Page 67 of Second Sets Omnibus

So, they get a River-approved gold star. Only for the cooking, though. Their hospitality is lacking in several departments.

“Kidnapped you?” Kieran says with a raised brow. “You willingly got in the car.” I glare at him when he grins more, tilting his head to watch me savagely bite into another wing.

“Yeah, Assface…”

“Oh, we’re back to Assface now?” he quips, biting his bottom lip. I swear his eyes light up, giving me his undivided attention.

I frown. “Yeah, Assface. As I was saying. You tricked me into your vehicle by using him.” Callum stiffens when I point to him. He sits across the table with a blush so deep sweat drips from his brows.

“I-I…it was them,” Callum says with an accusing glare, shaking his head.

Poor Callum. They sent him into my room as I laid in bed watching the damn ClockTok app on the new phone Kieran insisted I have. I put up a good fight, but at the end of the day, it was a gift—an expensive gift, but one, nonetheless.

“Your new phone,” Kieran says with a smug grin, puffing out his chest when I take the device from his hand and shove it back.

“I'm not a charity case,” I snap, tossing the phone back at him from the backseat of the Tahoe and nearly laugh when it bounces off his big head and lands on the floorboard of the driver's seat.

“I never said you were a charity case, River Blue,” he grumbles, picking the phone off the floor and wiping it on thetight black shirt stretching across his defined pecs. “But Callum doesn't use it anymore. It's collecting dust. And your fingers are fucking bleeding from swiping.” I frown, looking at my fingertips.

“Do not,” I say, shaking my head. “My phone does just fine. Seriously.”

“Seriously, nothing, Pretty Girl. Take the phone! You'll need it anyway. I started a group chat.” To prove his point, Rad sends eggplant emojis on repeat at least fifty times.

“Could you not?” Asher snaps, turning in the passenger's seat with a scowl, glaring at Rad. “Last time, you bombarded my phone with pictures of your dick. And they don't make water hot enough to get those images out.” He fake shivers and shakes his head with disgust.

I snort at Rad's fallen face until he snatches my broken phone out of my hands and tosses it to Kieran. Traitor!

“You're supposed to be on my side!” I hiss, slapping his chest, but he catches my hands.

“I’m always on your side, Pretty Girl. That’s why I want you to have this phone,” he mumbles, leaning in so fast and shoving his tongue down my throat as a distraction. I moan into his mouth, pulling him harder against me, and DISTRACTION! Rad snorts, grinning at me when I pull back, all flushed with puffy lips. “Teamwork, bro,” he says, high-fiving Kieran, who turns to me with a smug, victorious look.

A smug look I wish I could punch from his face. Do you think he'll miss his nose when I push it through his skull for being such a prick? No? Okay, then. Worth a shot. I grit my teeth.

“It wasn't a request. It's a gift that you're keeping,” Kieran demands as he tears my broken phone apart, digs out the damn SIM card, and places it in the other.

“Don't fight it, Pretty Girl. It's either that or he spanks you,” Rad says, wiggling his brows. “Although, I’m down for thespanking.” I shiver at the image in my mind of pink butt cheeks and the burn it leaves behind.

“Or me,” Asher says in a low voice that turns my insides into knots.

I swallow hard, catching the slow smile spreading across Asher's lips. If there's one thing I can say for the guy, he'd be an excellent hate fuck. Like, pound me into oblivion, hate fuck. He'd be good at it, too. Too bad he's an asshole and not touching me with a twenty-foot pole. Yet.

“Mmhmm,” Asher hums, snatching the new working phone from Kieran's hand. “Now, be a good little brat and use this phone.”

“Jesus,” Rad murmurs, adjusting himself. “You gonna spank her? Or should I? Bend over my knee, Pretty Girl,” he says jokingly, tapping his lap.

“Like fuck,” I quip, snatching the phone out of his hands. “Thanks for the phone,” I murmur, looking over the sleek screen and four camera lenses in the back. “I guess.” I shrug, shoving it into my pocket with a calm demeanor.

But I'm anything but calm. No one has bought me anything like this before. I've paid for everything out of my own pocket. Van didn't even buy me flowers or chocolates. The only thing Van brought me was heartache. And yet, these four guys have already come to my house, set up a home nurse for my ailing mother, slept with me every night, taken my mind off my shitty circumstances, and got me a new phone. It’s a longer list than anyone has ever done.

Later that night, Callum snuck back through my sliding glass door, stripped to his boxers, and held me all night. My new phone played soft melodies, and we drifted to sleep in each other's arms. He seems to be sleeping better since he started crawling into my bed and rarely wears his earbuds anymore.

When Callum walked through my sliding glass door with an innocent grin, I instantly lit up. I was still in my pajamas when he innocently convinced me to get dressed in shorts and a T-shirt because we had somewhere to go. I thought we were going to hang out. They had other plans. So, here we are at the Lakeview neighborhood cookout, eating everything under the sun.

“Now, now,” Kieran says, shoving another barbecue wing into my fingers. “He did good. He got you here so we could show you off.”

“Show me off,” I scoff, ripping into another wing and moaning at the taste in my mouth.

“Right,” Rad rasps, staring straight at my mouth as I bite into another wing like he’s hypnotized by the way I eat. “You just keep eating, Pretty Girl. I'll hide this boner somehow. Unless you want to sit on my lap and talk about the first thing that pops up.” He doesn't take his eyes off me even when I set the cleaned bone on my paper plate. “Then we could play just the tip. Or hide the hotdog. Or maybe…” He wiggles his brows, letting that charismatic smile fall across his lips.