Page 105 of The Cruelest Kind of Hate
Cali’s eyebrows go skywards, digging little furrows in her forehead. “You’re not going to say something like”—she lowers her voice, which I’m assuming is supposed to be a hilariously inaccurate imitation of me—“why would you do that if we might break up one day?”
“First off, I’m flattered you think my voice is that deep. And second off, that’s never going to happen.”
I can tell her thoughts are going absolutely batshit in her head, so I cut through that tumultuous sea like the propeller of a boat chopping through waves. “Get out of your head, baby,” I coax, brushing the back of my hand over her cheek.
She grabs my hand, the tremor in her fingers matching the one in her voice. “How do you know that?”
“Because I just know these things,” I assure her, winking. “When things are meant to be, they always work out. And we’re meant to be, Spitfire. There’s no doubt in my mind about that.”
She opens her mouth, but I shut down her rebuttal with another kiss, swallowing those little buds of self-doubt before they’re given the chance to sow their seeds. While I lose myself in the swipe of her tongue and the mintiness of her breath, I fish for my keys and blindly unlock the front door—my movements accelerating the moment Cali’s hips press into my now-awake cock.
When the partition finally clicks open, I’m expecting a dark and uninhabited house, but I’m greeted with the exact oppositewhen there’s a flashbang of light and a synchrony of excited voices.
“Welcome home!” they all shout, causing my stomach to freefall to my ass and sweat to break out in places people shouldn’t sweat.
I scream at a decibel level that only dogs can hear, veryofficiallylosing my manliness card—though if you ask Cali, she’ll tell you I never had it.
I did. I did have it.
I grab the ever-living life out of Cali to shield her from whatever masked intruder’s been waiting for us to get home, but once my vision adjusts, the only “intruders” we see are the guys.
There’s a large banner hanging from the second-story railing that says, CONGRATULATIONS ON NOT DYING, and balloons occupy the ground, poorly taped streamers sagging from the ceiling. Fulton, as always, misses his mark with a confetti popper, and there’s a sad little noise that fires into the ensuing silence.
Once I’m certain my heart won’t make the same sputtering sound, I turn to Cali. “Did you know about this?”
A hint of devilry in her eyes. “Maaaybeee.”
Fulton drops the cheap cylinder and comes careering into me, nearly knocking me back into the wall as his arms squeeze the last of the breath from my overworked lungs. “I’m so glad you’re alive. I thought you were going to die,” he cries into my shoulder as I pat his back.
“This has happened like two times before. And I’ve survived every single time.”
“Yeah, but your bones are so brittle now after your hip!” he exclaims way too loudly.
There are some sniggers from the guys, and I stare them down with dead, mirthless eyes, negating their laughter. Dicks. All of them.
“I didn’t want to lose my best friend,” Fulton whispers, and my brief dance with irritation is replaced with a love so strong that it could topple cities—a love that’s been amplified by Cali. A love that I can now share with the rest of my team. A love that strengthens this family bond even more.
“You’re never gonna lose me, Ful.”
I feel a tiny set of arms attack my leg, and I look down to find Teague attached to me like Velcro, his cheek squished against my thigh. “I missed you so much, Gage!”
Fulton lets me go so I can pick the little guy up and properly embrace him, my heart pounding out a stampede in my chest that can probably be heard over the residing sniffles. “I missed you too, Little Man.”
“You didn’t leave us,” Teague sobs, the pain in his tone leaden like the weight of a hundred sandbags, and it kills me to think that he’s been carrying the burden of all these suppressed emotions on his fragile shoulders.
I’m never going to let him carry that kind of pain ever again.
“I’d never leave you guys,” I coo, rubbing circles and easing the tension between his shoulder blades. “Never.”
After Teague snotifies my shirt and refuses to let go for a full five minutes, he eventually peels himself off me so I can hug the rest of the guys, exchanging murmurs of gratitude with them for staying by my side and planning something so unnecessary, yet so heartening at the same time. I missed being home. Yeah, I was only gone for a few days, but mysterious hospital Jello-O and old reruns could never compete with the camaraderie that’s been home-grown in these walls for the two years I’ve been with this team.
After doling out hugs and thank-you’s, I bring Cali into the side of my body, loving how she fits perfectly like the last missing piece to my puzzle.
And dare I say it, mytearsare acting up again. “Thank you, guys. Again. For doing all of this and being here for me.”
“There’s nowhere else we’d rather be,” Hayes says.
“We haven’t even gotten to the best part yet!” Kit squeals—yes,squeals—and drags me over to the couch, making me plop my ass down as the rest of the guys join me. There’s a sudden burst of light illuminating the vacant space in front of us like that of a high-powered spotlight, and it takes me a second to notice that the coffee table’s been moved to the side.
