Page 19 of Decked, Wrecked and Pucked
I lean back, exhaling slowly. “I’ll talk to Coach tomorrow. Explain that we’re going to need a few days away.”
“I’ll find us somewhere to stay while we’re there,” Zeke says, already pulling out his phone.
“Make sure it has a large room, with one bed. Big enough for all three of us,” Roman says, his tone leaving no room for argument. “I’m not sleeping away from you two.”
I slide my hand onto his thigh under the table, pressing my palm against the hard muscle there, letting him feel me.
My big guy is strong as hell on the outside, but he carries a layer of insecurity he never should’ve been saddled with, allbecause too many people broke him before anyone ever thought to hold him together.
I’m pretty sure it started from the way he was treated at home, and when he landed in the system, things only got worse. He bounced between places that didn’t give a damn about him, and he was battered mentally and physically until surviving became the only thing he knew how to do. If I could track down every asshole who hurt him, I’d rip their spines out without a second thought.
All Zeke and I can do now is give him whatever he needs. Let him take whatever he wants and ensure he never has to question if he’s loved.And if he needs to keep us close, even while he sleeps, then that's exactly where we'll be.
“I’ll take care of it, baby, okay?” Zeke whispers, and under the table, I feel Roman’s leg slowly settle under my hand. “I do think we need to figure out how we’re going to navigate going back there though.”
“Pretty sure all we can do is face it head-on and get it the fuck over with,” Roman mutters.
“Well, screw it,” I say, shrugging, bumping Roman’s shoulder. “We’ll head up to the mountains and try to make the best of it.”
CHAPTER
SIX
ADDISON
Jasper Hastings,Roman Ashford,Zeke Adams.
My heart stops when I see those three names on the guest list. I blink, thinking maybe I’m seeing things, but the letters stay in place, laughing at me through the screen.
I’d asked my mom to email me the attendee list, but honestly, trying to teach a boomer how to open anything more complicated than a Facebook post is about as productive as trying to baptize a cat. After fifteen minutes of instructions and another five of her asking if “the internet was down,” I gave up. I emailed Jenny, the event coordinator, who sent the file over in minutes, where it sat unopened in my inbox overnight.
Part of me wishes I’d stayed blissfully unaware, but here I am, late twenties, and having a full-blown meltdown over three men who probably haven’t thought about me in years. And because my brain’s an asshole, I find myself thinking about Zeke and Roman—specificallythatnight.
I’ve replayed that memory more times than I can count.
Jasper was right.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, has ever come close to touching how hot it was.
Groaning, I grab my phone, check the time, and shoot a text to Willow. I know she’s awake. Her tiny humans seem allergic to sleep, and she’s usually up at the ass crack of dawn.
What are you wearing on Saturday?
It takes her about two seconds to reply, and when it comes through, I snort out a laugh.
WILLOW: nn48mlm)))
Seriously? Why are you still letting Hannah use your phone as a teething toy?
WILLOW: Sorry. She grabbed it off the couch. Uhm… what am I wearing? Something someone my age can get away with that doesn’t smell like spilled milk or a diaper explosion.
Helpful.
WILLOW: A long maroon dress that sucks in everything happening south of my boobs. And a coat. Because it’s practically Christmas, and it’s gonna be cold as hell.
Thank you. Also, you’re beautiful, spilled milk and diapers or no spilled milk and diapers.
The day I realized I’d be stuck in this town for good, I made a choice. If I couldn’t leave, then I’d build something worth staying for, and that’s how Eternal Chapter was born. I used to dream of seeing the world. I imagined myself on endless road trips, staying in tiny, crooked apartments in cities where nobody knew my name. About late-night conversations with strangers who’d feel like home, even if just for a brief moment in time.
