Page 36 of Captivating Anika
Hog
“When did that happen?”
I’m lucky it’s quiet and we have time to throw together breakfast for the crew this morning, because I definitely wasn’t going to last until lunch.
I’m in the kitchen with Sumo and am in charge of the bacon while he handles the home fries and eggs.
“When did what happen?” I feign ignorance.
“You and Bodhi’s sister.” Sumo cocks a thumb over his shoulder to where Bodhi is sulking in the main room.
He marched in before I could catch him outside for a quick word, and he’s been avoiding me since. He won’t be able to for long though. If he won’t let me talk to him alone, I’ll talk to him with everyone around at breakfast.
“It’s new,” I admit to him. “But I’ve carried a torch for years.”
“No shit. But you never made a move?”
I turn and throw him a pointed look. He immediately throws his hands up and chuckles.
“Right. Hey, she’s a great girl, and I, for one, am happy for you, brother. Bodhi will get over it.”
Much the same thing I told Anika, but it turns out my otherwise calm and collected friend is far more stubborn than I would’ve given him credit for.
With breakfast on the table and everyone busy serving themselves, I try to catch Bodhi’s eye, which he ignores even though I sat down right across from him.
“Hey…Bodhi,” I call his attention, and that of everyone else around the table. So be it.
It clearly pisses him off and he throws me a dirty look.
“Really, Hog? In front of the fucking fire station? You need to rub that shit in my face? Bad enough every time I drive by her house to talk to her your damn truck is in the driveway.”
“You and Anika?” Vic interjects, a big grin on her face as she leans over the table to see past Sumo, who is sitting beside me. “I fucking knew it. It’s about time.”
Her outburst does not go over well with Bodhi, who surges up, kicks his chair back from the table, and stalks toward the sleeping quarters.
“Fuck,” Cap mutters at the end of the table, before his eyes find me. “Better go fix that.”
Dammit. So much for a proper breakfast. I get up, shove a couple of strips of bacon in my mouth, and head after Bodhi.
He’s on his bunk, one arm across his stomach, the other behind his head, looking casual, except for the narrowed look aimed at me the moment I walk through the door.
“She’s my sister.”
“I’m aware,” I calmly state, taking a seat on the edge of Cheddar’s bunk across from him.
“Some kind of friend you are,” he fires at me.
I sit forward, my forearms resting on my knees and my eyes fixed on him.
“I’m the kind who tries to ignore his feelings for years out of respect for a friend.”
Bodhi snorts.
“But let me ask you something; as my friend for all those years, you want to tell me you never clued into the fact I had feelings for your sister?”
“So? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s because I don’t have siblings, but it’s puzzling to me why you’d prefer some stranger for your sister over someone who’s been a friend for years and has actual feelings for her. I’m sorry, I don’t see the logic in that.”