I grabbed my anklet tracker and put it around my wrist. I had to punch a new hole in the band so it wouldn’t fall off. I tucked it under my sleeve and was pleased it didn’t look too bulky. The tracker had the same shape as a Fitbit. If I was lucky, people would think that was what it was if it happened to slip out from under my sleeve.
Colt and Creed had said they would come and get me when it was time to go. I looked at the time. I was ready with ten minutes to spare. Instead of fidgeting at home, I figured I could hang out with Knox and Keelan as I waited.
I knocked on their front door before letting myself in. “It’s me!” I said loudly as I shut the door behind me.
Knox walked out of the kitchen, followed by Keelan. The moment they saw me, they froze.
“Damn,” Keelan drawled as his eyes raked over all of me.
Knox folded his arms across his chest. “You changed your hair.” His tone sounded like he was irritated.
“I did.” I pulled on a red, curled strand. “Do you like it?”
Knox didn’t respond. Instead, he continued to stare at me, his hard gaze making a slow descent from my head to my pumps.
“Red is his favorite color,” Keelan said with a mischievous grin and put his hand on Knox’s shoulder. “That’s why his Camaro’s red.”
Knox shrugged off his brother’s hand and disappeared back into the kitchen.
Keelan’s grin didn’t waver as he watched his brother walk away.
“I guess he doesn’t like it,” I mumbled. Why did I feel so disappointed by that? I didn’t dye my hair for him. I did it for me.
“Quite the opposite, baby girl.” Keelan made his way over to me. “I bet he’s in there trying to think of reasons not to.”
I frowned. “What?”
He shrugged. “Boys can be stupid sometimes.”
Yeah, that still didn’t make any sense. “Boys? Knox is twenty-five.”
“Fine. Men can be stupid sometimes.” He took the strand of hair I was pulling on and curled it around his finger. “Especially when it comes to someone so beautiful and sweet.”
“You think I look beautiful?”
Tugging on my hair gently, he said, “I think you look fucking stunning.” He put his other hand on my hip and slid it to my lower back. “And I always think you look beautiful.”
It was shameful how I reacted. My pulse started racing and I had to fight the urge to arch against him, desperately wanting him to touch more of me.
His gaze dropped to my mouth. “I’m almost tempted to use ‘it’s my birthday’ as a way to guilt you into spending the evening with me instead of going to Ethan’s lame party.”
The evening, I repeated in my head. I cleared my throat. “Your birthday is tomorrow.” I was proud of how calm and unaffected my voice came out.
He pouted. “I’m only going to turn twenty-three once. I need to make the most of it.”
I smiled. “Any age you turn will be the only time.”
A throat cleared behind Keelan and guilt hit me like an arrow to the gut. Keelan’s shoulders slumped and he turned a little, revealing Colt and Creed standing behind him, glaring. They both looked gorgeous. Colt was wearing a dark blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled almost to his elbows and dark jeans. Creed was also wearing dark blue jeans, but with a skintight black T-shirt.
Creed reached for me. “Quit hogging our girlfriend,” he grumbled as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him.
Keelan let me go and stared at Creed with his brows raised. “If anyone is hogging her attention, that would be the two of you.”
Creed’s arm wrapped around my waist and held me against him. “You’ll be getting plenty of Shi’s attention tomorrow. Tonight, she’s ours.”
I was still held up on the girlfriend comment, but said, “I kind of feel like a toy you all are bickering over.”
“We’re not bickering. We have an agreement,” Creed said.
“An agreement?” I repeated.
Colt grabbed my hand. “That’s a discussion we can save for later. Let’s get going.” Pulling me out of Creed’s arms, he steered me toward the door.
“Don’t wait up,” Creed said over his shoulder as he followed us out of the house.
Colt led me to the passenger side of Creed’s black truck and then spun around. His eyes bounced all over me. “You look…” He rubbed the back of his neck, unable to take his eyes off me. “Different.”
Just different?