I felt like I was missing something because Jayce and River both chuckled as they took seats at the table. Jules placed his hand on my lower back and led me over to the last two chairs, and we sat, staring at the food. There was a massive spread that ranged from General Tso’s chicken to tacos to wings, and there was enough to feed an army.
While Madden and Evan started to playfully argue, River waved his hand over the table as I took the pizza box from Jules and set it in an empty space. “Eat up, the fights start in about half an hour.”
“What kind of fight?” I asked. Jules hadn’t told me much, other than we were watching TV and eating dinner.
“UFC. You watch it?” Jayce asked as he grabbed a piece of pepperoni pizza Madden had abandoned to argue with his significant other.
I shook my head. “I don’t usually like sports.”
“What do you do, Ari?”
Other than kill people and make art with their blood? “Nothing,” I answered.
“He’s still deciding what he wants to do,” Jules cut in with a laugh and wrapped his arm around the back of my chair. “He’s not sure where he wants to go from here. I’m helping him.”
“I finished high school and took the SATs,” I said. It wasn’t a lie. I’d at least made sure I’d done that before I packed my shit and skipped town. I knew for a fact my brothers were looking for me, and I didn’t want to be found, especially by them. They never treated me horribly like my parents, but I wanted to be free of my past. “But I’ve just been wandering since then.”
“Are you from New Gothenburg?” River asked, and the question caught me off guard. His stare penetrated me, and knowing he was a lawyer had me suspicious. I didn’t trust men of the law, except Jules. He was different, like me.
“No,” I answered. “I’m from SoCal.” California was huge, and the truth didn’t tell them so much about my life that they could try to dig up dirt on me.
Madden straightened and dropped a piece of chicken he’d been eating onto his plate. “Ah, you’re a Cali boy. Any hot surfers where you’re from?”
Evan poked Madden in the side, and Madden laughed, shoving him back. “Stop thinking about other men while I’m here.”
“I’m not selfish. You’re my person. We can look at them and admire together.”
They playfully bickered again, and I ignored them. Was this what normal relationships were like? I didn’t want that with Jules. I liked what we had, even if it was new and violent, but that’s what made it so perfect. He understood me, and his cock in my ass and his hand around my neck gave me all therightfeelings. While I loved control, craved it even, he had me on a pedestal, admiring me and my work like I was a world-class artist, and I’d never felt so good.
“What do you want to do in the future?” River asked, raising his brows at me curiously as he stole a taco from a box. He took a big bite and the sauce leaked out the back of the shell, but he grabbed the drips with his fingers before it could plop onto the plate. Sucking on his fingertips, he kept his attention on me, and I felt like I was being stared down for answers. It wasn’t Jayce that had suspicions about me, it was River.
“Become a serial killer,” I said seriously, and the room froze.
Jules’s hand was on my back, his fingers digging into my muscles through my shirt.
River, Jayce, Evan, and Madden all stared at me, and after a moment of intense silence, I laughed.
“I’m joking. Do I look like a murderer? I can barely carry the trash to the curb.”
The guys in the room relaxed and began to laugh, and I grinned at Jules when he gave me a narrow stare. I’d probably be in trouble for that later.
“Need an accomplice?” Madden asked with a wink. “I know a few guys who I’d like to get rid of.”
“Start with Seabrooke,” River said without any real amusement, his mouth twisting.
Jayce shook his head and massaged the back of River’s neck, and River leaned into his touch with a huff. I didn’t know the circumstances there, but I had a feeling thisSeabrookeperson rubbed River the wrong way.
Madden snickered and shrugged. “Kade Seabrooke is another lawyer in New Gothenburg. He has stolen a couple of our clients.”
“He’s useless,” River said, taking another bite of his taco and chomping angrily. The food prevented him from saying more, and I suspected he didn’t want to anyway.
We talked our way through dinner—well, I mostly listened as they discussed work. Jules joined in a few times, and he and Jayce got on a roll about a stupid idiot who killed some women. I watched Jules as he spoke about it, and while helookedremorseful, I saw behind the lies. He didn’t care.Wedidn’t care. I’d learned from the therapist my parents made me see that we were the type of people who couldn’t emotionally connect with others. We didn’t do empathy. But he was damned good at pretending.
After dinner was done, we made our way over to the living room, and I sat on the sofa beside Jules. He cuddled me and it was nice to have him so close, although very weird, too. We hadn’t done this yet, and I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. The touching seemed very romantic.
Jayce and River took over the armchair, squished together with River half sitting on Jayce’s lap, while Madden and Evan took the small end of the L-shaped sectional.
“I thought you had a third guy who worked with you,” Jules said to River as Jayce switched on the TV.
