“He wasn’t wrong really. I did sleep around,” she whispered.
“So did I,” I said, brushing hair from her face as an excuse to touch her. “What’s your point?”
Bailey smiled. “We’re different now.”
When I shared her smile, the rage faded until it was merely a lump in my gut. I leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“No one talks to you like that, Bailey. I don’t care what you did, you deserve better.”
“Okay. If things got out of hand with him, I planned to pull my gun.”
“And do what you did to that lamp.”
Bailey laughed and the worry left her eyes. She was so beautiful when happy. I hated how the fucker knew her like I didn’t. Even if I still had trouble keeping my walls down around her, I needed Bailey to be mine.
“After we’re done here,” I said softly, “let’s go back to my place and hang out.”
When Bailey’s face lit up, I nearly threw her over my shoulder and ran to my apartment.
“Yes.”
For a moment, I couldn’t think. I only stared into her eyes while she returned my gaze. My feelings were too intense and I knew I’d ruin what I was trying to create with Bailey. Standing there, I wasn’t Dragon, just trailer trash Nick.
Kissing her quickly, I stepped back and the hypnotic moment passed. Likely sensing the distance between us, Bailey shrunk before my eyes. Insecure now, she glanced around like she didn’t know what to do with herself.
I’ve only bowled once,” I said, taking her hand and walking towards the others. “I’ll need you to instruct me on how far to stick out my ass when I roll the ball.”
Bailey grinned, but her eyes remained wary. Tucker shared the same look when I arrived. Cooper was too busy feeling up Farah’s stomach as she sat on his lap while Vaughn and Raven were already bowling.
“Hey, Nick,” Tawny said, breaking the ice. “Got roped into the crew crap, huh?”
I grinned. “Are you kidding? I love bowling. Why wait until I’m sixty to get one of those shirts?”
Vaughn glared back at a laughing Tawny then returned to rolling strikes.
“Tawny, I have to pee,” Bailey announced. “Come hold my hair.”
“Can I come?” Farah asked with Maddy looking interested in joining too.”
“Very subtle,” Judd said, changing seats so he could mock Vaughn easier.
Tawny kissed his cheek then followed Bailey. “Hey, Raven, are you coming?”
“No, can’t stop playing. Our first born child’s name depends on the outcome of this game.”
Watching Bailey disappear with the girls, I became very aware I’d been ditched with the Johansson brothers. I turned to get my bowling shoes and walked as slowly as possible. Didn’t matter though. I still returned to find the men watching me. They even had a new one to glare at me.
“Hey, Dylan,” I said, holding my orange ball. “You got rid of the Mohawk.”
Lark and Raven’s stepbrother ran his hand over his bald head and sighed. “Yeah, I’d been thinking about going the business man route for a while. Kept going back and forth about cutting it. A few weeks ago, I got drunk at Lark’s place. The sisters were nice enough to shave my head while I was passed out.”
Nearby, Raven laughed so hard she had trouble distracting Vaughn who was still trying to win the game. Dylan glared at her then shrugged.
“Gonna let it grow out and play the average Joe shit.”
“Good luck with that,” I said, glancing at the bathroom and hoping Bailey would appear.
When she didn’t, I walked to an open lane and rolled the ball. It took out a single pin which was one more than I expected. A lane away Raven struggled to win against Vaughn. She bent over one direction. When her ass didn’t do it, she bent forward and adjusted her tits. A distracted Vaughn missed his strike with a single pin remaining.
Before I could hear him complain and her celebrate, Cooper and Tucker appeared next to me.
“I liked the way you handled that fucker,” Tucker said, arms crossed tightly. “You always know how to deal with these losers while looking like a Boy Scout. A good skill to have.”
Ignoring them, I rolled the second ball and managed to take out three pins. A new record for me.
“What’s with the silent shit?” Tucker asked.
Sighing, I looked at them and frowned. “I want to be with Bailey. We just started dating, but here I am jumping through hoops for you two. You do this shit with every guy?”
“Most are losers,” Cooper said. “Most never do the second date thing. They bang then hang. If they’re lucky, she never mentions it to us and we don’t kick anyone’s ass. You’re the first boyfriend type she’s had.”
“Our family needs good people,” added Tucker.
Cooper shifted his stance and shook his head at his brother. “He doesn’t want that life. Nick wants to be a teacher.”
“Why?”