Cocky Roomie: A Bad Boy Romance Novel (Cocker Brothers of Atlanta Book 1) (18 page)

Why’d you have to break my heart like this?

JAKE

^“
I 
told you not to talk to her, Jason.”

His voice is as clear as if he weren’t over a thousand miles away. “Sorry, man. Had to.”

“When was this?”

“Well, you’re coming back tomorrow so it was, what…” He pauses. “I don’t know. More than two weeks back.”

“He fucking talked to Drew behind my back,” I mutter to Jett who’s sitting beside me at Lincoln’s Road House.

Jett calls through a calloused, cupped hand, “You’re an asshole, Jason!”

Jason laughs. “Tell him I said it takes one to know one.”

“I’ll do that,” I smile. “I’d put you on speaker but the music is too loud.”

“I can hear that. The Eagles. Predictable.”

“Jason hates the Eagles, apparently,” I mutter to Jett.

Jett shouts at the phone, “That’s because Jason likes that Hip Hop bullshit.”

On an amused chuckle, Jason tells me, “Fuck I miss that guy. You’re so lucky.”

“I am. We’ve been hanging out a lot. It’s been good.” I look over at Jett who stares ahead with a smile in his eyes. Not one for sentimentality, but he feels the same as I do. I think he needed to reconnect with me as badly as I did with him. “Well, I hate to tell you this Jason, but it didn’t work. She hasn’t responded to my texts.”

Jason pauses in surprise. “What the fuck? Well, that’s weird, man, I don’t understand it.”

“Women,” I mutter in agreement.

We hang up and I lay my phone on the bar. Gwen, the bartender whose ass Jett has been tapping for the last week or so, smiles at him as she walks up. “Another round?”

“Oh yeah,” he smirks.

“Sick fuck.”

“You know it, Gwen.”

She grins over her shoulder and goes for the fridge to grab more beer. He turns toward me, and doesn’t watch. It’s this motion that lets me know he’s not that into her. He didn’t even look at her ass. I doubt they’ll hook up even one more time, knowing my brother.

“Dwight missed a meeting today.”

I stare at him, realizing what that could mean. “You’re shittin’ me.”

“I am not.”

“Did he fall off the wagon?”

“Not yet. But I think we went soft on him. Tonk’s connected with him more than the rest of us, which Scratch saw comin’. But I told Tonk he’s gotta stay tough. It’s not a man we’re fightin’. It’s the disease.” Jett glances over as Gwen pops tops off our bottles and sets the frosty fuckers down. “Thanks, babe.” He hands me mine and we tap them together. “Thank God we don’t have that bite, man.”

“Pure luck.”

“Ain’t that the truth. Because I would hate to stop the days when I enjoyed a cold brew.” He takes a good-sized gulp and sets it down on the counter, hard.

“Hey!” a guy shaped like a bear shouts. “Your name Jett?”

I glance over since the guy is in my eye-line. Jett turns around really slowly to take a look. “Yeah?”

The guy barrels over with fire shooting out of his ears. “You’re messing with my brother.”

“I’m not into men, Grizzly Adams. No matter how hairy.”

The guy reacts. “You callin’ me a—”

“—I’m tellin’ you I’m not interested in whatever it is you’re sellin’.” He motions up and down the hulking frame looming over us. “No matter how ugly.”

The guy reaches back to punch Jett. It’s on. I leap up as two more guys jump off their chairs.

Whether they know this guy or not, I don’t know. Some men just love a fight.

I’m one.

Jett ducks in time then punches the guy in the stomach.

I use the force of one of the guy’s bodies running toward me to shove him nose-first into the bar counter. He grunts as blood gushes out the crack in his bridge and his nostrils. His buddy punches me in the gut. I recover and elbow him in the chin, sending his teeth chattering and his jaw offline. He’s not gonna give up easily so he tries to grab me but I dip out of reach and punch him in his ribs three times.

Jett’s knocking the bear silly with agile, strong punches the guy can’t get ahead of, not for lack of trying. My brother is a trained boxer, went semi-pro before The Ciphers. As the guy crashes into a table and takes it down, Jett turns to me and sends a front kick to the broken-nose fucker who was coming at my back without my knowledge. The guy makes another loud and painful grunt as the wind vanishes from his lungs. An uppercut later and the guy I’m fighting has to go to the hospital for his jaw. He probably should have quit after I jammed it the first time. Now he’s going to be drinking out of a straw. But maybe he likes smoothies.

