“Do you guys mind setting the table?” Bentley asked, using his head to gesture to the plates and silverware he had pulled out for breakfast.
“Sure thing, boss!” Beckett gave him a false salute as he grabbed the dishes and I followed behind him with my coffee and a stack of napkins.
When we were out of earshot, I hissed in a low whisper, “What the hell was that?”
“What?” he asked me with a look of pure innocence on his face, like he truly didn’t understand my question. I wasn’t buying it; I knew what I heard and I damn well knew what I felt when his body rubbed against mine.
I didn’t get a chance to call him out on his antics before my brother came into the room, bringing plates stacked with food with him. After setting the plates on the table, he reached over the kitchen bar and grabbed his own coffee mug, effectively cutting our private chat short. We all sat down and started ladling food onto our plates. When we all had our plates brimming and our mouths full, Ben finally started talking.
“So, Gus was looking good, wasn’t he?” I ignored the grunt that came from Beckett and smiled. Gus has been one of my closest friends since we met in college and I had almost lost him recently.
“He is looking fantastic, isn’t he? Did you see him? He was walking without a cane. Last time I saw him, he could hardly function with crutches or canes. He is looking amazing.” I gushed with excitement because, fuck. I was excited. We all thought the cane was going to be a permanent fixture and here he was, walking without it. He always was a stubborn one and, for once, his stubbornness paid off.
“He got some new work done, too. Myra’s boyfriend’s work?” Ben asked me.
“Yeah, I think so. I know Tyler was doing some apprenticing at Gruff Bastards.” I replied, referring to the tattoo shop that Auggie not only owned, but worked at as well. At least he worked at prior to his injury, and I assumed, since he was back in town, he would be going back to work.
“Well, I’m glad to see he’s back. I missed beer nights with the bastard. Plus, he makes dealing with you and Myra slightly more bearable.” He said as he bit into a bite of pancake heaped with syrup.
I flung some butter at him, knowing how immature it was. “Shut up! We aren’t that bad! Auggie loves us, he would never pick you and your man time over me.”
Beckett coughed on his food before clearing his throat and speaking. “How well do you know this guy, Ben? Gus looks like he might be looking for a good lawyer at anytime. Give him my number, will ya?”
I swung my leg back and kicked him in his shin as hard as possible. “What the actual fuck, Lotus!” he roared when my foot connected successfully.
“How dare you judge him like that? Auggie is a good guy. In fact, he is a fucking great guy… a damn hero and you won’t get by talking about him like he is a criminal. He has never been to jail in his entire life!” I was fuming at his assumption.
Beckett looked from me and then to Bentley as if Ben was going to save him. Instead, Ben just shrugged and said, “She’s right. Gus is a stand-up type guy, Beckett. There is no one I would trust more with my sister, if I wasn’t around, than him.”
Beckett almost looked angry at this declaration. “What about me? You don’t trust your sister with me? I’ve known her for practically her entire life and you wouldn’t trust me to take care of your sister?”
My brother shoved more food into his mouth and looked as if he had to actually think about it, meanwhile Beckett was fuming. Truthfully, I enjoyed my brother taunting him a little, and Beckett needed it. Finally, when he swallowed all his food, Ben answered. “I trust you with my sister. You’re like a second brother to her, you know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know it.” They did this staring thing where neither of them broke eye contact and all of a sudden, I had a feeling I was the third wheel at this table.
“Good, then I trust that you will protect her.” There was uncomfortable silence after that. We all ate, lost in our own thoughts. As shameful as my thoughts were, they were about Beckett. He was a whole different person than he was when he left thirteen years ago, and I was still not a hundred percent sure I forgave him for leaving. The Beckett that was here now, the one whose body had rubbed mine in the most delicious way? I don’t know if I knew this guy at all…but maybe I wanted to.
I got so caught up in my thoughts that I almost missed the conversation completely. It wasn’t until I heard my name that I came back to earth and tried to figure out the conversation. “What?”
