Page 37 of Southpaw Slots
But before I can slam the door, he says, “We’re yourfamily.”
Sliding a new bullet into the chamber, I shoot another tire out. “No, we’re not.” Theywere. Or they felt like it. But not anymore.
I know where mine is now.
Darting through the alleyway, I make it to the edge of the park’s southeast side. It’s been a long time since I was in the woods, but I remember every branch, every blade of grass. Every fallen log.
It’s changed out here since I visited. Grown older like me, I suppose. Yet it’s the closest to home I’ve been in a long time. As the air spreads out, it’s easier to breathe, but I can’t help the pounding that starts in my chest. Wide-open space, but it feels like it’s crushing me.
Finding old nut, the walnut tree I hollowed out as a kid once, I slump down on it, putting my head between my knees. Two miles. It’s only two.
How will I fucking make it?
I’m a grown-ass man who can’t be alone. Rubbing some tears off my cheeks, I stand up and pant breaths, placing one sluggish foot in front of the next.
This is my hell.
Cass is right. I’m spoiled. I had a fantastic life. Parents who loved me. Who loved my sister. A family. Ahome. Everything I wanted. I was good at sports. Got girls easy. Friends, no problem.
And I lost it all.
Maybe I was born to lose.
Except. When I kissed her at the altar, it felt like I was back to winning big again. Not just a streak, but IknewI’d gotten the jackpot.
Next foot.
What if I couldmakemy life the way I want? With her?
Next foot.
Somewhere between all the feet, I amble onto my driveway, the guard opening the gate and pretending I do this every day. Just taking a walk. Sober.
By the time I get upstairs, I pull off my clothes and gather my blanket and pillow, then head to her room. She’s probably angry, and she has a right to be, but I’ll make it up to her later.
When I press on the handle, it won’t budge. Locked. So, I take a step back and kick open the door. She and Wyatt sit up in bed quickly as she pulls the sheet up to her chest. Some tension eases from myshoulders. It looks like they were just asleep and not doing anything more.
I swing my pillow on one side of the bed, gripping my blanket and sliding underneath the covers, then pull her by her waist into my chest. She only slightly resists before shifting closer, asking, “What are you doing?”
“I sleep here now.” My muscles finally relax as I sink into the mattress. “With my family.”
ELEVEN
WYATT
Cuddling my girlfriend while trying not to touch her husband is some weird feat I didn’t know I would attempt to master in my life. Over the last few days, we’ve developed a bizarre bedtime routine. Ari and Ace brush their teeth and do some skincare thing I don’t understand, but Ace takes too long and is still standing there applying some shit to his face while I floss using her sink. He and I pretend not to notice each other in the mirror, moving around the bathroom like we’re planets orbiting a sun. Not needing each other, except to maintain distance, both trying to get closer to the center.
Ace usually gets in the bed with her first, the two of them spooning while I finish up in the bathroom. When I slide under the sheets, she links her arms around me and pulls at me, saying, “I need you closer.” Then there’s some odd combat with hand placement,like a modern battle of wills. I think Ace chooses her hair because he loves it, and I choose her hips and get to kiss her lips while he takes her neck.
War begins sometime around dawn when the mattress rocks, jarring me into a state of alertness. Ace likes to spoon fuck her with his morning wood, saying shit like, “I need your body, sugar.” When he finishes with a light groan, I try to keep my eyes closed, but Ari’s cries of ecstasy usually make my own hardness painful. When he’s finished, I tug her underneath me and rub myself between her wet pussy lips, not giving a fuck he just came in there. So desperate for relief, I’m willing to coat my cock in whatever’s left.
Ace watches us with some disinterest, like he’s judging my performance the entire time. While eyeing him, I’ll tap the head of my cock piercing right on her clit, which gets her jumping off the bed. Tiny wails fly across her lips until his eyebrows give a slight raise. Knowing I pleased her in front of him makes me come so hard, I spray all over her tits or stomach. And once on his face, a splash landing on his chin.
“Watch it, fucker.”
Blissed out, I smirked and laid back on the bed with a gentle, “Sorry.” I mean, I tasted him, so he should do the same.
Then the strange part happens. He and I fall back to sleep, and she must escape at that point, because Ace and I are like strange bed buddies after, waking up around the same time. Peeking an eye open everymorning, I’m greeted with one of his crystal blue ones flittering open to take me in. Kicking Ari’s clothes and shoes and purses and whatever else she’s dropped right where she left it, I head downstairs first while Ace styles his hair or some shit. At leasthepicks up after himself in our bathroom.