As all five of us grown men settled in to watch the animated movie, I decided I was going to be just fine nestled between Perry and Alan, my head in Perry’s lap, my legs draped over Alan’s, one of his big hands warm on my thigh.
He had the other tucked up into Perry’s hair, curls twined around his fingers.
It felt like ownership, and that was weirdly reassuring.
CHAPTER 21
PERRY
Both Caroland Evan fell asleep less than halfway through the movie. That was fine. Downtime was rare for us these days so I didn’t begrudge them the opportunity.
I considered the fact that I should have put in some hours working but I couldn’t bring myself to disturb Evan, who was using my lap for his pillow. Not gonna lie, I also wasn’t mad about the warm, cozy feeling of us all there, relaxed, Alan’s fingers playing in my hair, Michael looking decidedly pleased with his similar dilemma of having Carol sprawled across him, snoring softly.
The very start of the credits had begun to roll when Robbie and his one-man entourage let themselves into the house.
“Hey,” Robbie whispered. “What’s happening? Wow. Smells good in here.”
“Supper is in the slow cooker,” Alan told him, glancing at the expensive wrist-watch he always wore. “Be ready in about another half hour.”
“Gives us time to shower. Come on.” He nodded his head towards the far end of the room where the two of them shared a huge room with two double beds and an ensuite bathroom.
His shadow followed without a word.
“Does that guy ever talk to any of you?” Michael asked after the door had shut behind them.
“I don’t even know his name,” Alan confessed. “We’ve had a couple of conversations about sponsorships and badge placement on the uniforms but other than that…” He shook his head.
In my lap, Evan yawned, but snuggled and didn’t open his eyes. “Name’s Mikko. I think it’s Finnish. He’s got an accent, so maybe he doesn’t speak much English?”
“Seemed fluent when I talked to him,” Alan said, “but you’re right about the accent.”
Carol rolled to his back and smiled up at Michael. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself.”
For a second, they just looked at each other, and then Carol turned his head to address the room. “He has an adorable gap between his top front teeth. If you look close, you can see the scar from having a cleft palate repaired. He also has a lisp. I think he’s self-conscious about it.”
I hadn’t noticed the scar but maybe because I’d been distracted by his exquisite jawline and the impeccable arch of his pale, almost white eyebrows.
“You’re thinking about his jawline, aren’t you?” Evan asked me, reaching up to tug on one of my curls.
“You only know that because you are too.”
“How about you both stop thinking about someone else’s guy?” Alan grumbled.
Evan laughed. “Don’t fret, dear,” he said, moving his hand from my hair to Alan’s cheek and patting him like he might a soft puppy. “You’re the only one for us.”
Alan smiled a crooked, pleased little smile. “Good.”
“I take it back.” Michael pushed Carol off his lap and got up. “You three go back to fighting. This is ruining my teeth and my appetite.” He shuddered with his entire body. “Ick.” He grinnedas he said it though, and ruffled my hair as he passed, headed for the kitchen. “Anyone else want a beer?”
Carol groaned.
“Not you,” Michael assured him. “You’re having water. Anyone else?” He’d made it to the fridge and had found himself a bottle, which he waved at us. “Gonna be your last chance to indulge in a while.”
“Not for me, thank you,” Alan said, patting Evan’s legs, indicating he wanted to get up. “I’ll also have water.”
“I’ll have one,” Evan said as he sat up and pressed his shoulder against mine.
