“WHAT THE FUCK, Jake?!!
“When were you gonna tell us you’re FUCKIN’ LEAVIN’, MAN?!”
Jake exhales. “Dad called you.”
Since they’re focused on Jake, it’s giving me a chance to study them a little. The dirty-blonde green-eyed twins are a couple inches taller than their brother. All three men are equally well built, but Jake is stockier and they are sinewy. It’s like the difference between football players and soccer players. Brett Favre to David Beckham. Only I’ve never been a huge fan of Beckham pecs. Jason and Justin put his to shame – I can see through their shirts.
“Yeah, he fuckin’ called us. He called everyone. Have you checked your phone you piece of shit?” The one dressed in an expensive suit grabs Jake and bear hugs him. He closes his eyes and I take a step back, feeling like I’m seeing something not meant for me.
Pulling away, Jake asks, “He called Jett?”
The twins both lose their animated expressions, and grow instantly serious. “Nah. Not him.”
Jake nods, and the suit changes the subject by focusing on me and offering me his hand. “I’m Justin.” We shake and he holds onto me. “You must be Drew, our brother’s new hot babe roommate.”
A blush creeps into my cheeks and I glance to Jake. Is that how he described me? “Nice to meet you, Justin.”
“Let go of her hand, Justin,” Jake smirks.
The other twin, Jake told me, is a music producer, mostly of Hip Hop. Jason is dressed in casual, stylish clothes fitting for that industry. He’s got a baseball hat on, and it’s backward. He holds out his hand as he sizes me up. “Jason. I’m sure you’ve heard all about me,” he grins. “So, how is it living with this guy, huh?” He looks at Jake and winks.
“How many times do I have to tell you assholes to take your shoes off in my home?”
“She’s pretty, Jake.”
“No wonder why you left us high and dry at The Vortex the other night.”
Jake laughs, “Shut up.”
Jason bumps his shoulder to Justin’s. “He didn’t say she had a rack on her, either.”
My jaw drops as I make a shocked sound.
“Alright, no looking at my roommate’s tits.”
“Thank you,” I tell him.
He smirks at me. “That’s my job.”
“Oh my God!” I scream. “You are all truly unbelievable.”
I cover my chest with tightly crossed arms, and they’re all smiling the same smile at me. Three gorgeous hunks trained on me. I just might faint.
“No good, Drew,” Justin says. “That only hikes the beauties up. Why don’t girls know this?”
I cry out, “Stop it!” and go to leave because I’m the color of a radish, but the three of them block my way. Jake grabs me, lifts me up and spins me around, putting me right back where I was.
“Ah ah ah…not so fast.” He turns to the twins. “Since everyone’s still got their fucking shoes on, morons, you wanna go to the Botanical Gardens with us?”
“Shit yes,” Jason mutters, hitting his pockets for his keys. He disappears into the living room. Annnnnd apparently cute butts run in the family, too.
Justin slides his hands into his slack’s pockets, pushing up the suit jacket a little in the motion. He smirks from me to Jake. “Botanical Gardens? Sounds romantic, Jake. So not like you.”
Jake counters with equal ease, “I have a thing for plants.”
“Is that what they’re calling them these days? Ouch! You don’t have to hit me!”
Jason runs back to us, opens the front door, and bows so deeply and theatrically that his baseball hat falls off. He catches it with one hand, flips it around and puts it back on with a flourish. “My lady! After you.”
And now I know what the women of Atlanta must already be aware of – the Cocker Brothers are dangerous heartbreakers.
JAKE
J ustin challenges Jason, “I dare you,” after Jason threatens to walk into Cascade Garden’s fountain. “Do it. What are they going to do, throw us out?”
“You mean again?” Jason smiles, hanging a foot over the flowing water.
Grinning, I glance to Drew. She really doesn’t want to be thrown out. She already whispered to me that she’ll be coming back here often while I’m gone. I bought her a membership, but she didn’t see me do it. She just thought it was a normal ticket. Twenty-one dollars for one visit versus seventy-five for year round? Easy decision there.
