Craving Trix (The Aces' Sons 1)

“Oh, maybe,” I answered uncomfortably. “I probably wasn’t paying attention.”

Gramps chuckled and pulled the bottles of white wine out of my hands. “Fancyin’ up the joint, eh?”

“It’s from the grocery store,” I said dryly, reaching into my car to pull out the pasta salad I’d brought.

Gramps chuckled and ushered me into Casper and Farrah’s house. Mick and Tommy jumped up off the couch as we crossed through the living room and Gramps shoved the wine bottles into Tommy’s hands.

“Not for you,” Gramps warned.

“Damn.”

“I can take that for you,” Mick said quietly, reaching out to take the bowl of salad from my hands.

“Thanks, Mick.” The poor kid blushed and hurried away.

“Poor kid.” Gramps chuckled.

I ignored him, but shook my head, moving toward the back door where I could hear people talking and laughing.

When we got outside, the entire family was there. We were all part of the club, both as members and families of members, but this small group was even tighter than that. With so much intermarrying going on, it was kind of hard not to naturally navigate toward certain people.

I made my way around, giving hugs and saying hello.

“You look pretty,” my mom said happily as she searched my face. “Leo said you weren’t feeling good yesterday?”

“Just tired with finals and everything,” I answered, giving her a small smile.

“Don’t have to worry about that shit anymore,” my pop said gruffly, pulling me into his side. “My Little Warrior is a college graduate.” His voice rose on the last sentence and the backyard was filled with claps and cheers.

“Not quite,” I said lightly, tightening my arm around my pop’s waist. “I haven’t got my grades back yet.”

“You did good,” he replied with a nod, as if there was no question.

“You feeling okay?” Callie asked as she walked toward us.

“Leo has a big freaking mouth,” I grumbled, making my pop give me a warning nudge. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was just tired after staying up studying for finals.”

I glanced behind Callie and noticed Grease checking out her ass. Gross.

“You’re all done now, though, right?”

“Yep. All done.”

“That’s awesome, kiddo. I’m getting a beer, anyone else want one?”

I shook my head as both my parents said yes, making all three turn to look at me. “Could you grab me a water?” I asked quickly. “It’s hot as balls out here.”

Callie and my mom laughed as my pop made a sound of protest.

“What?” I looked up at him. “Balls isn’t a bad word. Balls. Balllllls.”

“I’ll get my own beer,” Pop grumbled, walking away.

“Give your pop a break, huh?” Mom said, reaching over to pull at my hair as she followed my dad to the coolers on the back porch.

“You think they’ll get me a water?” I asked Callie.

“They sure as hell won’t remember to grab my beer,” she said jokingly as she followed them.

I stood by myself for a second, taking deep breaths as I watched the people in the yard. When my eyes met Vera’s, I started toward her.

She was sitting at a picnic table with Gram and Slider, but the moment I reached her, she stood up to give me a hug.

“I’m not going to do it,” I whispered shakily in her ear.

“I didn’t think you would, baby girl.”

“I did.”

“I know.”

She pulled away and gently cupped my cheeks, giving me a light kiss on the nose.

“I get one of those?” Slider asked, standing up beside us.

“Hey, Uncle,” I said with a laugh, leaning over to hug him, too.

When he let me go, I turned to Gram. “Having a good birthday?” I asked, moving around so I could sit next to her. As I took my seat, my eyes accidentally caught Cam’s across the yard, but I quickly looked away.

If I wanted to make it through the day, I couldn’t think about how things were between us.

“Pretty good, now that you’re here,” she said, reaching over to pat my hand.

“I bet you say that to all the grandkids,” I teased, leaning forward to brace my elbows on the table and my chin in my hands.

“Congratulations,” she said softly, her lips tilting up just barely at the sides.

I jerked backward and glanced over at Cam again. He wasn’t looking at me.

“What?” my voice came out slightly panicked.

“On your graduation,” she clarified.

“Oh, right. Thanks!” My enthusiasm was so forced that she raised one eyebrow.

“Meat’s done,” Casper called out from the commercial sized barbeque he was grilling on.

“I better go help bring out the food,” I said awkwardly, hopping up out of my seat.

All the kids came running as we piled food on the picnic table, and before long, we were spread out across the yard, eating and joking. I took a seat near my parents in the grass, grabbing the bottle of water my pop had been carrying around for me.

“You happy to be done?” he asked quietly, glancing at my mom to make sure she had everything she needed. He handed her his napkin when she started searching for one, her hands covered in barbeque sauce.