“How can I do that?” Nico simpered, cupping his hand under Ever’s chin and tipping his face up to show Arsen. “Look at how adorable he is. Such a cute baby. Aren’t you,fragolina?”
Ever nodded, completely oblivious to Nico’s teasing.
Arsen leaned into Nico’s space, clamping a hand around the back of his neck and dragging him close enough for his springy blond curls to press against his nose as he spoke directly into his ear. “It’s going to be really hard to defend yourself in this neighborhood if both your hands are missing. Stop. Touching. Him.”
“Okay, okay, jeez,” Nico said. “I was just kidding. Felix was playing around, too. Why don’t you ever get all alpha male on him?”
“Felix is married,” Arsen said. “And not currently pawing my boyfriend.”
Felix nodded. “It’s true. I can barely keep up with the three men I have at home.”
“Three?” Ever asked, eyes going wide.
“Mm, Zane and Asa live with us, too. And even though you’re the sweetest, I don’t think you’re quite ready for the big leagues. The sex attic requires Olympian-level experience. You’re still rocking training wheels.”
“Sex attic?” Ever repeated, looking to Arsen as if to confirm whether Felix did indeed have a sex attic.
Arsen didn’t have any idea how to explain to Ever that the twins and their husbands had a very complex relationship that would likely require diagrams and teaching things he wasn’t sure Ever was ready to know.
Luckily, the bell on the counter dinged before Ever could question him further. Arsen glanced towards the front, realizing for the first time that Jericho was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Coe?” Arsen asked.
Felix and Nico exchanged a look, then Felix grimaced. “In his office with the blinds shut. Probably sexting his husband.” He shivered. “Or worse.”
“What’s sexting?” Ever asked.
“I guarantee you Arsen will teach you as soon as you get your own cell phone, buttercup,” Nico said.
Arsen was grateful for the length of his hoodie. It was hard to hide an erection in sweatpants, and the idea of Ever typing out all the dirty things he wanted Arsen to do to him was making him horny.
He wandered to the front of the garage, mentally rolling his eyes when he saw the girl at the counter. Not a girl. A woman. She was at least ten years Arsen’s senior, not that you’d know it from the deeply scooped tank top and barely-there shorts she sported.
She had her strawberry-blonde hair swept into a braid that curled around her shoulder to hang over her cleavage like an arrow, pointing exactly where she wanted people’s eyes to go. She had heavy eye makeup, overly-lined lips, and several poorly done prison tattoos that told the neighborhood all about her gang affiliation.
“Hiya, Arsen,” she purred.
He plastered an overly polite smile onto his face. “Cherry. What’s up?”
She leaned forward, setting her breasts on the counter, then her elbow, propping her chin on her hand, lips pouting as she said, “My car has a flat tire…again.”
Arsen frowned. “Another one? That’s the third one in the last two weeks. Do you live in a construction zone?”
The amount of flat tires the women in this neighborhood got seemed statistically impossible, but maybe not when Arsen considered the amount of renovations happening all over their town. Gentrification was creeping closer every day, with huge development companies coming in and buying up whole city blocks so they could hike up the rent and force people out of homes they’d lived in forever.
Cherry shrugged. “I don’t know how this keeps happening to me,” she said, tone whiny as she swayed her body closer. “Can you fix it?”
Before Arsen could respond, Ever stepped in front of him, leaning his back against Arsen’s chest. Arsen looked down, frowning at the top of Ever’s head—not unhappy to see him but surprised. Ever rarely cared about what was happening in the garage, much less about the customers.
Cherry frowned like she’d found a bug floating in her drink, giving Ever a hard once-over.
“Who are you?” Ever asked bluntly, tone hostile.
“Cherry,” she said, her tone equally malevolent.
“Cherry?” Ever said. “That’s your name?” He leaned harder into Arsen. “Are you dropping off or picking up?”
Her upper lip curled in a sneer. “Dropping off.”
