Page 75 of Double Dare
I stretch my legs out and bump into Kade, so I turn it into a kick and try to shove him against the wall so I have more room.
He groans. “What time is it?”
I have no idea, but I feel like I’ve been sleeping forever and could sleep for forever more. I fish my phone from my pocket to check the time. “Seven-thirty.”
Kade grabs my phone to confirm. “Shit, that’s a good picture.” He shows me my background photo.
It’s a damn good picture. It’s Laken being mauled by Mule, Dom’s dog. He’s twenty pounds heavier than her, and he loves Laken so much that he can’t contain himself; he always mauls her with love. In the photo, she’s mid-laugh, her arms around Mule, his tongue against her cheek. Gar actually took the photo and sent it to me, and it’s one of my favorites.
“Every picture of her is good.”
“True.” He knows my passcode, so he helps himself to my photo album, scrolling through all my pictures. “You think we’re tiring her out?” Kade asks.
“No, it’s something else. She’s used to this much sex. I mean, fuck, she’s the one who initiates it most of the time,” I laugh. “I think she’s just working a lot and run-down.”
“Yeah, but something is bothering her, too,” Kade says. “Me?”
He needs to let that shit go. “I think Gar. That girlfriend is manipulating him, and Laken doesn’t like it, but she doesn’t know what to do about it.”
“We should talk to him. Gar is so above that chick.” He keeps scrolling. “You good with everything that happened at Four’s?”
I knew we’d talk about it eventually because something fucking weird is happening here. We check on each other’s feelings now, and it’s strange as hell, but also a bit…nice. Or some shit.
“Yeah, it was…fuck, it was hot.” My cock gets a bit stiff at the memory of it.
The door bangs open and Hardin barges in, clearly worried about something. “Have you heard from Lakes?”
“What?” Kade sits up. “What happened to her?” Alert.
“Nothing. She’s with Frey. They left an hour ago and I haven’t heard from them. Laken won’t text me back.”
“Why’s she with Frey? What happened?” I ask, pushing up to lean against the headboard.
Hardin sits at the end of the bed, running his hands through his hair. “I don’t fucking know. Something happened with Frey and she won’t talk to me about it. She’s with Laken because…well, fuck, everyone in our family goes to Lakes with their problems.” He hits the wall. “And I’m fucking worried!”
“Calm the fuck down, man,” I snap at him. “Laken has her. Try texting her,” I tell Kade.
He uses my phone to send Lakes a text, asking if they’re alright, and then we try to calm Hardin down.
“The worst possible shit is going through my head,” Hardin says, all agitated and shit. “Is she sick? Did I hurt her? Did I say something fucked up that made her scared? It’s gotta be me, right? It has to be. Otherwise, she’d talk to me about it!”
“You ready to admit you love that local?” Kade asks.
“Not the fucking time, Kade.” Hardin glares.
“He’s not taunting you,” I butt in. “He’s seriously asking.” I pass Hardin a pack of smokes, hoping the distraction will calm him down. Works when Mom does it. Mom’s also going to kill us if she catches us smoking in here, but fuck it. Hardin is having a crisis, even though he doesn’t know what the crisis is, and that warrants a bedroom cigarette.
He cracks the window and lights one. “I don’t know. She’s the only one I’ve fucked for like…over a year now.”
“Just good sex, or do you like her?” Kade asks.
He takes a fucking decade, but finally says, “Both. And now I’ve gone and fucked it all up.”
“What do you think you did?” I laugh.
Hardin takes a drag and shakes his head. “I don’t know. She’s been weird since Christmas. Maybe I freaked her out by inviting her. She’s always saying this thing is casual, and then I went and invited her to family dinner on fucking Christmas.”
Doubt that’s it. Freya’s just as hooked on Har as he is on her. My phone pings, and Kade scoffs when he checks it. He tilts the screen so I can see, and it’s once again, a nearly nude photo of some blond chick.