“Come on. Everybody grab a bag.”
I should have known something was up from that cheery ass tone. But then I got to the back of the truck as Rico pulled open the door and cast her a sideways glance.
“Damn, Harley. How much did you buy?”
She ducked her head, hiding a sheepish smile. “I was supporting local businesses.”
Rico kissed his teeth, and Christian came around the back, licking up the sides of his ice cream cone before it melted.
We all used our free hands to grab a bag and followed Harlow up the stairs to the front door.
This was my family. My whole heart in three different forms.
I didn’t know what I did to deserve this summer with them all in one place, but I wasn’t doing anything to fuck it up.
JULY
Soul Ties
Wednesday, July 1, 2025
“Harley.”
Soul’s soft-spoken tenor broke me out of the flow state I’d been in.
I looked away from my laptop screen, my eyes fighting to adjust to the absence of the sun and the combination of moonlight and candlelight bathing the patio.
How long had I been working that I didn’t notice it’d gotten dark? And who lit the candle?
Soul came to a stop beside me, his left hand covered in an oven mitt as he held out a sheet pan for my inspection.
“Hey, lover,” I greeted with a smile. I didn’t know he was here. Before I came outside to work on polishing the last of my Juneteenth posts, Rico had been the only other person home.
Soul’s cheeks climbed in answer to his pet name before he bit down on his lip and lifted a skeptical brow.
“Be honest, do these look done?”
Closing my laptop, I uncrossed my legs and craned my neck, peering up at the pan.
There were five very distinct blobs laid out, but if someone held a gun to my head and asked me what they were, I’d be out of here.
“What are these supposed to be?” I asked carefully.
With that, Soul groaned, pitching the contents over the patio railing. They fell to the sand with a distinctplop.
“Soul.” I couldn’t contain my giggle. “That was dramatic. I just wanted to know what it was.”
His frown looked out of place when he let out a heavy breath and sat down beside me on the lounger. It was just wide enough for both of us.
When his thigh brushed mine, I glanced down at where our skin collided and smirked at the running shorts he had on. The inseam couldn’t have been longer than four inches and his quads were eating them up. And honestly, if I had it my way,allmen’s shorts would be this tiny.
Soul was slimmer than Rico and Christian, but he was still athletic. And so fucking fine it made me panic sometimes. I understood why Rico couldn’t keep his hands off him.
I didn’t have favorites when it came to the three of them, but I wouldn’t say no to watching Soul’s sculpted frame all day, every day.
And I didn’t care if I sounded thirsty because I’d been home for eighteen days and this man still hadn’t been inside of me.
My tongue wet my bottom lip as I set my computer aside and eyed his now empty pan. “Are you going to tell me what those were?”
