“Nice to meet you,” I said. They all just nodded. This was awkward. Like they didn’t know how to talk to a female or something. Funny, since I’d caught glimpses of them before. Once at the park barbeque a while back and then at the Ha

lloween party. But I’d never interacted with any of them. Though Rhett was the most familiar.

God, I wished I had some of that Harper power right now. The guys were obviously casual and enjoying themselves before I showed up. The tension needed to break, and for some reason, I wanted them to like me. This was a big part of Cal’s world, and he’d invited me in. Well, he’d grabbed my hand and pulled me in, but I didn’t want to disappoint. I wanted to hold my own.

“I heard you guys telling jokes?” I asked.

They looked between each other like they’d been caught doing something wrong.

What was that joke Harper always told? Oh!

“I have a joke, if you’d like to hear it?”

The men took a step closer. Dave said, “Hell, yeah, I want to hear it!”

Mark smiled and crossed his arms. “Yep, let’s hear it.”

I glanced at Cal, and he looked just as anxious to hear what I was about to say.

I licked my lips, found my courage, and told the only joke I knew. The same joke Harper told me when I first met her to break the ice.

“How do you find a blind man in a nudist colony?” I asked.

The guys exchanged looks, then shook their heads, not knowing.

I simply shrugged and said, “It’s not hard.”

The room erupted with laughter and heat hit my cheeks. Cal rested his hand on the small of my back, his thick chuckle made a different kind of warmth rise in me.

“That was awesome,” Mark said. With that, everyone seemed to loosen up.

“She’s a keeper, Cal,” Dave called, falling back into a recliner, still laughing.

Cal’s hand on my back just rubbed a little, and an encompassing feeling of belonging hit me. Cal had this all the time. This brotherhood. I could tell from the interactions and conversations between all the guys, it was clear they were family. Even when they were flicking each other crap. The whole room felt full and happy. Not a sterile, uncomfortable thing passed between any of them.

“I’m going to show Lana the trucks now,” Cal said, and led me toward the garage.

“Hey, come back anytime, Lana!” Dave called, and Mark said something similar.

I glanced at my feet and smiled as we made our way toward the smell of oil, rubber tires, and fresh air. Cal opened the door, and there, on a slab of massive concrete surrounded by four concrete walls, two of which had large roll up doors, were shiny fire trucks.

“So, did you really want to see these, or are you just stalling?” he asked.

The door shut behind us and we were alone. I wound through the space, touching the biggest truck. The metal was cold and smooth. I’d never been so close to one, and it was shocking how large and long they were.

“Stalling?” I said with the best, “Why, whatever do you mean?” drawl. I wound around the truck, my fingertips gliding along the smooth exterior as I did.

“Yeah,” Cal said. “Another word for avoiding.” He maneuvered me against the side of the truck, my back pressing into the rig. He placed a palm by my head, leaning, and effectively caging me in.

“I was avoiding having your friends think I was some random woman you were taking to your room.”

His head dropped a little more, his face getting right in line with mine. “I wouldn’t let them think that about you, especially because there’s nothing random about you.”

When I met his gaze, it put our mouths a whisper apart, and my lungs stuttered.

“I just want to talk. You looked like you’re having a hard day.”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “It’s been frustrating.”

Tags: Joya Ryan Reign Erotic
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