“She’s not wrong, though. In fact, it doesn’t take much,” Tenley says with a snort, and he reaches down to smack her lightly on the butt, making her giggle before he turns to me.
“Sorry if that one was at your expense, Doc. The opportunity was too good to pass up.”
I glare at JD strangely. “Well, wehaveshared a locker room before, so I don’t think I need to remind you that it’s bigger than a splinter.”
Daisy gasps quietly beside me, and my smile creeps back. Because she knows it, too.
“Ay, I may have seen the lumber, but my wife hasn’t. So keep your tree trunk to yourself, man,” JD adds. Tenley bites her lip and rolls her eyes while the rest of them stifle their laughter, and I grin.
“Wait, you haven’t actually seen it, have you?” he turns and whispers to Tenley, but he’s not doing a good job of keeping a straight face.
“I wouldn’t tease him if I were you,” Tenley mumbles. “It took you two months to accomplish what he did in ten minutes.”
JD huffs and pouts while Blake tugs Tenley closer and plants a kiss on her cheek. “Have I ever mentioned how glad I am that you married my brother?” I’m surprised again by their ease with one another. I’ve never taken Tenley for an affectionate person, and that’s coming from someone who’s actually tried being physically affectionate with her before. “I’ve got to make the lumberjack over there a drink. After that burn, you’ve earned one, too, Ten,” Blake continues.
“Well, you heard the man,” JD agrees quickly, shoving his wife forward. “We’re officially six weeks post-delivery. I need you as drunk as Lo.”
“Geez, don’t you guys ever think about anything but sex?” I mutter.
JD and Blake glance at one another and shrug. “We married up. Can you blame us?” JD replies, making Tenley roll her eyes again. Then she simpers at him as if she’s got the same thing on her mind, and he leans down for a short kiss before the four of them walk on together.
Meanwhile, I stand there confused, watching it all unfold.
“Everything okay?” Daisy whispers when I don’t move.
“Yeah,” I say after a second. “It’s just … weird.”
“What’s weird?”
“All of it … my sister and her husband being so nice, the Golden Boy cracking inappropriate jokes and not looking at me as if he wants to knock my head off my shoulders, Tenley bringing up that time we dated as kids … it’s all a little foreign to me,” I admit.
She smiles softly. “I think that means you’re in their club now.”
I furrow my brow. “It’s never been this easy before. What’s changed?”
“They’re probably saying the same things they always have. You’re just reacting differently,” she offers with a shrug.
“Come on, Lando. I need you to bear witness to all this. Your sister makes dirty jokes when she hits the sauce too hard, and I can’t be held responsible when I fall for her methods of seduction again,” Blake calls after me, and I snort out a laugh as Daisy tugs me forward.
I cautiously sip the drink Blake fixes for me, reminding myself that I can’t afford another incident like the one at their wedding reception last month. Daisy hesitates when she gets ahold of a spiked hot chocolate, but I reassure her that I’m fine to look after her. She brings the cup to her lips, I suppose to test the temperature, then takes a longer drink. She glances up at me and stifles an adorable smirk, looking pleased with herself, and I can’t help but return the smile.
Not long after she finishes her drink, Daisy mentions being cold and rubs her hands over her arms. I lead her away from the rest of our crew to join the crowd gathering around a firepit near the edge of the patio. She leans into me, I assume to soak up some of my body heat, and I automatically wrap an arm around her to help her warm up more quickly.
Daisy laughs as she chats up her friend Claire with my arm draped over her shoulders. After a while, she reaches up and wraps her fingers around my forearm, tugging it in closer. It’s the kind of thing teenagers would do in public. In fact, I’d usually scoff if I saw adults my age acting like this. I imagine it must be the alcohol making her more friendly, especially since she doesn’t drink often.
I’m plotting on how to slink away without hurting her feelings when she brushes her fingernails lightly up my forearm as she continues talking. And it makes me shiver.
I force a friendly smile and pretend I’m paying attention to what they’re saying while she does it again, and my stomach dips.
Oh, no. This is bad.
I … like it.
The way she’s being so openly affectionate as she talks me up to her coworker, the feel of her gentle strokes over my arm …
I like all of it.
“You guys get cold?” Blake’s voice knocks me back into consciousness, and I tug my arm back a bit too quickly to avoid looking guilty.
