“I gathered that you, douche. Why so cagey, dawg?” I said, moving to sit by Hudson as our game was loading.
“Laters, losers. Don’t wait up,” Reed replied as he swaggered out the door.
I nudged Hudson’s leg with my knee, silently asking for more space. What? I was bigger than Reed’s skinny ass and needed it.
“Come on already.”
“Alright, hang on you fat fuck,” Hudson grunted, shuffling further up the two-seater. He was joking, of course; I was big, but there wasn’t an ounce of fat on my body. I spent way too long in the gym for that to happen. And I was being sarcastic when I called Reed skinny. All my brothers were well-built and worked out. They just weren’t as big as I was.
“So, what’s new?” I asked, readying myself to catch up with Hudson. I was close to all my brothers, but the bond with Hud and me ran deep. Reed and Micah were also a close pair, having been fostered together since they were infants. Micah was studying in New York, which was the reason for Reed’s sullen phase. He was pining after our youngest brother. So was I, but I just hid that shit better. I’d always been a cards-close-to-the-chest type of guy. If people knew what you were thinking, they could second-guess you, and that made you vulnerable.
Hudson Gage, Reed Prescott, and Micah Mehari had also been through the social care system and had been placed with different families before we found Ma.
Bethany (Ma) Sawyer was now the lady we all called mother. And although not biologically related, we were a tight-knit family. Even Harper, who had joined us last year, had come to accept us. Well, most of us. I still wasn’t sure where we were at. In limbo would be the best way to describe our relationship. But the others had accepted her like a sister and Ma as a daughter.
When she first joined us, I had reservations about her ever settling in, but then I knew Harper before she came to live with us. I met her when she was ten and I was twelve. We were placed with the same family for around a year until I got kicked out for fighting with another foster boy. I then found Ma, leaving Harper with the Jacksons, something I knew she now resented me for. But my hands hadbeen tied; I had tried to visit her, but Mr. Jackson had complained to the agency that I was trespassing, and I couldn’t have another strike on my record. Any more shit on my file could have resulted in the paperwork to transfer me to the care of Ma not going through. Then I would have been spat back into the system. I couldn’t risk it, and so I had needed to be patient and wait, knowing that one day I would make things right for Harper.
And I had, eventually. It had taken longer than I had wanted, but I had broken Ma down, and she’d battled the system, finally picking up Harper’s placement.
Fostering a girl with four teenage boys in the house came with strict rules, as you can imagine. Hence, my reasons for pushing Harper away. Nothing could happen between us whilst we lived under the same roof.
Hudson had placed his controller down and picked up his cell. His expression fired my own natural nosiness.
“Are we doing this shit, or are you on your phone?” I grunted. The dude was always on his cell.
“I’m looking at something,” he said with a frown.
“What?”
“What do you think about this necklace for Christmas?” Hudson questioned, holding it toward me.
I checked the image before pushing his cell back at him with my fingertips, “I’d prefer a mountain bike,” I smirked.
“I mean for Molly dickwad,” Hud grumbled, moodily shoving his phone away.
Shrugging, “Personally, I’d go for sexy underwear, then youbothget a gift.”
“Yeah, because you’re a pervert. I’ll ask Micah.”
Micah was probably the only romantic guy I knew.
“So, what were you saying?Beforebringing up Christmas,” I said, filling the silence and prompting Hudson to give me the latest gossip.
“I wasn’t?” Hudson sighed as we both then focused half on the game and half on each other.
I cut to the chase. “What’s going on with Reed?” I asked with gritted teeth. He was such a frosty fucker lately. The next time he threw something at me, the medics would have to remove it from his colon after I stuck that fucker up his ass.
I felt him shrug beside me. “Something to do with Storm. Can’t say I have the time to unpick that crazy connection.”
“Yeah, me neither, as long as he doesn’t come crying to me when his dick drops off,” I snickered, grinning as I rammed my car on screen into Hudson’s girly wheels.
“What is it with you guys? Storms OK. And anyway, why so cranky? Didn’t you bone Courtney last night?”
I hated to admit myno torpedo in the tubescenario, “I got jack last night. We both passed out in Micah’s room.”
“So, you’re not happy at the thought of Reed and Storm, because she gets on your tits? You sure there’s not more to it than that?” Hudson questioned. I didn’t appreciate his suggestion that there was any attraction between me and that witch. Eww, gross much? The fact that he was hinting that I hadanyromantic interest in the stuck-up cheerleader made my stomach turn. I couldn’t put my finger on the reason she annoyed me so much. She just had a quality that wound me up. Maybe it was due to all the money her family had. I was jealous, yes, that had to be it.
“Believe me, I’m sure. Reed can drill Summers all night long for all I care. I’m only sharing my concerns about our brother’s sexual health. Dick rot is a nasty bastard, is all I’m saying.”
