“I guess that means they were having a bashing session in my honor, huh?”
Michael shrugged and repositioned himself on the sofa so he was sitting to the side, facing Adam. “I wouldn’t know. As soon as I walked in the house and three sets of eyes landed on me I got the fuck outta Dodge and came over here.”
“Man, you’re the town sheriff.” Adam’s wry laughter made Michael shift uncomfortably on the sofa cushion. “You carry a gun and a badge and you’re afraid of three women commiserating in your house?”
Without hesitation, Michael nodded. “I haven’t stayed safe working in law enforcement all these years being stupid. I know how to assess a situation and plan accordingly. That was a fight I couldn’t win, so I wasn’t trying to say or do shit that would put me on their radar.”
Adam couldn’t blame him. As lovely as all three of those women were, they owned any room they entered.
“Seriously, man,” Michael continued. “What happened? I would like to go back to my house and make love to my woman at some point tonight, and if I’m cut off because of your bullshit, I’m not gonna be happy. Tell me what’s up so we can figure this out.”
Adam took a deep breath, realizing his friend wasn’t about to cut him any slack. In all fairness, he hadn’t been exactly gracious when he’d lectured Michael on the mess he’d made of his relationship with Vanessa when they were having issues. Turnabout was definitely fair play.
“I’m only gonna say this once. You might as well get Derrick over here too so I can tell you both at the same time.”
Michael looked down at his Apple Watch and counted aloud. “Five, four, three, two, one.” He lifted his eyes and pointed to the door as Derrick walked in on cue with a six-pack in one hand and a bag from Jersey Mike’s.
“Looks like I got here right on time.” Derrick closed the door and made his way over to the living room. He placed the bag and the beer on the coffee table before looking at his friends. “As sad as you’re looking in the face, Adam, you could use hoagies and beer.”
Derrick passed out the food and all three men tore into their sandwiches. Adam knew this was his friends’ way of letting him get his bearings before he started this sad tale. That’s what he alwaysloved about this crew, they often anticipated one another’s needs without having to be asked.
Once he finished half his sandwich and washed the salty deli meat down with half of his beer, he felt relaxed enough to tell his boys what happened.
“I fucked up.”
His friends looked at him, both channeling compassion and snark in equal parts.
“We kinda figured that part out,” Derrick said. “The question is, how?”
Refusing to let Derrick’s tendency to be a smart-ass mess with the mellow sensation the food and the beer were gifting him with, he elaborated.
He told them about how upset Janae was when he’d started acting the fool because of what her son had said to him about her getting back together with her ex. And then how she’d put that aside and held him and his mother down while his dad was in surgery and recovery.
He stopped, taking a deep breath before he told them about his toxic-ass father’s mouth and how he’d been so damn mad about what he’d said to Janae, that he’d called her name to make sure she was all right, but she’d thought Adam’s anger was directed at her instead.
“Damn.” Derrick winced as he spoke. “She didn’t even give you a chance to explain?”
“She wouldn’t have,” Adam and Michael answered in unison.
Michael narrowed his eyes as he stared at Adam.
“If you knew that, then why did you let things go down the way they did?”
Michael’s question lingered in the air, pulling Derrick’s attention as he looked between them. “What are y’all talking about?”
Michael nodded, deferring to Adam to answer Derrick’s question.
“Her ex was a manipulative asshole that did Janae dirty in the worst way.”
As mad as Adam was that Michael knew such intimate things about his woman, part of him was relieved that she’d had someone like him to protect her and her secrets all these years. The fact that he’d never mentioned this to either Adam or Derrick was proof Michael had protected Janae.
“Janae has always had to fight,” Adam continued. “That hard shell isn’t there for decoration. It’s there because between her mother always trying to cut her down for her weight, and Marq being a controlling douche, they didn’t help those defensive tendencies go away.”
Adam watched his friend’s jaw tighten, a clear sign that Michael wanted to hit something or someone for hurting someone he cared about.
“Being able to anticipate harm before it happens,” Michael said, “is one of the best ways to keep yourself safe. It worked for me during those years I spent as a cop in Philly, and it’s the only way Janae was able to keep her heart and her confidence intact.”
“So her old red flags went up when you didn’t immediately go apeshit on your dad?”
