Page 41 of Please Save Me

“She had a rough night last night, and she’s exhausted,” he explained, leaving out themeltdownSophia had mentioned yesterday. “Give her a chance to rest. When she’s ready, she’ll come down.”

That seemed easier said than done. But Lucian seemed to be the expert when it came to Mason.

“What do I do until then?”

“Well, you volunteered to stay home.” Lucian shrugged. “So,I’mgoing trick-or-treating with my kids.Youcan figure this out yourself.”

Chapter 13

Lucian

This holiday was shaping up to be complete and utter bullshit. First, Mason wasn’t able to come, andIhad to be the bad guy. Second, Cameron couldn’t come because someone needed to stay home with our pet disaster while she maybe went into labor. And, finally, Sebastian was here.

We didn’t even buy him a costume, so all he had was a black hoodie and half-assed face paint.

Oh yeah, and to make it worse, he was pissy because Mason didn’t come. At least he was content taking the kids from house to house while Sophia and I watched from the safety of the sidewalk.

Together, she and I trudged a few paces behind Seb and my hellions. Jasper looked content to have time with his uncle, and Juniper dragged them along. Even with his shitty attitude, Sebastian seemed to enjoy himself as much as he could. He mentioned he needed practice so he could be a good dad when the baby came. And while that was very sweet–the idea of my brother touching my wife weirded me out.

We forced our way into a more crowded part of a dimly lit street. The air was alive with excited chatter as children and parents milled through theneighborhood. Crisp autumn air nipped at my nose, and Sophia hooked her arm into mine and pulled me closer. My elbow sunk into her soft flesh.

I cast her a glance. “What?”

“What are the hardno’s for our relationship?” she chirped.

My nose wrinkled in confusion.

“Like… sex-wise?”

“Lucian, there are kids everywhere!” She gasped.

“And you’re the one talking about sex.”

“I am not!” Her sapphire eyes bore into mine as a subtle pinky hue crept into her cheeks. “Like, romantic-wise.”

Her words stopped me in my tracks. “We have rules?”

For the most part, as long as we were honest and safe, we could date or fuck whoever we wanted. That’s how Cameron got us into this mess.

“I, uh, well, not really.” she admitted.

It was weird hearing Sophia be so quiet. She seemed to be completely immune to social anxiety, but now something had her timid.

“As long as you come home, I don’t give a fuck, you know that,” I grumbled. “Mason’s the only one who cares, and her stipulation isjust tell me before you do it.”

Sophia went on the most dates out of all of us. She just had this unconditional love for humans as a species. At least once a week, she was out with someone she met either at the gym or through work. Sophia had no desire for commitment, but she liked having a few consistent partners to snuggle up with at night. That’s where Cam, Mason and I came in.

“So… What if the person I want to date lives in the house?” Her words came slowly, and for a second, I had no idea what she meant.

She was in a relationship with everyone in the house… everyone except for one person.

“Sebastian?” I tried to hide my disgust at the idea.

I looked over to see him standing with his back toward us. Sebastian was tall and built like a goddamn superhero. So, while it wasn’t shocking that Sophia would be interested in Seb, it was still surprising when she nodded.

“You realize that I think Seb might actually be a psychopath… Right?” That was the only way I could explain the two hours daily he spent at minimum in the gym and his obsession with clean, whole foods.

Seriously, if I gave that man a Pop-Tart, he’d probably combust.

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