SIXTEEN
CASEN
I walk out of Embyr’s room to make some coffee before I leave for the station and turn my head when I hear Trinity’s door open up. I’m surprised to find Reece walking out, pulling a shirt over his head.
“Casen.” He grumbles. Reece isn’t much of a morning person but you would think if he spent the night with Trinity he’d have a little less crank in him than usual.
“Reece. Coffee?”
He grunts, following me out to their kitchen. I make a full pot of coffee knowing Embyr will want some when she’s out of the shower. I fill up two of the one time use to go cups Embyr bought specifically for mornings after I sleep over and have to work. Reece says nothing as he goes about adding cream and sugar. A look at my watch shows it’s just after six o’clock in the morning.
“No sleep last night?” I tease but my laugh stops in my throat when he looks up at me. He seems annoyed.
“Not really. Someone kept me up.”
I’m confused. “That seems to upset you.”
“Yea, well.” He takes a sip of coffee. “Maybe next time you all could be quieter.”
Fuck it. I’m asking. “Are you and Trinity still not having sex?”
“Oh, we are.” Trinty’s sing-song voice fills the kitchen. “We just finished long before you two even started.” She makes herself a cup of coffee, loading it with cream. “I have to say, Casen. You can get pretty loud. Maybe Embyr should gag you.”
I almost spit out my drink. The vision of Embyr putting tape over my mouth and handcuffing me to the bed gives me a nice little fantasy to play out later. “I have no comment.”
She eyes me skeptically then laughs just as Embyr enters the kitchen in a short robe.
“What are you all talking about?” she asks but stops short when she sees Reece. I know there is still a lot of tension between the two of them and I hope it can all be resolved sooner rather than later. I don’t think Trinity knows that Reece cornered Embyr. He did apologize, but I know she is still hesitant around him.
“Oh, just how you need to gag your man,” Trin answers. “He was so fucking loud. Between the two of you, no one got any sleep.”
I wrap my arms around Embyr’s waist and secure my lips over hers, sucking her tongue into my mouth. A loud bang startles us apart.
“Do you want to ride together?” Reece’s voice is laced with annoyance.
What the fuck is his problem?
“Sure.” I give Embyr a quick peck and grab my cup. “Let’s go.”
Once we get to work and settled, we immediately get a call and are out the door. It isn’t until three o’clock that we get any sort of down time.
“So, you and Trinity seem to be going strong. Is it getting serious?”
Reece and I haven’t talked much and I can’t gauge his reaction. I haven’t seen him with other women and now that I know they are sleeping together, not just a one night stand type of thing, I have hope for him. I know we’ve had our differences but I want him to be happy. He’s still my best friend, even if he does make shitty choices.
He twists open a bottle of water before turning on the television. “I think so. I mean, it took a while after Embyr told her all the shitty things I was responsible for back in high school and she still gave me a chance. She was there for Ian’s funeral. There’s just this intense connection I can’t figure out, and the sex is incredible.”
I laugh at him. “That intense connection is love, man. You love Trinity and between waiting for sex and feeling that way about her, I’m sure that’s why it’s so incredible.”
He looks my way. “You think so. You think I love her?”
I nod. “I know so. I’ve never seen you like this before.”
He settles deeper into the couch. “Something still seems off but I kind of like this feeling. Makes me feel like an asshole for giving you a hard time.”
“Well, you are an asshole.” I punch him in the shoulder.
A bang on the doorframe catches our attention. It’s Captain. “Check your email, boys. Results are in.” His smile tells me it’s good news.
