Pulling on a tank top, I asked. “Is Harper up yet?”
“Yeah, she’s downstairs.”
Thank fuck. That meant I could get Courtney out of the house before they bumped into each other. I couldn’t be dealing with any more grief over bringing her sorry-ass back there. Especially considering I’d done fuck all to the girl.
“Why is there a hole in the wall?” The sweet tones of Molly Miller filtered out from Hudson’s room and into mine.
After shoving my gym gear into the bag, I zipped it up and threw it onto the bed so I could collect it later. Her voice was so smooth and feminine.
“It’s nothing, baby, go back to sleep,” Hudson said, tipping his head to the side.
“Did you get the coffee?”
“Yes, love. But I forgot the cream.”
“Is she naked?” I asked with a grin, moving slowly back towards the hole and a perfect place to play Peeping Tom. I only did it to piss Hudson off. Molly was stunning and extremely attractive, but she wasn’t for me. Molly Miller was rainbows and puppies. My preference ran towards the darker side, like fiery redheads, with a barkanda bite.
Irritated, Hudson snapped, “Get to the hardware store and fix this shit, before I drag your sorry ass through the thing.” His expression was thunderous.
Hudson Gage, ladies, and gentlemen; always so dramatic. I decided against mentioning his medication, which was like a red rag to a bull these days. My brother’s past was gnarly as fuck, and he took pills to alleviate his anger management issues. At one point, he’d attempted to replace them with a herbal equivalent, but that didn’t go so well. Ask our neighbor whousedto let their dog shit on Ma’s roses. After only a week off the strong stuff, Hudson had decided to have a little chat with Mr Hambleton, well, himandhis baseball bat. Luckily, it hadn’t come to blows that day, but rumour had it the surly old cunt had pissed his pants.
OK, so yeah, he was a badass motherfucker, but I had at least an extra twenty pounds of muscle on him. One punch from me, and it would be game over. And he knew it. I wasn’t scared of anyone. Most guys feared Hudson, especially when they thought he was going to lose it. What could I say, I wasn’tmostguys.
I re-attempted to see past his bulk. My attraction to Molly wasn’t as insane as it was toward Harper, but she was still a good-looking female. I liked looking at pussy, what guy with a working dick didn’t?
Hudson repositioned his frame so I couldn’t see behind him, and I chuckled with a wide smirk. Spoil sport. After a quick nod, I grabbed my phone and wallet and went to deal with my little situation in Micah’s room.
As I got to my door, Hudson called out. “Oh, and Phoenix?”
“Yo?” I replied, looking over my shoulder.
Hudson’s eyes dropped to my junk, which was still tenting my sweatpants.
“You might want to do something about that before you go downstairs.”
I grinned with a wink. “Don’t worry, I’m on it.”
“Yeah, see that you are. The last thing you want to give Ma is a fucking stroke.”
I turned and grabbed the doorknob, flipping him the finger over my shoulder. It wasn’t usual for me to retreat without getting the last word in, but I had shit to do.
Once I’d dealt with Courtney’s hungover ass, I’d nip in the shower, spank the monkey, and then find Harper. I’d already decided last night that I would tell her about my current parental situation. That decision came after my fist’s interaction with the wall. I had been getting ready for bed when I saw I’d received a reply from my mother by text. She had messaged me and asked me to stop by the house the following day so we could talk. When I read her message, my feelings were intense and mixed with varying degrees of bitterness.
I would tell Harpereverything.I knew she’d been hurt that I’d sought advice from Hudson first. But she’d been so unapproachable, what was a guy to do?
There was a chance that she’d turn her back on me anyway, especially after how I’d behaved. Harper’s cry of pleasure sounded better than the cry of victory after my team scored a touchdown. And feeling her climax against my fingers and tasting her arousal on my tongue had been wild. But I knew for the time being that I needed to keep my distance, physically anyway. Last night I had lost control, and I couldn’t allow myself to go there until my plans were in place.
When I got to Micah’s room, I rapped my knuckles gently on the door, and it opened within seconds. Courtney stood there fully dressed and didn’t look as bad as I thought she would.
“Are you good?”
She smiled, “Better than good. Maxwell called this morning, and he wants to talk.”
I decided against telling her that she could do better than that tool. Instead, I wished her luck with her faithless ex and then snuck her out the front door before Ma could appear and chew my ass out.
Jogging upstairs, I grabbed a pair of fresh boxer briefs from my dresser, faded jeans, and a clean tee, and headed for the bathroom.
ELEVEN
