Alex bounced.
Rix squeezed and flirted with her hole.
She bounced faster.
She bounced until she took herself there.
And she bounced until she took him there.
He cleaned her up, and they passed out in her bed.
But in the middle of the night, Alex woke him up, slipping his dick in her mouth.
He grinned into the dark.
His little mountain fuck bunny.
Rix threaded his fingers in her hair, opened what was left of his legs.
And enjoyed it.
Chapter 15
The Table
Judge
Several hours before…
* * *
“You are not my sidekick anymore, mon beau,” Chloe said before she clicked her tongue.
“I was never your sidekick,” he replied on a sigh. “And you cannot say Rix didn’t deserve someone getting up in his shit.”
“My darling, beautiful man,” she purred, “our job was to get them together, et voilà.” To make her point, her eyes did not slide to Duncan and Genny, who were sitting at the table with them, mostly because her dad, Tom, was too. Nevertheless, her point was made. “It’s then they do the rest.”
“He needed Judge up in his shit,” Tom entered the conversation.
“Yeah, he did,” Duncan concurred.
Since her dad was up from Phoenix, Chloe’s family was over for dinner. But when Judge got home from work, he was still stinging from his convo with his friend.
Chloe didn’t miss it, and even if it might not have been good to share the full details with all of them, he was so pissed at Rix, he didn’t care.
Chloe turned to her mom. “Motherrrr, explain to these men.”
“Chloe’s right,” Genny decreed.
Judge stared at her in surprise.
Chloe was…Chloe.
Genny was mature and level-headed.
“Gen, she’s not,” Tom said to his ex-wife. Then to his daughter, “Sorry, honey, but you’re not.”
“She really isn’t, baby,” Duncan murmured to Genny.
“Okay,” Genny started, “this is how it’s going to go. Rix is going to tell himself that he can have this. And when it spooks him, though he won’t be admitting that to himself, but deep down, he knows that’s what it is, he’ll think it’ll be okay. They’ll still be friends. He’s going to keep doing that. And he’s going to do it while he’s spending time with Alex. Therefore, while they spend time together, they’ll get to know one another and build what they’re building. Then, one of two things will happen. He’ll get his head straight, and all will be well. Or he’ll lose her, and he’ll stop at nothing to get her back. Then, as Chloe said, et voilà.”
“And what if his stubborn ass doesn’t see the light?” Judge inquired.
Genny looked right at him, her expression gentle. “Then, Judge, I love Rix. He’s a good man. Loyal friend. Funny. He feels like a member of the family. It’s clear he’s struggling with some things after what happened to him, and that breaks my heart. But he’s neither stupid nor a fool. If he’s that stubborn that he lets a good woman slip through his fingers, he not only deserves to lose her, she might be better off.”
Judge shut his mouth.
Chloe smirked, but she also reached under the table to squeeze his knee.
“And then that will be when you get in his shit,” Genny concluded.
“Mm-hmm,” Chloe agreed.
“Wanna talk about the heavy he laid on you?” Duncan asked, and Judge gave him his attention.
He didn’t want to.
But he did.
“I let him down,” Judge admitted.
Chloe exchanged a glance with her mother, but said nothing.
Then again, months ago, she’d told him to ask.
Express interest.
She’d explained he’d never know what life was like for his friend, but he should communicate to Rix that he gave a shit.
He’d not done that.
Duncan nor Tom refuted him that Judge had let Rix down.
There you go.
He’d let Rix down.
But Rix had dropped everything to go to Texas with him when Judge’s mother died.
And then Rix, with Chloe, Dru, and Judge’s dad, had stayed glued to his side as he processed the addiction and dysfunction and fucked-up history that had been his relationship with his mom.
Now, Rix had lost his legs, and Judge had stood up for him to help him get a job in Duncan’s store.
Other than that?
He’d been there.
But it was obvious he hadn’t been there like Rix needed.
“Does he keep in touch with the men at the station?” Duncan asked.
“He talks about them, so I know he hasn’t cut them out. But I don’t think he stops in. And it’s usually occasions that he goes to, not out to grab drink or something. Graduations. Weddings. Shit like that.”
“Do they reach out?” Genny asked.
“I have no idea,” Judge muttered.
And shit yeah.
He’d let Rix down.
Chloe gave up on his knee and took his hand.
Tom remarked, “It’s never too late to be a good friend.”
Judge gave Tom a nod, but said, “Rix is right, we need space. What happened today was ugly. We both gotta give that time to settle, put it behind us and move on.”