“Don’t forget what yesterday was. You should be impressed that I even came home.”
“I just thought you’d be more responsible since...” He glances toward Archer.
“I’m thirty-three, Tyler,” I remind him. “I can do whatever and whoever the hell I want. You need to go ahead and give up the ghost on that.”
Seconds later, the toilet flushes, and the guy I brought home last night stumbles back to the living room. He picks up his clothes from the floor, almost falling over as he puts one foot in his jeans.
“Jared, right?” I ask.
“Jacob,” he corrects, zipping and buttoning his pants.
“Oh yeah. Okay. Well, thanks for a fun night. I’ll call you later.”
He gives me a head nod before searching around for his keys. “Shit.”
“You can go look in my room,” I offer as I put food in Sassy’s fancy sterling silver dog bowl.
Sassy immediately leaves Archer’s side and prances over. I bend down to pet her, wishing my booty call would hurry the hell up and leave. I can tell how uncomfortable Tyler and Archer are. My brother’s always been protective of me, but at my age, he’s more like an overbearing dad. I put the ground Colombian coffee beans in my coffeemaker, then press start. Right now, I need something strong and dark, and for once, it’s not a man.
“Found ’em,” Jacob eventually calls out. When he returns to the living room, I notice the purple hickeys on his neck. Except I’m not the only one who does.
Tyler grinds his teeth when Jacob walks over and tries to give me a kiss on the mouth. Before our lips can touch, I quickly turn my head, so my cheek takes the brunt.
“See ya soon, baby,” he purrs, and I realize in this lighting how dirty those shots of tequila did me. The guy isn’t my type, but it’s not like I slept with him with the intent to marry him. I just wanted to have a good time. Gemma did try to text some sense into me, but her warnings not to do anything stupid apparently didn’t work.
As my brother crosses his arms over his chest, I somewhat wished I’d had listened to her. Then again, what’s done is done.
Jacob lingers as if he’s waiting for me to agree. “I think it’s time for you to go,” I bluntly say since he’s not aware of the awkwardness that’s swallowing me whole.
“Oh right,” he says, looking at my brother and Archer as if they magically appeared. I let out a breath when he finally leaves.
“I can’t fucking believe this. You didn’t even know his name?” Tyler questions in a snappy, judgy tone. My head pounds, and I just want this coffee to finish brewing so I can drink it, then sit in the tub for an hour.
“Meh.” I shrug. “Not sure what the big deal is.”
“The deal is you’re acting like a player.”
“I didn’t choose this life. It chose me,” I taunt, aware it’ll irritate him more, though I don’t give two shits what he thinks about my personal life. The last thing I want is to be berated in front of Archer, who’s actively avoiding eye contact with me. Once the coffee finishes, I pour a cup, then add sugar and creamer.
“Want some?” I ask Archer, grabbing another mug from the cabinet.
“Sure,” he says, but I’d already started filling it full.
He takes a few steps toward me, and I smell the light hint of his cologne.
“Help yourself to the cream and sugar.”
“Thanks, but I like it plain.” He sips it, and his eyes go wide. “That’s strong enough to put hair on your chest.”
A small smile hits Tyler’s lips. “Better than that instant shit, isn’t it?”
“You want some?” I glance at him.
He shakes his head. “I’m good.”
I meet Archer’s gaze. “You ready for the big house tour?”
I swipe away loose strands of hair that have fallen from my bun, somewhat embarrassed by the first impression I’ve given him. Tyler hasn’t helped with his need to call me out for it.
“Yeah, that’d be great,” he says.
With a smile, I lead him to his room. Since I knew he was coming today, I made sure to change the sheets and wash the comforter. I also moved all of my spare clothes out of the closet so he’d have more room. Though I don’t think he brought much with him.
Archer looks around, but I can’t quite read him.
“Is it okay?”
He turns with a perfect smile and kind eyes. “It’s amazing.”
“It’s not a huge room, but…”
“It’s more than enough. Thank you,” he says genuinely.
“I’m happy to help. You’re a dog person, right?” I ask when Sassy saunters in and jumps on the bed.
Archer chuckles. “I can be.”
I lead him to the main bathroom, and he peeks inside. “There are two in the house. This one only has a shower, but the master suite has a tub, and if you ever wanna use it, go ahead.”