My fists curl up by my sides, itching to collide with Shane’s nose. If he weren’t my boy he’d have already caught these hands. And did he say she invited him? That means they exchanged numbers that day he picked her up from the airport.

Don’t kill him. Don’t kill him. Don’t kill him. I mumble the mantra to myself a few more times.

“I can see the wheels turning in your head, man. I gave her my number just in case she needed anything while she was here.” He pauses. “And I do mean anything.” As if he knows it’s coming, he dodges my fist as soon as I swing. “I’m just joking, man! Kind of. But really, today’s the first day I’ve heard from her since I picked her up from the airport. She thought it’d be cool to have a ‘family’ dinner.”

In other words, she wanted a buffer between us for tonight. Clever girl. It won’t work, though, because I don’t give a fuck if Shane’s there or not. I would bend her ass over the kitchen table and let Shane watch, that’s how badly I want her, so she can fuck around and find out if she wants to.

I motion for him to follow me to the door. I push the door open, and he steps up to head inside when my arm flies out to block his path. “Let’s get one thing clear. You keep your hands to yourself, your feet to yourself, your eyes to yourself. Hell, you even keep your laugh to yourself. Just keep your overall white-boy charm to a minimum. You got me?” Shane and his blue-ish eyes, perfectly coiffed hair, and sharp jawline can focus his efforts elsewhere.

“Oh, you are so fucked,” he whispers as he ducks his tall, lanky ass under my arm and inside the house.

Don’t I know it?

“Shane, hi!” Olivia shouts when she sees him. She reaches her arms up to wrap around his neck for a hug, and he lifts her off the ground for a split second. I’m convinced he has a death wish.

“Thanks for the invite, baby girl.” This motherfucker.

She laughs and explains to me that she thought it would be nice for me to have a friend over as a token of her appreciation for staying with her during her recovery. She’s so cute when she lies. I call bullshit with my smirk, and she returns the smirk tenfold before shrugging and going back into the kitchen.