Rocco grew more tense as we descended the staircase, and I glanced over at him when his entire body stiffened as we stopped at the bottom.
Ford flashed Rocco a knowing look. “It takes some time to get used to the connection. I’ll make sure everyone keeps their distance for a bit.”
Gratitude flashed through Rocco’s eyes, and he dipped his head in a thankful nod.
Ebony flashed a smile my way. My stomach clenched when she flashed one at Rocco, too, and I tried not to let my own possessiveness get the best of me.
The two of them and Zed both slipped out of the house, and Rocco crossed the room, turning the lock on the door when they were gone.
With the lock turned, and the thick wood separating us from anyone else, Rocco’s body began to relax.
“I need to go back to work,” I told him, slipping my hands in my pockets.
“My dad will get by without you.”
The words stung, and I scowled at him. “I need the money.”
He strode to the fridge, grabbing the big envelope of cash and tossing it to the counter. “You don’t need the money.”
I scowled at him. “I’m not taking your money, which you already know.”
“Alright, then we’ll go back to work tomorrow. For today, I just need some time to relax, and eat. I’m starving—and you’ve got to be too.”
Now that he mentioned it…
“I’m hungry,” I admitted. “We can hang out and watch a movie or two.” I glanced at the clock. “Or eight.”
Rocco snorted. “I’ll get the popcorn.”
“We’ll need a lot, for eight movies,” I warned. “Don’t skimp out.”
He gave me a tired grin as he headed toward the fridge. “I won’t.”
I turned the TV on and pulled up Netflix, flicking through Rocco’s watchlist. There were only a few movies, all action movies or with superheroes.
“Don’t watch much TV?” I called out to him. Honestly, I’d only turned the thing on once since I’d been there, and I’d fallen asleep without watching anything.
“Nah. I keep pretty busy with work and the pack.” He threw some popcorn in the microwave, and I went through a list of recommended movies while it popped. “Why don’t you watch much?”
I shrugged. “Eh. Got to a point where pretty much everything I watched made me sad or bitter for one reason or another, so I stopped. Music replaced that for me.”
He nodded, but didn’t say anything to that. I realized after I’d said it that it was probably a shitty thing to say—that I was always sad or bitter after watching TV.
Should’ve thought it through before I spoke again, I guess.
“What do you want to watch?” I called out.
“Don’t care,” he pulled the first bag of popcorn out and dumped it in a bowl while the next bag started. “Something funny, maybe.”
I nodded, navigating to the chick flick section. Seeing a movie I’d liked back in high school, I hit the button to turn it on. It’d been so long since I saw it that I hardly remembered anything, so I figured we might as well rewatch it.
“How about this?” I checked, looking over at him as he brought me the first bowl of popcorn.
“Looks good.” He nodded, handing me the bowl before heading back to the kitchen for another one.
I set the remote down beside me, grabbing a blanket off the floor and tugging it over my legs as I tucked them up on the couch beneath me. Rocco came back with the second bowl of popcorn, as well as two plates of leftover food I hadn’t noticed him throwing together.
“Thanks,” I said, flashing him a small smile.