I look at him. Billy has scruff on his strong jaw, and his hair is going every which way like he couldn’t be bothered this morning to finger-comb it. “How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?”
“It’s my special power.” The corner of his lip tugs up as he stares down at me. “Sorry I almost impaled you with my boner this morning.”
That laugh finally escapes. “It didn’t bother me.” It made mereallyhorny, but he doesn’t need to know this. “Want to hear a funny story?”
“Always.”
We order our coffee and muffins and settle in at a table in the corner. “So Deke is a year younger than me, and when he was little, he was obsessed with his junk.”
Billy chuckles. “I think all boys are.”
“When he was little, I distinctly remember him yelling out to our dad something along the lines of, ‘My penis is so happy! It’s pointing to the sky!’”
Billy chokes on his coffee as his shoulders shake with laughter. Then he clears his throat. “I’ll have to ask him about this when he joins our team in the summer.”
“You should do that. It’ll keep him humble.”
He takes another sip of his drink. “Have you two talked recently?”
“Not since we discussed why nobody bothered to tell me he was transferring schools. I’m still irritated about the whole thing.”
“I’m sorry, Rox. I know what it feels like to get left out of family shit. It’s not fun.”
I fiddle with my napkin. “I feel like this stuff shouldn’t bother me anymore. Like I’ve aged out of getting butthurt by my family.”
“I don’t think there’s an age limit for that. You feel what you feel.”
A surge of affection wells in my heart for this man. “You’re an idiot for stepping into that mess with my dad yesterday, but I also kind of adore you for it.”
That gets me a full-blown smile. “I can handle adoration. Maybe on your knees if you’re feeling up to it.”
It’s my turn to choke with laughter. “Billy!”
“Kidding.” His eyes crinkle in the corners. “Kinda.”
“What am I going to do with you?”
He lifts that eyebrow playfully. “I have a few ideas, but they all involve nudity.”
“Okay, horndog. Seriously, what are we going to do?” I lower my voice to a whisper. “Everyone thinks you’re my baby daddy!”
After peeling the wrapper off his muffin, he shoves half of it in his mouth. “Let them. I’m not gonna lose sleep over it.”
“So you just want to let people believe it?” I figured he’d reconsider this morning, but nothing about Billy’s devil-may-care attitude suggests he’s backtracking.
“Why not? If it helps you out and you don’t have to deal with pencil dick for a while, I’m cool with it.”
Crazy, crazy man. “I’ll have to tell Ezra eventually.”
“On your timetable, sure. He’s busy with the draft, getting engaged, and probably fucking sorority girls left and right, so I don’t think there’s any rush. And if he decides he wants to be a dad…” Billy shrugs. “Then let him.”
I’m almost afraid to ask, but I want to know. “Was he… was he always a player?”
His eyes go serious. “Yes. And don’t come at me like I didn’t tell you he was bad news.”
“I know you did. I just… I bought his lies. That people were trying to give him a bad rep.”
“I’m sorry he hurt you, biscuit.”
