money with a grin and a wink, eyeing us both like we’re dinner, and Ash sneers at him before stomping off. I’m a little less of an asshole about not being interested, because I need the guy to do the job right, but I make my point nonetheless.
I buy hotdogs from the cart on the way past, scoffing at the sneer on my cousin's face at the sight of them. Of course the caviar-eating asshole wouldn't like anything that wasn't served on fine china or that wasn't cooked by his sister just the way he likes it.
Typical.
We get back up to the bleachers and into some decent seats just as the others arrive. All three of them. Together.
Lips looks like she wants to jump out of her own fucking skin to get away from us all, Avery is a blank slate—which is a huge red flag, and Morrison has never looked so fucking guilty in the entire time I’ve known the asshole.
Ash clearly thinks so too.
Lips scurries over to sit next to me and as much as I’d like to think that she’s finally warming up to me, it’s definitely a strategic move to get the hell away from Ash and Blaise.
Avery watches her and then her eyes flick between the rest of us before she sighs and snaps, “Morrison let Annabelle drool all over his neck in the library while he stood there like an idiot instead of shoving the skank-bitch off and telling her to find some other neanderthal to trick into fatherhood. His inability to tell her to fuck off is going to fill my planner up, and he's going to owe me more than he's worth by the end of the year."
Ash smirks at him and Morrison bites back immediately. I ignore them, handing Lips a hotdog and enjoying the shock on her face as she takes it. There's something so fucking Mounty about her getting choked up at being given food that my chest aches with the memories of that fucking hellhole of a city.
How do I convince Avery to keep her the hell away from there next year for summer break? How can I talk her into coming up the coast with me so we can spend the time together, safe and fed and happy. Fuck, it isn't even about getting to have her there with me. I've watched all of the girls I grew up around end up on street corners. The only reason my cousins didn't end up there is because my uncles wouldn't let it happen. Not that they'd feed them properly or give a shit about them, nope, it's all about the family name and reputation.
They haven't figured out yet that the name O'Cronin is a fucking embarrassment.
It only takes a minute before Morrison distracts Ash with random stats about the players, and they ease up a little on their cutthroat banter.
“We’re not going to have to sit through the whole thing, are we?” Avery whines, cringing at Lips and I as we eat the hotdogs.
Her words catch Ash's attention again and he throws us both a filthy look, pissed beyond all measure that Lips parked her ass right next to me. I don't know why he's so fucking worried about her, even without her obvious protection of Avery, she's still not going to change our family dynamic all that much.
Lips frowns at Morrison lighting up a blunt and I nudge her gently to distract her. “Relax. No one here gives a shit, Mounty.”
She shrugs and looks out over the crowd. She looks... worried. Sad. Anxious? Fuck, unless there's a fucking blush over her cheeks she's impossible to read, and even then she never acts the way I expect when she's looking fucking ravenous at one of us.
I could fucking kill Joey for starting that stupid fucking bet.
I don't know if that's the reason that she never follows through or if there really is a slum drug lord in the Bay that owns her, but none of that stops me from wanting to fucking gut anything that's getting in the way.
I don't want to face the idea that maybe, just maybe, she has no fucking interest in any of us and all of the blushing is... something random that happens to her.
Fuck.
Avery starts bitching me out again, just fucking going to town on me over being forced to sit in these stands with rowdy football fans, but Ash takes the opportunity to fawn over his sister again for a minute.