Page 30 of Baked

CHAPTER NINE

“Is it true? Were youseriously responsible for setting off the fire alarm in your complex?” Benny didn’t wait for Hunter’s reply before doubling over with laughter. “You couldn’t make this shit up,” he continued through his chuckles.

Usually, this would be around the time Hunter would leave. Especially now that Zach and Luke had joined the fold and were taking turns ribbing him.

“You know, you’re supposed to put out fires, dude ... not start them.” That was Luke, his smirk not at all hidden behind the coffee cup he was sipping from.

Hilarious.

Hunter simply rolled his eyes. Nothing was going to ruin his day. Not setting off his apartment complex smoke detectors, not getting a scolding from the chief, and definitely not his friends digging him out. Because there was not one damn thing he would change about his morning. Or evening for that matter.

“You been using the smoke detector as a timer again, man?” Zach added a hard slap to his back.

“Are you guys done? Anything else you wanna get outta your system? ’Cause I got shit to do.” Hunter kept a straight face as his eyes went from Zach to Luke to Benny.

All of them were smirking at him.

Bastards.

“How’s things going with Rachel?” Luke asked.

“Good.” Hunter fought back a smile and opted to clear his throat. “Cody’s gonna be keeping an eye on her while I’m at work for the next couple of days. But I’d feel better if I was the one with her, so I’m gonna talk to the chief today about cashing in some holiday time.”

He was going to ask this morning, but he thought it best to wait a couple of hours for the man to cool off. Damn smoke detector. It was still hard to regret his actions though. He’d take Rachel for breakfast over bacon any day.

Luke’s knowing grin was back. “You make things official yet?”

Luke had been the only one of his friends he’d spoken to about Rachel. Zach likely knew what was going on, if he hadn’t heard it from his fiancée, Libby, then he would have heard it from his best friend Cody. Benny, Hunter had no idea about.

“Hot damn, don’t tell me you finally pulled your head outta your ass and made a move?” Benny’s dark green eyes widened.

I guess he doesn’t know.

“My head is firmly outta my ass.” Hunter finally allowed his lips to tip up. “And yes, we’re official. So watch yourselves when you’re around my woman.”

It was just Luke who laughed this time. “Afraid of a little competition, big man?”

Like hell he was. Luke and Benny certainly weren’t any competition. It wasn’t like they’d been slapped with the ugly stick or anything—Hunter had seen plenty of women hit on them—but they weren’t exactly relationship kind of guys. Neither of them had been in a relationship in all the time he’d known them.

“From you? Hell no. You buy that beard of yours at the dollar store?” Hunter laughed.

“Why, you wanna buy one for yourself? Not sure it will help distract from that bald spot you got going on, brother,” Luke quipped back.

Asshole. I don’t have a bald spot.

Hunter resisted the urge to scrub a hand over the back of his head and, instead, glared at his friend. Bad grooming decisions aside, his friend didn’t seem himself. Sure, it wasn’t unusual for Luke to go a while without shaving, but it had never reached sasquatch levels before.

Something was up.

“Can we please put a pause on the insults and take a minute to appreciate the fact the big man has finally landed himself a woman?” Benny was grinning from ear to ear. “I mean, come on, how long has it been? Maybe now that he’s getting some, he’ll stop scaring little children with that face of his.”

So much for pausing the insults.