I’m not choosing for her.”
“ You can’t let her boss you
around, man. She’ll own your balls.”
“ She already owns them. At
this point, we’re just negotiating visitation rights.”
Cooper grinned. “Bailey’s a needy chick. You
get that, right? A lot of people are fucked up from their shitty
childhoods. Bailey’s had an easy life, but acts like people might
take her shit away. She’s always clingy and that’s not something
she’ll grow out of. Therapy won’t fix what’s broken. Hell, I don’t
even know why she was in therapy except she was copying Tawny.”
Wrapping a towel around my neck, I sighed.
“If Bailey wasn’t insecure, what would she need with a guy like
me?”
After glancing around, Cooper whispered,
“There are no guys in my crew that want her. They want an old lady
who knows her place. Bailey wouldn’t know it if we drew her a
fucking map.”
“ She’s a Johansson. I
thought that meant her place was at the front of the
line.”
Cooper laughed. “You’re not bad. Bailey
could do worse,” he said, glancing at the door then back at me.
“And she has. So join us tonight and be part of the crew. It’s
important for Bailey to see you around Farah without drooling over
my woman. It’ll help her confidence.”
“ How is Farah?” I asked and
Cooper’s eyes narrowed.
“ Fuck off.”
Laughing, I loved how a guy like Cooper
could get insecure about a woman already pledged as his. I figured
deluded insecurity ran in the Johansson family.
Chapter Nine ~
Bailey
Like any other big brother,
Cooper was a pain in the ass. I guess I shouldn’t have been
surprised to learn he hounded Nick. Especially not after I whined to him. Technically, I whined to Farah, but they were a package
deal.
I wanted to be a package deal with Nick, but
he wasn’t playing along as quickly as I hoped. Whenever I worried
too much, I remembered how weird Tawny got because of her crappy
childhood. Nick’s past wasn’t clear cut, but I figured he had
reasons to be wary of commitment.
However, Nick didn’t call me to make plans
for bowling. Cooper did and he made it sound like an order. While I
didn’t appreciate my brother threatening my boyfriend, I did like
the idea of showing off my sexy stud.
Before bowling, I decided to hang out with
Raven and Vaughn. When I arrived, they struggled to look relaxed
and not at all like they’d just doinked in a random room.
“ I’m here to brain storm
paint colors,” I announced, walking to the kitchen while Raven
struggled into a bra hanging from the staircase.
Vaughn combed his messy hair with his
fingers. “I want beige.”
“ Beige?” I said, rolling my
eyes. “It’s like you’re not even trying. Why paint at
all?”
Grinning, Vaughn flopped onto the leather
couch they bought the week before.
“ I like what I
like.”
“ You have no taste. Even
bad taste would be a step up.”
Vaughn squinted at me. “How’s it going with
Bacon Boy?”
“ Fantastic. Our love is
epic. Someone should write a book about it, so other people can be
jealous.”
Raven walked past me and joined Vaughn on
the couch. “I remember when our love felt that way.”
“ Are you saying we’ve lost
our spark?” he asked, playing with her ponytail.
“ You did just bang me on
the coffee table.”
“ Yeah and that took the
kind of skill a man doesn’t have in the beginning of a
relationship. Balance like that only comes from a fully committed
man who likes beige.”
Raven grinned. “I want to paint three walls
a nice green with a darker green as an accent wall.”
“ We can call it the booger
room.”
“ We already named the other
rooms. Why not this one?”
Vaughn and Raven proceeded to share one of
those annoying couple moments where they stared at each other and
spoke with their hearts. I was both violently nauseous and
glaringly jealous. They only noticed the latter.
“ Don’t worry,” Vaughn said
softly as if I’d believe his next words were
“ You can’t let her boss you
around, man. She’ll own your balls.”
“ She already owns them. At
this point, we’re just negotiating visitation rights.”
Cooper grinned. “Bailey’s a needy chick. You
get that, right? A lot of people are fucked up from their shitty
childhoods. Bailey’s had an easy life, but acts like people might
take her shit away. She’s always clingy and that’s not something
she’ll grow out of. Therapy won’t fix what’s broken. Hell, I don’t
even know why she was in therapy except she was copying Tawny.”
Wrapping a towel around my neck, I sighed.
“If Bailey wasn’t insecure, what would she need with a guy like
me?”
After glancing around, Cooper whispered,
“There are no guys in my crew that want her. They want an old lady
who knows her place. Bailey wouldn’t know it if we drew her a
fucking map.”
“ She’s a Johansson. I
thought that meant her place was at the front of the
line.”
Cooper laughed. “You’re not bad. Bailey
could do worse,” he said, glancing at the door then back at me.
“And she has. So join us tonight and be part of the crew. It’s
important for Bailey to see you around Farah without drooling over
my woman. It’ll help her confidence.”
“ How is Farah?” I asked and
Cooper’s eyes narrowed.
“ Fuck off.”
Laughing, I loved how a guy like Cooper
could get insecure about a woman already pledged as his. I figured
deluded insecurity ran in the Johansson family.
Chapter Nine ~
Bailey
Like any other big brother,
Cooper was a pain in the ass. I guess I shouldn’t have been
surprised to learn he hounded Nick. Especially not after I whined to him. Technically, I whined to Farah, but they were a package
deal.
I wanted to be a package deal with Nick, but
he wasn’t playing along as quickly as I hoped. Whenever I worried
too much, I remembered how weird Tawny got because of her crappy
childhood. Nick’s past wasn’t clear cut, but I figured he had
reasons to be wary of commitment.
However, Nick didn’t call me to make plans
for bowling. Cooper did and he made it sound like an order. While I
didn’t appreciate my brother threatening my boyfriend, I did like
the idea of showing off my sexy stud.
Before bowling, I decided to hang out with
Raven and Vaughn. When I arrived, they struggled to look relaxed
and not at all like they’d just doinked in a random room.
“ I’m here to brain storm
paint colors,” I announced, walking to the kitchen while Raven
struggled into a bra hanging from the staircase.
Vaughn combed his messy hair with his
fingers. “I want beige.”
“ Beige?” I said, rolling my
eyes. “It’s like you’re not even trying. Why paint at
all?”
Grinning, Vaughn flopped onto the leather
couch they bought the week before.
“ I like what I
like.”
“ You have no taste. Even
bad taste would be a step up.”
Vaughn squinted at me. “How’s it going with
Bacon Boy?”
“ Fantastic. Our love is
epic. Someone should write a book about it, so other people can be
jealous.”
Raven walked past me and joined Vaughn on
the couch. “I remember when our love felt that way.”
“ Are you saying we’ve lost
our spark?” he asked, playing with her ponytail.
“ You did just bang me on
the coffee table.”
“ Yeah and that took the
kind of skill a man doesn’t have in the beginning of a
relationship. Balance like that only comes from a fully committed
man who likes beige.”
Raven grinned. “I want to paint three walls
a nice green with a darker green as an accent wall.”
“ We can call it the booger
room.”
“ We already named the other
rooms. Why not this one?”
Vaughn and Raven proceeded to share one of
those annoying couple moments where they stared at each other and
spoke with their hearts. I was both violently nauseous and
glaringly jealous. They only noticed the latter.
“ Don’t worry,” Vaughn said
softly as if I’d believe his next words were
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