33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Mason

Warmth emanated from the to-go bag on my lap, and the scent of fresh tortilla chips and salsa filled Sophia’s Ford Fiesta, making my mouth water.

Yoga was fun, but that wasn’t why I liked going to class multiple times a week. Between the kids and Sophia’s work schedule, she and I barely had any one-on-one time. Yoga class was the one thing we did together, and I savored each moment I got with just her… Plus, she always let me pick where we got lunch after class.

The bell tower on top of School House Tattoo came into the distance far before the rest of Lucian’s shop. I unbuckled my seatbelt, preparing to switch seats with Sophia. Usually, when the shop was open, the parking lot was full. Street parking was the only option, and Sophia couldn’t parallel park to save her life. But today was our lucky day. The spot beside Lucian’s Jeep was empty, and Sophia slid in, her bumper hitting the curb as she parked.

“Shoot,” she mumbled, throwing her car into reverse.

I cringed at the sound of plastic scraping on concrete as Sophia corrected her shitty park job. I liked having someone with me whenever I went somewhere, but still, I really needed to get my own vehicle. Back in France, I had a little black sports car that I adored, but it didn’t have a backseat. Even if I had stayed in Lyon, I would’ve needed to go car shopping.

“Ready to go?” Sophia’s smile tore me from my thoughts.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I returned the gesture. My smile was coming easier these days, making it harder to stop my teeth from showing. I had a feeling Sophia didn’t mind.

“We really should remind Lucian to grab his lunch in the morning.” I passed the bag to her as I initiated the arduous process of moving at almost thirty weeks pregnant.

“I always do,” she laughed. “I think he just likes seeing you.”

Sophia’s comment shouldn’t have caught me off guard, but it did. Lucian and I had been spending a lot of time together, mostly because he was the only one up at midnight. I assumed he was only hanging out with me because I wanted him to. I couldn’t imagine him inconveniencing himself to get my time... but I had yet to figure out why he’d lied to me about breaking his glasses a few weeks ago.

I pushed the thoughts down and climbed out of the car, meandering toward the door. By the time the familiar ding of a bell welcomed me inside, I was out of breath.

Pregnancy sucked.

Sophia followed close behind, and I held the door for her. Once it shut behind us, I took in the familiar hum of tattoo guns and punk music. Every time I came in, Lucian would play more and more obscure music, and I was pretty sure that was intentional.

Steps echoed from the back before one of my favorite voices filled the air.

“Welcome to—What’d you bring me?” Lucian’s tone shifted as his gaze raked over us, a sly smile tugging at his lips. He looked like he was struggling to prevent me from seeing it.

Sophia held up the bag. Recently, I’d been obsessed with a local Mexican restaurant. I wasn’t sure what they put in their chips, but I genuinely couldn’t get enough of them. Lucian groaned and stomped his foot before snatching the bag from Sophia’s hand.

“Seriously? Again?” He peered into the bag. “Your baby is going to turn into a quesadilla at this rate.”

“I ordered a burrito today, thank you.”

Lucian rolled his eyes. “What is a burrito, if not a cylindrical quesadilla… Are you guys going to eat with me?”

The hopeful glint in his eyes added credence to Sophia’s theory about Lucian “forgetting” his lunch so we’d have to stop by.

“Do you have time?” she asked, and Lucian nodded.

“I had an all-day session, but they tapped out before I even finished the line work. I’ve been drawing flash and waiting for a walk-in since.”

“... People actually tap out of tattoos?” I questioned, glancing at my arms even though my tattoos were hidden under my hoodie. Having something unfinished on my body would drive me crazy.

“Rarely, but yeah.” Lucian turned away before motioning for us to follow.

Once we were in his cubicle, Lucian shut the black curtain to give us a little privacy. He slid his extra chair next to his desk before tossing himself into his seat. Lucian placed the bag of food on his desk and patted his lap.

My lip curled as I studied him. “No.”

“Yes.” The patting continued. “I have two chairs over here. You always make Sophia sit on my lap. Your turn.”

“If you’d remember to grab your lunch, we wouldn’t have to drop in like this.”

“Oh, don’t pretend like seeing me isn’t the highlight of your day.” He smirked.

I couldn’t deny him, but not because he was right. Recently, every day felt like a compilation of highlights. For the last three weeks, my days were consistently good, and not the ‘no one locked me in a room to get away from me’ type of good that I had grown used to. Just genuinely terrific days I didn’t feel like I deserved.

Cameron would make breakfast, I’d play with the kids, Sophia and I would do yoga before visiting Lucian, and my night would end with Cameron and I discreetly looking through lists of baby names. We both really liked Rosemary, Rosie for short. But renaming my daughter still felt like I was betraying Sebastian.

I shook the thought from my mind before looking back to Sophia, hoping she’d tell Lucian to let me have my way. Instead, she took the empty chair before mimicking Lucian’s gesture.

“You can sit on my lap instead, Honeybee,” she purred.

“You’re both terrible.” I didn’t mean that, of course. Being with Lucian and Sophia was weirdly comfortable.

Even if they were both absolute deviants.

I weighed my choices before deciding on Lucian—not that I preferred to sit on him or anything. His chair just looked sturdier than Sophia’s. With my ass on his lap and my legs off to the side, I did my best to get comfortable. His cock hardened against me as I wriggled into place.

