Deserted - Cara Dee Page 0,27

rolled his eyes. “Since when—”

“Since I decided to get my shit together,” he interrupted irritably. Perhaps it was easy for Darius, but it wasn’t for Gray. If they crawled into bed together, it was only a matter of time before he’d seek comfort from Darius, and before they knew it, Gray would be begging to get fucked.

“Don’t fight,” Jayden said uncertainly. “I can sleep on the fl—”

“Don’t finish that sentence.” Gray rushed out the words and felt a brick of guilt smack into him. “We’ll make it work, sweetheart. Come on, let’s go eat so many tacos that we almost burst.”

Darius watched them but said nothing, so Gray took the lead and ushered Jayden outside again.

Christ. The boy’s offer made Gray’s stomach churn.

“We’re not fighting,” he made sure to add. “We’re just bitching. It’s what we do.”

Jayden squinted up to him. “You’re bitches?”

Darius chuckled behind them.

“He sure is,” Gray whispered conspiratorially.

Jayden snickered.

Jayden’s eyes went large when the waiter arrived with their food. Since they’d all wanted tacos, they had ordered a family special: a platter with twenty soft tacos. They had chicken, ground beef, shrimp, and pulled pork to choose from, and each taco was topped with a shitload of cheese. In the middle of the platter were pockets of salsa, guacamole, and queso. A bowl of chips was already on the table.

“Darius, you’re gonna hafta eat lots,” Jayden said.

Darius grinned. “You underestimate Gray’s ability to eat for a whole hockey team. He eats more than I do.”

Gray cracked his knuckles dramatically and rolled his shoulders, playing along to make Jayden laugh.

“How many can you eat?” Jayden asked, intrigued.

Gray leaned over and bumped their foreheads together, then widened his eyes. “Four thousand.”

Jayden threw his head back and cracked up.

It was a heartwarming sound.

He’s amazing, Jonas.

It was the beginning of the best evening Gray had experienced in months, and it was all thanks to Jayden’s high spirits. Okay, Darius helped. He was in a good mood too. He was too fucking sexy for words and had the most charming grin, but Gray managed to keep his wits about himself. Somewhat.

“Can I try your beer?” Jayden asked Darius.

“Sure,” Darius replied. “Just show me your driver’s license first.”

Jayden balked. “I don’t have one!”

Gray chuckled and took a sip of his soda. He’d been tempted to get a margarita but had a feeling it would loosen him up a bit too much. Once Jayden was asleep later, he could indulge in a rum and Coke. Darius had picked some up the other day when he’d bought beer. There were two small bottles of rum and vodka in his duffel bag.

“Jonas let me try once,” Jayden revealed.

“That’s what brothers do,” Darius answered with a wry smirk. “Wanna hear a funny story?”

Jayden nodded quickly.

Gray grabbed another taco and gave Darius his full attention.

“So I’ve told you I have two baby sisters and three brothers,” Darius said.

“Yeah, cuz one died in a war.” Jayden stuck a chip into his mouth.

“Right, but Jake was still alive back then.” Darius nodded. “Jake, Ryan, Ethan, and me—we’re a lot older than Lias. When he turned nine, most of us were over twenty. So, we kinda considered ourselves smarter too. I mean, he was a kid. We were adults. But for his birthday, he tricked all of us. The grown-ups had wine and beer with dinner, and then there was whiskey and other things after we’d had cake. And I remember I’d been helping my mother in the kitchen—I was on my way back to the living room—and Lias came up to me and stared at the glass in my hand. He asked if he could try it, and I thought, fuck it, I knew he wasn’t gonna like it. So, I let him try Pop’s whiskey.”

“Did he like it?” Jayden wondered.

Darius chuckled and shook his head. “No, he almost threw up on the carpet. But that didn’t stop him from getting each of his brothers alone at some point during the party. He asked all of us if he could try.”

“Oh God,” Gray muttered, wincing. He could guess where this was going, and it was difficult not to laugh.

“By the time Ma told him it was time to get ready for bed,” Darius went on, “Lias was drunk off his ass. He couldn’t stand up straight, and he was slurring. He couldn’t speak.”

Jayden squeaked and palmed his face, peeking between his fingers.

Darius smiled and shook his head. “Our parents were pissed—with us, not Lias—and we had to stay up all