Page 36 of Pretty Psychos
"What was that, Keith?" Woody asked. He knew the name would get a rise out of Urban.
Of course, Urban knew he knew, so he didn't respond. Probably the best course of action, since Woody would have persisted if he took the bait.
"Fighting amongst ourselves won't achieve anything," Forrest said, pushing himself back to his feet.
He gave us all a look, very much the professional consummate judge, the man who insisted on people following his rules, including us. That look was hot.
He had my nipples hardening, the pulse in my pussy racing. His eyes darkened, we were on the same wavelength there. Would his brothers mind if we stepped out into the corridor and started tearing each other's clothes off? I suspected they would.
Plus, we needed to finish this conversation. Reality was such a bummer sometimes.
“No, it doesn't help, but it's fun," Leif said. "We're letting off some steam."
"Let off some steam when we've dealt with all this bullshit," Forrest said. "I'll have a sauna built out back."
"With an ice plunge?" Leif asked, looking hopeful. "And a regular swimming pool? Maybe our own private gym." He stopped with his mouth open, still thinking.
"We'll talk about it," Forrest said, but Leif was already making a note on the bottom corner of the board. His wish list of additions to the house. He added an outdoor bar and big screen for watching hockey games, along with a fire pit. All the modern essentials, right?
Forrest shook his head but didn't say anything.
There was no harm in taking a few moments to dream and plan. We'd need something to look forward to. Time in the sauna, then a dip in the ice plunge? That sounded perfect right about now. Followed by a bunch of orgasms.
"I'll make the call," I said, dragging the conversation back on track, kicking and screaming. Or trudging and grumbling under its breath.
Chewing the inside of my lip, I slid my phone out of my pocket and pressed on my mother's number. She was the most likely to answer. Did she have a ringtone for when I called her? What would it be? Some tune about having disappointing children, most likely.
Mine was “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift. The same ringtone for both of them. How long was it since I heard that song? Several months at least. Since the last time they needed something from me. I couldn't remember what it was now. Something I didn't consider important, but was apparently vital enough for them to reach out and contact me. No one could accuse my parents of being sentimental.
The phone rang a couple of times before she picked up. That was the first surprise. I would have thought she'd let it go to voicemail, then return the call if she felt like it.
"Sable, darling." In spite of the endearment, she sounded less than happy to hear from me.
"Hi, Mom," I said, making a face for the guys to see, but trying to keep the grimace out of my tone. "I was wondering…"
CHAPTER 13
WOODY
"This is bullshit," I said.
Urban glanced over at me from the passenger seat of my car. "We agree on something."
"We all agree on something," Noah said, from the back seat. "But Forrest is right. It doesn't make any sense for all of us to go into the party."
"So we get to freeze our asses off out here," I grumbled. With three of us in a tight space, it wasn't that cold, but I hated the idea of taking my eyes off Sable.
If her parents were the assholes she suggested they might be, I wanted to be right there next to her. It was all very well for Forrest and Leif to be on either side of her, protecting her, but they weren't me.
Sitting out here watching people come and go? It wasn't my jam. What if they needed me and I couldn't get to them in time? I didn't want to lose her.
Yeah, shhh, I didn't want to lose them either, okay?
"It's only a couple of hours," Noah said. "Besides, us watching from out here is necessary. If anyone tries something, we'll be here to stop it."
"What do you think is going to happen?" I rested my hands on the steering wheel. Wrapped my fingers around the leather and squeezed to let out some of my frustration. "An army of ninjas might suddenly attack a Christmas party?"
"That would be awesome." Noah grinned. Of course he did. The guy had a couple of screws loose.