“If you keep teasing me, I’m going to have to bend you over my desk and fuck you while she watches.” His whisper warmed my ear, and my stomach flipped.

Sophia shot him a warning look, sensing that he was talking about her. “You’re not supposed to keep secrets from your friends.”

“You’re not my friends,” he scoffed, wrapping his arms around me so he could root through the bag.

“Then what are we?” Sophia challenged.

The answer seemed pretty obvious to me: we were his girlfriends. Sophia probably just enjoyed hearing him say it.

“My bitches.” Lucian popped a chip into his mouth as he spoke.

I choked on a laugh. Lucian seemed completely immune to the death glare Sophia shot him as he held a chip up to my lips.

“Kitten, open that pretty little mouth of yours.”

It was nice hearing Lucian call me something other than fucktoy.

Sophia crossed her arms, causing her breasts to raise slightly. “I’m going to count to three. Once I finish, you’re going to tell me exactly where you just went wrong.”

“You don’t need to count. I know what I did.” Lucian retracted the chip from my lips and popped the lid off of a small Styrofoam container. “It’s a sin to offer someone an undipped chip… here you go.”

I parted my lips just in time for Lucian to feed me. The salsa was spicy, the chips were salty, and this moment was absolutely perfect.

“Mmm, try that again,” Sophia challenged.

“I’m being a good boyfriend!” Lucian gasped. “I’m feeding our—”

“One.” Sophia held up a finger.

Lucian didn’t pay her any attention as he focused on the bag, unloading each of our lunches onto the desk.

“Two.” Sophia arched a brow as she studied Lucian.

“Go ahead, count to three. You won’t do shit.” Lucian looked up from one of the wrappers.

Sophia held up a third finger. “Don’t make me say it.”

“What? Are you going to make me write lines again?” Lucian snorted. “Your punishments are getting old. Either smack my ass or let me dom.”

Sophia grabbed her salad before leaning back into her chair. Lucian wore a self-satisfied grin. Assuming that would be the end of their bickering, I reached for my burrito. The first bite was all tortilla, so I ripped a chunk off before shoving a few chips in. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish the whole thing, but I was going to enjoy what I could.

“You remember that attitude of yours when you get home tonight.” Sophia looked at Lucian as she speared a chunk of chicken with her fork.

He rolled his eyes, but I was excited to see what Sophia had in store for him later.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a teeny-tiny bit disappointed to see Sebastian’s SUV when we got home. Of course I had missed him, but I didn’t want to drop everything to run up the steps and see him. I was having such a good time with Sophia; I didn’t want it to end just so I could go have five minutes of mediocre welcome-back sex.

Was that terrible? It felt terrible.

Sophia glanced over at me as she pulled into the driveway beside Cameron’s orange Toyota Tundra.

“Something wrong?”

Was there a way for me to tell her the truth without sounding ungrateful? If it weren’t for Sebastian, I wouldn’t even be here. I would have stayed in one of the many rooms in my dad’s mansion, barely acknowledging the fact that I existed.

In a lot of ways, life was easier that way. No one pushed me to be better or tried to drag me out of my impenetrable shell. I could fester, not only in my own self-hatred but also in the animosity my father harbored toward me. But, even if I didn’t deserve the people around me, I enjoyed having their help. It was like I had been thrown into the world’s deepest hole, and the four people in this house were helping me climb out.

Sebastian was the anchor, the one holding the end of the rope. Even if the others walked away, he would be there, making sure I didn’t fall again. It made sense for me to prioritize him, but... I didn’t want to.

Why was I always so selfish?

“Am I a bad person?” The words escaped before I could stop them.

Sophia’s eyes widened as she pressed a hand to her chest. Why was I burdening her with this? God, why couldn’t I just be fucking normal?

I prepared an apology, a speech worthy of Miss America. I didn’t mean any of it, but it would sound believable enough to earn her favor. However, compassion took over Sophia’s ocean eyes. She placed a hand on my shoulder, softly squeezing it as she gave me her undivided attention.

“I need to know why you think that.”

I held my breath as I considered my response.

“Sebastian is home, and I don’t want to go see him.”

Her golden brows shot up, but her face remained judgment-free.

“I need to know the reason behind that, too.”

My lips pursed off to the side as I thought of a nice way to tell her my boyfriend wasn’t good in bed. You’d think a man with a pierced cock would understand how to please his partner.

“Sebastian... usually wants sex when he comes home.”

“And that’s a bad thing? He is literally hotter than the surface of the sun— Oops! Don’t tell Lucian I said that.”

A smirk formed on my lips. She was right. If being a detective didn’t work for Sebastian, he probably could have had a very successful career in nude modeling.

“If you think that, why haven’t you slept with him?” That was more of a rhetorical question.

Lucian had probably forbidden her from sleeping with his brother. But he was fine with Cameron and me messing around with Sebastian. Why should Sophia be any different?

Sophia’s cheeks flushed to match her lips.

“Honestly? I don’t know how to start a conversation with him.” A laugh stole the end of her sentence. “He’s cute, but he’s so awkward that I’m worried I’d scare him off.”

It was my turn to laugh. She was probably right; Sophia was intense. Sex with her would probably be overwhelming to someone with very little experience.

“Would you want to go see him without the sex?” Sophia asked.

My lips pressed into a thin line as I considered it. If I was completely honest with myself, the answer would still be no . That’s when I realized the sex wasn’t the problem at all.

I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Sophia yet.