Jacked (Trent Brothers #1)(145)

My parents had been married for almost forty years, and though they fought with the best of them, they never called it quits. Dad had said to us once that we needed to find the girl that would make us want to be a better man.

I held Erin’s hand while we sat and watched fellow ATTF officer Jesse Ramirez’s wedding. I didn’t fully understand what my dad had meant by that, until now. It’s not a comfortable feeling for me to do the self-analysis to acknowledge how I react to things. Now that we’d been officially dating for almost three months, little things were becoming crystal.

Hearing Erin tell the server she couldn’t have the champagne when the woman tried to pour the toast at our table brought on a swell of guilt mixed with appreciation. Marcus was sitting across from us, giving his subtle nod of approval. He knew all my shit and now he knew that Erin knew my shit, too.

“You don’t drink either?” Cherise asked.

What a leading question.

Erin shook her head. “No, not really, and oddly I’m not a big fan of champagne.”

That was a lie.

A little lie she made up and tossed out effortlessly for me.

“You can have some,” I whispered near her ear.

I watched her lick her bottom lip, leaning just as close. “If you don’t, I don’t. It’s that simple.”

I guided her chin, needing to kiss my woman.

There was a level of comfort there I’d never felt before. It was effortlessly easy. I pulled my cell out of my pocket, feeling the need to capture the moment. I leaned closer to Erin, snapping a few new pictures of us together to add to my growing collection.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught the blur of bright red interrupting my moment.

Then I heard her voice, trying to be sweet to Cherise. I watched Nikki work it, knowing she and Cherise were never tight. Cherise only tolerated Nikki for my benefit and that was not without effort.

Cherise, being the sassy mocha woman she was, was two seconds away from telling Nikki where to get off, and would deliver it without batting an eyelash.

“How are you, Adam?” Nikki asked, sizing up Erin more than anything. She had a date with her—some meathead looking dude that was busy eyeing the bar or the closest exit—probably in that order. That was until he noticed Erin.

My girl was looking especially gorgeous tonight. Flawless hair and makeup topping a killer dress that made me wish I had a private escape of my own. I could appreciate the package, but Nikki’s date had three seconds to stop staring at Erin’s tits before he’d meet my fist.

I leaned into his line of sight. That’s right, f*cker. Eyes on me.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Nikki said.

Cherise scoffed. “Does he have to?”

God, I loved that woman, too. She was the sister I wished I had.

Nikki shot her a dirty look.

I focused on Erin instead. She gave me a small eye-roll, making me check my manners. When it came to Nikki, I had none left.

“Nice to meet you, Nikki.”

Yeah, Erin had much better manners than I did, but she still didn’t reach to shake Nikki’s hand. Ten points for our team.

“So how did you two meet?” Nikki asked, eyeing us both to see which one would answer.

This was getting old, fast. She wasn’t asking just to make small talk.

I was just about to end this bullshit when Erin said, “I’m pretty sure you already know the answer to that, just like you know my name, where I work, and how long Adam and I have been seeing each other. Oh, let’s not forget what kind of car I drive, too.”

My partner Marcus choked on the other side of the table. It was fun to watch Nikki’s smugness wither away. I’d shown him a few of the crazy texts I’d been getting the other night; the disgust rolling over Cherise’s face confirmed that he’d shared that information with her.

Cherise turned in her chair and faced off with Nikki, letting the flair of her hands punctuate her message. “You satisfied now? You get all the information you were fishing for? I think it’s best you move on now before you spoil my dinner. Go on. Get gettin’.”

Right after Nikki stormed off, Marcus relaxed back in his chair, eyeing both of our women as though he was seeing them anew. “Daayum, I don’t know which is hotter—white woman sass or black woman sass—’cuz you both are off the charts hot right now.”

Erin’s laughter lightened me right up.

Cherise leaned over toward Erin, doing the girl version of a fist bump. “I’m totally all over white woman sass myself. Damn, girl. I like you. Adam, I totally approve. You keep this one. That one over there, she’s nothing but trouble. But this one, she’s a keeper.”

Good, then you’ll all get along. “Glad to hear it.”

It was hard to keep my hands off of Erin throughout dinner while she charmed the pants off my friends. I skimmed my hand over the top of her thigh, keeping low enough to let her feel my desires without being a perverted ass. Just watching her squirm while she tried to form sentences was providing me with unlimited entertainment. Even Nate Westwood and his wife Katie were hanging on Erin’s words.

After dinner, the lights dimmed and the DJ’s music filled the room. All eyes were pointed at the dance floor.

Jesse’s groomsmen were tanked, making the first dance into a joke. Chucking the finger at each other and cursing with little kids watching? Assholes. My wedding would be classier than this, although Erin wouldn’t want to put on pretenses. She’d opt for elegance.