Chapter Four

Blake

Killian pulled the rental car up in front of his sister’s house, and as I climbed out of the back, I took in my surroundings. Even though she had sold the house they’d grown up in, Helena had stayed in Canfield. It was a cute little white ranch with a two-car garage and a front porch. For some reason it made me miss the old house, the one in which we had spent hours sitting around, talking about music, writing lyrics, and goofing off. Sometimes I swear I could still smell the clean scent of the Hampton house when those memories hit me.

I followed Matthias and Killian, who were holding hands because I swear, they can’t go two seconds without touching, inside. I was more than surprised to find Tommy sitting on the over-sized couch sandwiched between Jackson and Maverick. His hands were bound by a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs. His eyes were narrowed, his jaw clenched. He looked more than pissed off, and when he saw me, I swear his eyes grew darker.

“Don’t say a word,” he growled at me before I could even get the chance. Oh, but I had so many questions right now.

I smirked as I stared at him. He looked so pissed and hot at the same time. “Going to need those later. Think I can borrow them?”

“The hell you are!” Tommy barked. “Can you take these off?” He held up his hands toward his brother.

Jackson chuckled softly. “Are you going to behave?”

“No,” Tommy muttered. His brother smirked and pushed his arms down. “Come on, Jax, this is bullshit. You basically forced me here against my will, put your gross sex handcuffs on me, and made me come to dinner when I clearly told you I wasn’t interested.”

Maverick turned pink. “We’ve never... We just took them out of the package tonight,” he muttered and ducked his head.

“What did I tell you, Tom? Play fucking nice with my fiancé. Sweetheart.” He leaned across his brother to nudge Maverick’s knee. “Relax, okay? Everyone here has had sex. No one is going to judge us for anything.”

Killian snorted. “I might, but then again, I might also ask questions, Mav.” He sat on the arm of the couch and leaned down to whisper something in Mav’s ear. Judging by the way Maverick’s eyes went wide before he giggled and shook his head, it must have been good.

“No, but I think I’d like to,” he answered and then looked over at Jackson, his eyes eating him up.

It was weird to see Maverick like this: Happy, in love, and very, very out. If Killian was surprised about Tommy and me, he was more than shocked when Maverick showed up at his house and confessed about his secret relationship with his best friend. And how it ended.

Jackson’s brows shot up. “What did you say to him?”

“Nothing, but you can thank me later.” Killian stood up, his palms out innocently. “Babe, where are you?” He started to head out of the room just as Matthias appeared behind him and he hooked an arm around his neck.

“Blakey!” Helena came flying into the living room and threw herself at me, her arms wrapping around me in a tight hug. “You look good.”

I smiled and pulled on her long, dark ponytail. “You look good and happy. Where’s this new guy?” I was interested in meeting the man who’d beat out Dean. I mean, Dean was my boy, right? I had to be on his side even if he and Helena weren’t meant to have their forever.

“He’s on his way. He got stuck at work.” Helena beamed happily. “Take those off him right now.” She pointed at Tommy. “None of you have changed at all, have you?”

Killian snorted. “Did you think we were going to suddenly grow up and be adults here, Hel? Come on.”

“Not you, but these two.” She pointed at Maverick and Jackson. “I mean, you’re older than us. Why is your brother—You know what? Give me the keys.” She held out her hand.

Jackson chuckled as he lifted his hip. “It’s a joke, Helena.” He dropped the keys into her open palm. “You know he never leaves the house, just sits around all day feeling sorry for himself. I thought it would be good for him to get out and see his friends. Sorry for trying to help.”

“ He has a name, and he can also hear you.” Tommy glared at his brother as he held up his arms again.

I knew the second those things were off, he’d make a run for it, which probably was for the best. We’d probably end up fighting first, then I’d end up crying over dinner and would feel ridiculous for ruining everyone’s night. I just wanted to talk to him. He wouldn’t even look at me.

“Tommy...” I wasn’t even sure I said his name aloud when Helena unlocked the cuffs, and he stood up.

He stared at me with dark, angry eyes, and just when I thought he was going to ignore me, he dropped his gaze.

“Outside,” he grumbled.

I swear I’d never moved faster, nearly tripping over my feet to get to him.

The sound of the screen door slapping shut behind me had me jumping, but when Tommy just stared out onto the street, I realized I was going to have to make the first move.

“Handcuffs, huh?”

He turned around to stare at me, and when a smile pulled at his lips, I felt something warm curl inside my belly.

“You always wanted to try them. Should have been you wearing them.” Tommy seemed almost surprised that he’d said those words out loud.

His gaze didn’t waver from mine, though, and as we stared at one another, I wondered how we’d gotten here. I missed him so much it hurt. Did he feel the same?

“I’m glad you’re here, Gretzky.” The nickname slipped easily from my lips.

I wanted to hold him. Wrap my arms around my best friend and press my body against his. See if he still smelled like that vanilla body wash he’d always used and if he tasted like the Skittles he always ate. But I didn’t.

His shoulders slumped forward. “I didn’t have a choice, Bug. I would have preferred to stay home, lying in bed or playing video games.”

“I can drive you home. I can get the keys to the rental car.” Please say no. I don’t want you to go. Just being near you makes me happier than I’ve been in years. I feel like myself.

Tommy made a grunting noise. “Helena said her boyfriend was going to grill, plus she made macaroni salad. It would be rude if I just left before he showed up.”

Happiness fluttered inside of me. “How could I forget your love of macaroni salad? Your body is probably made up entirely of mayonnaise and pasta at this point.”

His eyes sparkled for a brief moment, then the fire burned out again.

