Nate exchanges a look with TJ before he leans his shoulder against the metal weight stand and grins.
“How much longer you still got here?”
I take a drink from my sports bottle before I cock my head.
“Like three more hours…why? You can’t keep it in your pants for that long?” I’m joking, but I pause for a second, looking between them. “What kind of dumbass plan are you two Jedi mind sharing?”
Nate produces a chuckle that makes me even more nervous. But it’s TJ who props his forearm on my shoulder as he lays it on thick.
“Us? Dumbasses? Never…” Before I get a word of protest out, he adds, “You’re nuts, bro.” And his fist connects with my junk.
“Fuck,” comes out strained and empty as I suck in a vat of air and double over.
I’m going to kill him.
Between their laughter and the fact that I can’t even look up, I’m committing this to memory so law enforcement will know their deaths were premeditated.
“Deep breaths, dude.”
I can’t even tell who’s speaking because I feel sick to my stomach.
“Payback’s a bitch. You bogarted our girl—”
“And now we’re going to show her the time of her life.”
Motherfuckers.
I’d laugh if it wasn’t me that was in pain. But that’s fine because by the time I feel better, I’ll have figured out how to drown them both in the goddamn water fountain.
nineteen
“I am the Daddy.”
eleanor
QB with the giant cock: Incuming.
Me: What?
QB with the giant cock: *wink emoji.
“Hey, where’d you go? Are you listening to me?”
“Sami, I have to call you back. Crew sent me the weirdest text…and I think he’s stupid and doesn’t know how to spell incoming because he put a u.”
A beep, like someone’s coming into the penthouse, makes me lift my head as I immediately hang up in the middle of what my sister was saying. Because the smile on my face can probably be seen from space. All caused by my favorite naughty duo, Tweedle-hung and Tweedle-back facial, who are currently standing in the entry.
I push off the couch, walking toward the guys, finally in on the joke from earlier—InCUMing.
“What are you two doing here?”
The sexiest smirk grows on TJ’s face, making that beard of his look even more delicious as he holds his hand up like he’s telling me a secret.
“We’re here to kidnap you.”
My eyes pop open, but Nate holds up a bag of doughnuts.
“We even brought snacks to tempt you into letting us.”
I groan, my eyes rolling back into my head dramatically.
“Tempt me? You may never get rid of me if you keep giving me doughnuts.”
TJ grins, propping himself against the kitchen island with one hand, making the veins in his arm act slutty.
“So whaddya say? You wanna spend the day with us…do something other than Crew?”
I laugh, taking the bag from Nate and inhaling the deliciousness as I open it before looking up at the guys, letting my eyes peruse their massive frames.
God, they’re so…tasty. The only problem is there’s one missing.
“Sweetheart,” TJ offers, looking at me the way I’m looking at him. “Say yes and we promise to show you a good time.”
There’s just something about that drawl of TJ’s and the cockiness of his smile that wins me over without him saying a word. Plus, if memory serves—and it does, over and over in all my dreams—TJ’s a real, real good time.
My tongue darts out, drawing my lip between my teeth as Nate butts in.
“Or would you rather stay here, alone, watching…”
His eyes flick to the TV, where I’ve been watching The Hangover again for the millionth time on mute. I chuckle and shake my head.
“Nah, I’ve seen it. My only question is, you said you brought me a snack…” I cock my head. “So, what am I supposed to do with these doughnuts?”
Nate thunders laughter as TJ bends down, rushing me, making me squeal as he lifts me in the air.
“Girl, we’re gonna have so much fun today.”
I’m all smiles, hands pressed to TJ’s shoulders as he slowly lowers me before Nate throws down the gauntlet. He motions to my cell on the table.
“Hey, make sure you let daddy know.”
The moment my feet hit the ground, I walk toward the couch, shove my feet into my flip-flops, and grab my purse and cell before I stare them down.
“Come on now, Nate…I am the daddy.”
“So, what exactly are we supposed to get here?”
Nate’s looking around, confused even though I already explained it. TJ takes my hand and lifts it above my head, twirling me around as we walk down the aisle of clothes at the Goodwill. I laugh and turn to Nate.
“I’m going to explain this again, but this time, try to listen instead of looking at my boobs.”
Nate shrugs noncommittally. “No promises.”
But he still manages to steal another smile from me as I forge ahead.
“Okay, so, what we’re doing is this: each of us is going to take turns walking down the aisle. When you hear the word stop, whatever your hand is on is what you’re going to wear. And we’re going to keep doing that until we have a completed outfit.”
“And why are we doing this again?” Nate half-heartedly complains, and for the life of me, I can’t explain why it’s attractive, but it is.
It’s like the grumpier he seems, the more I want to fuck him into submission. Maybe I really am the daddy.
TJ throws his arms in the air.
“Jesus Christ. You don’t listen for shit. I hope you’re paying attention to play calls better than this. We can’t just be out in the city looking like ourselves if we’re playing tourist for the day. We gotta play the part. And baby girl’s only got a duffel full of clothes to choose from. Shit’s limited.”
I motion my hand to TJ, giving an enthusiastic “Exactly” as my voice morphs into a terrible Swedish accent. “I’m Greta, and I’m from Sweden.”
TJ picks up a Boston Red Sox hat, but it’s kid-sized. That doesn’t stop him from trying to cram it on his head as he adds, “And I’m Matty from Boston. Go, Red Sox.”
Nate’s looking at the two of us like we’re aliens, but then his brow relaxes as he grabs a plaid scarf and wraps it around his neck, giving the worst Scottish accent I’ve ever heard.
“Well, little wee lass, let’s get ourselves some outfits.”
TJ claps his hands together, dropping character as I do a celebratory dance, prompting Nate to smush my face with his hand.
“Shut up… Okay, who goes first?”
“You,” I snark, shoving his hand away.
Nate walks to the end of the aisle and puts his hand over his eyes, waiting as TJ motions to give me a piggyback.
“Ready?” I call out as I jump up, now able to see above the world.
Nate nods, but TJ turns his head my way, and I’m suddenly reminded of the night we met. When his face was so close to mine before he kissed my cheek.
“Déjà vu,” he whispers.
I grin and shiver, feeling his whiskers tickle my face.