Page 152 of Knight
“There’s more boxes to move,” Joyride said, hopping off the desk.
“I’m still recovering,” I declared. “You get them.”
Joyride gave me an unimpressed look. “I don’tseeany bruises.”
“It hurts on the inside,” I said solemnly.
“That’s not what you said last night,” Aiden’s teasing voice came through the doorway.
I clapped a hand to my chest. “Betrayed by my one true love! Say it isn’t so.”
That I could joke about love and betrayal so easily said a lot about how far I’d come since meeting Aiden. At one time, it was all too real for me. Of course, I’d realized that my dynamic with Puck had always been too imbalanced for real love.
“Sorry, Will,” Aiden said, coming over to perch on the arm of the chair and peck a kiss to my lips. “You know how I value honesty.”
“Ha!” Joyride said. “Suck it.”
“But we have to leave for a barbecue, so you’re still on your own,” Aiden added.
Joyride’s expression fell. “Damn it.”
With a huff, he stomped out of the front door. Hollywood heaved a sigh and followed him. Ghost sat on the couch, smirking.
“You coming to the cookout?” Aiden asked.
“Nah,” Ghost said. “Got to unpack.”
“We’ll come by and help you later,” he offered.
Ghost’s brow furrowed. I could tell he wanted to say no, but he also didn’t want to offend Aiden. The guys had alltreated him like a saint since the night of the fight. I guess they saw how sweet he was.
Or maybe it was because word had gotten around about those ketamine syringes he’d brought, and they didn’t want to get on his wrong side.
I slipped an arm around Aiden’s back. “I think he’s got it covered.”
Ghost tipped his head gratefully.
I pushed out of the recliner and followed Aiden outside. Ghost followed us to the door. Apparently, he wasn’t going to let Joyride and Hollywood doallthe work.
“It’s good to have you in the neighborhood,” I said. “Maybe you can host our Monday night grill n chill.”
“Over my dead body,” he said grimly.
“You’ve got all that space next door,” Aiden said. “You could set up a grill and picnic table. You’d have more room to spread out.”
Hollywood came over, two boxes in his arms. “Hey, yeah, maybe a firepit for when the weather cools down.”
Joyride walked by, sweating as he carried his load. “My dad’s got extra lawn chairs. He’ll never miss them.”
“Well, fuck,” Ghost said.
“Ah, don’t act like it’s such a hardship,” I teased. “You know you love us.”
He glowered. “I moved out here to ditch my neighbors, not hostparties.”
“C’mon, you like shooting the shit with us. You show up every Monday at my place. It’s no different, really.”
He grumbled something under his breath, heaved a sigh, and said, “Fine.”
