Seventh Seal - Jacquelyn Faye Page 0,30

were taking all of that a little too well."

"And it made me realize something else."

"What?"

He paused to gather his thoughts, drinking his coffee and staring out the sliding glass door behind us. "That I have been a jerk. Not a selfish one, but still a jerk. I used your other relationships like a blanket I could hide under. When things got bad between us, you had someone else to turn to. That made me happy that even when I was less than what you needed, you had someone to take care of you."

"You're an idiot," Jimmy chimed in.

"What?"

"When you and Dot fought, we all felt it. She was moody, irrational. More so than usual." He pinched me again, but this time it was to let me know he was kidding. I hoped. "We didn't line up to console her, you dumb fucking twat. We had to console her. Hold her when she cried. Wipe her tears. It wasn't fun and games and loving. It was getting her through you being an asshole."

Chagrinned, thy name is Chief. I could see the horrified look in his eyes as Jimmy's revelation lit the tiny candle in his head. "I'm sorry." Only, he didn't say it to me. He said it to Jimmy. I've never been prouder of him than I was in that moment.

"Your problem, Bill, is that you see us all as individuals."

"We aren't?"

"We are. In everything that isn't Dot."

"I'm confused."

"We aren't her boyfriends. We are her boyfriend. Her love. Her mate, her partner, her family. All of us. We're in this together and all of us need to start acting like it. Especially you. I don't mean to be the bad guy, or the voice of reason, because… Well, because that just isn't fucking me. I'm the fun one. The risk taker. The kinky bastard who likes showing her off. That is me. You're the stable one. The rock. The voice of reason in this relationship. Dennis is the sweetness. Jason is the drive. Shea is the shyness, Dar is… Dar is Dar. He's blue and horny and Dot loves him. We all do. So, shit or get off the fucking pot."

"You think I should leave?"

"No. I'm saying get your shit together. Because Dot loves you and Dot needs you, and some of us do, too."

He sat for a moment, silently sipping his coffee and staring off into nothing. Finally, he nodded, set his cup down, and stood up. He was going to bolt. I could feel it. We'd gone too far.

Just when I was going to jump up and stop him, he dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around the both of us, silently sobbing into my lap. I started stroking his hair, running my fingers through its softness and let him get it out. Jimmy put his hand on his shoulder and was silently rubbing circles, letting him know it was okay, and would always be okay. We would be okay.

How long we stayed like that, I didn't have a clue. Ellis came out of the shower, saw our moment, and retreated into the darkness of the bathroom. Candace came out to pee and pushed him in their room once she realized what was going on. Yuki had felt the whole thing and sent me a bit of love down our link and Dar must have felt the same. He and Shea stepped from the shadows and knelt beside Chief, joining in the tender moment and offering their support and love.

It was quite the moment, and even though I was smiling, the tears were flowing down my face. The wetness on the back of my shirt told me I wasn't the only one.

Finally, Chief lifted his head and stared at me with red-rimmed eyes and offered me an apologetic smile. I returned it, letting the back of my fingers brush the stubble on his cheek as he choked out one last sob.

"Nothing like a bit of group therapy to get you through the shit storms. Thanks, guys."

Chapter 9

The best part about getting up early is going back to bed. Emotional outbreaks were draining. I felt fine until Chief let everything out, thanked everybody profusely, and used work as an excuse to hightail it the hell out of there. I debated making him stay, but I know if it had happened to me, I'd want some time alone, too. So, with a smile and a kiss, I let him escape with a promise to have lunch with me