To put her out of her misery, I start walking away so she’ll follow my lead. She quickly catches up with me. Jason and Justin are razzing each other behind us with the latter calling the former a pussy for not going in. You don’t have to make a big deal about asking people to stop acting like assholes. All you have to do is walk away and act like something else is more interesting. They lose the audience and get the hint.
“So, you like it?” I ask her as we stroll along the path.
“It’s beautiful! I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Stealing a glance from the corner of my eyes, I catch her drinking in the wildflowers and ferns on the forest floor. “Where are you from again?”
“Dublin, a couple hours south of here.” She glances to me and looks quickly up at the trees. “I can see what you’re thinkin’. And yes, I’ve had a sheltered life. Haven’t been many places. We went to Savannah for vacations because of the beach. And Charlestown, too. Edward wasn’t a fan of bigger cities, though. Too many people for him.” She shrugs and meets my eyes. “I think he was afraid of losin’ me, too. I like people. I love festivals. I like the energy and the diversity. I always wanted to live here, but it wasn’t an option.”
“Why didn’t you speak up to him? Tell him what you wanted?”
She stares ahead as we approach the Kendeda Canopy Walk, and her steps hesitate at my tone. Her voice grows quieter. “You think I’m weak, don’t you? I did speak up, sometimes, but…I guess when you’ve grown up with somethin’ it just becomes the way things are. Like you’re trained. I was used to him leadin’” She frowns and shakes her head. “It’s not fun havin’ regrets, Jake. Don’t let that happen to you.”
“I go after what I want,” I confess. We’re quiet for a few steps. “Sounds like this divorce is the best thing that could have happened to you.”
Drew looks at me with a thoughtful expression. A beautiful smile lights her up, and she nods.
“You are getting a divorce, right?”
“Yes! Are you kiddin’? Absolutely.”
“I didn’t know if you were going to be one of the couples who never actually files the papers.”
Drew stops walking. “I’m getting’ divorced. Debra Morales will make sure Edward serves me those papers. Are you askin’ because…” she pauses as a drop of water splashes onto her nose. We both look up as she wipes it away, more raindrops taking its place, falling on both of us. Behind me Justin strolls up saying, “Didn’t even see those clouds come in, did ya? Little distracted?”
I shoot him a look. “You’re gonna mess up your suit, Jus. What’s your maid gonna think when she sees it crumpled up on the floor.”
“Just another day in the Cocker Penthouse,” he smirks.
“You set that right up, Jake. And he just knocked it down,” Jason chuckles, jogging over. He’s got a fucking Hydrangea flower in his hand, the branch stem slivered from where he busted it. “For the lady,” he smiles, rain really starting to pick up.
Drew happily takes it from him, glancing to me like the thing is amazing. She’d pointed out that she liked them earlier, when we first got here. Jason – romantic, charming bastard that he is – took note. As she turns it slowly around raindrops gather both on the petals and in her sweet-smelling hair. I share a look with my brother, one Drew doesn’t see. We know each other so well that I can tell he realizes I am not pleased he made me look bad here. I should have given her that.
Justin is smiling between us, an unspoken ‘Jason, you’re such a dumb-shit’ look all over his face. Behind that there�
��s also a ‘Jake, you’re not telling us everything…but we know’ smirk.
I put my hand on Drew’s back to guide her. “Let’s keep walking. It’s about to come down hard.”
She says, under her breath. “I hope there’s gonna be lightnin’.”
Justin asks, “Hey Drew, what do you do for a living?” as the four of us head under the protection of an overpass. Before she has a chance to give them more kindling to blast me with, Justin’s phone goes off. “It’s Dad,” he tells us, walking off to the side, rain pounding in the background. Jason joins him. The maneuver isn’t subtle.
Drew is staring at the rain with a strange look on her face. “What are you thinking about?”
Quiet enough that they can’t hear, and with the rain helping that, she tells me, “I saw you didn’t want to tell them where I work.”
“They’re just fucking with me. It’s what brothers do. I didn’t want to deal with it.”
She nods. “It isn’t because I fucked you to get the job?” A sneaky smile lights her eyes up.
