Page 40 of Everything After

Out of habit, I took her hand in mine, and realized it was an automatic gesture I’d done any time she was close. It was a moveI had taken for granted and questioned whether I’d still had a right to do, now that I was unsure what was next for us.

As I looked down at where our hands were joined, Lily gave my hand the slightest squeeze. A gesture that ignited angst-filled feelings of love and loss to circle deep in my chest. My frustration that I couldn’t talk freely with her after our weeks apart was only abated when I forced out a sigh and leaned back into my seat.

“Wow, what a touching scene. Anyone would think you hadn’t clapped eyes on each other for weeks,” Rick muttered, perceptive as ever. “You should thank us for keeping our girl company in your absence, instead of getting all possessive.”

“Yeah, well, you’re Rick Fars,” I muttered, pretending to play on his reputation with the ladies.

“I kept my hands to myself,” Rick joked, holding his hands in the air. “These fingers are needed to earn a living. It wouldn’t do if I lost them,” he added.

I wanted to call him on referring to Lily as ‘our girl’, but reluctantly let it slide. “Alright, you’ve had your fun. What brings you two raggedy-assed buggers all the way over here?” I joked. I side-eyed Lily next to me to gauge how she really felt about me being there.

My dick twitched, betraying me, when I saw her nervously bite her lip as she stole a glance back. I stood to distract myself from her because the last thing I wanted was to be hard around her when we had serious things to discuss.

“We were at a loose end and wondered who we could annoy. Knowing how protective you are of this one here, I figured you’d be the easiest to get a rise from,” Rick teased, and flashed me a grin.

“Right,” I muttered, wandering over to the glass cabinet. Taking a tumbler from it, I filled it with water from the fridgedispenser. As I turned, I eyed the half-empty bottle of dark rum the boys were drinking.

“Not drinking whiskey?” I queried.

“We’d already drank half a bottle before we came here, and I figured we should switch to rum. This one doesn’t get so cranky on rum,” Lennie offered, hitching a thumb in Rick’s direction.

“What he means is that I perform better in the sack after drinking rum,” Rick advised, stretching his arms along the back of his seat, and owning his statement. Everyone chuckled.

“Before you get too comfortable, you need to know you aren’t staying the night. We have a full day ahead tomorrow,” I lied, nodding toward Lily. “I’m going to fly you guys back ashore later, so don’t get too wasted.”

“You’re a miserable bastard sometimes,” Rick stated, frowning.

I couldn’t argue with that. His and Lennie’s presence when I had stuff to say to Lily, irritated me.

“Yeah, what’s with the dour face today. You’re not your usual smiling self?” Lennie asked in a gentler tone.

“Dour? Do I look dour to you, Lily?” I asked, making Lily’s gorgeous eyes meet mine, and I waited for her to cover for me.

“Yep,” she mumbled, nodding. Her response immediately made me feel betrayed. Pain shot from my jaw down my chest, and I realized how tightly I’d clenched my teeth. My jaw ticked in frustration that she’d sided with her bandmate.

I shrugged. “Maybe I’m miserable because I’m not getting any right now,” I replied, subliminally letting Lily know there hadn’t been anyone else during our time apart. My statement also pushed the attention back to her.

Rick chuckled and focused on Lily. “Are you on a period, darlin’? Don’t tell us you wouldn’t fuck this pretty goddess regardless,” he suggested to me.

Lily’s jaw dropped and she stared wide eyed in horror toward Rick. “Too far, Rick!” she scolded.

“Is that so?” he asked with a hint of menace in his tone. Standing, he yanked up his jeans, pawed his junk and chuckled. Wandering toward me, he bent and stared intently into my eyes. “Yeah? Why don’t I believe you, Lily. His eyes look cloudy,” he assessed.

“Rick,” I warned in a low tone.

Sensing I was pissed, he chuckled and stood upright again. “So, you’re holding out on him. What’s your price? A new dog? Another house? A baby?”

“You think I’m that fickle?” Lily snapped. “If I wanted a dog or a house, I’d buy one for myself,” Lily remarked, sounding more annoyed than usual whenever Rick got a rise out of her.

“Ah, so it’s a baby then,” he teased. “Don’t tell me you’re firing blanks,” he muttered, inspecting me with narrowed eyes.

Rick might have been joking, but unbeknownst to him, he’d hit a raw nerve. I’d only been home five minutes, but I’d already had enough of his comments, even if it was banter that I’d normally have brushed off.

“Did you come here to visit or insult us? I was joking. We’re good,” I lied, sitting back down and placing an arm around Lily. “Lily doesn’t want for anything. If you must know, I came back thinking we’d have the place to ourselves tonight.” It was a reasonable explanation to cover my less-than-jovial mood.

“Shit, and we’ve cock blocked you,” Rick blurted.

Lennie found Rick’s remark hilarious and laughed.