Hold On (The 'Burg #6)(100)

“Thank God,” I muttered.

He kept smiling, but he did it gently pulling me off him.

He put me on my feet as he straightened from the bed.

“Gonna use your john, then I’m gonna go,” he said. “After that, less than an hour, Cher.”

I nodded.

“Dig Ethan, like spendin’ time with him. But I want my good girl and my bad one all to me again. While I’m away, want you to think on finding us that time and soon, you hear me?”

I nodded again, back to feeling warm and squishy because he was wasting no time letting me know he wanted more of me.

He shifted and I knew he was adjusting his jeans even as he ordered, “Now kiss me.”

I got up on my toes, leaned in, hands to his chest, head tipped back, and I kissed my guy.

It was wet but short.

When he was done, he bent, nabbed my pajama shorts and panties, and handed them to me.

But after I put them on and before he walked out of my room, he bent to touch his lips to my nose.

God.

Merry.

“Less than an hour,” he said softly, then I watched him walk away.

I did it thinking that was mine. All that tall, lean handsomeness. His big dick. Him making my son (and me) waffles. Him wanting my ass in a booth with him at Frank’s so he could show the whole ’burg he was claiming me.

That was all mine.

Forty whole hours, that had been mine.

And I hadn’t f*cked it up.

A record.

A record I was going to keep breaking.

Maybe for eternity.

* * * * *

Garrett

Garrett’s phone started ringing before he let himself in his apartment after taking Cher out to lunch at Frank’s, going back to her place and hanging on her couch (mostly making out) until her kid got home, then hanging with Ethan and her until she had to start getting ready for work.

He left her to it.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t hitting J&J’s later that night for a drink.

He pulled his phone out on that thought, doing it smiling.

He took the call still smiling.

“Yo, Rocky,” he greeted his sister.

“So, let me see,” she said in his ear. “Swank’s Thursday night. A freaking Bulldogs game on Friday. Frank’s four hours ago.”

He tossed his keys on the bar and started to shrug out of his jacket. “Apparently, ’burg’s buzzing.”

“‘Buzzing’ is not the word for it. They haven’t had anything this juicy since…” she trailed off, probably trying to think about when they’d had something that juicy.

But he already knew. “Since you and Tanner sorted your shit.”

“Well, really, since Dusty got shot by that kid, but that isn’t the good kind of juicy that this is,” she replied, but her voice turned hesitant when she asked, “It is, isn’t it, Merry? You and Cher, it’s the good kind of juicy, right?”

“I like her, honey,” he shared. “Like her, her kid is great. So yeah, it’s the good kind of juicy.”

She was silent a moment before she said, “I’m glad.” More hesitant when she asked, “Mia?”

“Mia’s done.”

Even though he gave her that firm, he knew she was chewing on it because she was silent again.

She broke it, saying, “I think that’s good. Cher…she’s a fighter. Mia…not so much.”

She got it.

Rocky got it better than anybody.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

“So, you bringing her over to meet your niece, say, tomorrow?”

He nearly burst out laughing. “She already knows Cecelia…and you. But I get you. Though, what I get, still gotta tell you that we had our first date two days ago, Raquel.”

She amended her question.

“So, you bringing her over to meet your niece next weekend, but you’re getting your ass over here tomorrow before CeeCee forgets what her uncle looks like?”

She wanted him to come and spend time with her daughter.

She wanted more for him to come and spend time with his sister so she could see for herself that he was edging toward happy.

He grinned. “I’ll come ’round. Catch a game. Remind that baby girl I exist.”

“That’d be good.”

“And I’ll talk to Cher. We’ve jumped in with both feet. Maybe it’d be good we take some time to get used to the waters we’re in for a while before we hit more rapids.”

“I hear that.”

And again, she got it. She and Tanner had hit so much white water, it was a wonder they weren’t crushed against the rocks.

They weren’t and Garrett was pleased as all hell they’d finally hit smooth.

“Have a feeling you’ll be meeting her and Ethan in a different way soon, though,” he told her.

“That’d make me happy.”

What would make his sister happy was knowing her brother was happy.

And he was happy. Cher putting on that dress for him. Cher giving him all she gave in the variety of ways she gave it the last two days. Seeing all she made in her son—funny like her, a smartass in a good way like her, a scrapper who doesn’t take shit just like Cherie, and loyal, so f*cking loyal, it was beautiful.