Skyler rolls his eyes. “I meant because we’ve never been here before and he doesn’t even know where the bathrooms are, or what the set-up is. This is a fancy place—there might be an attendant in there or something. I might need to charm them so Jax can get down to business.”
I let out a soft breath of laughter. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine, Sky. If I run into trouble I’m sure I’ll figure out a plan B.”
“Okay, well just text me if you need help getting the condom off again.”
“Uhh…what?” Deacon asks, brows shooting into his hairline.
I give a wry shake of my head. I know our friends think the lack of boundaries in our relationship is weird, and I’ve heard the word ‘co-dependent’ thrown around a few times, often paired with exasperated amusement. So I’m not surprised by Deacon’s reaction. I could do without re-hashing the memory at this present moment, though.
“Sky, that was one time…three years ago. And the memory of the circulation to my dick being cut off isn’t feeling great right now, so I’m going to go.”
As I walk away, I hear Skyler filling the others in on the condom incident. “I saved his life, you know. These hands aremagichands.”
“I can’t believe Jackson let those hands touch his dick,” Drew says dryly. “I hope he sanitized afterward.”
“Who would you rather be treating your dick in an emergency, Drew?” Skyler says. “A dick novice, or a dick expert?”
I let out a soft laugh, shaking my head as their voices are drowned out by the loud music in the bar.
* * *
By the timeI’m done with my little rendezvous with Jayne—“with a Y”, because that’s important apparently—I’m feeling a hell of a lot better, and I can rejoin my friends and relax for the rest of the night. I’m not surprised when I get back to the group to find that Skyler is missing. And one questioning look in Deacon’s direction gives me the confirmation I need.
“Where do you think he went?” he says with an eye roll.
“He’s allowed to have fun,” I remind him.
Deacon holds his hands up in a placating gesture. “I know. I’m not judging. But it’s a good thing you didn’t need help with the condom after all, because I doubt he would have seen your text.”
I groan and slump back against the sofa. “You guys are never going to let me forget this one, are you?”
Drew smirks at me. “That’d be a firm no.” He’s about to say something else but is fortunately distracted by his phone. Pulling it out of his pocket, he reads the screen and smiles. “Sully and Spencer and Will just got here.”
Sullivan Stapleton—Sully as we generally call him—is Deacon’s older brother and one of the players on the amateur rugby team Deac, Skyler, and I play on. He’s also Drew’s fiancé. The billionaire one, who—according to Skyler—Drew’s been rolling around with every second of the day since last November.
Spencer is the captain of our team and one of Sullivan’s best friends, and Will is Spencer’s boyfriend.
“Damn, I wish they’d got here earlier,” Deacon says with a frown. “I have to go.”
I blink at him in surprise. “It’s just after ten. On a Friday.”
A faint blush hits Deacon’s cheeks as he explains, “Yeah, but Izzy’s staying with Piper tonight and Tanner just texted me that he’s finally done with work.”
“So you’re ditching us for sex?” Drew questions, a teasing brow raised.
“Not just sex. A whole night of sex,” Deacon points out unapologetically.
“You could just move in already,” I suggest. “Aren’t you getting sick of booty calls?”
“They’re notbooty calls,” Deacon shoots back, hitting me with an uncharacteristically hard look. “But yes. The second the school year ends I’m moving into the brownstone.”
“Is it really that big a deal that you’re Izzy’s teacher?” Drew asks. “Surely you can’t get fired for dating a parent…”
“It’s not really the school,” Deacon explains. “It’s more about Izzy. It might be confusing for her if I move in while I’m still her teacher.”
Tanner’s daughter is six years old and has Down syndrome, so I guess I can understand the need for extra caution. And I also get why he’d want to take advantage of Tanner’s kid-free house while Izzy is at a sleepover with her much older sister.
“Wait, so I’m going to be the fifth wheel?” I ask, only just realizing that Deacon’s departure and Skyler’s disappearance makes me the odd man out amongst the couples.
