9. Travis

NINE

"DO YOU SEE that?" I pointed with my shot glass at the group of traitors huddled around Caleb and narrowed my eyes. "It's like the last few years meant shit."

Wayne, rooftop bartender extraordinaire, followed my gaze and tossed the towel he'd been polishing glasses with over his shoulder. "Looks like a case of shiny new toy."

"More like old toy made new again. Have they forgotten we hate him?" I leaned back with my elbow on the bar and threw back the rattlesnake shot—which I thought was an appropriate name, considering one had taken over this little party. Not to mention the drink was deceptively good, like shooting a chocolate cappuccino. Could I use something stronger? Possibly. Was I drinking my weight in these enough I'd feel it eventually? Definitely.

Wayne took the empty glass from me and cocked a brow. "Another?"

"Fuck yes, and keep 'em coming."

The good thing about kicking everyone off the rooftop except for us was that I could commandeer the entire bar, since everyone else was busy making sure Caleb knew he was welcome here.

Were they kidding with this shit? Seriously. It was more than obvious Caleb didn't want anything to do with us, and even if that weren't the case, I'd made it a point to mention at every opportunity that he wasn't welcome.

Even East, who didn't like anyone, seemed to have taken charge of the night and forced Caleb back into the group every time he tried to escape. What the hell were they doing? Was there some kind of prank about to happen that I didn't know about? Because that was the only thing that would make sense.

Maybe they'd throw him fully clothed into the pool in a minute. Or down the elevator shaft…

I swallowed as I watched the scene, feeling for the first time like the odd man out.

But that wasn't what was bothering me so much. I veered off to do my own thing all the time, so the real issue here was…

Well, something I wasn't about to acknowledge, that was for damn sure.

"One for here, one for the road," Wayne said, setting two more rattlesnake shots in front of me.

"For the road? You trying to get rid of me?"

"Nah. You just look about ready to stir things up."

I slid a couple Benjamins across the bar. "You're a good man, Wayne. If the guest of honor comes over, tell him you only have piss beer available, none of the fancy shit."

He pocketed the bills and nodded. "You got it."

I tossed back one of the shots and then grabbed the other to take with me. Kelly, his longer hair still dripping wet from the pool, took one look at me, quickly wrapped his arms around Donovan, and backed away until they both fell ass-first into the deep end.

What, did I have something on my face? Besides a murderous look? I thought I always looked pretty damn fabulous, but judging by the wary glances I was getting from the others, that wasn't what they were thinking tonight.

"Looks like you're all making yourselves at home together," I said, my lips stretching thin. It didn't escape my notice that Caleb already had his drink of choice somehow, and I would've bet serious money that meant someone else grabbed it for him. Narrowing my eyes, I sussed out who I thought that unfortunate soul was when my gaze landed on Archer.

Of course. Daddy Filth, making sure the newbie was taken care of. I didn't know whether to be annoyed or jealous at the attention Caleb had received, since Archer wasn't exactly a slouch in the looks department. Even though he was now dead to me.

"The fuck are you drinking?" Daire leaned over, sniffed my shot, and recoiled. "Chocolate milk?"

I yanked my hand away. "Get your own."

"There's no alcohol in that shit."

"There is," I said, glancing down at it. "A little."

"That's why you're being such a miserable fuck. Not enough alcohol."

No, the reason I was being such a miserable fuck was standing several feet away from me, laughing at something JT had just said.

This was so not like me, to skulk around like some sad-sack loser. I was usually the one demanding everyone else have a good time. But somewhere around East's declaration of We're throwing him a "Welcome back to the group" shindig, my mood had taken a nose dive.

Okay, that was a lie. It'd started going south the second I found out I was going to have a new roommate.

"Oh no, why so sad? Have you lost the power to glare someone to death?" West's dumbass laugh had me trying to find the power right then so I could level him with my best drop-dead look, but unfortunately, he was right. Everyone was still upright and breathing.

"I'm not glaring at anyone."

"Yeah? So that's what? The look of love I see aiming straight for the heart of?—"

"Say it and die." I looked on either side of West and frowned. "Where's your sleeper spy boyfriend?"

"Sleeper spy? Come on now. It wasn't like their friendship was a secret." West pursed his lips and looked between me and Caleb, tapping his cheek. "Unlike some things people aren't sharing with the group."

"There's nothing to share."

"Me thinks thou doth protest too much."

"Thou has been spending too much time with his Golden Boy at poetry nights to be spouting shit like that to me. Caleb and I had a falling-out. That's it."

"A falling out of what?" East sidled up beside his best friend. "Bed?"

I'd happily glare all these fuckers to death right now. If only to get them to shut their damn mouths.

"You're amongst friends—you can tell us." East waggled his brows. "Did things get a little incestuous back in the day?"

None of your goddamn business.

"Oh, would you look at that." East ran the tip of his tongue over his top lip as though tasting something deliciously forbidden—otherwise known as my teenage angst. "I think we might've just stumbled on the reason Travis is so…hard up."

I immediately dropped my eyes down past my waist, because the motherfucker was right.