“Plus, you’re here,” Tommy admitted. “Going home would mean I wouldn’t be close to you.” Holy shit.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yeah, well, I am pretty awesome.” I tried to play it off, but God, the way he was looking at me right now... My insides felt like they were on fire, and my skin was going to melt right off my body.

“Who told you that?” Tommy grinned at me, and my heart stuttered against my ribs as he took a step toward me.

“Someone who used to love me.”

“Who said he only used to, Bug?”

Nope, I wasn’t about to do this here. Not with our friends, my bandmates, and his brother inside. Tears sprang to my eyes as I stared at my best friend, the boy who might still love me, and it felt like a punch to the heart.

“Tommy, I can’t do this.”

“I know.” He nodded at me before he turned back to the road.

We both stood there watching as a white four-door sedan pulled into the driveway and a man dressed in blue scrubs climbed out.

“You think that’s him? The new boyfriend?” Tom glanced at me over his shoulder. “Should we mess with him? Pretend like we hate him?”

I shook my head to tell him no just as we both caught sight of Dean Frost headed his way, his green hair hard to miss as he walked up the sidewalk and toward the man who was going to marry his ex-girlfriend.

“Oh, shit! Are they going to duel now?” I should probably go do something before a fight broke out, but it felt like my feet were glued to the porch.

“What do you think he’s—What is happening right now?” Tom murmured as the two men shook hands before they turned to head up to the house. “Is Dean okay with this?” he asked me like I knew.

I shrugged. “It looks like he might be.” Dean had been acting differently lately, but no one seemed to know why. I thought he was mourning the loss of Helena, but maybe that wasn’t it at all.

“You two lovebirds going to sit out here all night, or are you going to come inside? Ryan’s here. You should come meet my soon to be brother-in-law.” Killian’s face loomed behind the screen door. “Were you making out? It’s okay if you were. We almost all like kissing boys in this band.”

Tommy gave him the finger. “You wish.”

Killian let out a deep laugh before he disappeared back inside the house.

“Come on, let’s go inside before my brother physically forces me. I’ve had enough of that for one day.”

***

Ryan Sutton was a nice guy. I wanted to dislike him, I mean, he was engaged to my friend’s ex, but he was just way too friendly, kind, and yeah, nice. He didn’t seem nervous around all of us, and the strangest thing of all was how Dean seemed to want to be his friend.

If I had shown up back up in Canfield and found Tommy was engaged to someone else, I would probably react in the exact opposite way. Not smiling, laughing, and trying to get to know the man. I would be feral with jealousy. Eager to break them up the first chance I had. But Dean was never like that.

Helena had met Ryan at the hospital she worked at as a nurse. He was a respiratory therapist, so they both worked crazy healthcare hours but seemed to adore one another. Ryan seemed eager to meet everyone, even after a long day of work. Hell, he cooked us dinner. I knew how exhausted I was when I come off the stage, and I wasn’t even saving lives for a living.

“Here.” Tom held out his hand to show me the s’more in it. “What? Don’t act like you don’t want one. I made it for you.”

That was another thing. Tom was acting like we were best friends again. Which, I mean, we were, but we hadn’t spoken in years. I was still pissed at him about everything.

“Thanks?” I raised my brows as I took the treat he offered. When I bit into it, I moaned softly. “Did you put a peanut butter cup in this?”

“Bug, who knows what you like?” He winked at me, and heat flamed over my skin. It wasn’t from the bonfire that was burning in the backyard, either.

I caught the stringy marshmallow before it stuck to my chin, then turned to him. “What’s happening right now? When you saw me yesterday, you acted like you couldn’t even stand to be within a foot of me, but now you’re making jokes, handing me snacks, and acting like nothing happened.”

“I’m trying,” he muttered, then sat back in the seat next to me.

My brows dipped. “Trying to what, Gretzky?”

He was going to have to give me more than that. He was going to have to apologize, take it all back, before I forgave him. Grovel, beg, get on his knees, and plead for forgiveness. If that’s what he wanted.

“To be your friend, let you back in, fix things between us.” Tommy stared up at the dark night sky. “I’m not the same kid I was when you left.”

Wasn’t that the truth?

“I’m not either.” I stared at his profile, the strong cheekbones, and the way his lips twitched, like he was trying not to smile. “I’m not.”

“I know, Bug.” Tommy glanced at me. “You’re still good, though. I can see it written all over your face.” He jutted his chin toward Killian. “Kill is the bad boy, Dean is the wildcard, Mav is the tragedy, but you, Blake Duncan, you’re the saint.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “You read the article.”

That article had pissed me off to the point where I told Lou, our PR woman, that I wouldn’t do an interview again with that magazine. That wasn’t normally how I was, but they’d made it seem like I was a choirboy compared to the rest of the band, and maybe I was. I just didn’t like to get in trouble, so I kept a low profile.

“I read everything written about Mulligan, Bug. I’m proud of you. I told you that you’d be the best, and you are.” Tommy turned his gaze back to the fire. “One of us had to be.” When I went to protest, he raised a hand. “Just let me say nice things about you.”

I gritted my teeth. “What about you, Tommy? Do you ever listen to other people or just the voices in your head telling your that career is over?”

“Want to get out of here?” he asked as he climbed to his feet. “I have something I need to show you.”

I stared up at him. “Where? Your place?”

“Yeah, Bug, my place.” Tom held out his hand.

When I took it, he gave me a big smile. When I looked at him, I didn’t see the scar. I saw my best friend, the boy who’d broken my heart because he’d wanted me to pursue my dreams, and despite everything, had saved my mother’s life.

Which was why I went home with him.