Fearless Like Us (Like Us 9)

“Kits,” she nearly whimpers, then lightly pushes his arm before grabbing onto him, bringing him closer to her other side. “So the mighty leader is becoming the follower now since you’re following Banks’ lead?”

Because he copied me?

I cock my head to him.

“Never,” Akara scoffs. “If Banks led us, we’d all end up in a dark, dank jungle in a ditch.”

I laugh hard. Because it’s true.

Ding.

The elevator stops and slides open to the penthouse foyer.

Sulli uses her keys and unlocks the door to 9000 square feet of home.

Her home.

My job has always had me standing outside rich, lavish settings, peering into a world that couldn’t be more unfamiliar to me. Then Thatcher went off and married a Cobalt. Attaching the Morettis to the Cobalt Empire is still a fucking weird combo.

But inside, my brother fits well in both worlds.

Me?

I don’t see myself acclimating as well as he did, but strangely enough, the penthouse doesn’t feel so unfamiliar. The walls aren’t dripping in one-of-a-kind oil paintings. Diamond chandeliers aren’t hoisted overhead.

The penthouse might be big, but it’s dressed with familiarity: brick walls, earthy brown woods, and photographs hung of Sulli’s family, Jane’s family, Maximoff and Luna’s family.

As soon as we step inside, a skateboard whizzes across the floorboards. Not a soul on the thing.

Luna races after. “Sorry!”

The skateboard curves towards us, and Akara grabs the board before it collides into Sulli’s ankles. Luna rolls to a stop, panting, and Orion, a black-furred Newfoundland puppy, leaps after her. Luna lovingly pats his head.

Why the fuck the dog catches my attention first—I have no clue. Because Luna’s face is covered in googly eyes.

Now I have trouble looking into her real eyes.

“Hey, Luna,” Sulli raises her bowl of pasta in greeting.

“Howdy.” Luna smiles, pulling her long, light-brown hair off her shoulders.

I nod to her. Not as close to Luna as I am to Xander. But I worked so long for the Hale family that I saw Luna grow up more than I ever saw Sulli.

She flashes the Vulcan salute.

“This is yours.” Akara waves the skateboard before handing it to Luna.

“Thanks.” She tucks it under her armpit. “I’m trying to teach Orion how to skateboard. It’s going…” She glances at Orion who circles her feet excitedly. “Not so great.” She sniffs the air, then makes a face. “What’s that?”

“Fucking pasta,” Sulli says.

“It’s barely pasta,” I add.

Luna rubs Orion behind his ears. “Is it supposed to smell burnt?”

“Okay, that’s it,” Akara decrees, “we’re not eating this shit.” He takes my bowl, then Sulli’s, stacking them onto his bowl. “I’m ordering us actual takeout.”

“Thank fucking God,” Sulli exhales.

I smack Akara’s chest with the back of my hand. “My savior.”

“Jesus is your savior,” he says into a short laugh.

“But you can call Him up on speed dial. Tell Him I’d like a pizza. Heaven-sent.”

Sulli and Luna laugh, and Akara mimes a phone to his ear. “Hello, God, I’d like to report a sin—”

“Alright, alright.” I wear a slow-rising smile. “We all know my ass is headed for hell anyway.”

Akara gives me a strong look like I’m wrong, and before Luna turns to leave, Sulli quickly steps forward and says, “Oh hey, do you have a sec, Luna? I have to tell you something important.”

Let’s do this.

I unpocket a canister of toothpicks and slip one between my lips. Though I’m ready for any hellfire, I feel like I need to strap into the walls. Just in case this all goes fucking sideways.

“Sure,” Luna says with a frown. “Is everything okay?” She sets her skateboard down, and Orion hops on, then off, then darts in another direction. Luna watches her energetic dog go but doesn’t bother calling him back or chasing him down.

“Yeah.” Sulli crosses her arms. “Um, it’s just kind of fucking hard to explain—I mean, it’s not that hard. But…” She blows out a breath.

Akara and I are staring at our girlfriend. Waiting to see if she needs one of us to pull the grenade.

Luna says, “It can’t be anything worse than I’ve done.” She pauses. “Do you want to talk in private?” She means away from us.

“No, it’s about Akara and Banks too.”

With his free hand, Akara gently shuts the door behind us, and I lean a shoulder on the wood.

Luna pries only one googly eye off her cheek. “Are you all going on another road trip?”

“Not anytime soon,” Akara answers.

Sulli shakes out her limbs again. “Alright, so here it is.” She rests her hands on her hips. “Luna, I’m dating Banks and Akara.”

“Both?” Her eyes are saucers with a growing smile. Add in those googly eyes, and it’s almost comical.

I feel my lips try to lift.

“Yeah, both,” Sulli nods. “It’s pretty new to us. We started dating in Yellowstone, but I always thought I’d have to pick one of them in the end. Until I talked to Beckett about polyamory. And it’s something the three of us want to be in—a polyamorous relationship.”