Page 9 of Need for Speed

He smirks. “No smartass I haven’t I just figured we could all get together at one of our houses and play Guitar Hero and sing bad karaoke. Maybe, have some good food and a few beers, nothing major.”

I never thought I’d see Ace this grown up and I have to admit it make my heart swell with pride. He’s grown leaps and bounds from the boy he used to be. “I’ll get everyone together and text you the details.”

Ace smiles. “Sounds good.” He checks his watch “I actually got to go. I have a tattoo scheduled in about half an hour.” Aceleaves and I quickly text Jagger and Bowie to see what I can figure out.

****

I’m sitting on our bed as I watch Sadie get ready to go out for the Kynlee’s bachelorette party. She pulls a charcoal gray dress up her body. I watch her wiggle as the tight material inches over her skin. The strip of black glittered material on the side of the dress glistens as it hits the light. Sadie turns around. “Will you zip me?” she asks, as she slips the one strap over her shoulder.

I stand up and make my way over to her. As I reach for the zipper, I let my fingers brush lightly over her spine. I watch as she shivers then shakes her head. “Axell, we don’t have time for this right now.” Even though I know she’s right, I lean forward and press a kiss to the back of her neck. “Axell! Zip now!”

I chuckle and pull the zipper up her body. “There but you better hurry home,” I tell her, before pressing one last kiss to the side of her neck.

After Sadie is picked up by the limo that has been rented for Kynlee’s bachelorette party, I grab Jovi and we head over to Bowie’s house. With Jagger and Bowie both having babies we figured it would be easiest to all meet at one of their places.

Jovi seems lost in thought on the way to Bowie’s house. I don’t ask questions because I have learned that with Jovi it is better to let him open up at his own pace. ABon Jovisong comes on the radio and I turn it up. Before I know it both Jovi and I are singing along to the song at the top of our lungs. We come to a stop at the red light just as the song ends. I can feel Jovi studying me from the corner of my eye. “Dad?”

Hearing Jovi call me dad is always a little odd. Most of the time he keeps with my name unless it’ something serious or he’s talking with Sadie. It’s not that I mind him calling me dad, but when our dad was alive, I knew it hurt him when Jovi referredto me as that. Even though my dad’s absence is what led to it. “Yeah, what’s up?”

Jovi takes a deep breath “Well, the other day at school they had a bunch of college representatives and what not there since we’re seniors and getting ready to graduate.”

“Yeah, I remember getting the e-mail about that. Did you find a school that you liked?” I ask. Jovi is smart and can probably get in just about anywhere and get help with it but just in case my brothers and I have put aside money in a fund for him.

“Well, yeah, I found something.”

I chuckle at his nervousness. “Well, that’s good. Where is it?”

“Kind of all over,” he says quietly.

I glance at him to see unease written all over his face. “What the hell does that mean?”

“I want to join the Marines,” he replies.

I’m shocked, so shocked that I’m speechless. Being a Marine takes a lot of dedication as well as the danger aspect of the job. It’s honorable, that’s for damn sure, I just didn’t expect that answer. Jovi has never mentioned or showed interest in the military before. I make the last turn and see Bowie’s house up ahead. “Well…that’s good Jovi. Listen, why don’t we talk more about this later.’

Jovi nods and hops out of the car as soon as it comes to a stop. I sit for a moment staring at the street trying to wrap my head around the bomb that Jovi just dropped on me. How will Sadie react to this? Eventually, I get out of the car and head inside.

We’re just about to eat when Ace starts to make a speech, “So, originally you guys know that Kynlee and I weren’t doing the whole bachelor and bachelorette party, but after everything with Brooke, I thought she deserved a break. So, I’m declaring tonight my bachelor party.”

We all toast to that and then carry on with the evening. After eating way too much junk food and playing games late into the night, we all return to our homes. I climb into bed with no sign of Sadie, but maybe that’s a good thing because I’m not sure how to break the news to her that Jovi wants to join the Marines.

****

Sadie

It had been another long and tedious day at work, but luckily, I did hear back from Seth. I was heading over to his place after work. Lyndsay appeared at my side as I’m walking down the hallway to administer the meds to my patients. “Hey, so I was going to see if you wanted to catch a movie this weekend? It’s been such a long time since we saw each other outside of work.”

“It has been a while and a movie sounds great,” I reply. “Do you have a babysitter, or do you want me to see if Axell or Jovi are free?” Lyndsay was a single mom of two, but she made it seem so easy.

“Oh no, I have a babysitter. I actually started seeing someone.”

I stop and spin around to stare at her. Lyndsay has never been one to keep things from me, especially when it comes to her love life. “What are you talking about? Is it new?”

She shrugs. “Kind of but not really.”

“Then why am I just now hearing about this?” I demand.

Lyndsay laughs. “Because I didn’t want to jinx it. Don’t worry you’ll approve.”

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