It didn't matter if I was actively loathing Caleb or cursing the very ground he walked on. One mention of what we'd gotten up to back on that night and my traitorous teenage hormones took control of my dick. It was like I was on a vicious merry-go-round, and now these lunatics were on there making it spin faster.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't not say that."

"You've held out on us all this time, and we've let you," West added. "But it's obvious, man. Something went down, and I'm not sayin' names, but it rhymes with Cravis."

East snorted. "How do you know what went down doesn't rhyme with Maleb?"

"Oh I don't, but I'm sure Cravis would love to confess his sins to his best friends and get it off his chest."

"As long as he doesn't get it off in his pants, and in front of me." East looked pointedly at where I was still packing a semi, and I rolled my eyes and downed the rest of my rattlesnake.

Had they given me space when it came to Caleb? Not really. They still made barbed remarks whenever we ran into him, poking at me like they knew something they didn't. I'd never told a soul what happened, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt Caleb hadn't either.

"Daire." I held up my empty shot glass. "Something stronger?"

"For the love of fuck, please. Another chocolate shot and I'd throw your pathetic ass off the roof."

As he headed off to get me something I had no doubt would make me breathe fire, my cock finally got the message nothing was worth getting up for and settled down. Just in time for Caleb to look my way.

That he didn't look entirely miserable was something of a surprise, since he'd all but kicked and screamed his way out of the apartment. Then again, he'd bonded with JT right off the bat.

It only made me want to reach over and strangle West for complicating an already fragile situation. None of us ever thought he'd actually fall for JT when we issued the bet to corrupt him.

Caleb was watching me. The dwindling flames in the firepit kept half his face in shadows, but I would've felt his gaze even if my back had been turned. The look he was aiming my way was one I couldn't decipher. His full lips weren't turned down, no crease between his brows. His eyes weren't shooting daggers through me. It was almost as if he were just…looking. Not actively hating me. Definitely not liking me, but I could handle that. I thought. Although my dick was in serious confusion mode behind my boxer briefs, wondering whether to stay up or down.

"You do know we can see you both," West said. "Now you see why we threw the party?"

"No."

"Just trying to make sure you get your…happy ending."

East threw his arm around my shoulders, backing us away from West. "You leave my guy out of this. Sexual interpretations of happy endings, yes. Anything including boring coupledom, absolutely not."

I leaned back to grin at him. "Exactly. Thank you."

"Can't lose my fellow bachelor to"—he flicked his hand at the rest of the group—"that. I simply wanted to incorporate your brother back into the group to save your thumb from all the social media stalking."

"Stepbrother," I said without thinking.

West smirked as he took the tiny straw from his bourbon sour and bit down on the end. "Riiight. I forgot that little fact."

"Pretty important fact to forget."

"I mean…" East grinned liked the devil. "If you want to play it straight."

I snorted. "Yeah, I'm not the one doing that."

West's eyes popped wide. My mouth was once again writing checks I shouldn't be cashing.

"Where's Daire with those damn drinks?"

"Fuck, man," Daire grumbled as I spun around and all but ran into him. "Cool your tits."

"I'm thirsty." And needed something to do other than run my damn mouth. I was never this loose-lipped unless it involved another set of lips—or cock—but something in the air was making me spill my secrets tonight.

"Jesus, Daire." West eyed the tray Wayne, the trusty bartender, was holding full of shot glasses that were filled to the brim with clear liquor and littered with limes. "He said something strong, not something to kill him."

"I don't care." And at this point, I really didn't. I wanted—no, needed—another drink, and then maybe a ball gag to shut me the fuck up. I snatched two shots off the tray, as did the rest of the guys, and on the count of three we slammed them back to back.

Fuck. West might be right. That shit might just kill me. But when I spotted a lone glass left on the tray, I reached for it. Damn the consequences.

The alcohol lit a fiery path all the way down to my toes, and when my eyes stopped watering from the sheer intensity of it, they once again found Caleb through the flickering flames, and the look on his face was one I knew all too well.

Disapproval. Or maybe it was disappointment? Either way, it was so intrinsically Caleb that I wasn't even surprised to see it there.

It was familiar. Almost comfortable.

My dick didn't respond to that look at all.

In fact, there wasn't one thing here right now that my cock was interested in besides what it shouldn't be, and that was just sad—to look as good as I did, be as available as I was, and be hanging around at a party with all of my hooked-up friends.

Ugh, this was all wrong. I needed to get out of here. I'd shown my face. Shown that I could play nice—by staying at least six feet away from Caleb at all times. Now it was time to get the fuck out.

I turned to the only person I'd even consider as my wingman tonight.

"East, you wanna bounce?"

His eyes narrowed a fraction, then he put his empties on the tray and nodded.

West looked over his shoulder to JT. "Why don't you wait, and the rest of us?—"

"The rest of you aren't invited."

"Like I give a fuck." Daire headed off to no doubt find the only person he did give a fuck about.

West, on the other hand, was not so easy to get rid of. "Seriously, let me tell everyone, and we'll?—"

"Stay right here. This is a singles-only kind of night."

"Caleb's single."

"He doesn't count." I turned back to the lone bachelor of the group. "East?"

He shrugged and clapped his best friend on the shoulder. "Sorry, friend, better go find your Golden Boy to cuddle up to."