Page 94 of Double Dare
I knee him in the groin and shove him off. “Thanks for last night. Why did we ever stop,” I mock Maeve’s texts.
Kade pulls back, brushing snow off his pants. “You think I fucked her? After everything I’ve…fuck you, Jed. You know me better than that.” He kicks snow at me. “And you’re one to talk. You got a side piece of ass?”
“I already told you I don’t know who the fuck those girls are!” I scream at him, standing. He scoffs at me, and it makes me hit him again. He blocks the second punch and knees me in the gut, but I manage a kick to his calf that has him buckling.
“Well, they know you,” he shouts. “They use your name.”
What? Seriously, where are these people getting my number? “Are you fucking Maeve again?”
“You already know the answer to that, asshole. No.”
“Well, neither am I!”
Threats hang in the air even though they’re empty. I know he’s not hooking up with Maeve, and he knows I’m not fucking any of these girls, but still, we’ve committed to the fight and now we have to see it through. He stares at me and I glare at him, ready to keep this going.
Then we’re grappling, fighting for release rather than purpose, and it ends sooner than planned.
“Fuck, boys,” Bo scolds, pulling me off Kade at the same time Zahn grabs Kade and forces him back. “What the fuck is going on?”
Stupidity. That’s what’s going on. But when Kade grins at me like a smug asshole, that stupidity sparks right back up and I try to attack again.
“Enough!” Bo shouts, pulling me back and wrapping his arm around my throat, damn near choking me out.
“Porch. Now.” Zahn shoves Kade toward the house and Bo basically drags me there.
Wiping my mouth, I spit a bit of blood into the snow before climbing the steps, still heated even though I know Kade’s telling the truth. He wipes his nose and glares at me.
“Jed’s fucking a side piece,” he tells them, making me want to kill him all over again.
I push him against the wall and pin him there. “Fuck you, Kade. You know I’m not.” He tries to shove me away, but I hold firm. “How long have you been hooking up with Maeve again?”
“Jesus fuck, you know he’s not,” Bo scoffs. “Stop being twats and just talk this shit out. You good?”
Kade pushes me away and nods. I nod.
Grabbing the smokes from my pocket, I light one and take a long inhale, feeling the nicotine settle my nerves a bit. I don’t even know why I smoke. It’s not like the problem disappears with a cigarette. The problem is still there when the smoke is gone, and on top of that, I’ve fucked my lungs and my heart. I need to quit these things.
“I hung out with Maeve last night to go over today. She wasn’t at the shop and I had to handle some delivery shit. She let me add to a small tattoo. That’s what the message means. That’s it.” Kade leans against the railing, unwilling to look at me.
Logically, I knew it meant that, but I got pissed off anyway. I know he loves Laken, and I know he wouldn’t do anything to mess it up after all he’s been through to get her. So, why the fuck am I so pent up?
“I think someone is fucking with me. Giving my number out to people just to cause problems.” Maybe that’s what’s wrong with me. Even when I was playing the field, I didn’t get random nudes. Like who the fuck does that? Just sends naked photos to a guy they don’t even know? Something feels weird about it. “I honestly don’t know who any of them are, and even though Hardin blocked that one, I’ve been getting more.”
“Well, keep blocking them. Don’t let Laken see it because she doesn’t need to worry about that shit.” He turns. “Does she?”
“No,” I scoff. “I’ve been blocking them. They keep popping up.”
“Get a new number.”
But my number is tied to the gym, and that sounds like a lot of work. If this shit keeps up, I’m going to have to start thinking about it, though.
“Sorry I got pissed. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. All these chicks messaging me all of a sudden has me on edge. I know you wouldn’t…I know. Maeve is a part of this family, and I’m sorry I assumed the worst.”
Kade laughs. “I think we were due for a blow-up. We should fight more often. I honestly think I could beat you now.”
Not likely, but I almost don’t want to know. If he’s better than me at my thing, I’ll lose my shit even more. “You have art. Stick to it and stop fucking up your knuckles.”
We both turn to watch Laken’s truck pull in and park. She sits there for a minute, not moving, and I can immediately tell something’s wrong. When she reaches into the back to grab her bag, it gets stuck on the headrest and she spazzes out, throwing it into the back and running her hands down her face.