Shannon > Recent Status Updates

Remi gave up on the pretense of eating and crossed her arms over her chest. “Uncle Brick hurt my feelings a long time ago and never apologized, and so much time has gone by that there isn’t an apology big enough for me to not be mad at him anymore.” Brick stiffened. This was fucking news to him. “What if he got you flowers?” Ian asked.

She broke out into an honest to goodness smile for the first time in what felt like forever. It was good to be home.

Eventually, she’d be under the same roof as me, and this would be easier and not as…illegal. Although was it illegal if I had a key?

I had spent Sunday morning… at Oliver’s house, trying to seek some sense of what the fuck I was doing in this situation I’d found myself in, only for him to tell me that I was a moron. I’d told her she could set the pace, brought her back to my place, told her she was the first woman ever to do so, and then basically confessed my love to her… So basically, Oliver was correct, and I was indeed a moron.

He winked at me, and that was the moment I realized I was in deep shit with this man, and I hadn’t even seen him naked yet.

She got up. “I’m gonna go home and fight your dad for the last of the Chubby Hubby.” “Text me when you get home.” “My sweet boy.” Her smile was soft, and then it sharpened. “You’re going to feel like shit tomorrow, and you’ll deserve it, but remember I love you.”

She leveled a dangerous look at me. Invisible fire blazed out of her eyes in my direction. In that moment, I knew two things for sure. 1. I was in danger. 2. I was absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt in love with Zoey… Of all the women in the world, it had to be this one… The one who made me go skinny-dipping in the freezing cold. The one who knocked me off a roof with just one glance.

Feeling like I’d been given a sneak peek into the life of an organized person, I gleefully crossed off two more items on my list. No wonder some people liked the whole “being part of a team.” With the right team, the right motivation, shit got done.

I skirted around her, hand skimming her lower back as I reached into a cabinet for another dish. I liked having her here in my space. While I usually enjoyed the quiet of my house, having a bit of her color and chaos was a nice change of pace.

“Ride me like a good girl. Harder.” I followed his cues and let biology take over. I slammed down on him over and over again, each time getting that magnetic nudge deep inside me. “It’s too much,” I whispered. “Finish what you start,” he said, cupping the back of my neck and holding me to him.

“Well, kiddo, he came straight to you after one hell of a rough day. If that doesn’t make you family, I don’t know what does,” she said. “Now get your asses in the car.” “Yes, ma’am,” I whispered meekly. “Can I at least change my⁠—” “No.”

“Don’t think this is getting you out of a serious conversation,” Mom called after me. I was absolutely going to run out of the courtroom and hide from my mother for the foreseeable future.

“Speaking of Gage,” she continued, cupping her face in her hands and batting her eyelashes at me. “We weren’t,” I pointed out. “But we are now,” she said cheerfully. “Unfortunately, we need to table this part of the discussion until later, because you have an interview,” I said… “But I don’t wanna talk to real people. I wanna hang out with the fictional ones in my head.” “Tough shit.”

He put his drink down and leveled me with a look. “Who told you you’re too hard to love?” I laughed. “Well, my parents for starters. When your own parents find it too difficult to love you, you know you’re the problem.” It was strange to think that now there was a reason, a label for what had been wrong all these years. “The more I hear about your parents, the less I like them,” he said.

“Stop wasting your time berating yourself for not doing things you can’t do. You know how many things I can’t do? Do you see me having a self-worth crisis because I can’t change the oil in my car or make a damn pie crust from scratch? No. Because I’m fucking great at a bunch of other things, and that’s where I’m going to spend my time and energy.”

“Sweetheart, just because I’m the good guy when my clothes are on doesn’t mean I go to bed that way.” “If you want sex, say the word, I’m willing to risk your heartbreak to find out how good you are in bed.” I let my hand coast over her ribs until it fit under one full breast. “I want more than sex. A lot more.” She looked smug and relaxed, but her heart hammered “That’s a shame,” she said

His eyes were fixed on me that deep forest green holding me immobile as he took another half step forward into my space. We were standing too close for it to be innocent, I fantasized about what would happen if those last few inches disappeared. “Zo” he said on a gravelly rasp. “Yeah?” I squeaked. I cleared my throat. “I mean, yeah?” I said in a lower octave. “You sure you’re not the one?” he asked.

How goes the wife hunt?” she asked… “I’ve been too busy making sure my new tenant doesn’t get crushed by her bookcase to do much hunting.” “Better get on that. Those sperm aren’t getting any younger,” she teased. Sperm wasn’t exactly a sexy word, but hearing it come out of Zoey’s mouth while we were lying on a bed together was too close to the line. I was playing with fucking fire here.

She let go of my hand and ran a victory lap through the entire apartment before throwing herself at me and wrapping me in a one-sided, violent hug. “Thank you thank you thank you, Gage!” She released me and danced off to inspect the kitchen. “What the fuck have I done,” I whispered to myself.

“You know your sons are going to that bonfire tonight,” Levi said the second the boys were out of earshot. “You know your niece was making out with a boy, right?” Laura shot back. All three uncles looked pained. “I liked it better when they were over five and under ten,” Gage complained. “Back when they thought we were cool,” Cam said wistfully.

Levi nodded sagely, then took another bite of his sandwich. “Good talk,” I said. He grunted.

I sidestep all my worries. Leaning on a skill that I’ve honed quite well over the past couple years: avoiding my problems by engaging in extreme productivity.

“Jules.” His head tips back against the wall, hands pulling me closer. He looks like a fucking Greek god above me, sculpted by a master. I could stare at him all day long. Lounge in his arms. Listen to him breathe. Unfortunately for me, we currently have about seven minutes.

I realize that everything I thought I knew is about to change. And certain. Because despite all my wallowing and spiraling, my feet have instinctively led me back here. To her building. Because in spite of the way the entire world seems to be burning around us, I refuse to leave her with any doubts about how I feel.

Fuck. I hate living in my brain right now. The expression on her face is half surprise, half satisfaction. Like she knows I’m losing my goddamn mind. Like she can see straight through me. So I cave.

It feels an awful lot like goodbye. Like closing the door on something that never got a chance to properly start. I should be relieved, but I drive home with tears in my eyes, gutted over how a man as deeply good as Emmett could ever believe that moving on from this—from him—will be that easy to do.

Overall, Julia Silva has me acting like a feral dog, and I’m at a loss for how to get myself back under control. I never wanted this—I specifically never wanted to feel like this. But I do. And it stresses me the fuck out.

I sigh and stare at my brother before ignoring the seat he’s pulled out for me and walking over to Winter. She stands and we hug. And like always, it’s not a big, boisterous hug. But it’s tight, firm. There’s something heartfelt in the way Winter hugs. It’s like she’s never gotten enough of them, so she soaks each one up with more intentionality than most people.

Guilt racks me because I should have said something. She poured her heart out to me, and I took the easy way out. Letting the moment slip through my fingers like the finest grains of sand. And for once it wasn’t because a woman was telling me things I didn’t want to hear. It was exactly what I wanted to hear. And that terrifies me.

Julia smiles at the waitress, and I tilt my head at her. That dress is criminal, but the way she piled her curls on her head to show off the curve of her neck is a fucking felony.