Stripped Love (Guys Next Door #1) - Baylin Crow Page 0,68

the short exchange that led to this clusterfuck of a night. My throat grew tight and I swallowed around the lump of anger as I put myself in his shoes.

“Fucking fuck," I growled and snatched my keys, wallet, and cigarette pack full of money. Desi could kiss my ass on the house fee. And they could burn the outfits I left behind, for all I cared. The locker clanged in the empty dressing room as I slammed it shut.

On my way out, I tossed the prisoner outfit in the trashcan and swung the back employee door closed harder than necessary.

I stomped across the gravel lot to my car. As soon as I closed the door, I reset my password and then texted Archer.

Me: Please let me explain everything.

Without waiting for a reply, I sped the whole way home. My chest grew heavy when I spotted the empty driveway. With shaking hands, I pulled in and again texted him.

Me: Where are you?

17

Archer

The drive to CJ and Caleb's house seemed to take forever. Not wanting to go home and wallow in self-pity by myself, I'd decided to turn to my best friends. Maybe they could take my mind off what I'd seen and help me navigate the storm of hurt brewing inside me.

My phone chimed with an incoming text in the cup holder, and Phoenix’s name flashed on the screen. A lump wedged itself in my throat. With a thick cloud of confusion and doubts fogging my thoughts, I couldn't talk to him. Not yet. I needed to process what I'd seen and what he'd said before deciding how to move forward.

My brow furrowed when my phone chimed again and several minutes later it rang. As an overly cautious driver, I avoided checking the messages, and I was too nervous to answer the phone.

By the time I reached the twins’ house and drove down the long driveway, curiosity was overwhelming me. A part of me was positive it was really Phoenix, but dread settled in my stomach as I considered the possibility that Aiden was contacting me from his phone again somehow to make things worse.

I spotted the twins playing basketball as I came to a stop, and they both turned, squinting against my headlights. I flicked them off and grabbed my phone. Swiping over the screen, I exhaled a shaky breath when I found texts from Phoenix.

Phoenix: Please let me explain everything.

Phoenix: Where are you?

Phoenix: I have a thousand lyrics racing through my mind.

Phoenix: Eyes wide open, vision clear. My next steps imagined without you here.

Phoenix: Please call me back. I'm so sorry.

Swallowing around the tight lump in my throat, I climbed out of my car and pocketed my phone. The temperature had dropped only a few degrees as the hours grew later, and the humidity still hung heavy in the air making it harder to breathe with my chest already tight.

CJ and Caleb were already halfway to my car when I started forward.

"What's wrong?" CJ asked as he tucked the ball beneath his arm.

They both studied me with concern as I blinked back hot tears.

Caleb stepped forward, expression tight. "What did he do?"

When I couldn't force the words to explain, CJ sighed. "This has boy problems written all over it. Let's go inside."

He turned, dribbling the ball as he headed toward the garage with me and Caleb following behind. CJ tossed the ball into a mesh basket full of spares, and we entered the house through the garage door that led to the kitchen.

The room was painted a calming sage gray with white and gray-streaked granite countertops and top of the line appliances. A large bouquet of pastel flowers in a crystal vase that had begun to wilt—which I assumed was from the twins’ lack of care—was placed in the center of a long rustic dining table that sat eight. A stark difference to my uncle's house that was only fitted with basic necessities and decor, yet both brought me comfort in their familiarity.

He opened the stainless-steel refrigerator and pulled out three water bottles, tossing one to each of us.

"Are your parents still in New York?" I croaked out after taking a sip of the cold water, letting it soothe me enough to stop the trembling in my hands.

"Yep, until next week," CJ answered. "Let's take this to the basement."

We walked through the house and went down a flight of stairs. The basement had been converted into a game room before I'd met the twins. A pool table took up