“I told Beckett you would go with him.” Bentley replied.
“Where?” I scrunched my eyebrows together, trying to figure out if I’d even heard that part of the conversation.
Bentley exhaled loudly. “Beck asked if I knew any ladies he could use for a date for the Masquerade that’s coming up. I don’t know any that I would trust enough with him, or him enough with her, so I told him you would go. Plus, you have always wanted to go to this damn ball for as long as I could remember. It’s, and I’m quoting you here, the dreamiest magical event that ever happens and one day your prince charming will take you there and dance the night away.” He did a mocking dreamy girl voice as he quoted teenage me. “I don’t know about prince charming but…he will do.”
I turned my attention to Beckett while trying not to let my excitement show. If I played my cards correctly, I could have my dream come true and have it all work out in my favor. “How did you get an invitation to the event of the season? You’ve only been in town a few weeks?”
“It’s a work requirement…top firms go to top events and all that stuff. We are required because it, supposedly, is a great way to acquire new clients and mingle.” He said the last part with annoyance in his voice which gave me the impression that this wasn’t an event he was looking forward to.
“So how desperately do you need a date? Can’t you go solo?” I asked him, half wanting to know and half trying to trap him.
“I’m evading my coworker’s advances and need someone to back up my lies.” He sighed his answer in defeat.
“Perfect!” I gave him my award-winning grin.
He put his last piece of bacon into his mouth, before asking with a mouth full of food, “Why?”
“Because now that I know how desperate you are, I know you are willing to pay for my dress.”
Beckett’s stare alternated between Ben and me before finally settling on my brother, who just shrugged. Groaning, he took his wallet out of his pocket and took out his credit card. He leaned over the table, holding the card just out of reach. “Are you going shop for my tie and mask, too?”
I reached for his card, still unable to grasp it. “Do you want me to?”
“Yes. Make them match.” He lowered the card to within my reach. I took the card just as he added, “Oh, and I like blue.”
“For your tie?”
“No, on you.”
He grabbed his plate and was gone, leaving me unable to dispute.
Ruins first started it on Sunday, right after I got home from work. I was tired, hungry, and a little more than annoyed that I spent hours working on an arrangement of roses just for the bride to cancel the wedding, thus her order. I just wanted to go home, lie down, and sleep for a good eight hours. Instead, my night didn’t go exactly as planned.
The moment I walked into the door, Ruins’ ears perked up and his tail wagged excitingly. Before I had a chance to hang up my purse, Ruins already had his leash in his mouth and was dropping it at my feet. I stared at the leash in confusion, completely baffled on what caused him to drop it by me. I picked it up and put it back on his crate, where he instantly retrieved it and dropped it by my feet again.
Patting his head, I asked him, “What? Do you want mama to take you for a walk?” Then I internally scowled at myself for becoming attached to this dog because I was not his mama, I was hardly his roommate. Ruins sat and waited for me to attach his leash, like it was something I did every day. Hell, I wasn’t sure where the damn clip thing went, let alone how to a
ttach it properly to his collar.
“Beck!” I called toward the bedroom, where I could hear him moving about. “I think your dog wants you to take him for a walk.”
He walked out of the hallway while he finished tugging the hem of a black long sleeve shirt down. He looked freshly showered, his hair a mess of strands going in every which direction. I liked the look and I fucking hated that I thought it. “I’m sure he does. I’ve been trying to take him out all day and he refused.”
Beckett walked toward me, his arm outstretched, waiting for me to hand him the leash. When I passed it over, he bent down and attached the clip to the ring on Ruins’ collar. The dog jumped excitedly, before sitting and swishing his tail in a fast motion. Beckett walked to the door and opened it, waiting for his dog to follow. The dog’s tail stopped moving and he refused to move.
“He has been refusing to budge all day. I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but he has to leave sometime.” Beckett began to scratch at the scruff covering his jaw. I had a second of wondering if it would be as rough as it looked against my fingers. Facial hair, it was a new thing for me. I’ve only ever dated clean shaven guys and up until then, I never had an urge to touch it. I shook off my urge and bent down to pet Ruins.
