It’s in the expression. That’s how you know the difference. Duke’s the clown. Baron’s… I’m not sure what. The serious side, I guess. I remember that scene on the football field, the way Royal held onto him like he was the only thing keeping him from drowning.
Ignoring Duke’s hand, Royal plucks a couple bagels from the platter in the middle of the round table and hands me one. “We’re going out,” he says. “Everything go okay last night?”
“Not as okay as it went here,” Duke says, wiggling his brows at me.
“How would you know?” I ask. “You weren’t here.”
“Because I’m not still with my girl,” he says. “You’re still here, so by default, your night was better.”
If he knew the reason I was still here, and what we’re about to do, he’d change his mind. But I’m not about to tell him.
“You done with that?” he asks, turning to Royal. “Because I’m dying to dip my dick in her when you are.”
Royal lays a casual arm over my shoulder. “You want to take this one?” he asks, cocking a brow at me.
“You know, I’m good,” I say, leaning into him and hooking an arm around his hips. “I’m going to take a page from your book and not engage.”
“Damn,” Baron says, speaking for the first time, though he’s been watching with keen interest all along. “You fucked the brattitude out of her.”
“Let’s go,” Royal says, a little smile tugging at his lips. We turn and head for the door, and despite my earlier freak out, I’m actually smiling.
And then their dad steps in the back door just as we reach it.
“Leaving so soon?” he asks, pulling off his cheesy but expensive mirrored shades.
“I’m taking Harper home,” Royal says, his arm tightening around me.
“You know, I can do that for you,” Mr. Dolce says. “If you want to have breakfast with your brothers.”
“That’s not necessary,” I say, giving him a tight smile.
“It’s not a problem. I’m already heading out,” he says, holding up his keys. He drops his voice and gives me a conspiratorial wink. “I’m used to cleaning up my boys’ messes.”
“Yeah, I’m not anyone’s mess to clean up,” I say. “But thanks.”
Royal chuckles and squeezes me against him, pulling me past his father and out the back door. We climb into the Rover and head down the gravel drive. I cross my arms and stare out the window. “Have you ever had a girlfriend?” I ask.
He sighs and pulls up to the gate. “You’re not my girlfriend, Harper.”
“I know,” I say. “It’s just… You seem to know exactly what to do in this situation. And your dad said he’s cleaned up your messes…”
“I told you I’ve never fucked a girl without a condom before.”
“You’ve never had a pregnancy scare?”
“No.” We pull out onto the winding, two-lane road. “Have you?”
“No, and I’ve never had a boyfriend,” I say. “If you wondered.”
“I didn’t.” We drive in silence for a few minutes.
“I had a girlfriend once, for like a month,” I say. “But I’m pretty sure she just wanted guys to think she was a hot lesbian, because if no one was watching, she wasn’t really interested in making out.”
“What about Maverick?” he asks.
“Not a boyfriend.”
“You know how fucked up it is that I have to look at some other guy’s ink all over your body every time I fuck you? Knowing his hands were on you, that he was inside you… It’s right there every time I look down at you.”