“Now, we can shower,” Arsen said, reaching over to turn on the water.
Arsen didn’t realize how rare it was for all his friends to be in one place until they converged on him as a group while he stood at the counter searching for a part for a vintage Mustang. Seeing them together made him instantly uneasy, like he was about to be confronted like in those old intervention shows. Even though he eyed them warily, he continued to search for the part in the system, refusing to acknowledge out loud how weird it was to see them there midday.
In high school, they’d practically lived in the back of Jericho’s shop, haunting his ratty, oversized sofa while they played video games long into the night, costing him a fortune in food. This garage had always been their safe space, their real home, but jobs, school, and family got in the way lately.
Jericho still insisted they all meet twice a month at his place for “family” dinner but, day-to-day, it was rare to find more than one or two of them together unless there was an emergency. It wasn’t that they weren’t still close, they just mostly kept in contact through texts and while they played games at night.
Arsen’s lack of greeting did nothing to deter his friends. Nico hopped up on the counter, leaning over and sticking his head in front of Arsen like he wanted to see his screen.
“What are you doing?” Arsen asked, irritated.
Nico grinned, blond curls bouncing. It was hard to believe someone who looked so angelic could be such an asshole. “You were staring at that screen so hard I was sure it was porn.”
“Oh, Arsen wouldn’t do that. He’s in lurvveee,” Seven cooed, swooning dramatically against Nico’s dangling legs. Seven had recently cut his hair down to almost nothing, breaking hearts everywhere, but despite that, his tawny skin and sea glass eyes still were enough to pull any guy he wanted. Not that Seven cared about that stuff. He was too busy with school.
Arsen rolled his eyes at their teasing but didn’t say anything. It was pointless. They would have their fun regardless. He couldn’t even be mad. They all knew he would have done the same. Hell, hehaddone the same when Jericho had come home madly in love with Atticus after one hook-up in the murder cabin. Or when Felix had fallen for his husband even while they were hate-fucking.
This was just what family did.
“Where is your angel-faced boo? I’m dying to meet him in person,” Felix asked, looking behind Arsen like Ever might be hiding back there.
Felix was dressed down for a change. Normally, his outfits were handmade and wild, as expected for an up and coming designer, but whenever he came to the neighborhood, he toned it down. Well, toned down for Felix. He wore baggy jeans and a crop top with his mom’s falling-apart cardigan hanging off one shoulder like he was Ariana Grande, his long, wavy chestnut hair pulled into a ponytail.
Arsen glanced behind him to the apartment. “Upstairs. Sleeping. He was up late.”
Lake and Seven exchanged knowing glances.
“Was he now?” Lake asked, a smirk on his face.
Lake looked like a douche with the hood of his Gucci hoodie pulled up, his light brown hair barely visible. The sweatshirt was a hand-me-down from Felix but with his bone structure and perfect features, Felix said he was just destined to look like a frat boy forever.
Lake batted his lashes. “Doing what?”
“Doing who?” Seven corrected, arching a brow.
Cree was the only one not teasing him. But that was just Cree. He never spoke unless he had something important to say. He just stood, tall and silent, hair pulled into a knot on the top of his head, watching silently. He would text in their threads, but even while gaming, they rarely heard his voice. Ever might actually talk more than Cree. He had always been more of a thinker than a talker. But given how he grew up, he probably hadn’t really been given much chance to voice his personal opinions.
“Why are you all here?” Arsen asked warily.
It was Levi who spoke, holding up a plastic shopping bag. “We brought stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?” Arsen asked, instantly suspicious.
“Stuff for Ever,” Levi mumbled, refusing to look at Arsen.
Arsen’s heart tripped in his chest, and he looked at each of his friends in turn. “I swear, if there are condoms or lube in that bag, I will toss every one of you in the car crusher at the edge of town. Nobody will look for you.”
Seven snorted. “Like we would ever do that.”
“You did do that. To me. On my fifteenth birthday. In front of Jericho,” Arsen reminded them.
“Yeah, but that was different. You were determined to get laid,” Felix reminded. “It was hardly a secret. We were just helping make your birthday wishes come true.”
“Yeah, so that your first hook-up wouldn’t leave you with a birthday gift that kept on giving, you know?” Nico said.
“Yeah, we wouldn’t do that to Ever,” Lake said. “He’s too…cute and squishy.”
He mimed squishing Ever’s face. Arsen hated the jealousy that instantly shot through him. If any of them tried to squeeze any part of Ever, Arsen would remove their hands with a rusty saw.
