Free Jayson: A New Adult / Coming of Age Romance by Nicole Hughes Page A

problem. I didn’t mean nothin’ by it,” he replies with a grin. I hand him one of my cards, which he pockets, and watch him jauntily walk back to the house next door. “Thanks, man!” he calls out before going inside.
    I look back at Castiel who looks disappointed at not getting to fight. “Thought he was gonna get jumpy,” he says sheepishly, sliding his hammer back in his belt. I erupt with laughter.
    “You know what I think we need tonight, bro?” I ask. He looks at me expectantly, and I know I’m about to shock him, but I really need this break. “I think we need to go out someplace and have some drinks.”
    Castiel lets out a whoop and races inside, shouting for Dev. “You’re not gonna believe this, bro!”
    I don’t know if I’m gonna regret this, but…the Zephyr brothers are going out tonight.
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    E ither I’m turning into a crotchety old man at twenty-four years old, or the music in the underground club really is louder than all my power tools combined. My ears are ringing and we haven’t even been here ten minutes. The beat is up-tempo and filled with bass, but I lean against the red brick wall, eyeing the crowded dance floor like it’s a leper colony. I haven’t spoken to a single other person besides Dev and Castiel, who have disappeared god knows where. The youngest Zephyr, eighteen-year-old Ashby, is at my place holding down the fort with Mom until I head home…which I desperately want to do now. I feel out of place, like I’m way too settled for this shit.
    I probably don’t look too out of place, though. I’m dressed about the same as the other guys I see, in a simple black shirt with sleeves rolled up to my elbows and a pair of distressed jeans. For me, they’re work clothes… with the exception of the black and brown leather wingtips I threw on at the last minute. “Hey, good looking,” a hot brunette whispers as she passes me. I nod but don’t take the bait. I hate to say it, but I think I’ve outgrown the club scene before ever even getting into it, and I’m only twenty-four. Just seems like a waste of time to flirt up chicks there’s no possible chance of getting serious with while drinking watered-down liquor and dancing to music I wouldn’t listen to at home. Unfortunately I can’t just dip out on Cast and Dev, having not hung out with them in almost a year.
    “Whisky sour.” I rap the top of the bar after fighting my way through the crush to get to the bartender. He takes the drink order and bustles off to get it ready while I lean against the countertop and scan the crowd. It’s a Thursday night, and it looks like the city’s sexiest young people are out in full effect. I try to shake the crotchety old man feeling. Castiel materializes next to me, a loopy grin on his face from one too many vodkas, but he looks like he’s having a good time.
    “Where’s Dev?” I lean in and ask him. Castiel shakes his head and puts a hand to my chest.
    “No way are we letting you play the overprotective big brother tonight, man. Dev is fine. He’s somewhere breaking hearts, as usual.” I chuckle, dropping my hypervigilance a little, even though I can’t help peering around one more time to see if I can spot him. “Dude, I was dancing with this girl when—.
    Castiel stops midsentence, staring past me. “What?” I ask, turning around with concern. “Oh, wow.”
    “Is that Kit?” he hisses at me with a nudge. My head bobs up and down, throat dry at the sight of her. Kitrina Schneider and her friend Grace stand at the end of the bar. My client’s dressed uncharacteristically in a midriff tank top and a leg-baring short skirt that sends my pulse into a sprint. Rippling white blond hair spills over her shoulders and down to the center of her back, and she laughs gaily at something Grace says to her. I shove my drink into Castiel’s hands and leave him to stare after me with mouth agape.
    I see the minute she spots me. The hills of her breasts rise with her sharp