Like I always did, I double checked to make sure it was secure, and the alarm was on.
"I'm too tired for bullshit, Ri. If you've got something to say, just fucking say it." He must have been as exhausted as I was. My patience was paper thin.
"It's nothing." He looked away down the street.
"It's not nothing. Come on, spill." I tucked the keys into my pocket and gave him a light shove in the direction of our places.
He staggered half a step before righting himself. "Hey. What the hell, bro?"
"Just some gentle encouragement. What's going on?" A few lights were still on in town, but apart from that it was just him, me and the occasional passing car. "You thinking about Leah's mouth?"
Her sucking him off right beside me was borderline painful. I had just enough self-control to keep myself from losing my load while driving. I wanted to pull over to the side of the road, bend her over and bury myself in her, to the hilt. If I wasn't working at the time, I would have.
"It's hard to forget," Riley said. "She has a talented mouth."
"Better than mine?" I asked. Not insecure, just curious.
"As good," Riley said.
"Then what's the problem?" I asked. "You ready for more?" By the time she left with my sister and her friends, Leah was unsteady on her feet. From the alcohol, not from her arthritis. I was an asshole, but I didn't take advantage of drunk people.
"I'm wondering where she fits," Riley said. "In town, with us."
I stopped him, my hand on his shoulder. "I'm not leaving you for her. This is you, meandher."
"What if she wants more?" His gaze drifted toward where the mountain rose above the town, invisible in the darkness.
"Did she tell you she wants more?" I squeezed his shoulder when he didn't answer straight away.
"She was talking to Josiah Lachance," he said, still not looking at me.
My brow furrowed. Fucking Josiah. That prick lurked around town more than he had a right to. What would it take for him to understand he wasn't welcome?
"Josiah was talking to Leah?" My jaw tightened. I clenched my teeth together, barely containing the urge to punch a wall. Breaking my hand wouldn't help anything.
"Yeah, outside the grocery store." Riley nodded in roughly that direction. "I saw her follow him out."
"Fuck." I exhaled hard out of my nose and forced my teeth apart. "What were they talking about?"
"I didn't hear." He turned his face toward me. "She said something and he got into his truck and left. I reminded her she belonged to us and she…"
"She what?" I pressed.
"She said we don't own her and if she wanted to be interested in him, or someone else, she would."
I'd be first in line to punch Josiah. From the look on his face, Riley would be right behind me.
"She's stubborn," I managed to say, pushing my anger down into a smaller ball.
"What if she does want him?" Riley asked. "Or some other guy?"
"I'm not giving her up," I said slowly.
"She might decide to return to the city," Riley said.
"Did she say that?" I stared at him.
That didn't make any sense. If she had, he should have told me sooner. What would I have done? Confronted her, definitely. Beyond that…
