“Bro, way to throw me under the fucking bus. What the hell did I do to you?”
“It’s not exactly easy to tell an eternal bachelor she’s raising a little boy to become a good man. Maybe she should give your mom some pointers.”
“Oh, fuck no—you’re not talking about my mom!”
“Can you guys not argue with the door open?” Sawyer pulled me inside and closed it. “I’m going to go take a quick rinse. Try not to kill each other while I’m gone.” With that, he left.
Pussy.
“I have been honest with Sage since day one because my mother raised me right, but the next time you talk about my mom, I’m going to make Sawyer bend you over his knee to teach you some goddamn manners!”
“Unlucky for you, I actually enjoy that!”
“You would! Maybe he’ll spank you enough until you turn into a lady!”
She gasped, clenching out, “Sage didn’t tell you because she really likes you.”
“Oh, because that makes sense! Let’s start a relationship based on lies. What is she going to do next? Tell me she was a virgin?”
“Actually! She was! She got knocked up by Memphis the night she met you, asshole! It’s how she learned she has a latex allergy too. There, now I’ve told you everything, so you better go back into your suite and apologize to her.”
“Apologize? Are you smoking crack? What the fuck do I have to apologize for? I just gave her multiples with my cock, and I get served with nothing but lies!”
“Do you see how you’re reacting? It’s why she didn’t tell you!”
“I wouldn’t be reacting like this if she had told me from the start! I actually love kids, and they fucking love me. What’s not to love?! I kick ass at Call of Duty! And I respect the fact that her kid was calling her all week. It shows me she’s a helluva good mother. Because I’ll tell you something, Aspyn, if my mom was out of town with some man I didn’t know, I’d be blowing up her fucking phone too!”
Now it was her turn to jerk back. “You love kids?”
“Have you not met Ashton?” Sawyer reappeared dressed. “He’s a huge fucking kid himself.”
“Well… Sage didn’t know that.”
“She didn’t give me a chance to know that.”
She took a deep breath. “Fine. You win, okay? You’re right. She didn’t give you a chance, but from her perspective, she didn’t want to lose you, and most men aren’t keen on dating a single mother. Come on, you know that more than anyone. You know how men are. Their own father has never met his twins.”
“So that piece of shit ran out on her too?”
“Yeah,” she muttered, bowing her head.
“I knew that motherfucker was up to no good. He used to cheat on her in our neck of the woods all the time.”
Her mouth dropped, gazing up at me. “What?!”
“You heard me, and don’t act so surprised. You think a guy shameless enough to abandon his own blood would be anything other than a selfish fuck?”
“Why didn’t you tell her that night then?”
“I was going to. She didn’t want to leave with me, remember?”
“Well, I mean, you punched Memphis in the face as your best friend was climbing down the side of a house like he was fucking Spiderman and had just got caught with his dick in some wife’s mouth. What was she supposed to do? Jump in the back of the truck with you?”
“Good point.” I nodded. “We were young and stupid.”
“Speak for yourself,” Sawyer chimed in. “I've never fucked someone’s wife. Or been the reason we’ve almost gone to jail. Half the time I’m the one getting us out of trouble. Jesus, I need new friends.”
I chuckled despite myself. “Oh, you need new friends? You just left me to fend for myself against your”—I pointed at Aspyn—
“whatever she is.”
“I had Cool Whip sliding down my balls and toward my asshole, asshole.”
“Bro, there is no one, and I repeat, no one who wants to know about where Cool Whip was going. That image is burned into my mind forever now.” I cringed at the thought.
“There is one person.” He winked at Aspyn.
“That mood is killed now, Casanova. Thank your friend for that.”
“I swear I might kill you. I know I say that often, but right now, I want to really kill you.” He opened the door. “Come on. I’ll buy you a drink at the bar downstairs.”
“You’re going to buy me the whole fucking bottle.” I walked toward the door.
“Ashton,” Aspyn called out, making me turn to face her.
“Do you really like Sage? Like really, really like her?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then man the fuck up. Because right now, my best friend is probably having deja vu of her piece of shit baby daddy who bolted on her. If you really like her, even with the rug rats, then you need to grow some balls, apologize, and tell her. She was only protecting herself and her babies. Don’t let her be the one who got away. Again.”