A guffaw breaks free from my lungs. “Drew, sometimes you’re as delicate as that flower, and other times, watch out!”
Jason and Justin look over, curious and amused. She’s grinning at my reaction and she reaches over and removes a small leaf from my shirt, then whispers, “You bring it out in me, Jake.”
My cock twitches. Suddenly I wish I hadn’t asked them to come with. This tunnel in the rainstorm would be a great place for a kiss.
Returning to us, Justin’s voice cuts in. “Dad, tell Mom we’re bringing a guest to the BBQ.”
My eyes flash over.
He’s grinning like the Devil after signing a pact with a virgin, “Yeah, it’s Jake’s new roommate. Uncle Don just hired her.” Now how the fuck did he know that? Asshole. He pauses as the tunnel lights up and explodes with a thunderclap. “We’re at the Botanical Gardens with her now. Nice girl. Alright, Dad. We’ll see you Sunday night. Bye.” Justin slides the phone into his pocket. “Well, look at what I did.”
Jason changes his hat so the bill is in the front, then he dips his head to hide a grin behind it.
Drew is staring at them, clearly feeling like a pawn in a game.
Having someone to a family event will be a first for me. He knows this. He’s fucking with me because he’s being a dick and wants to get a rise out of me. I’ve never brought anyone to one of these things. This one is even more intimate because it’s a send-off goodbye for me and my family. Ignoring the twins, and stuck between a rock and a stone, I force a smile. “You’re going to love my Mom’s fresh ginger ale.”
Her expression says she knows I’m not happy about this.
We all look over as the rain does the thing it’s famous for in the South – leaves as quickly as it came. Quarter-sized raindrops are replaced with dimes and then drizzle. We’re all used to it, so no one mentions it. Justin and Jason head out.
Drew hangs back and grabs my wrist as I go to follow. “Jake, I’m not goin’ to the BBQ.”
“You have plans?”
“No, I just don’t want to go.”
I frown, surprised. Since when does a girl you had sex with turn down meeting your family? Especially when you’re a fucking Cocker.
“Why not? Not many people get invited. It’s kind of a big deal.”
Off my defensiveness, she smiles a little and shakes her head. “Jake, that’s not why I’m not goin’. It’s just, you’re about to leave. For who knows how long. This’ll be the last chance to spend time with your family. You don’t need an outsider there. The focus will be on me, and it should be on you. With everyone comfortable.”
I’m stunned. I stare at her in silence. For years my brothers and I have been deflecting girls and their Mommas who try to snake into our tight knit group. Most do it for the wrong reasons, and so we’re careful. Our family comes from money. Our dad is a Congressman. We’re not bad looking, on top of all that.
And here Drew is looking out for MY best interests.
“Huh,” I mutter.
“Let’s go.” She walks away, glancing over her shoulder to see if I’m coming. “Come on.”
I follow her out and walk in silence beside her, processing this. Finally I mumble, “You’re a good person.”
She cuts a quick look to me. “You too.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Just take a fuckin’ compliment.”
I burst out laughing. “Cuss words coming out of your mouth always surprise me.”
“I’m not a priss,” she objects.
Remembering my face in her sweet, wet little cunt, I smirk to myself. “Oh, I know.”
When we catch up to my brothers, Jason announces plans to go Whiskey Mistress, a bar in Buckhead where he’s hot for one of the bartenders. The invitation is clearly for everyone present, but Drew declines and gives me a look meant for only me to understand. We drive her home then head north. I’m surprised they leave the subject of my roommate alone for most of the night. But after more than a few samplings of the many high-end bourbons on the back wall, Justin nearly shouts, “So, have you fucked her yet?”
Bourbon goes everywhere. My brothers lose it. The bartender of Jason’s current focus strolls over to clean up with damp towel. “Did you have to spit all over my new cardboard coasters?”
“Sorry, Jenny.” I wipe my moist lips with the back of my hand. “Justin’s got the delicacy of a rhino.”
Justin announces, “From the spit-take, I’d say that’s a YES.”
“No. It’s a no. I haven’t touched her.”