I took a couple hits, nothing lasting.

Gwen calls over, “Cops are comin,’ boys!”

Jett shakes his head and walks to the mess he left behind. “I’m guessin’ your brother is Dwight?”

Bloodied and delirious, the bear barely nods.

“We’re helpin’ him, you dumb shit. Stay out of our way and you might still HAVE a brother.” Jett shakes his head in disgust and looks at me. “Let’s go.”

I throw down some cash for Gwen, take a long, quick glug of beer, and stroll out after my older brother. Just like old times.

DREW

I 
’ve been stressed out all morning. His plane comes in today, but I don’t know when. Nothing I do can help me concentrate on these proposals. I’ve completed the initial cataloging of what worked and what didn’t work for the company. And now it’s my job to see if I can’t find any nuances I missed that might help them in future negotiations. I’d been doing a great job at it, quite frankly.

Until today.

Every time the office door opens and I hear male voices, I freeze and forget to breathe. I’m not a fan of Hank, but the others are nice. Some are quiet and keep to themselves. Juan is in here the most so he and I have had some nice conversations since I first started working here.

But if he talked to me today, I wouldn’t remember any of it.

I hear the doors open just after lunch break, where I opted to stay and work. Don walks up to my desk and hands me a take-out bag. “Got you a burger.”

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Ya gotta eat.”

If I can keep it down.

“You’re very sweet.” He walks by and Juan comes crashing through the doors with Matt on his ass.

“Give me that!”

“Make me,” Juan laughs, running by my desk. They race around and Matt finally pins Juan, who’s much smaller in size, and takes back the crumpled bag.

I ask, “What’s in it?” smiling in confusion.

Juan yells, “Porn!”

Matt mutters, “Asshole,” glancing to me and quickly away. Apparently it is porn.

They head outside to the trucks so they can return to the site now that break is over. My phone vibrates and I lift it up, knowing it’s him.

Can you come over tonight?

Frowning because I didn’t expect to hear from Bernie, I realize Jake hasn’t texted this morning. I guess he’s not going to, now that it’s after one o’clock.

Oh, Bernie. I just spent a difficult afternoon with you three days ago. What do you want from me?

And yet, there is always the hope that today will be the day she’s ready to clean up. Every time I see her, it’s because I want to be there when she needs a ride to rehab…and the support of a good friend who only wants her happy.

I start to type, but a deep voice interrupts me.

“Hi Drew.”

My thumbs freeze on the keyboard. I look up and lock eyes with Jake Cocker, handsomer than I remember, and dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt that makes his eyelashes look darker. He’s boring into my soul with a look that is both determined and irritated.

“Jake,” I croak.

Drew honey, this is gonna be harder than you thought!

“Why haven’t you returned my calls? Or texts?”

I blink a couple times and set the phone down, trying to gather my scattered wits. “Straight to the point, I guess.”

“Yep.”

“Because I didn’t
want
to.”

“Look at me.”

“No, Jake.”

“Drew. Fucking look at me.”

My eyelashes flutter upward no matter how hard I’m trying to resist that piercing gaze.

I can’t let myself soften to him after what he did.

He crosses his arms, the bulk of his muscles pulling the cotton tightly across his pecs and shoulders. This man was
meant
to be naked.

“What?” I demand, temper flashing. “I don’t have to respond. Welcome back by the way. You don’t have to worry about this awkwardness we have between us now. I’ve been looking at places and I think I found something I can afford on my own.”

Anger darkens his features. I inhale sharply and try to look away, but I can’t.

“You’re moving out,” he grates.

“I think it’s best.”

He glares at me, snarls, “Fuck,” then walks past my desk to his office where he slams the door.

“Oh my God,” I whisper, touching my heart. “Dammit.”

For the rest of the day he acts like I’m not there. He laughs with the guys when they greet him with, “Good to see you, you fucker!” He and his uncle chortle away in the big, private office about things I can’t hear.

It’s terribly painful how slow the clock is movin’ today. When it is finally time to go, I am out of here so fast my hair practically flies up from the wind of my exit.

“Drew!” he shouts.

“Leave me alone,” I mutter, nerves shot from being ignored for five straight hours. I race to my car rummaging for my keys in my purse. I’ve never felt this clumsy. Why won’t the damn key get in the damn lock?!

