Page 44 of Pucking Tangled

FORTY-THREE

Waylon

Waylon was almost done with the sketch when he heard the soft knock on the garage door. He considered ignoring it, hoping that whoever it was would go away. But when he heard the knock again, he blew out a breath and put down the charcoal.

Brushing off his hands on a nearby rag, he made his way to the door, opening it only enough to see who was waiting on the other side.

“Hey.” Mia smiled softly. “I thought I’d find you here.”

He nodded.

“Can I come in?”

Waylon looked over his shoulder and debated what to do. “Actually, not right now.”

He flipped off the light and stepped outside instead.

“Oh.” Her face fell.

He felt like an ass, but he didn’t want her to see what he was working on. Not yet anyway.

Pulling her in closer, he attempted to distract her with a toe curling kiss. Mia moaned and wrapped her arms around him, sinking into it for a minute before she pulled back.

“I was coming out here to warn you that we’ve got two parental units incoming. They’ll be here within the next hour or so, I bet.”

Waylon tensed.

“I know. Great timing, right? It sounds like Casey’s mom and my mom are on our side. I’m a little worried about our dads. Not going to lie.”

He huffed. “Better than the closed-minded assholes that gave birth to me.”

“Waylon,” she whispered.

“Yeah. That was a fun conversation. They called right before you got home.”

“That’s why you retreated to the garage.”

He didn’t just head to the garage to clear his head. He went out there to work on something for all of them.

“Do you want to talk about it?’

“Not much to talk about. They called, screaming at me about how I’m ‘humiliating them.’ The press has been hounding them like vultures. And they don’t approve.”

“I’m…I’m so sorry.”

Waylon shook his head. “No. Don’t do that. Don’t apologize for them, Mia. I told them that my whole damn life, they’ve made me feel like I needed to earn their love. But I don’t feel like that anymore. They were real pissed when I told them I found my real family, whether they liked them or not.”

Mia placed her palm on his cheek. “Oh, you sweet, sweet, man.”

“I fucking love you. And I love the guys too. The four of you are my family. I’m not going to keep that a secret. The world wanted to peel the curtain back, well now they have it. I’ve always been unapologetically me. I’m not going to start hiding myself now, just to keep them happy.”

“Now that might be the hottest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Waylon growled from deep in his chest. “How long did you say we had until everyone got here?”

Her head fell back and she laughed. “We do not have time for that .”

He smirked at her. “I can be quick. Can you?”

“Waylon whatever your middle name is Ryan.”

He nipped her neck and chuckled. “It’s Silas.”

“Waylon Silas Ryan.” She shoved against his chest. “We should probably not be the middle of fucking when my parents show up.”

“Hm…you’re right. You do have a hard time being quiet,” he said, pressing his erection against her stomach.

“I hate you.”

“You do not, Blondie.”

“As much as I love the view of you shirtless, do you think you could maybe put one on before they get here?”

Waylon sighed and smacked her ass. “Fiiiine.”

She rewarded him with another kiss and a whispered ‘thank you.’.

“I think I’m going to grab a shower. Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

Mia bit her lip.

“Come on. You know you want to.” He rubbed his thumb against her bottom lip.

“I do want to. But you and I both know what’s going to happen if I do,” she said with a raised brow.

“Hmm. Do we? What do you think is going to happen, baby?” Waylon leaned in closer.

“You’re relentless. And intoxicating,” she whispered .

“Say yes, Blondie.”

“I’m saying no.” She took two slow steps backward, then sprinted through the yard and into the house, her laughter echoing in her wake.

“Brat!” he called out and raced after her, nearly knocking Luca down in the process.

“Where’d she go?” Waylon panted, skidding to a stop in the kitchen.

Luca smirked and shook his head. “No clue.”

“Bullshit, Rookie. Where’d she go?”

He just shrugged and moved out of Waylon’s way.

“Blondie!” Waylon called out, starting up the steps.

Whether she knew it or not, he needed her playfulness and she’d delivered.