Chapter 67
I’ve endured being yelled at, hugged and cried on. Yelled at some more, by various members of my
family, and I’m now standing in thest address on my tick list of people I owe apologies to. So far, I’ve
stood up to it well, and in the end, most of them, minus Le, have forgiven me for my disappearing
act.
Le is being Le, and no doubt wille around after she calms down; luckily, her husband, Daniel,
is good at restraining her and my apology was pretty much shouted from behind Arrick as Mr. Hunter.
kept herssoed in his arms across their lounge. I’m sure that even Arrick would have little to no
chance of being any sort of interference if she actually flew for me. Le’s an actual psycho.
Now I’m standing in Emma’s kitchen, while her housekeeper alerts her to our presence. Arrick checks
his watch, standing beside me with an arm casually around my shoulder. I’ve literally given up trying to
point out that maybe he shouldn’t keep touching me, knowing that it’s natural for him, it always has
been. We were always this way, and he can’t break the habit of an entire friendship that easily. To him,
touching me, being close to me this way, is like breathing, and would be more awkward if he stood feet
apart with a gap between us.
As much as I like to think that Jake and he are not alike, I guess he does have that same touchy-feely
thing going for him when it’s someone he is really close to anyway.
“Jake should be arriving home any minute, when he gets here, we’ll go out and give you two a little
time.” He kisses my temple reassuringly, causing me to be a bundle of nerves I’m not sure it
rtes to seeing Emma at all. He knows how important Emma is to me and I want to be alone with her
to talk properly.
This is property ? of N?velDrama.Org.
“Sophie”. Emma’s voice rings out from behind us and she envelops me as soon as she walks in, that
bump making an awkward obstacle, but it feels better than good and instantly I lose all the fear and
tension in those loving little arms. Emma pulls back and regards me closely.
“You silly girl. I’m only d you had the sense to call us.” Emma kisses me affectionately on the cheek
and slips her arm in mine as she pulls me back towards the low table to our familiar ce to chat.
Arrick lingers back as the housekeeper follows and prepares a tray of refreshments. It’ste, getting on
into evening and we should head home soon, give her space to rest and put the kids to bed, but I had
to see her tonight. I had to make sure she was okay and knew that I was too.
“I’m sorry, Emma. Jake said you were really stressed. I’m sorry if I put you through that. I’m sorry I ran.
I just didn’t know what else to do.” I sit down with her, opposite each other at the kitchen table, while
the housekeeperys out the sses and cakes in front of us, freshly baked I guess, as they smell
divine. Once she tends to us, she ups and leaves to go to other duties with a nod. Emma smiles her
away, looking genuinely thankful for the woman’s care.
“Your dad realized how stupid the rehab thing was once he calmed down. I think he mes himself to
be honest.” Emma regards me with a gentle nod and pushes a ss of iced tea towards me. “Were’
just d that Arrick came and got you. Best thing right now is being with him. Jake called and told me
that you have big ns ... How about you tell me all about them.” Emma beams at me, smiles past me
at Arry too, appreciatively. I’m feeling less uptight now I’m here with her and I can see that she is
clearly fine and not stressing herself into earlybor orid out in bed. I’m a little more than relieved.
Almost as if on cue, the appearance of Jake behind Arrick at the door causes major disturbances with
his children running crazily in with him and chasing off after the nanny in a fit of screaming giggles;
obviously on a sugar high that Jake has inflicted, and he tries to hide the empty ice cream wrappers as
he walks in. Emma gives him that knowing look, the one that is a sort of telling off, mixed with a ‘what
am I going to do with you?’ smile.
He discards them in the nearest trash can by the kitchen door, slides past his brother and then me,
straight through to lean in and nt a steamy kiss on Emma’s mouth, across the table between us.
Ignoring our presence until he has stuck his tongue down his wife’s throat for a minute, and the only
thing I can do is lean away to give his ass room to get in closer. Emma giggles as he pulls back, fingers
trailing his face and jawline while I’m looking anywhere but at them.
“Mmm, strawberry vored.” Emma kisses him again, this time a little less pornographically and runs a
finger over his scruffy, stubbly chin with hugely adoring eyes locked on his. Close enough to make feel
incredibly awkward, but Jake has never cared about making a scene when ites to her. He has
eaten her face at just about every family function there has been and makes no apologies for being
unable to keep his hands off her.
“I bought an extra tub forter.” He winks suggestively, leans back in, and kisses her, with a smile,
lingering a moment, rubbing noses, and grazing his thumb across her cheek in a cute sensual move
before pulling back and suddenly noticing we are here. Meanwhile, Emma’s blush just adds to how
pretty she looks tonight; he’s put that twinkle back in her eye.
“Hey, you two.” Jake turns with a smile,pletely unfazed about that little moment. I’m still trying not
to watch the way he always heats his wife up with minimum effort, wondering what it would be like to
be that way with someone who’s very close by. Arrick is focused on his cell, oblivious to it all. He never
seems to react to his brother’s over amorous behavior, I guess because he too is used to it.
I get a dip in my heartrate at the way he’s looking at the text he received, something in that expression
telling me it’s Natasha, as he types a reply with an unreadable frown across his face, honed in and
nking us all out. I can’t help the jolt in my chest, or the way my eyes keep wandering to him,
wondering what they are saying to each other and that gut-wrenching bite of jealousy. I swallow it down
and take a steadying breath to try to ignore it, that sadness hitting home again, that I will never know
that side of him.
“Hey.” I smile at Jake as he ruffles my hair affectionately, dragging my somber expression back to him,
he smiles, straightening to stand over me.
“d to see you came. And not even bound and gagged as I was expecting.” He winks, with that
cheeky Jake grin, before looking across at his brother with a flicker of irritation. He frowns at him and
then smiles at me quickly; a weird sh of an unreadable expression, obviously a family trait, and
saunters over towards him, gently sucker punching Arrick in the stomach. It makes him almost drop his
phone when he jerks in reaction.
“Asshole.” Arrick tuts and ignores the grin aimed his way. Jake throws an arm around his shoulders
loosely and rests it there casually. Now equally matched in height and build, these two are undeniably
from the same gene pool. He leans in and says something quietly in his ear which gets rewarded with
Arry elbowing him in the ribs. Face deadpan as he does so and doesn’t even look up from his cell.
Clearly not amused with whatever his brother has just said. Jake hangs around his shoulders, looking
decidedly male and not in the least bit weird that he’s cuddling his brother. It just looks dude.
“Coming with the old man to throw some hoops with Hunter?” Jake prods him again, this time in the
side, and gets an agitated flinch and frown from Arrick. His voice louder this time and Arry relinquishes
his phone to his back pocket with a quick nce at me. I spot that tiny hint of uncertainty, the way he
catches my eye, looks down guiltily, and then it’s gone, in the blink of an eye. So to speak.
“Sure, we’ll leave these two alone to do the girl thing. I can once again pound you into the concrete with
another set of m dunks.” Arrick winks at me, suddenly all adoring and not being dodgy anymore, and
Jake does exactly the same to Emma, like two bookends. It’s pretty damn freaky how simr they look
in that brief second.
It’s a strange moment for me, almost feels like two men leaving their women to chat, like this is the
norm and gives me a strange pang in the pit of my stomach. A flutter of genuine wishful thinking,
wondering what being in a real rtionship with him would be like.
“Pffftt. Shut up, we both know I reign supreme on the court.” Jake shoves him towards the kitchen door
yfully and Arrick jabs back with a practiced boxing blow that lightly grazes Jake’s abdomen, his
defending hand up and guarding while he makes the cut. It’s not hard to tell that he does it for a
living.