Page 49 of Coffee, Cops, and Tattoos

Lucas rose. “Sit. I’ll do that.”

“I can—”

“Nash! Sit your ass down!” Lucas demanded. “If I put the cornbread in the oven, it was still you who made it for Adam.”

“Fuck!” Lucas was really too good at reading him. With one crutch under his armpit, Nash clumsily made his way to the barstool that Lucas had vacated. “I’m doing it again.” He didn’t want to be an asshole. He was frustrated being hampered by his cast, he was bored, and he couldn’t even pace the way he liked! And he was always being told to rest! Nash didn’t want to rest. He wanted to run a fucking marathon or something.

“It’s okay, baby. I get it.”

Lucas grabbed Nash a bottle of water out of the fridge then pushed the bottle of over-the-counter pain meds in his direction.

He sighed but opened the pills and shook out two before gulping them down with the water. Lucas had his back to him as he poured the cornbread batter into the greased round pan Nash had prepared.

Damn it! Lucas was only looking out for him. If left on his own, Nash would probably reinjure himself. More than once.

Once the pan was in the oven, Nash set the timer on his phone.

Lucas rejoined him at the island in the stool across from his. “I know what you're doing.”

“What’s that?”

“You're trying to make yourself as useful as possible so we don’t kick you to the curb. You’re trying to not depend on us so we don’t get tired of you. You use sex because that’s all you think we really want you for,” Lucas told him.

Fury burned through him. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“I think I’m the man that fell hard and fast for you,” Lucas replied. “I’m the person that wants a future with you.”

Nash snorted. “I’ve heard that before. Three months. That is my longest relationship. Three months. Because I exhaust everyone by that time.”

Lucas grinned. “Then you have nothing to worry about.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that we’ve known each other for over three months,” Lucas said.

“We haven’t been dating for three months,” Nash pointed out.

“When did we start dating?”

Nash frowned. Okay, he wasn’t actually sure when they had technically started dating.

“The first time we had sex?” Lucas asked.

Well shit.

“The first time we watched a movie with Adam?”

He was getting the point.

“How about the night that we took Adam home after stopping for ice cream because he’d been attacked by a crazy cartel leader.”

“Lucas!” Nash snapped.

“Tell me, Nash. When did we start dating?”

“Alright.” Nash couldn’t argue with Lucas’s logic. “I get it.”

“I don’t think you do. We’re not your parents. We’re not past relationships. We are not going to get tired of you, Nash.”

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