Deacon sighs, running a hand through his heir. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s just, you guys act so much like a couple. It’s hard not to compare.”
I let out a grunt of exasperation. Seriously, the couple thing again? Just because we cuddle all the time, and hate being away from each other, and text every few hours, and use the bathroom at the same time, and have special breakfasts on Sundays…
For once, however, rather than going on the defensive about this whole couple thing, I decide to go on the attack. “That makes it even worse. If you think we act like a couple, why the fuck do you and Drew and everyone keep comparing us to your little baby duckling relationships that haven’t even flown off the ground yet? We’ve been together twenty years for fuck’s sake. Do you know how much shit we’ve been through together in that time? All you guys know is sex and rainbows and unicorns.”
Deacon’s eyes widen in shock, his mouth parted but no words coming out.
I bite my lip, feeling my cheeks heat as I mentally play back my outburst. “Sorry…I told you I was bound to get frustrated.”
The shock finally clears from Deacon’s face, and he lets out a wry chuckle. “Yep. You did warn me. But in answer to your question—no I don’t have any idea how much shit the two of you have been through. To be honest, I know shockingly little about your life before college.”
I give a one-shouldered shrug. “Jax and Steph are the only things worth knowing from my life before college.”
Deacon eyes me with concern. “I don’t even know how you and Jackson met.”
“Another time, maybe.” I sigh and run a hand over my face. “I’m fucking beat.”
“Sky…”
“You know what? I think I might go flirt with one of Sully’s friends after all. Or maybe I should just use one of my apps—wouldn’t want things to be awkward at the wedding.”
“I thought you were tired?” Deacon asks, his expression marred with concern.
I smirk at him. “Which is why I could use a bit of a pick me up.”
What I really want is Jackson. Specifically a Jackson cuddle. But he’s still not here and I know once he finally does manage to get here he’ll want to put in a bit of an effort considering Drew’s his best friend and he’s going to be the best man and everything. It’ll be better if I just find a little distraction to pass the next few hours and then see Jax at home.
ChapterTen
Jackson
It’s almostten thirty by the time I actually get to Drew and Sully’s. If it were any other occasion I probably would have just come straight from the garage in the t-shirt and jeans I wore into work this morning, but considering we’re celebrating their engagement I figured I should probably make an effort. So, even though I was able to finish up the job that kept me back after closing—a last minute service for one of our VIP clients—before nine pm, that detour home to quickly shower and change has made me so much later than I hoped.
“You just missed him,” a familiar voice says, snapping me out of my search of the party. Well, it’s not really aparty—that big event will be in a couple weeks—this is just a little get-together with the guys on the rugby team, the partners of the guys in relationships, and a few guys I don’t know—I’m guessing they’re friends of Sully’s. There’s one person missing, though.
I turn to Deacon, accepting the beer he’s offering me. “Hmm?”
Deacon just lets out a soft laugh. “Skyler. He left about fifteen minutes ago.”
“He went home?”
Deacon’s only response is to arch a pointed brow.
I let out a wry chuckle. “Right.” Wanting to double check and reassure myself, I tug my phone from my pocket and see I have a new text I somehow missed. “Lower West Side,” I tell Deacon. “Says he won’t be late.”
I feel as though Deacon wants to say something, but he just shakes his head, a mildly bemused smile touching his lips.
I glance around the party again, searching for Skyler out of habit even though I know I’m not going to find him anywhere. My gaze catches Cole’s—one of the older guys on our team—and I offer a smile and greet him with a salute of my beer. We’re not training at the moment because it’s off-season, so I haven’t seen him for a while.
I’m expecting a friendly wave in response, but instead his eyes widen, and he starts glancing around frantically, agitation pouring off him in waves. Well, that’s weird. The guy’s a smooth-talking entertainment lawyer who’s built a business around managing and de-escalating celebrity scandals. I’ve never seen him so unraveled.
“What the hell’s with Cole?” I ask Deacon. “He’s all jumpy. Was there some big scandal I missed?” Although I don’t see how I could have. It’s not my particular area of interest but Skyler’s usually all over it, which means I can’t avoid hearing about it when a famous couple breaks up, or a musician gets arrested, or a former child star ends up in rehab…
“I don’t think so,” Deacon says, evading my gaze for some reason. “But who knows? It’s awards season—I bet a whole heap of shit is going down and Cole’s busy keeping it under wraps.”
I shrug. “Yeah, maybe…”
I shake of the weirdness and press further into the gathering, greeting more of my friends and catching up on their news. It’s great to see the older guys again; I see Sully and Spencer a fair bit because of my friendships with Drew and Will, and Skyler is close to Charlie so we catch up with him relatively regularly as well. But I haven’t seen Pax, Aaron, Bryce, or Cole at all so far this year.
