Sam pats my back as he walks by me. “Dude, get used to it. Those girls tell one another everything.”
“Everything?” I ask.
He nods. “I think they all know the length and width of my dick. And my asshole, for that matter.”
“Eww,” Matt says. “Change of subject, please.”
I grin.
Sam sits down across from me with a towel slung over his shoulders. “Do you like her?”
I nod.
“How much?” he asks, his eyes narrowing at me.
“How about none of your fucking business,” I toss back.
“Oh hell no,” Sam replies. “If it’s about one of my sisters-in-law, it’s my business. Trust me,” he says, “you’d rather have me in your business than Emilio.” He rubs the bridge of his nose. “He’s brutal when he’s pissed.”
I point to my arm. “I did her tattoo.” I shrug. “That’s all.”
“A tattoo that included dinner?” Sam looks at Pete. “You ever had a tattoo that included dinner?”
“Had one that included a blow job. But not dinner,” Pete replies.
Paul opens his mouth to say something, but Pete adds, “I gave Reagan a heart on the inside of her ankle.” Paul calms down immediately.
Words come tu
mbling, almost unbidden, from my fingertips. “I like Lark a lot, but she’s not the type of girl I normally date.”
“Tits too small?” Pete asks.
I glare at him. “Her tits are perfect.”
“Ass too wide?” Pete says.
“No such thing,” Sam tosses out.
“She’s too smart for you, right?” Matt asks, but he’s grinning.
“Definitely,” I agree. She’s smart and funny and thoughtful. And scarred in so many ways. But I can’t tell them any of that because it’s her secret to tell. Not mine.
“Then what makes her not your type?” Paul asks. “Is it the hearing thing?”
“The hearing thing?” I ask, waving my hands sarcastically. “You make it sound like it’s nothing. She can hear. I can’t. It’s a pretty big thing.”
“Peck plays drums and I can’t,” Sam says.
“Reagan kicks ass and I can’t,” Pete tosses out.
“It’s not the same,” I protest.
Sam stares at me. “Peck stutters and I don’t.” The room goes quiet.
Logan speaks up. “Emily can’t read well, and I can.”
Emily has been very outspoken lately in the media about her dyslexia and has started some programs for kids who find reading difficult, so I’m not surprised Logan is bringing this up.