He runs over, literally sprints. Just as I get the door open, he slams it shut. “Enough. This is enough.”

“Enough of your fake laughter, you mean? Enough of you walkin’ by me over and over and pretendin’ I don’t exist, ignorin’ me like I’m a piece of lint or somethin’?”

His jaw clenches on a furious glare. “You didn’t want to talk to me, so I didn’t talk to you.”

“And this is why I can’t date someone in their twenties!”

Jakes snarls, “Because you won’t even talk to them, or answer a fuckin’ text? Kinda hard to date when you won’t even open your mouth, Drew.”

“I meant, because you’re immature!”

“What’s mature about what you’re doing? Pretty sure you don’t know what that word even means.”

I blink through my fury. “Screw you!”

He plants his arms on either side of my old Honda, jailing me in, his face very close to mine. “Why won’t you talk to me? I don’t get it. Just because she made a move on me? I can’t help what women are going to do. Especially when it comes to my family.”

“Not because she made a move, Jake! Because you fucked her! Apparently for hours!” He blinks at me, stunned, so I let him have it, everything I’ve been holding onto since that morning. “Because I woke up to find her wearing the shirt you wore to the BBQ! The one you took to me because you were pretending to be a nice guy! Imagine my surprise when I find her panty-less, coming out of your room and sayin’ how much sex you guys had, when you didn’t even want her stayin’ over! Did you have to say yes to her? I know she’s more beautiful than I am, but she’s my friend and you said all those great things to me, Jake. Why’d you have to take her into your bed after you said those things to me? Why?!”

He shakes his head, helpless.

“That’s what I thought,” I whisper. “Now, please release me and let me drive home. This day has made me very tired.”

But he does no such thing. He surprises the hell out of me by kissing me out of the blue. Shocked beyond anything, I try to push him away, but he wraps his arms around my lower back and pulls me tightly against his hard body. “I thought you just didn’t care about me, Drew,” he rasps against my lips.

“What the hell, Jake?! You can’t kiss me like that after what you did!”

In the middle of the fucking parking lot, Jake laughs and kisses me again, crushing my body and doing everything he can to melt my resolve.

Shoving at him, I croak, “Stop it! You’re not bein’ nice!”

He grabs my chin and makes me look into his eyes. “I didn’t fuck Bernie, Drew. I tossed her back on the couch and locked my door! She lied to you. She lies! I wouldn’t touch that woman with Juan’s dick! Jesus, what kind of an asshole do you think I am?”

“A big one?” I whisper, stunned.

“Didn’t Jason explain how I know her, why I can’t stand her? She almost ruined my brother! If we didn’t knock him into his senses, he would be fucking homeless by now!”

“I…I guess he didn’t make it clear that…I was wondering why he didn’t mind that you slept with his ex.”

“What a fuckin’ mess,” Jake grins. “Now stop fighting me because I need to kiss you. You taste like home, Drew. Come here.” He crushes me to him again. This time I do not resist. Bernie lied. She must have snuck in there after he left for work, stripped and put on his shirt. When he said he was distracted — why he didn’t wake me before he left — was probably because she had tried making a move again, and he just wanted to leave.

With all the missing him I’ve been feelin’ I kiss Jake Cocker back just as hard as he’s kissin’ me. I let his tongue claim me as my heart fills up. His hands feel their way down my back as I eagerly slip my fingers into his hair. He kisses me with such emotion it takes my breath away. If it weren’t for the applause, he probably would have taken me right here in public against my car. We break apart as our co-workers shout and holler, all back from the site now that the workday is over. Jakes grins down at me and I stare at him with the most awestruck smile.

On a chuckle, Don asks the men, “Who’s next for Jake’s welcome home kiss?”

“Oh! Me!” The guys all yell, raising their hands.

Jake laughs, “Idiots.” He opens the door and lets me in. “I’ll see you at home?” I nod, glance over to the guys, and blush like crazy. Juan waves to me with just his fingers. Ridiculous. All of them.

“Bye, weirdos!” I call out as Jake goes to close my door.

“Bye, Drew!” they sing, teasing me with fluttering eyelashes.

I cannot get home fast enough.

DREW

T  
he front door opens and my heart starts pounding as he takes off his shoes, eyes on me. Backing into the living room, I blurt out, “I can’t do this if we’re going to be casual.”