Bound Together (Torn and Bound Duet 2)

There’s a knock on the door and we both look up to find Mia standing in the doorway.

“We’re going to go to dinner. You guys are coming, right?” Her eyes are wide and hopeful and even if we didn’t want to go, I know damn well neither of us would be able to tell her no.

“Yeah,” I tell her, sitting up. “I’m just going to shower to wake up and I’ll be good to go.”

Brayden grins at me. “I think I’ll join you. I’m feeling a little dirty myself.”

Needless to say, we’re late for dinner.We find Ashton and Mia at a pub and grill at the lodge. Ashton has Mia’s high-top barstool pulled close to him at the round table. They’ve already started in on an appetizer, but it doesn’t look like they’ve eaten without us.

I wait for the jokes.

The taunts.

Usual Ashton shit.

Nothing.

Like earlier, he’s clinging to Mia, barely looking at Drew and me.

“Glad you guys could finally join us,” Mia says, smirking. “We were almost ready to eat without you.”

I chuckle as I hop up on the barstool beside Ashton. Drew sits next to me and grabs a menu for us to look at.

“Hey, Ashton,” I say, waiting for him to look at me.

“What’s up?” he rumbles, a bored look on his face.

“You on your period or what, douchebag?” I kick his stool, making him jerk his attention my way.

Guilt flashes in his eyes and then he laughs, flipping me off. Still acting weird as fuck. I glance over at Mia and her brows are furled, clearly feeling the same way.

“What can I get you handsome fellas?” a blond chick chirps in greeting. “House special is a bison burger and a Moscow mule. We call it the Russian Redneck special. You game? I’ll throw in some honeyed sweet potato fries for free.”

“Yeah,” Drew says. “We’ll take two of those.”

Ashton holds his fingers up. “Make it four.”

“Great,” the waitress says. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

Mia jabbers on about snowboarding until the waitress brings us back our Moscow mules. I sip on my drink, my attention bouncing back and forth between Drew and Ashton. They’re both being weird as hell today.

“Listen,” Mia says, straightening her spine, “I don’t know if things are just quiet and weird because everyone is hungover or what, but I don’t like it.”

Silence.

“Are we going to talk about the big elephant in the room?” she asks, exasperated.

More silence.

“Boys are such brats,” she groans. “Last night was fun. We were drunk. It happened. Can we get over being weird now? I, for one, thought it was kind of hot.”

Drew laughs. “That makes two of us.”

“Three,” I agree, smirking.

All eyes land on Ashton. His lips quirk up. “Yeah, it was hot.”

“There,” Mia says, giggling. “Now stop being weird and go back to normal.”

When Mia and Drew get locked into a conversation about a couple nearby, I lean forward, meeting Ashton’s gaze.

“You really okay?” I ask.

He nods. “As long as Mia’s happy, I’m happy. I don’t ever want to make her unhappy.”

It clicks into place.

Last night, by the four of us messing around, he thought he would lose her. Poor fucking guy. He clearly can’t see how fucking crazy she is about him. I give his thigh a squeeze, letting him know I understand and that I’m here for him. His hazel eyes flash with gratitude as he brushes his thumb over the back of my hand.

“He’s boning her sister,” Mia says, earning Ashton’s and my attention.

“Who? Sounds scandalous,” Ashton chimes in.

“The blonde over there with that guy,” Drew explains. “We’ve been watching them. There were three of them a bit ago, but the redhead left. He’s clearly married or with the blonde, but he watched the redhead leave with puppy dog eyes.”

“Oh,” Mia hisses. “She’s coming back. Watch his face.”

The redhead smiles bashfully at him. He rubs at the back of his neck and licks his lips. The blonde doesn’t notice the exchange since she’s on her phone. The man winks at the redhead, making her turn bright red.

“That dirty bastard,” Ashton says with a laugh.

We’re distracted from our people watching when the waitress comes back with our bison burgers and sweet potato fries. It’s good-ass food, but the Moscow mules are amazing. The ginger beer has a unique flavor and the vodka gives it a warm bite. Before long, we’ve made our way through too many Moscow mules and are tipsy.

Ashton leaves to head up to the bar and when he returns, he has a brown paper sack in his hands.

“Whatcha got there, Ashy C?” Mia asks, batting her lashes at him. “A present for me?”

“I bought us mules to go. Limes, beer, Grey Goose. Even the tin mugs. Let’s take this party back home where we can sit by the fire.” He nods toward the door. “As much as I’d love to watch ol’ boy over there flirt with Red each time his wife is texting, I’d much rather feel Mia up without all these people as an audience.”