“You’re useless. Mommy wipe your ass for you, too?” Ren shook his head, then dug a hand in his pocket and fished out his keys. He twisted his door key loose before handing it over. “Riley made spaghetti last night. Leftovers are in the fridge. Take it and leave, don’t fucking make yourself comfortable.”
I palmed the key with a grin, shoving it in my back pocket. “What? I’m not invited to study?”
He arched a sardonic brow.
I hiked both of mine. “So…”
“What?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the side of the truck. “You and Riley?”
He rolled his neck and met my eyes, his expression guarded. “We’re hanging out.”
The closed off look on his face stopped me from pushing it further. He’d been to hell and back, shut himself off, pushed Riley away for weeks. If he’d let her back in, that meant he was making progress. I wasn’t about to piss on that. But… a few weeks ago, I’d watched that girl fall apart on his bathroom floor, so I couldn’t just stand here and say nothing.
“Does she know that?”
His gaze shifted, trailing down the street and resting
on the Beat’s Burgers sign. He just stared at it for a beat, slapping the side of his fist against his open palm. Then he jammed his hands in his pockets and offered a brusque nod. “Yep.”
I watched with my head cocked as his jaw worked, and I got the sense he wasn’t sure what the hell he wanted. Ragging on the guy after the tragedy he’d been through was the last thing I wanted to do, but I’d spent close to half my life hung up on Riley Mason. I knew now where her head was at, and her heart. I’d accepted it, moved on, but that didn’t mean I’d stopped caring about her. I didn’t want to see her hurt, and the girl deserved a hell of a lot more than half-assed.
“This spaghetti have meatballs?” I asked, changing the subject.
He turned back to me, his dark brows knitted, and his eyes distracted. “Yeah. Huge ones.”
Oh! “Hey, that fucking reminds me,” I said. “Got a ruler at your place?”
His forehead creased. “No idea. Why?”
I pursed my lips and pointed a finger at him. “Need you to do something for me. As part of your homework, get Riley to measure your dick and text me the number.”
“What the fu—”
“I just gave you a valid excuse to get Riley’s hands on your dick. Just fucking do it.”
“You’re weird as fuck. And I don’t need an excuse.”
“Cocky bastard,” I muttered, eyes rolling as I lowered my ass into the drivers’ seat. “Just tell her not to fudge the numbers. No rounding up! If I get even a whiff of foul play, I’ll fucking do it myself.”
“You’re getting nowhere near my dick, asshole.”
“Aw, don’t be like that, Ren. I’ll be gentle.” I winked.
“And I’ll fucking break your teeth.”
I tossed my head back with a laugh and pulled the door shut. Then I started the truck and let it idle for a few seconds, my expression turning serious as I lowered the window and draped an arm out over the frame. “Ren.”
He tipped his chin up and pushed his shoulders back, meeting my stare.
“Don’t fucking break her heart. You hear me?”
His eyes narrowed as he rocked back on his heels, taking his time answering. “Just friends, Le.”
“Sure, you are.” I tapped my fingertips against the metal exterior of the door. “Fair warning though, I’ll kick your ass if you do.”
He swiped the pad of his thumb over the rough surface of his jaw, his dark eyes earnest when they met mine. “I’d kick your ass if you didn’t.”