“Dom, either you packed on twenty pounds overnight or your clothes seriously shrank in the wash, man.” Mac grinned as he looked at Dominic’s too tight shirt.
Gage, always one to volunteer too much information—except for his relationship with Shannon—stuck his head between the seats of Mac’s Tahoe, saying, “He got wasted last night and passed out at my place. We didn’t have time for him to go home and change this morning.”
Mac shook his head as if not believing what he heard. “You got drunk? And on a school night? That’s not like you. What’s up?”
“Well, Gwen is . . .” Gage began until Dominic put his hand up in the other man’s face.
“Mind if I talk here, Chatty Cathy?” When Gage waved a hand for him to go ahead, Dominic pinched the bridge of his nose before saying, “Gwen’s pregnant.”
Mac darted a look his way before pulling out into the Myrtle Beach traffic. “But I thought you said that she wasn’t. Didn’t you tell me that?”
“He did, but then shit got real yesterday outside his apartment and he had a bomb dropped on him,” Gage piped in again.
Dominic’s head was killing him and his body felt like a bus had hit him. He was ready to kill someone, and Gage was setting himself up to be a perfect target with his loose lips. “Shit got real all right, when I saw your boy back there sucking my neighbor’s face.”
Mac’s hands twitched on the steering wheel, causing them all to yell in alarm before he quickly righted the Tahoe. “Gage, what the hell man? You caused this mess? Please tell me you didn’t hit on Gwen!”
As Gage bristled indignantly in the backseat, Dominic continued, “Gage has been involved in a secret little affair with our neighbor, Shannon. As in the single mother, with two kids.”
“Maddy and Megan’s mom?” Mac blinked. “Gage, that’s who you’re in a relationship with? That’s just—well, hell, I don’t even know what to say.”
“Messed up?” Dominic offered. “Can you imagine the shit that will come out of their mouths now with Daddy Gage in the house?”
“Hey listen, you nosy assholes,” Gage snapped, sounding seriously pissed off, “that’s my girl and her kids you’re talking about.”
“Actually, we’re talking about you and not them,” Mac pointed out. “Come on, brother, we all sprout the F-word like it’s our national anthem. Plus you’ve screwed your way through most of the women in South Carolina and more than your fair share overseas. How are you managing to keep your mouth PG-rated and your dick in your pants?”
“It’s not as if I’m incapable of being faithful to someone,” Gage defended. “I’ve just never found anyone who I wanted to be with—like that. But Shannon, she’s different. She makes me want to be better. She . . .”
Dominic opened his mouth and pretended to gag. “I swear to God, if you say she completes you, I’ll have Mac pull over and throw you out of the car.”
“Just because your life is a mess, big papa, don’t take it out on me. Shannon and I have it together more than you and Gwen do right now.”
“Our boy appears to have a small point there, Dom,” Mac threw in. “You’re one of the calmest fuckers I’ve ever known. You stood behind me in Afghanistan more times than I can count with an M4 assault rifle in your hand, and I never thought twice about it. You’re complete ice under pressure—usually. Since you’ve been seeing Gwen, you’ve been all over the place. I mean, case in point, you’re wearing Gage’s clothes, which he probably went commando in without washing because you pulled a drunk. I’ve seen you drink a whole bottle of tequila and still be able to walk a straight line so I can’t imagine what put you down that hard.”
“Don’t forget the part about lying in piss—that was freaking disgusting,” Gage added.
Mac shuddered. “I don’t even want to know the details. I’m just saying that I’m a little worried about you. I thought you were crazy when you started spouting words of love so soon, but I believe it now. Only something that life altering would have you so far off your usual mark. I have no idea what’s going on with Gwen and the pregnant or not pregnant thing, but you need to straighten it out. I told you in the beginning that she’s a good woman, and I don’t believe for a minute that she’s trying to bullshit you. I do think that you two have some serious miscommunication going on and a part of it is probably your listening to advice from everyone else instead of just figuring the shit out on your own like you normally would.”