“It’s too damn crowded in your room.”
“This is a little extreme for a booty call.”
He smacked my ass. “This is not about sex, but I have to say, having your ass in my face is making me second-guess that statement.” Brock stepped outside into the Edwards’ backyard.
A gust of cold air brushed over me, causing goose bumps on my arms. A moment later, my feet touched the ground. I tipped my head back, staring into his eyes as I waited for the blood rush to subside. “So tell me, what is this about?”
Moonlight hit the side of his face, which still bore a serious expression. “You.”
My brows drew together. “Did I do something?”
“Where do I start? But no, that’s not what I meant. You went to see Easton today.”
“And…?” I prompted, failing to see where this conversation was going.
“I wanted to see if you were okay.” His voice softened. “It couldn’t have been easy for you, telling someone who has been your father for seventeen years that he isn’t really your dad.”
My heart thumped in my chest. “It wasn’t. But if I talk about it, there is a good chance I’ll start crying.”
“Would that be a bad thing?” he asked, touching the side of my face.
“I’m afraid I won’t stop,” I admitted.
“You and I keep our emotions bottled up. We use things like sex and alcohol to deal with whatever we don’t want to feel.” Shifting his hand, he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear with his middle finger. “I just want you to know you have a third option. Me.”
Only Brock could go from complete a-hole to sweetheart in a blink of an eye. Two seconds ago, I wanted to string him up by his nuts; now I wanted him to just hold me all night. That well of feelings I buried deep came swelling to the surface, and suddenly I was crying, the very thing I’d been avoiding. “Why did you go and say that? I was doing just fine,” I sobbed, my voice wavering as I shoved at his chest.
He didn’t budge but drew me into his arms. I buried my face into the space between his neck and shoulder, clinging onto him as if my life depended on it. I’d been displaced so many times over the last six months, but here, wrapped in Brock’s warmth, was the only place that felt like home. “You don’t always have to be brave. Not with me.” His fingers ran gently through my hair as I cried myself exhausted.
This day was turning out to be an emotional catastrophe.
But he was right. I did feel better letting go of all those feelings, and there was no one I felt safer letting down my guard with than him.
“Fuck.” I sniffled, wiping aggressively at my wet eyes. “I hate crying. Why did you do that?”
“Because I love you. Because I can’t stand to see you hurt or in pain.” It was then that I noticed the underlying fury that pulsed in his eyes, but he leaned down, kissing my lips softly. I could taste none of the anger I know he felt. Not at me. But for me.
Dazed, I stared into his face partially shrouded by shadows. The other half shone in starlight. “You better watch it, Taylor, or you are going to lose your asshole status.”
He snorted. “Not likely.”
A sigh left my body. “Thanks for being here.” I didn’t know how much I needed him, needed to let go of all those built-up emotions I’d been suppressing for far too long.
His lips twisted at the corners. “It’s what boyfriends do.”
Hearing him say he was my boyfriend sent a rush of elation down my spine. My cheeks warmed. “Shut up,” I said, shoving at his chest.
“I don’t care how many times I need to tell you… you’re not alone. It might seem that way, but you have people who love you. You have a family, and I’m not talking about the Edwards or Angie and Easton. Grayson, Fynn, Micah, and me, we’re your family.” He meant it. Every word. I could see it in his eyes, and he wasn’t done yet. “It doesn’t matter that we don’t share the same blood or DNA, although in your case, you do actually share DNA with Grayson, beside the point. What matters is our loyalty to each other. We will always have your back. Even when you do dumb shit.”
How did he know what I was feeling when half the time I didn’t know? It was true, despite being surrounded by people, there was an emptiness carved inside me that continued to grow like cancer. All I ever wanted was a family. But he was right. I did have a family. It might not be a traditional one, but did it matter? Did I really care about the social norm or what a family was supposed to look like? My family was messy and unconventional. Everything I’d seen and learned about a family had caused me pain—the kind of hurt that left behind scars.
I chuckled over a lump of emotion that got stuck in my throat. I didn’t think I had any tears left to cry, but somehow Brock managed to summon a few fresh ones. “You were on a roll. Why did you have to go and ruin such a romantic moment?”
He shrugged. “As you so kindly reminded me, I have a reputation to uphold.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’d survive. It’s what we do.” His eyes flickered in the starlight. “And, Firefly, you’re not working at Lazy Ray’s.”