Page 120 of Honey Undone
She raked her hands over my head and tangled her fingers into the messy hair at my nape, pulling me closer and taking what she wanted without waiting. I squeezed her tightly against me, my fingers digging into her thighs as she swiped her tongue into my mouth and deepened our connection.
“There’s a party at Delta!” Dean yelled in passing, throwing championship hats at everyone who looked at him.
“Meet at home first,” Arlo barked, his arm flung over Ella’s shoulder. “Do your press, shower. One hour.” He ordered.
We found ourselves laying around the deck with drinks talking over the game. Once we had gone through the round of questions from every reporter on this side of the country, we showered and did as we were told.
Arlo was late and Dean had already started to get restless about it.
“What do you think he wants?” He asked. “He can’t possibly want to go over the game already? We have all summer.”
“Sit down,” Josh reached for him, as he paced on the deck.
Like clockwork, the moment his ass was on the bench, Arlo came around the side of the house with Silas in tow. Both were smiling as they took the steps up to stand on the deck in the middle of all of us.
Ella sat with Zoey against the opposite wall, her head resting on her shoulder as she watched Arlo with so much love in her eyes and it only made me turn my attention back to Adeline. She looked up at me, stars glimmering in her eyes, seated between my legs on the ground and raised her eyebrows in question only for me to shrug.
“You’re going to let me get through this or no one is going to Delta but I have something I need to say,” Arlo said roughly, causing Silas to chuckle. “What?” He scowled.
“You could have started with hello or a good job,” Silas just shook his head gently.
“Good job…” The words sounded painful.
“Alright Buddy, A for effort…” Silas patted his back.
Arlo shifted uncomfortably, he never had been good at the whole speech thing but still managed to pump one out every game night for the last five years. The guys all watched on quietly as he worked himself up to it.
“Silas and I were here when the Nest went up, just two idiot kids running around a giant mud pit looking for trouble anywhere we could find it. We watched them frame every wall, lay every tile, paint every wall. We were there when Mrs. Shore picked out the furniture, and there, when she had to pick out a new couch because Cael pissed on it.”
“More than once,” Silas grumbled and as Cael and I started laughing.
“We grew into men here and watched all of you do the same. From Cael’s high school graduation, to Van’s appendix exploding, and even Zoey’s first time being black out drunk.” Arlo said.
“The bathroom never smelled the same,” Van noted and the rest of us agreed.
“It hasn’t always been easy, we all suffered our fair share of heartbreak and loss but we always did it together,” he said, smiling at Cael. “We slipped up, we fought, we shared bruises and cruel words.”
Cael stared at him, his jaw ticked at the thought of his mom.
“But, the Nest was never quiet, and that could be annoying but the sound of family filling the halls was all I ever craved as a kid. So before you all run off and start your own families and I’m left to raise a new era of fucking idiots, I just wanted to say thank you,” Arlo said.
Cael rose from where he was sitting, untangling himself from Clementine, and paraded his long legs across the deck. Arlo didn’t even flinch when contact was made, he just let Cael hug him. Van laughed, pushing from his spot and joined wrapping his arms around Silas to pull him against the other two. One by one we all joined and soon we were just one big huddle of arms and laughter.
“You guys, this team, for years to come... will always be the heart of the Hornets.”
EPILOGUE
JENSEN
“Let’s go get wasted,” I huffed and kissed Adeline standing on the porch.
“Carry this,” Cael said, slamming a crate of CDs into my arms as I turned. One last walk to Delta. I shifted it in my arms as Adeline caught up to Zoey, who was carrying a bottle of rum and stole a hearty shot.
Van fell into line with me as Cael argued with Arlo about song mixes ahead of us and Dean whispered a conversation to Josh behind. Silas had Drew on his back leading the swarm of Hornets down the hill to an already raging Delta.
The party erupted in cheers and congratulations as we made our way up the stairs and inside. Everyone fanned off, getting drinks and taking the chaos in strides but once it calmed down we all found ourselves in the backyard where we belonged.
“Is that for me?” I laughed wildly at the crooked paper sign that hung from the upstairs deck. Dean had sloppily painted overHornets Win!To make it sayGoodbye Jennyand it was the sweetest thing he’d ever done for me. “It looks like you painted in the dark! I love it,” I said, turning to him as he threw his arm over my shoulder.
