Page 26 of Lucky Shot
“I’m touched that you’re looking out for him and am going to pretend it’s for wholesome reasons,” I tell him. “Yes. He’s fine. Thanks.”
“It is for wholesome reasons,” he says. “Bro code means no bros.” Max shrugs and turns away. I watch him walk toward the others getting ready to leave, slightly amused and maybe a little confused.
Noah stands next to me, watching him with just as much amusement. “When he showed zero interest in Roux yesterday, I thought you threatened him with dismemberment or something.”
“I haven’t had the chance. But apparently, we have a bro code so… there’s that.”
He laughs and then looks at me. “Roux’s okay?”
“Yeah. He looks all rumpled and slightly confused, but he’s fine,” I say, chuckling.
“Good,” he says with a smile and wanders toward Azure.
I pile a tray of food from the buffet and head back to my room, musing over the guys looking out for Roux. Strange that I feel touched by it.
Roux is out of the shower, dressed in shorts and a shirt with his knees pressed to his chest as he stares out the window at the ocean. I set the tray down on the table and move to sit next to him. He looks at me and then scowls.
“Please tell me you’re wearing more than that,” he says.
I look down. I’ve put on a pair of shorts. They’re short, sure, but they cover my ass cheeks. Although I think the part he’s taking offense to is the way they hug my dick. I smirk. “I’m not afraid of what I have.”
“Ugh,” he says and pointedly turns away.
“Why are you wearing so fucking much? It’s like the pits of hell out there.”
He huffs, but I don’t miss the way his cheeks flush. “I… feel a little inadequate,” he says quietly.
I frown, taking a seat next to him.
“What do you mean? Did someone say something?”
Roux rolls his eyes but doesn’t look at me. “No, Lix. It’s just… you guys are all big and hard and just… built. Then on the island, I swear everyone there is too. And I’m… not. I’m scrawny and soft and… inferior.”
While I’ve never really looked at my brother because, come on, he’s my fucking brother, I don’t think he’s inferior. He is thin, sure. It probably wouldn’t take much to get him some definition if he put in the effort, which I know he won’t. I’m not sure where this insecurity is coming from, though.
“Roux?”
He sighs and looks at me. “Don’t make a big deal of it. I shouldn’t have said something.”
Now that he’s met my eyes, I can see how very sad he looks. “What’s wrong?”
Roux chews the inside of his lip as he looks at me.
“Didsomeone say something?”
“Not here,” he says, shaking his head.
“Ah,” I say and lean back on the couch, pulling him into my side. “Ex still bothering you?”
“No.” He sags a little. “I mean, I haven’t heard from him. But… I guess… I still hear the things he said to me sometimes,” he whispers. “Especially when I can actually see what he meant.”
My grip on him tightens until he hits me. “Ow. Jesus, I’m fine. I don’t need bruises.”
I’ve never wanted to pull someone apart as badly as I do Roux’s ex. I don’t know what went down. Not the full story. I just know that my brother called me hysterical in the middle of the night one night and I flew to the west coast for a few days.
I still don’t know what happened. I’m almost afraid to ask. Maybe Pretty asking me if I was a murderer was foreshadowing. I’d never been so close to killing someone as I was during those days; so it’s a good thing I never saw the man who hurt my brother. It’s an even better thing that I don’t know the details because I’m afraid I’d hunt him down.
“Listen to me, Roux,” I say and kiss the top of his head. “You’re an amazing person. Happy, confident, intelligent, friendly. Kind. And while I might not be the best judge of this because I don’t make a habit of checking you out, I’m told that you look like a younger me and I’m hot. So I know you’re good looking.”
