Quiver & Burn (Surrender to Them 5)

“Yep, we’re going this weekend.” I nodded and smiled as I thought about Brylee going with us.

Julian usually bought any jewelry that we found and he always gave us a fair price. A lot of pawnbrokers would just rip off people who walked through the door with stuff to sell, but we had been doing business with Julian long enough to consider him a friend. He could usually find the diamonds in the rough—it was a bonus when they were actually diamonds. I was still surprised that so many people put valuable stuff in storage lockers and stopped paying the bill. It wasn’t uncommon to find enough stuff behind the door to pay all that was owed and then some. We could have been greedy and just kept everything, but our conscious wouldn’t allow us to pocket someone’s prized possession.

“I can do five hundred on the box. There’s a lot of junk in here, but I’ll make a decent profit off the rest of it.” He dropped the last ring in the box and looked up at me.

“That sounds fair.” I nodded and pointed to the register. “Ring me up.”

We had been hoping that there were some valuable pieces in the box, but they couldn’t all be winners. Five hundred was more than we paid for the locker, and we had already sold the furniture for a decent price. We also found a few things that our Mom liked, so that was always a bonus. We would be in good shape for the weekend, and that meant more storage lockers, so there was no reason to complain. It was still hot in Atlanta, even if fall was approaching fast, so the crowd wouldn’t be as big as it would get when it cooled off some. Once I finished up the transaction with Julian, I said goodbye and headed outside to my truck. I saw that I had a message on my phone from Jett, asking me to pick up dinner, so I headed towards the line of restaurants near our apartment.

I placed my order and as I waited in line for the food, I started thinking about Brylee. I was glad she was going with us to the storage locker auction, but I was surprised Jett didn’t ask her on a real date. Brylee was so fucking attractive, and I was a little jealous that Jett got to her first, but it was probably better that way. She seemed like a nice girl and probably wanted a lot more than I would ever be able to offer a woman. There was a time when I thought I would settle down and get married, but one night changed my perspective on that sort of future. A fire got out of control, and I found myself pinned down behind the blaze. All I could think as I accepted my impending fate was that it was a good thing I wasn’t married—and wouldn’t be leaving any children without a father.

I always swore that I wouldn’t abandon my family as my father did. After that night, I realized that my job could force me to break that personal oath. It ate at my soul, and after I recovered, I ended things with the girl I had been seeing. It was the last real relationship I had, and even after two years, I hadn’t really recovered enough to pursue another one. I still dated, but I made it clear up front that I wasn’t looking for anything serious. I couldn’t be the reason someone had to raise my children on their own. That was something I hadn’t even shared with Jett because I didn’t want to sour his perspective on romance. He still wanted to get married and become a father one day—I respected it, even if I didn’t share that dream anymore.

Who knows, maybe Brylee will be the one.

“Alright, the food is here.” I walked into the living room and dropped the food on the table. “Man, we’ve really got to start cooking.”

“I know, I was just thinking that.” He leaned over and pulled a hamburger out of the bag. “Hopefully tonight’s meal was paid for with spoils from our last locker?”

“Yeah, I got five-hundred for the jewelry.” I pulled the roll of money out of my pocket and tossed it on the table next to the food.

“Nice.” He smiled and started opening his hamburger wrapper. “A little more would have better, but we’ll be in good shape this weekend.”

“Yeah, I think so.” I pulled out my box of fries and started munching on them. “So, are you going to tell me why you invited Brylee along—not that I’m going to complain about the view.”

“I thought about asking her to dinner or something, but I think it’ll be more fun to take her to an auction.” Jett shrugged and took a bite of his hamburger.

“It’ll be a unique first date, that’s for sure—if you can even call it a date since I’ll be there too.” I stuffed another fry in my mouth and chuckled.

“I think it counts. Besides, I saw how interested you were in her.” Jett’s face twisted into a grin as he swallowed.

“I was just playing wingman.” I shook my head back and forth. “You spotted her first, and we don’t compete. You know I was just joking when I said Brylee might be the type of girl that might like twins—I’m not going to get in your way.”

“I know.” He nodded and chuckled under his breath.

Jett and I still hadn’t forgotten Hannah, the first girl we fell in love with. She was the reason we didn’t compete anymore. Competition pushed us to do something that left us both with scars on our soul. We convinced ourselves that it could work, but Hannah wanted a traditional relationship. She didn’t see a future with two men—and truthfully, we were just boys then. We had no idea how the world worked. We believed in a fantasy. It would be important for me to distance myself from Brylee if she was struggling with that same attraction. I couldn’t risk her falling for the both of us while Jett was trying to decide if she was the right girl for him. I would just be a complication. After the weekend, he had to take her on a real date. One that just involved the two of them.

The next day

“Ready to save the world?” I slid on my t-shirt and looked over at Jett, who was finishing his second cup of coffee in the kitchen.

“As ready as I’m going to be.” He put the cup on the counter and stared at it. “Maybe another cup of coffee wouldn’t hurt.”

“You’re not trying to delay things a few minutes so that you can be in the hallway right when Brylee leaves her apartment are you?” I tilted my head to the side.

“Hey man, coincidences happen.” He chuckled under his breath and poured another cup of coffee.

“Now I know why you send me down to get the truck every morning.” I shook my head and grinned.

“Yeah, it’s getting about that time.” He pretended to look at his watch. “I’ll be down in a couple of minutes.”

“You’re already in over your head, bro.” I walked over to the door and opened it.

I was worried after our discussion from the previous night. I thought I was the only one that noticed the faraway look in Brylee’s eyes. Jett was right. It really did look similar to the one Hannah had all those years ago. I couldn’t put myself through that again because it would only lead to heartbreak, and Jett definitely didn’t deserve to go through it again. I just needed to keep my distance while Jett was with Brylee. If she fell for him, then I would just be part of the background and they could build a relationship that was built on something deeper than fantasy. When I got to the end of the hallway, I heard a door open and when I turned my head, it was Brylee’s door. She started walking down the hallway and I darted around the corner so that she wouldn’t see me. A second later, our door opened and Jett stepped out into the hallway. I peeked around the corner to watch their interaction.

Every time I see her, she’s even more beautiful than the picture in my mind—fuck!

“Good morning, Brylee.” Jett lifted his hand and waved.