Page 83 of Knock Knock

“We gotta get the outdoor shower here,” he said, passing me an olive-green towel with frayed edges. “Let’s get Karen to help.”

I nodded. “She’d like that. Then we can show her the new place.”

“We gotta make sure we lock the door during fucks, Nate,” Xavi said. “We gotta be responsible for the kids.”

“We are kids.”

“I know. But we’re good actors,” he said. “Well, you are. I’m more of a supporting character.” A packet of nicotine gum fell out of his shorts pocket, and we both stared at it. I hadn’t even thought about the gum in a few days. Or cigarettes, for that matter. Xavi looked from it to me. “I love you.”

I blushed because that meant he was proud of me. “Come on. Don’t make a thing of it or it’ll put pressure on it. Let’s go find out what Devon wanted.”

The text he’d sent said to meet him at the Kane trailer, so I shot him one to say we were on our way. I was still on board with the meddling plan because we didn’t know what they’d bet at fight night.

Hands swinging between us, leisurely walking through the park, I felt at peace. I still loved the shop. It’d been a dream for me and my brother, and the pride we’d felt at achieving it had been surreal. Still was. But it felt even better now to go there for work instead of living there. We’d figure out what to do with the apartment at the back eventually, but for now, it just felt good to stand in there and remember how things started. Xavi and I had shared the tiny room, and Devon slept on the couch until he worked up the nerve to ask Maddox to live with him. We’d been happy then, but we were happier now.

Without even talking about it, we took the long way over to Seth and Naomi’s so we could swing by Evan’s place to see what the status was there. The TV flickered and his old man’s car was gone. He was safe for the night, and that put me more at ease.

“So, the kid thing?” I asked Xavi. “What’re your thoughts on it now?”

He squeezed my hand and leaned against me, swaying down the street at a tilt. “Well, now I have your feelings to consider, too. You want a kid?”

I didn’t want to say no and crush his dreams, but I didn’t want to say yes and not mean it.

“You know what I think?” he asked. “I think we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be. Parental figures to the park kids. Like part of a community of part-time parents who watch out for the kids who live like we did.”

I smiled into the darkness. “Yes,” I whispered, because that was exactly it. That was exactly what I wanted. “That’d be enough for you?”

“More than enough. You, my fridge, our new home, and a door to be knocked on. It’s… well, plus the awesome sex, it’s everything. You’re everything.”

I’d never been everything to anyone. Would I fall for my best friend a little more every day for the rest of our lives? “So glad we’re doing life together, Xavi. Prison sentence or not, I’d have picked you.”

Our gooey moment turned into a kiss, but that only lasted a second. Maddox’s truck turned the corner, his headlights blinding us, and we both shrieked like wimps when they almost hit us.

“Hey!” Xavi yelled. “I blew a sandal!”

“Get in, fuckers. Payback’s a bitch!” Devon cackled.

Oh no. Payback for what?

* * *

Xavi stumbled,tripping over his slide and using my shoulder for balance. I swept him up and did a spin, and then we laughed about it because it was funny. And life required laughter.

“The fuck kind of payback is this?” Xavi asked our brothers.

We were at Garron Terrace. That hoity-toity park we’d fled the night of the Brittany incident. But the streetlamps were all lit up and string lights decorated the streets and pathways, and there were tables of junk everywhere.

“You dragged me to a farmers’ market, so I’m dragging you to a night market.” Maddox nudged Xavi. “We’re here for something, and you’re gonna help us get it.”

“Like you found your wedding rings?” Xavi scoffed at Maddox, but he looked at me. “These two can’t meddle worth a shit, you know? I love yard sales. Night ones just make it more fun.” He smiled.

“I know, right? Hardly payback. Like, look at all this cool shit!”

“It’s hard to piss you two off when the only thing you hate are feet and June bugs,” Devon said, sounding pissy.

“And extra old cheddar cheese,” Xavi added.

“What do you two need from here anyway? You bust another toaster, Dev?”

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