Free Lucky Strike by M Andrews Page B

it was good, I got some sleep before talking with Brian.
    Brian turns around and we’re now face to face. “Good morning, would you like some coffee?” he asks holding up an empty coffee mug.
    “Yes please.” I grin politely, sliding into one of the bar stools at the kitchen island. He pours us both a cup and pushes a mug and some creamer over to me.
    “So, I know you went through a lot yesterday and all I’m going to say is this… I’m really glad you’re home.” He warmly smiles, then takes a sip of his coffee.
    “Thank you. I’m happy to be home.” I return his smile. Out of all my friends, Brian is the only one that knows when not to push me, especially when it comes to the emotional stuff.
    “So, you’re a brunette now I see.”
    I run my fingers through my hair remembering the night in Mexico when I couldn’t sleep and got it in my head that maybe if I changed my hair color, the nightmares would stop like somehow a new hair color would make the ghosts of my past disappear. Boy was I wrong, but I ended up liking the change so much I kept it.
    “Thanks. So I hear your wife really loves your dick.” I giggle from behind my coffee cup. I can’t help myself sometimes. But he should have seen it coming with how fucking loud they were this morning.
    Without missing a beat, Brian replies, “What can I say my woman loves my big gun.”
    “So how do you two fuck when she’s sporting a full preggo belly? Is it like a teeter totter?”
    “Ha! Where there’s a will there’s a way, and Brooke loves to be tied to the bed and fucked from behind when she’s pregnant.” He slyly grins.
    “Damn, Brooke is a naughty little thing.” God this feels so good to just laugh and bust Brian’s balls again. It feels like old times again. “Thanks for this. I’ve really needed a good laugh. I should also thank you for helping Ryder track me down. I know you could have gotten fired for doing that.”
    “It was worth the risk to get you home.” He softly smiles.
    “How bad a shape was he in? He told me about getting arrested and being taken off active duty, but how dark did he go?”
    Ryder almost lost the job he loved because of what I did. I can’t even imagine how bad he really got. As much as it pains me to know the pain I caused him, I need to hear it.
    “It got bad there for a while. If he wasn’t working, he was down at the bar drowning himself in booze and sleeping with anything with tits. He was trying to drown the pain of losing you any way he could. He’s not himself when you aren’t around and I know neither are you. You two are intertwined into each other’s souls, and when one of you is missing you both start to die.”
    Damn Brian can be one insightful son of a bitch when he wants to be. He’s exactly right. I noticed it in San Francisco, after about six months of being away, and I didn’t feel like myself. I felt this huge void and that’s when I tried to fill it with Jackson. While in Mexico, I felt like I was dying. Ryder is the missing piece of my soul. That day on the playground when I slapped his face, we were forever linked together.
    I feel Ryder’s hand slide down my back and hear him say good morning to Brian. Brian turns back to the coffee pot to pour a cup for Ryder but stops when something outside catches his eye.
    “God damn it, Ryder!” Brian shouts. “Get your damn dog off Lola.”
    Ryder walks over to the kitchen window, fighting back a laugh. “That’s the most action your dog has ever seen, let the girl enjoy it.”
    Brian grabs Ryder by his shirt and gets right up in his face. “I swear to God if Spike knocks up my fucking dog, I’m going to rip your balls off.”
    “Spike, get off of Lola. Daddy would like to keep his balls.” Ryder bolts for the back door with Brian hot on his heels.
    “What’s going on?” I hear Brooke coming up behind me.
    “The boys are trying to keep Lola from getting some.”
    “Fucking Spike, he’s the sweetest dog but he’s a horny