I give him jazz hands. “Surprise. It’s a girl.”
Not even a twitch of a smile.
“Tough room,” I sip my water. “Sorry about the diapers, couldn’t be helped.” I’m positive the man never changed one of my diapers. Not one.
“Cecelia, do you plan on behaving this way all night?”
“One can only hope.” That you don’t destroy my soul with your death glare.
“So, no parents, no girlfriends. Do you have a friend to hang out with?”
“I have associates. Plenty of them.”
“So, what does Roman do to let his hair down?”
Another side-eye. I’m getting nowhere.
“Dinner was delicious, but I do have some pressing plans tonight. May I please be excused?”
He doesn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
As I flee the dining room, I swear I hear him echo my sigh of relief.
A little over an hour later, I enter the garage, and Tyler’s dimple greets me first. His eyes roam over me as I delight in his attention. I took special care tonight, soaking my body in lotion mixed with juniper essential oil. I styled my hair in beach waves and bronzed my skin so it shimmers, even in the muddled yellow lamps above. I went light with my makeup, so the freckles Sean told me he loves, shine through. But my lips I colored hot pink to match my new sundress.
“Damn, girl, you’re smoking,” Tyler says, greeting me with a warm half hug as Sean converses with Dominic on the far side of the garage away from everyone else. Even with the purposeful distance, their aggressive voices are muffled as Steve Miller croons out, “The Joker.” The conversation looks tense, so I decide to leave them to it. Jeremy greets me next with the lift of his chin and an appreciative sweep of his eyes as he takes his shot at the table. Jeremy is shorter in stature, but I can tell his second home is the gym. He’s bulky, solid muscle beneath his simple clothes, but he wears them well. He’s got the trendy man beard thing going on and sports suspenders over his T-shirt. His brown hair is cropped shorter, unlike Sean’s, who’s got that struck by God’s lightning hair.
“Up for a game, Cee?” Jeremy drawls before he taps the nine-ball in.
“You mean another ass whooping?” I ask as my eyes roam from his raven tattoo to the black beanie hanging from his back pocket. Even though the temperature cools considerably after sundown, it seems out of place for the start of summer.
“You planning on robbing someone tonight, Jeremy?”
He pauses and then resumes chalking his cue before shoving the beanie deeper into his pocket. “Already did.”
“Oh yeah?”
He winks, and Tyler chuckles. “The only thing you robbed tonight is your mom’s dresser.”
Jeremy glares at Tyler. “Are we doing your momma tonight? Because I think we know how that ends. And for me, it’s always a happy ending.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Tyler snaps. Russell, who I consider the second mute next to Dominic, grabs a stick and chalks it. “Tyler, you know no one can do your momma quite like Jeremy can.”
I look to Tyler, who seriously looks pissed. “Is there really a story there?”
“No,” Tyler snaps, more toward the others than to me. “They’re just fucking with me.”
“If that’s what you have to tell yourself to sleep tonight, son,” Jeremy smirks and turns to me. “He’s a Momma’s boy. But I think we need some more quality time to remedy that. Daddy knows best.”
Grinning at their back and forth, I look up to see Dominic watching me as Sean talks a mile a minute. A spark runs through me at his scrutiny. We haven’t spoken since the night he let me into the garage. Every time I get close enough, he shuts me down, blatantly ignoring me as if I’m not speaking directly to him. Sean tells me not to take it personally, but with his constant shunning, and the looks he gives me, it grates at me. I shift my attention to Sean, despite the awareness of Dominic’s stare and study him, remembering the feel of his kiss, the look in his eyes, the way he’d consumed me with his mouth, with the promise of more. And that’s what I see when he finally turns in my direction. His hazel gaze travels appreciatively down my body before a faint smile graces his lips.
Shivers run down my spine when he looks at me this way. It’s as if we know what’s coming, and we aren’t the only ones aware of it.
“You two need a moment alone?” Russell snarks snidely, catching our latest exchange before lining up his cue to the ball and taking his shot.
“Here’s an idea, shut the fuck up,” Sean says easily, just as he reaches me, pulling me to him. The man has confidence in spades, a smile that could melt the panties off a nun, and eyes that convey everything without him speaking a word. Every day I become more drawn to him, and every day I feel the tie that’s beginning to bind us. Actions over words, that’s what I’m taking with a grain of salt over Sean’s cautious words on my birthday.
“Missed you,” he holds me to him tightly as I bask in his arms, my eyes meeting Dominic’s behind his shoulder before he pushes out the back door of the garage without a word.