Bad Wolf (Wild Men 4) - Page 122
“Gigi was right. These pancakes rock.” I wipe the syrup off my plate with the last piece and lean back with a groan. I wolfed down five of them and could have kept going.
“Guy’s gotta be able to fend for himself,” Merc mutters with a small grin. “Chicks dig it when you know how to cook.”
“Oh hey, is this practice for when you get a girlfriend someday?” Gigi asks with her mouth full of pancake, and man I love her even more for it.
And… pull back that thought and hold, Jarett. I mean, whoa. Where did that come from?
This is the kind of thoughts lovesick guys get, and I’m not lovesick.
No fucking way.
“I don’t practice,” Merc is saying, his voice distant in my ears as I quietly freak the hell out. “I was born perfect.”
“I’d kick you, but you’re too far away and I’m lazy,” Gigi says. “Dickhead. Nobody’s born perfect. I bet you practiced making pancakes in secret for years, burning your friends’ houses down without ever letting us know.”
“Yeah, you’re right. That was my big fucking secret. I’m a pyro. All those fires, that was me. There ya go.”
“So nice of you to finally fess up. Anyway… is there a girl who will enjoy these pancakes other than me? Spill. Is there a girlfriend?” Gigi licks her fingers, distracting me. “Tell me or I will hurt you, Mercury. This is important. We need more girls in this house.”
“Over my dead body,” Merc says. “I’m the minority in here. How about you bring a boyfriend to join us? Oh wait. You have, haven’t you?”
Silence falls, and I become aware of their eyes on me.
Pushing back my chair with a screech, I get up. “Gotta go. Thanks for breakfast. It’s getting late and I’ve got work.”
“Dude, it’s not even seven in the morning.” Merc takes a huge gulp of coffee and rubs at his eyes. “You starting work so early? What do you work, construction?”
I push hair out of my eyes. “I need to clean up the apartment. Didn’t get the chance since Seb trashed it.”
“What? Your brother trashed your apartment?” Gigi is gaping at me. In her knee-high socks and long red sweater, her hair in a ponytail, she’s a picture.
“It’s his apartment, too.” As if that explains anything. Damn. “Anyway, I’ll be on my way.”
Gigi hurries after me as I get the hell out of the kitchen and far from Merc’s too-perceptive gaze. “Rett, wait.”
I stop, turn to face her. Yeah, storming out without kissing her goodbye after sleeping with her would be a dick move, even for me.
But she doesn’t give me the chance. “Are you okay?” she asks, and puts her arms around my waist, blue eyes wide.
I nod. “Don’t worry about the apartment. I’ll just clean up, that’s all, and get ready for work. I can’t miss any shifts.”
“New job?” She hesitates. “I passed by the bar yesterday. Suzie says hi.”
Anger chokes me. I swallow it down, cuz it’s not Suzie’s fault
, not really. “She does, huh?”
“She says she’s sorry.”
I shrug. “It would’ve happened sooner or later. Glad I landed another job so soon after. I need the money for the rent, and Seb robbed me blind one too many times.”
Her face pales. “Your brother is an ass.”
Oh, the fuck. What’s wrong with my brain this morning? “It’s okay. He’s family.”
“Family is people who love you, Jarett. Sebastian doesn’t give a damn.”
“You don’t understand. I promised her, I promised Mrs. Lowe—his mom—to look after him.”
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