Consolation Prize (Forbidden Men #9)(109)

“And he still has a penis?” I had to know, lifting my eyebrows incredulously.

She snorted and cracked a smile. “A bruised one, but yeah. Barely.”

“Oh my God!” My mouth dropped open. “Did you really rack him?”

Her smile grew a little more, even as she ducked her face. “I did.”

I hooted. “Yes! Girl, you are my hero. Way to go, Ty.” I pulled her into a big, encompassing hug, and she ended up resting her head on my shoulder.

“But what am I going to do now? I can’t be alone.”

She said alone as if it were a dirty, nasty thing. “Honey,” I scolded, pulling back. “You’re not alone. You always have us. And there isn’t anything wrong with being without a man. You don’t need some dick to define you. You are spectacular in your own right. Men are only good for…”

My rant trailed off as I thought of Colton. A few months earlier, I would’ve said something about guys only being good for sex and eye candy, but what I’d started with him was so much more than any of that.

Tyla cocked her head, waiting for my answer, so I smiled and patted her bent knee. “They’re good for making a team, but you have to be strong and individual in your own right so you can carry your weight of the partnership too. And he has to be working toward the same goal as you, with you. There’s nothing wrong with going it on your own, but there is something wrong with partnering up with someone who has their own agenda.”

Tyla sniffed and shook her head. “That wasn’t what I thought you were going to say at all.”

“I know,” I answered. “Me neither.”

“Right,” she said slowly. “So can we start man-bashing now?”

I chuckled. “Sure.”

Just then, the door burst open, and Sasha rushed inside, followed by Chad.

Tyla glanced past Sasha and instantly narrowed her eyes. “No dicks allowed. Motherf*cking cheating * sons of bitches.”

Chad froze in the doorway, his eyes going wide. Pointing toward the hallway, he said to his girlfriend, “Yeah…I’ll just be in your room,” and he darted as fast as he could go past the couch.

We watched him disappear before Sasha turned back to Tyla and promptly pulled her into a hug. “Baby, I am so sorry. Tell Sash all about it.”

So Tyla proceeded to detail everything again, tears sprouting from her eyes. Sasha and I listened and answered when we needed to, and she seemed to have calmed significantly when a knock came on our door.

“Oh, God,” Tyla groaned, burying her face in Sasha’s shoulder. “If that’s him, I don’t want to talk to him.”

“I’ve got this,” I announced, pushing to my feet and straightening my shoulders. “Let’s see how bruised Igloo * can make his balls.”

“Kick him once for me too,” Sasha commanded.

I nodded and didn’t even check the peephole before jerking the door open and setting my facial features to f*ck-off. I totally wasn’t expecting it to be Colton.

He started with a cringe. “Sorry, I took off on you, but if you’re still ready to go to the…” His words trailed off as he took in my expression. “What’s wrong?”

I stepped into the hall with him and pulled the door mostly closed behind me as I said, “Right now isn’t a good time. Tyla just broke up with her boyfriend. He cheated on her. She’s a freaking mess.”

“She broke up with him? Just now?” he asked, pointing his finger down between us as his eyebrows arched with concern. When I nodded, he asked, “Is she here?”

After my second nod, he murmured, “Poor thing,” and brushed past me to enter the apartment.

It took him a split second to take in the sight of Sasha and Tyla on the couch before he tsked sympathetically. “That f*cking dick,” he announced. “Why would anyone cheat on you?”

He strode to Tyla and stole my spot on the couch next to her so he could pull her into a hug.

At first, she seemed to tense against him, staring at him as if he were insane. But then he said, “Men can be such *s,” and she nodded in agreement.

“They really can,” she sniffed before cuddling closer to him and closing her eyes.

Colton met my gaze over her shoulder as he began to rub her back. “Where’s the rest of that chocolate I got you?”

My cheeks heated as I pinched my lips together. “Um…Sasha, Tyla, and I ate it all the other night.”

“You…” His eyes widened. “All of it?”

I cleared my throat and shifted uncomfortably. There’d been three women gossiping. Of course we’d devoured it all. Geesh.

“Doesn’t matter.” He waved an unconcerned hand. “Alcohol’s probably better right now anyway.” With another significant glance my way, he added, “And isn’t it just lucky we have a bartender in our company.”

When Sasha and Tyla glanced my way as well, I realized they all really did want me to whip them up some drinks. “Oh!” I said, still stunned Colton had metaphorically just rolled up his sleeves and dived into the mess of a freshly single woman. “Right. I’ll get on that.”

I hurried into the kitchen, shaking my head, and wondering if I’d ever get used to all the sides of Colton Gamble. He really was an enigma. Just when you thought the guy was an open book and you had him figured out, he turned the page.