Page 11 of Our Broken Pieces
I look out the window, rubbing my hands on my thighs because I can’t look at their faces right now. “So, there’s a woman, Lauren, who I’ve been hooking up with for like two years now.”
The men don’t even look at the server as they sit our cards down and thank us.
“What the fuck?” Linc whispers.
“We’re not a thing. It’s just when we want to hook up, we meet up for a night. We understand each other. We check in on each other. Outside of you guys, she’s one of my closest friends.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Never really came up.”
Linc shakes his head. “This can’t be real.”
Jax studies me. “Could she be wife material?”
I firmly shake my head. “Fuck no. Not in the least bit.”
Linc leans forward. “She’s not an escort, is she?”
I slowly turn to look him in the eye. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
“Sorry. There’s just so many questions I want to ask right now.” Linc sinks down in the booth as he stares at me.
“Well, I’m not going to answer them. I feel like I’ve said more than enough today.”
We stand from the table and walk out the door of the restaurant, stopping on the sidewalk.
“Thanks for talking with us, Marcus. I know it’s uncomfortable, but it might be good to get some of this off your chest. We’re always here for you if you need to vent.” Jax gives me a fist bump.
I brace for impact as I see Linc move in to give me one of his hugs. “Love you, man. Call us if you need anything. Even if you just need someone to sit in silence with.”
He releases me, and I nod. “Thanks. Give Adam and Mills hugs for me.”
Jax cringes. “That reminds me. Audrey wants to do a group dinner next Friday at our place. She misses everyone and wants to get the babies together.”
“Sounds good. Gigi and I will be there, I’m sure.”
“I’ll let Mel know. Love you guys.”
“Bye.”
They both glance back at me as they walk toward the train. I wave before I turn to walk to my truck in the parking garage close by. I hate that I told them about Lauren. Fuck, I hope they don’t tell their women. I pull out my phone and pull up the chat between the three of us and ask them to keep what we talked about between us.
I don’t really care so much if Audrey or Melonie knew about it, but I do care about Gigi finding out.
Chapter Seven
Gigi
Lewis and I make our way toward the group of tables where my team is already gathered for our weekend happy hour. Since the salon closes earlier on weekends, it’s the perfect time for us to unwind together. A small wave of relief washes over me as I realize Lewis didn’t find an excuse to skip out this time.
“Hey, everybody!” I say with a bright smile.
Sabrina’s face lights up immediately. “Gigi!” Her eyes flick over to Lewis, scanning him from head to toe with a mischievous glint. “Is this Lewis?”
Grinning, I squeeze his hand a little tighter. “It is,” I say, glancing up at him proudly.
A few people wave, others call out hello, and Lewis pulls his hand from mine before sitting between Sabrina and Samuel,one of my estheticians. I settle in next to him just as the server approaches. After ordering our drinks, I shift my attention back to the group.