“Do you want to go for a walk, boy?” I asked him and his tail started wagging excitingly again. “Yeah, you want to go?”
Beck watched us suspiciously, “I think he wants you to take him.”
I gave him a yeah right sort of look. “I doubt it. He is still trying to decide if I’m worth being his friend.”
“Come on Ruins, let’s go buddy. It’s going to be dark soon.” He tugged on the leash and the dog refused to move.
I sighed both internally and externally. I just wanted a nice, warm shower. “Fine. You want me to go? Let’s go for a walk.” The damn dog barked once and did a little jump, before heading to the front door, stopping, and waiting for me to follow.
We walked a good ten minutes in silence while Ruins happily pranced in front of us. By the time our walk had reached fifteen minutes, we were entering the gate of a nearly deserted dog park. He let Ruins off of the leash and while we sat on a park bench, we watched the dog run circles and play. After a while, I blurted out, “Are you sure you’re okay taking me to the Masquerade?”
He looked over toward me, his face illuminated by the lights that had switched on when the sky started to darken, sometime after we left the apartment. “Why? Are you afraid you would fall for me and break all the dating rules you have on your list?”
Yes. “No. It’s just . . . it’s a big event. The big event. There are so many girls who would do anything to be invited. You don’t have to take me.”
“I want to take you. Ben said you have wanted to go since you were a kid. Why not take you?”
“It’s just . . . I don’t know. I don’t want to ruin your night of fun or any extracurricular activities by having you take me, is all.” I made it a point to watch Ruins play as I said it. I didn’t want him to see how much I truly did want to go.
“There is nothing that would ever be destroyed when you’re by me, Blue Eyes.” He began to fidget a little, then I watched as he pushed his sleeves up to his elbow, and for the first time since he moved in, I saw the trail of tattoos he had. Even if he always wore long sleeves, how the hell had I missed those? Somehow they intensified the new attraction I had to him, making me wish I could see just how far up they led and what other locations he was harboring ink.
Trying to reign in my attraction, I changed the subject. “So, why did you name him Ruins?”
I saw a small private smile flick across his lips before he said, “I didn’t. Alexa named him, actually.”
Ice water.
I felt like I had been doused with a bucket of water crammed with ice.
As I sat there, giddy with excitement over going to the masquerade and checking him out, I forgot that he would never be mine. Not because he was my brother’s best friend, or because I had been in the friend zone my whole life, but because his heart was already owned. He had already loved, he had already lost, and there was no way I could ever compete with that. With her.
“Yeah?” I managed to weakly get out.
“Yeah.” He smiled again, this time a full-blown grin as he no doubt remembered a story or inside joke that I wasn’t present for. “There was this dog fighting ring that got busted. It was out on a random farm and these dogs, they tortured them, teased them, locked them up in small cages, anything to make them mean. You should have seen the conditions, Blue, it was terrible.” He had turned his body unknowingly toward me as he spoke.
“Our firm obviously didn’t represent the bastards, but the moment I heard about the case, I thought, man I have to save one. I wanted to save them all obviously, but I couldn’t. But to save one; just one, would make a difference. Alexa was absolutely against it; she was not an animal person. She refused to give me permission, which I am sure you know, a guy always needs permission.” He chuckled to himself, obviously lost in the memory. I watched with a little pang of jealousy tightening my stomach.
“So after days of arguing, trying to plead my case, she still kept refusing. Imagine it. I’m a damn attorney, it was still in my earlier days then, and I couldn’t win a case with my damn fiancé. She refused to let me bring home a dog. So, I did what any guy would do. I went to the shelter to adopt one. Most of the dogs got put down within the first twenty-four hours of the bust. They were mean and dangerous. There were only a few dogs that actually made it into the adoption pool and even then, they suggested no children, other pets, et cetera. So, I go into the room, and they had all the shelter dogs in their own individual cages. I spotted him immediately in the back. When I approached the cage, he growled, naturally, since all he knew were cruel people. So, I asked the lady working there if I could just hang out for a while.”
