“And even if you were right…” Sydney says. “What would we do?”
Chapter Forty-Three
West
Is Nate right? Is this Evgeny Kasimir Vasiliev the same person as Kash? There’s no picture of the boy, but there’s a picture of the uncle, Andrei, and I return to it over the next couple of days. There is something… Kash-like to him. He has the same cool g
ray eyes, the pale hair, the strong chin.
Or maybe I see it because I wanna see it, and it’s not real.
Life goes on, without Kash. It’s been more than two months now since he disappeared from our lives.
It’s weird how much of a void he’s left behind. He was the newcomer, and yet he earned his place, put his stamp on us, marked us. We always turned to him for his opinion, his help. He was always there for us.
I miss him, dammit. He’s a friend, and more. He turned out to be so much fucking more. If admitting it makes me a pussy, well then. I don’t give a fuck.
But life does go on. I got a better-paying job at a burger joint, and sometimes work as a bouncer at a club. And I bought a car. It’s an old piece of scrap, but we can all use a ride from time to time, though I’d have to learn how to drive first. Jonathan refused to pay for any driving lessons for me when I asked, saying our money was tight.
Getting the car was a good decision. Sydney sometimes drives to the college campus where she works, and I feel better knowing she’s not riding the bus or walking home alone.
We get a large mattress and get rid of the bed in Nate’s bedroom so we can put the mattress on the carpet and sleep there. All three of us. Finally, we have space to stretch—and still we end up in a tangle of bodies by morning time.
It’s great. Almost too good to be true, this new life, this calm that comes over me when I’m in bed with them. And the sex.
Goddamn. The sex is off-the-charts hot. I get a boner randomly during the day thinking about it.
If only Kash came back…
But the days pass. Zane Madden hasn’t called, so I guess that was a dud all right. He’s right. Why would he remember a customer from years ago?
Sydney still cries at night.
She also still goes out with her friend Gigi almost every weekend, and both me and Nate are starting to wonder what is going on.
So tonight as she passes by the sofa where Nate and I are sitting, checking a used-cars site, I grab her and pull her on my lap, even as she squeals.
“Going out again?” I slip my hands around her hips and to the front to cup her tits through her dress.
Her breath catches. “Yes.”
“What are you and Gigi doing? Is she dragging you off to anything dangerous?”
“No. Gigi wouldn’t do that, she’s a good girl.” Sydney bites her lip in that distracting way that makes me growl. “We just dance. There’s this boy she likes, though. He’s often there.”
“So that’s why? You’re helping her catch this guy?”
“Oh, she’s doing a fine job on her own.” Sydney wags her brows, making me grin. “It’s a good thing you didn’t meet Gigi before me. Girl is gorgeous.”
“It wouldn’t have made a difference,” I tell her truthfully, and she turns to smile at me. “You’re perfect.”
“You’re ours.” Nate leans in to bite her lightly on the neck, making her squirm. She moans when he slides his hand between her legs. “Say it.”
“Oh God…” She writhes on top of my hard-on, and it’s all I can do not to take my dick out and push into her. I knead her breasts, and her head drops back. “I’ll be so late.”
“Just let go, babe.” Nate turns and kisses me as he fucks her with his fingers. “Let go,” he whispers against my mouth, and I wonder if he’s telling that to himself more than to us.
I pinch her nipples, so turned-on I could bust a nut, and she moans low and long as she comes undone.