“Well…you are. And you probably will. But that’s nothing new. Ashtyn knew all that before she fucked you again.”
“That I’m afuckboy.”
“Where’s the lie?” Axel laughed.
I propped my feet on the coffee table and rested my head back on the leather cushion. “It’s getting to be too much.”
“To prove Bronx and Ashtyn wrong, you’re going to…self-sabotage and hurt her?”
“I haven’t thought it through. I’m just pissed. I want to go back to fucking girls who didn’t expect anything out of me other than a night.”
“Want me to call some? Ask them over?” Axel asked as he reached for his phone, calling my bluff.
“No! I don’t,” I said as I swatted the phone away from him.
“I bet there’s someone I can call that would make your dick happy. She’s working right now but I hear she gets off around midnight. Probably a few times after that too,” he smirked.
I puffed on the joint and closed my eyes, not wanting to think about any of it. “I’m crashing here tonight. I gotta meet my piece of shit mother in the morning so I’ll be out of here early.”
“Let me know if you change your mind about calling princess,” Axel smiled as he replaced the headset and went back to his game.
“I’ll order some pizza,” I said to myself. I hadn’t eaten since lunch and it was nearing seven o’clock. As I was scrolling through the delivery app choosing my toppings, someone knocked on the door. Bronx pushed through, carrying a basket and a smile on his face.
"How did you find me?"
"Like it's difficult to find you, brother? If you're not at the gym, then you're here. You already went to the gym so..."
"What'd you bring?" Axel asked as he chucked his headset again and turned off the console, the delicious scent of food gaining his attention.
"I've got a lasagna and tiramisu for dessert. Ashtyn made us dinner before she went to work." Bronx pulled all the food from the basket onto the counter and pulled out plates and silverware for us.
Fuck, it all looked amazing, and for us Italians, food was the way to our hearts. Only if the food was good though.
"Damn, your girl can cook too?" Axel asked as he shoveled a heap of lasagna into his mouth. "It's fucking good."
I took a bite and held back a moan. Itwasgood. "Not bad. It isn't Nonna's, but it's okay."
"Pffft, you're just mad at yourbella," Axel said between mouthfuls. I glared at him as he continued to eat.
"Why are you mad at Ash?"
I didn't want to go into the whole story about how I eavesdropped on their conversation earlier. I just wanted to enjoy mylasagnein peace.
"I'm not mad."
"He's mad," Axel said. "He overheard you guys talking shit about him earlier. Now he's pissed because you spit some facts and he didn't like it."
I got a bottle of water from the refrigerator and took a long swig, chucking the cap at Axel's head.
"Fuck, we didn't mean anything by that West. I just wanted to see where her head was at with your...whatever it is you have going. I worry about her.”
"I don't appreciate you putting yourself in the middle of our arrangement. You're making shit awkward. Making her overthink it. She does enough of that with everything else. Shit's all fucked up now. I can feel it." I went back to my dinner and it surprised me how good it was. No one's lasagna came close to my Nonna's–except this.
"If it's fucked up, it's because of you. You're the one who was acting short with me earlier. I thought it was because of Mom."
"That's part of it," I muttered.
"I just don't want you to blow this."