Blaine jumps to his feet and starts checking his fresh haircut out in the mirror. “Damn, I’m looking dope as shit.”

I laugh under my breath at him. “Thanks for stopping in boys, but you’ve got to get out. We closed ten minutes ago. Claudette will have my ass for letting you guys stay inside after close.”

I reach for the broom and start to sweep, but glance up at my desk when Royal tosses a fifty down. “What’s that for? I don’t want any cash for the cut.” I pick it up to hand it to back to him.

“We’ll be outside.” Royal looks down at my hand, and then walks toward the door with Blaine following behind him.

“Seriously,” Madison says with a grin. “They’re gorgeous and tip well?” She shoves a fifty into her bra that Blaine left on her chair, and starts sweeping up her station. “Remember the lousy ass tip that Colton left you the day y’all met?” She bursts out laughing. “About as pathetic as his dick. I told you not to fall for him.”

Shaking my head, I hold back my laughter and continue cleaning up so we can get the hell out of here.

We’re walking out the door about twenty minutes later. Royal and Blaine are sitting on the sidewalk, but stand up when they notice us come outside.

I lock the door, my heart racing in anticipation of what’s to come next. “You guys didn’t have to wait for us. I’m sure you have shit to do.”

“We did,” Royal says stiffly. “Fucking creeps come out at night. You can’t trust anyone; no matter where the fuck your business is located.”

I offer Royal and Blaine a smile as I walk over to the passenger side of Madison’s car. I look down to reach for the handle and let out a sigh. “Again, Madi? I thought you took that tire to get replaced.”

“Hell no. I’ve been busy. It’s called Fix-A-Flat. I’ve been using it for weeks and it’s a quick fix.”

“Yeah, and a temporary one too,” I point out.

“Hop on,” Royal says while holding out his helmet for me. “I ain’t got shit to do until tomorrow.”

I shake my head and start digging through my purse for my phone. “That’s okay, I’ll just call–”

“Who? My fucking brother?” I shake my head, realizing that I had no idea who I was even going to call, but definitely not Colton though. “Then get on.”

Blaine grabs Madison by the hand and starts pulling her away from the car. “I’ll take care of your car. Let’s go.” He hands her his helmet and watches her put it on, while pushing down on the crotch of his jeans. “Dayum, girl. Want to ride on the front of my bike?”

It almost looks as if Madison is considering at first, but then she walks around to the back of his bike, sporting a huge grin, and hops on.

“You coming or what,” Royal asks, making me pull my eyes away from Blaine and Madison.

“I don’t think I have much of a choice.”

Royal stands up, while holding his bike up, to put my helmet on. Then he sits back down and grips the handle as I climb on behind him.

Wrapping my arms around him, I notice how my heart goes crazy in my chest. I’ve been on the back of his bike three times now, and being this close to him still makes me nervous.

We ride for about ten minutes before we pull up in front of a little white house. Royal kills the engine and helps me climb off his bike.

“Who lives here?” I keep my eyes on the house, looking for any lights that might be on, while handing my helmet to Royal. “It looks like no one is home.”

“They aren’t,” he says without hesitation. “Come on.”

Royal grabs my hand and pulls me behind him when I don’t make an effort to move. I almost think he’s going to break into this person’s house until I see him pull out a set of keys.

Relief washes over me as I watch him unlock the door and flip on the lights, not trying to hide the fact that we’re here.

With my hand still in Royal’s, I follow him through the small living room and into the even smaller kitchen.

I stand back and watch as Royal opens the cabinet and pulls out a stack of plates. Popping his neck, he lets out a breath and then throws one across the room, breaking it against the wall.

I jump and cover my mouth in surprise. “What the hell are you doing?”

He flexes his jaw, looks at me, and then throws another one at the wall, breaking it. “Blowing off steam.”

“By breaking someone else’s shit?” I instinctively jump when another one breaks against the wall.

“Blaine’s shit,” he corrects me. “He breaks my window . . . I get to come to his house and break some of his shit. That’s how it works with us.”

Backing me against the counter, he grabs me by the hips and picks me up, setting me down with a smirk. “You need to blow off some steam, and since I can’t fuck it out of you . . .” He hands me a plate. “Here.”

I swallow hard from his words and look down at the plate in my hands. Is it possible to choke on air . . . because I think he just made that happen? I swallow again. “I’m not going to break Blaine’s dishes. I don’t feel right. I hardly even know him.”

“The fucker just cost me close to two grand from throwing some dick’s head through my bar window.” He runs a hand through my hair and tugs it. “Break it.”

He’s got a point. These dishes will cost him less than a hundred bucks to replace. Blaine does sort of deserve it. He could’ve slammed that guy’s head into the wall or took him outside or something.

“Fine.” Holding the plate like a Frisbee, I toss it across the room, slightly jumping when it crashes into the wall.

I find myself smiling after a few seconds. “Hand me another one,” I say excitedly. “This does feel nice.”

Smiling, he hands me a stack of smaller plates and chills against the fridge, crossing his arms across his chest to watch me. “Damn,” he says as I toss another one. “Watching you break Blaine’s shit is making my cock hard. Keep going.”

I look over at him and can’t help but to smile when he does. He doesn’t smile often, but when he does, it’s extremely contagious. “Stop watching me like that,” I say with a small laugh.

I toss another one and watch as he opens the window next to him and lights a cigarette. My chest quickly rises and falls at the way his lips look as he slowly blows out the smoke.