Jaden (Jaded #3)

“But go back there. It was simple then.” The slight humor was gone. I was remembering back then a bit differently, but Bryce had done what he said. Everything was stripped away. It was just the three of us. Again. Like always. Feeling the threat of tears, I swallowed that emotion and cleared my throat.

“Bryce.” I wiped at my eye. “I thought this was break time. Where’s the break?”

“I know.” His own emotion was there. We all heard it as his voice grew thick. “But I wanted to take us back there when the three of us were strong. No one messed with us. We had each other’s backs. I mean, shit, do you guys remember how many people tried to mess with us? We just cut them off. We didn’t even put up with their drama. That was us. You guys were my family back then.”

“He’s so pale,” I murmured.

“He’ll pull through. He woke up a little while ago.”

“He did?”

“He’s fighting.” Bryce bent and kissed my forehead. “That’s what we do.”

I closed my eyes as the memory ripped through me. Corrigan had been stabbed, and we were in the hospital. It was right after we had killed Marcus. A wave of nostalgia crushed me, and I couldn’t breathe for a moment, my chest was being squeezed closed.

“Why are you saying this stuff, Bryce?”

I looked over at Corrigan. His hand was gripping his cup tightly. His face was an unreadable mask, but I had a feeling he was going through the same torment as I was.

Bryce sighed. It was so soft. “I want to get back there. When I start training again, I’m going to go and do that world, but I’ll miss you guys. Corrigan, you’ll go back to your fraternity and you’ll kick ass. Sheldon, you’ll,” he quieted, seeing my tears. He choked out hoarsely, “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

I ignored the tears and reached for my cup. “What tears? There are no tears.” One dripped off my chin to my hand. I ignored it and raised an eyebrow. “I say we put off the future and just be here tonight. Let’s get rip-roaring drunk, but let’s all promise each other one thing about tonight.”

I held my cup in the middle of the air again. I was calling for one more salute, and then the emotional talk was done. I couldn’t handle any more.

Corrigan and Bryce held theirs up, touching mine. They were waiting. I was going to say something meaningful, deeply profound.

Then I grinned. “Can we all promise that none of us ends up marrying a biker from in here?”

Relieved grins appeared, and they saluted me with their drinks.

“Will do.”

Bryce laughed. “No bikers allowed.”

“And on that note, here are your appetizers, sweetums.” The waitress arrived with a tray. Another girl was with her. After they put all the plates on the table and collected the empty pitcher, we heard from behind us, “Well. Hell. My boys told me some rich pricks were here. They ordered all this booze and food right away. I was coming over to either warn you off or hustle you myself, but damn.”

We turned around and saw a blast from our past. Hoodum stood grinning, shaking his head, as he took us all in. Wearing a black leather jacket and pants that rode low on his hips, Hoodum was grinning from ear to ear.

He’d always been Corrigan’s local criminal friend. He had helped us a couple times; the last time was when he installed my security system. Even though that had only been months ago, there was something different about him.

No.

I got it then as he clasped Corrigan in a hug, then patted Bryce’s shoulder. He even gave me a hug before he pulled up a stool and signaled for a couple of his friends to come over, introducing them to Corrigan and Bryce.

As everyone was shaking hands, I knew this was the right place to be. Hoodum hadn’t changed. We had. Bryce, Corrigan, and I. Somehow, through everything, the three of us had evolved. I had no idea into what, but it felt right. It had gotten us over our slump, whatever it had been, and it was like old times. Bryce, Corrigan, and I were the old trio. We were the same idiots who had been handcuffed together as part of an assignment from our school counselor.

We were that again.

I met Bryce’s gaze, and I nodded, trying to say thank you. He nodded back, and then I shut it off—all the seriousness, the bittersweet memories flooding in, the fear that I’d lose this family again. It was all shut off. As Corrigan and Hoodum started telling us a story, where Corrigan tried stealing one of his cars before he realized it was Hoodum’s, I grabbed my beer and reached for a wing.

I had no idea how it happened, what exactly had happened, but I wasn’t so scared.

We were going to be fine.

I felt it in my gut.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

We were drunk.