I watched him watch his dog for a moment. He loved him. “No one wanted him. He growled too much. He never bit, but he was pretty snappy. I guess I could relate; I have had my surly moments in my life. Did I ever tell you after we moved, the moment I turned eighteen, my mom kicked me out, said I was too much like my father. A damn high school student and I was living on the street. I knew how he felt, not being wanted. I mean, the lady at the shelter tried to convince me to pick a different dog because he was scheduled to be euthanized later that night, and there were so many dogs better suited for human interaction.”
He shifted his foot, digging his shoes into the dirt before bringing his eyes back to mine. “I didn’t want a different dog, I wanted him. He needed a chance. So, I sat on the cement floor for nearly five hours, talking to him. By the time the lady came to tell me they were closing for the night, he had worked his way toward the bars where I sat. I refused to leave without him, knowing he would die. I took him home that night. I walked in the door and Alexa had an absolute fit. She was ticked off that I went against her orders and even more ticked that I picked a dog that wouldn’t stop growling at her.”
He let out an actual laugh and wiped at his eye a little. “I’m not even joking, they hated each other from the start. I swear Ruins went out of his way to make her miserable. He ate her shoes, her purse, and her wallet. He even destroyed her make up once. Well anyway, he never had a name. I didn’t name him right away because it needed to be perfect. After a few days and lots of destruction of her things, I repeatedly kept hearing Alexa mention he “ruined” this or “ruined” that and everything he touched ended in a pile of ruins. It stuck, and at some point, we started calling him Ruins.”
He finished his story and then let out a long whistle, calling Ruins back to us. He latched the leash onto the collar and we let ourselves out of the dog park gate, heading back to my apartment in silence. Once inside, we went our separate ways; me heading to the shower, him to watch some TV and Ruins, sitting somewhere in the middle, unsure who to choose.
Chapter 8
BECKETT
I couldn’t begin to tell y
ou what came over me in the kitchen. I could claim it was an accident, but Lotus and I both know that would be a lie. The moment I walked in the kitchen and saw her standing there with that messy blonde bun coiled on top of her head, I went instantly hard.
It was bad.
I knew it.
Her fucking brother, my best friend, was standing feet away, and just looking at her caused me to stand in salute. Then she had to go make that smart mouth comment about being satisfied and I felt like it was a throw down challenge to prove to her I could damn well accommodate. So, I showed her, I sandwiched her between me and the fucking counter and showed her what I could offer.
Every nerve in my body screamed, begging me to end the torture and just throw her over my shoulders, take her to bed and make her mine. Because, fuck, her body against mine from thigh to fucking shoulder gave me more pleasure than I had experienced in years.
It was so very wrong and I couldn't bring myself to stop the spiral I was falling into with that girl. A one-way spiral at that because, as Bentley liked to remind me over breakfast where I got nonverbally reprimanded, I was like her brother. I needed to protect her and if that meant not allowing her to touch me or all the tainted blackness that had been my life, then I would do it. I would do anything I needed to do in order to make sure she was protected and her life remained sunshine and roses, because she was so much goddamn sunshine. She always had been, and I suspected that she always would be. Her light would always surpass me, and all I could do was pray that no one ever snuffed it out.
After our kitchen incident and she started talking about . . . scratch that . . . gushing about Gus, I damn near flipped the breakfast table. Was she kidding me? A hero? Look at him! He had more hoodlum in him than Ben, Lotus and I shoved together, there was no way I would go as far as calling him a hero. Jealous? You’re damn fucking right I was jealous. She was ready to kiss his feet and start a new religion for the guy. Toss Ben’s praise into the mix and I might as well have been the equivalent of mud on the bottom of Gus’ combat boots.
Obscured Love Page 6