Honestly surprised, Jason takes over and demands, “What? Why not!?”
I’m a good liar.
Justin says, too loudly, “If it were me I’d be hitting that every night and not coming up for air until she begged me for sleep.”
I glare at him. “Stop thinking about that.”
“You can’t control what I think, Jake. What? I can’t think about fucking your roommate?” He leans in, daring me to punch him.
“NO, you fucking can’t,” I growl, leaning toward him. “So just get it out of your head!”
He holds my look and for a second I think it’s on. But then he smacks my shoulder in a friendly way and leans back, grinning over to his twin. “See, Jason? I told you! He likes her. God, you’re so easy to play, Jake, you know that?”
I glare at him. “Fuck you.” I glance to Jenny as she sets down a new drink for me. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Try to drink that one, ‘kay?” She smiles from me to Jason where she pauses a long moment, then leaves to help other customers.
Still irritated, I rake my eyes over the Atlanta skyline that’s glittering in the background, just over the patio. It’s a nice night, but it’s packed out there. We prefer sitting at the bar. Especially when Jason is banging the girl behind it.
“You like her, Jake,” Jason says, appearing serious, but who the fuck knows, right? “Why aren’t you doing anything about it?”
“I’m not falling into this trap again. You’re not going to get a rise out of me again tonight, so let’s just change the subject.”
“I’m really asking, Jake.”
I exhale and stare at him before I shrug, “She wants different things. And she’s eight years older.”
“Hot,” Justin mutters. “Why do you have a problem with that? Younger girls can be a pain in the ass.”
I huff, “The age difference doesn’t bother me, Justin, but it bothers her.”
He informs me, “Tell her Susan Sarandon was eight years older than Tim Robbins.”
“Didn’t last,” Jason reminds him.
“It lasted like fifteen years,” I say.
“Twenty, I think,” Justin says, then thinks about it. “Something like that. Then she dated some guy thirty years younger than her.”
“Total fucking douche,” Jason mutters.
“And Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell!” Justin says, poking my chest. “Tell her about them. She’
s eight years older. They’re still together.”
“Tina Turner and that guy…can’t remember his name,” Jason says, thinking. “Sixteen years older. And they look happy.”
Justin leans in again, this time as serious as his brother. “The list goes on and on. I’m just saying, you like her. She’s a sweetheart. It doesn’t have to be forever. Show her some things. I guarantee she’ll thank you for it.”
Jason mutters, “Jesus, you’re an asshole.”
“What?” Justin asks him. “That girl blushes. She fucking blushes. She hasn’t seen her way around the right bed. Is she a virgin or what the hell?”
“Married,” I mutter. “One guy.”
“And she’s thirty-one?”
“You don’t know how old I am? Or did you forget how to count?”
“Whatever. Thirty-three. Only one guy her whole life. This is what I’m saying, she needs to learn what it’s all about.”
Jason starts laughing. Jason and I look at him and say at the same time, “What?”
“If that’s what she needs, she’s rented the right room.” He downs his whiskey and sets the empty glass down. Before calling Jenny over, he says to me, “If you don’t do it, I’m sure Justin will. Hey, beautiful! Can I have another?”
“You got it, handsome,” Jenny calls back.
With my eyes locked on Justin’s, I tell him firmly, “Don’t even think about it, Jus. I’m not kidding.”
He chuckles. “Better make a move, Jake. Just sayin’.”
“You better be fucking with me right now.”
“I probably am.”
“Probably?”
“Yep.”
I glare at him. Jenny interrupts just in time to see me jump off my barstool so fast it falls over. “I’m outta here. Jenny, Justin’s buying.”
Jason calls after me, “You’re not driving like this!”
“I’m takin’ an Uber,” I shout, pushing everyone out of my way.
DREW
I didn’t even realize I fell asleep until I’m awoken by the sound of the front door. I groggily pick up my phone for the time. Two twenty-two. I can hear him walking and from the sound of it, he and the twins had more than a few. Did he drive home? Is he walking toward my room?
Cocky Roomie: A Bad Boy Romance Novel (Cocker Brothers of Atlanta Book 1) Page 8