Page 3 of My Boss's Sons

“Aunt Ava taught me how to pickle pocket, Mom!”

Ava took Lily by the shoulders and directed her towards the house. “Ha. Ha. That’s a good joke, Lily. You’re hilarious.”

I brought my phone up to my ear and groaned. “Jack, I live in a circus.”

My best friend since middle school, Jack Henry was my lifeline most days. He was my rock. “Are you just now realizing that? There’s even a clown. What color is Milo’s hair today?”

“Green. Mrs. Johnson called it offensive.” I smiled. “What does it say about me that her hating it makes me like it more?”

“It says that you’re taking your power back where you can. I can tell by your voice that Anderson fucked you over again.” He paused but when I didn’t say anything, he let out a colorful stringof curses. “You’re not pouting and feeling shitty tonight, Soph. You’re coming out with me.”

I could hear Lily and Ava arguing from inside the house about who was going to clean what. I loved my crazy little family but after the day I’d had, I didn’t think I could stay in and listen to them bicker all night. “When are you picking me up?”

3

***Sophia***

Iglared at Jack from across the hightop table we were sitting at. He’d taken me out to a bar that was full of children. Maybe not children, but they might as well have been.Blazewas a club that Jack had just invested in and he was proud of it, but if I’d known he was dragging me out to a bar full of people in their early twenties, I would’ve passed. At thirty-seven, my early twenties felt like a lifetime ago.

“Relax, Soph. You fit right in.” Jack reached over and took my hand. “You look hot, you don’t have a single line on your face, and I’ve already seen multiple guys checking you out.”

Glancing around, I noticed that most of the women around us were tiny. It had me sucking in my stomach and wishing I’d worn my Spanx. Looking back at Jack, I saw he already had his eyes on a cute guy across the room. “Oh, no, you don’t. You’re not leaving me yet. You can find him later.”

“Lord, youarestressed. I’m not going anywhere, babe. I told you. I’m getting you hammered tonight. You’re going to feelbetter by the time you crawl into your bed tonight.” Jack glanced back at the cute guy and smirked. “I’m also going to feel better by the time I crawl intohisbed tonight.”

The waiter appeared at our table with a tray full of shots. “Mr. Henry. Jen said if you leave sober she’ll have to give your money back.”

Jack laughed his boisterous laugh and helped the younger man unload the shots. “Tell Jen that she can’t get rid of me so easily.”

I watched Jack as he moved with ease and existed as if he belonged in every space he occupied. It was easy to be jealous of him. He was larger than life and looked like the Brawny man, if the Brawny man was hotter. His laugh drew people to him and everyone loved him. He never got passed over for promotions. He would tell Mrs. Johnson to stop calling.

“Oh, shit.” Jack pushed a shot at me. “I can see you feeling sorry for yourself. That’s not what this night is about. This night is about getting drunk and dancing until you forget everything else. Take these shots. Right now.”

I did as he said and winced as the top shelf tequila settled in my stomach. “People who say the expensive stuff tastes better are full of shit.”

“You’re just a lightweight.” He threw back two shots in a row. “It makes you a cheap date, though, so I’m not complaining.”

“Cheap and messy if you’re not careful.” I threw back another shot and stood up. “Alright, then. Let’s dance.”

“You’re not even going to let me get a buzz first?” Standing with me, he wrapped his arm around my waist and led me to the dance floor. Despite the bar being packed, the dance floor wasn’t so bad. Jack pulled me into his chest and then spun me away from him. When I let out a loud laugh, he tugged me back and then dipped me. “That’s the last of my moves, so don’t expectmuch more, babe. Plus, once those shots hit, you’ll end up flat on your ass if we do that again.”

I threw my head back and laughed, letting the stress of the day melt away. Between the shots and Jack, I was feeling better already. “I bet you’d dip me again if I was one of your boy toys.”

Jack’s smile was cocky. “You bet your sweet ass I would. I show up for people who put out.”

“It’s not my fault that you only like younger men who make you feel like the big strong bear that you are.” I gestured down at myself. “I can’t help that this is the hand I was dealt.”

He spun me again and then playfully patted my ass. “If I was into women, babe, you’d be locked down with a ring by now.”

I rolled my eyes. “If you were into women, we wouldn’t be best friends. We never would’ve recovered from prom night and we’d still be avoiding each other.”

“Did you seriously just bring up prom night?” He narrowed his eyes. “Are you drunk already? You hate talking about that night normally.”

“It wasn’t my finest moment. After a quick ten minutes in the backseat of your car, you knew for sure that you were gay. My vagina convinced you that you don’t like vaginas.” I scoffed. “My vagina isn’t that bad. I mean, it’s not bad at all. You don’t even know what you’re talking about when it comes to vaginas, so why would I care what you think?”

Jack let out a wild laugh. “God, I love you even more when you’re tipsy. Your vagina is a strange topic of conversation for the dance floor, but I’m down. I only knew I was gay because if I didn’t enjoyyourmagic vagina, I was never going to enjoy any vaginas.”

I felt my cheeks turn bright red and scrunched my nose. “You know what? You’re right. My vagina is a terrible topic for the dance floor.”

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