”

“So I have a lot of things to manage now. I have plans for everything I own, and I’ve had to arrange a lot of things. It’s why I took a month off from my residency.”

Ah, so that’s why he hasn’t been around.

“What kind of things?” Deedee asks, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Like all the art.” CJ looks animated now, moving his hands with every word he says and eyes shifting over the whole group—though they never cross paths with mine... “I gave Carter and Sebas a bunch of shit?—”

“It’s notshit,” Sebas says, clearly offended.

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