Draw (Gentry Boys #1)(14)

“Little?” Chase scoffed. “When are you gonna let it go? You’re what, ninety seconds older than me?”

Creed stood and stretched his fingertips to the ceiling, displaying his intimidating physique. “Yeah, little. You’ll always be smaller than me, boy.”

My lower jaw felt like it had been packed with gauze. I was sure Chase’s assessment had been accurate. I expected that when I found a mirror the image which stared back at me wouldn’t be too pretty to behold.

Chase shoveled mouthfuls of brightly colored cereal while Creed started fiddling with the coffee pot. I cleared my throat and the brothers glanced at me. They weren’t identical, but they looked alike in a way that was disconcerting. They had the same dark blonde hair and wore perpetual tans which might have been a result of running wild in the desert from toddlerhood. Their forms were all powerfully muscled paragons of masculinity. If I hadn’t known who they were, if they’d just been men I passed on the street, I’m sure I would have stared.

“He’ll be back,” Creed said and I realized he was talking to me.

“Cord?” I asked, pulling the quilt around me. It smelled freshly washed.

“No. Jesus Christ,” Chase teased, snorting over his own humor.

Creed poured a cup of coffee. Surprisingly, he brought it straight to me. I accepted it thankfully.

“He just went to see if he could hunt up that cousin of yours.”

I took a sip of the coffee. It was strong. It felt good going down my throat.

“So, Saylor,” Chase said, peering at me with curiosity. “Who f*cked up your face?” I saw Creed toss him a hard look but he didn’t pay any mind.

“My boyfriend, well, ex-boyfriend, beat me up,” I said. It was the first time I’d spoken the words aloud. It felt oddly liberating.

“No shit,” said Chase mildly. He didn’t seem shocked. “And so you left?”

“Yes. After I broke a table over his head.”

Chase grinned. “You really broke a table over his head?”

“I did. It made this awesome cracking sound. Sort of like that scene in Titanic when the ship broke in half. I’m sure his arm was broken.”

“Whose arm was broken?” Cord asked, poking his head around the corner. I hadn’t heard him come in. His blue eyes fastened on me. I didn’t like the look of pity in them. I was beginning to feel like the human equivalent of a stray dog.

“Devin the Dick,” I said.

“Oh,” he nodded, scratching his head. “Bray’s still not around. Since he doesn’t like to answer his damn phone I wrote him a note and shoved it under his door.”

“A note,” Chase cracked up. “What is this, 1985?”

“What happened in 1985?” Creed asked.

“The Delorian hit eighty eight miles per hour,” Cord answered.

“I think Madonna was born,” Chase piped up good naturedly.

“The three of you would look good with mullets,” I said. The brothers all stared at me for a second and then the three of them busted up laughing.

“Hey,” Cord looked around, poking Chase in the arm. “Where’s your little friend?”

Chase talked with his mouth full. “She took off after a sweet exchange of head. I think she stole my f*cking wallet.”

Creed sighed and grabbed something from the top of the fridge. He threw it on the table. “She didn’t take your damn wallet. There’s your wallet.”

Cord approached the couch. I shifted to make room for him but he sat as far on the other end as he could and still be on the same piece of furniture.

“So,” he said with some awkwardness. “How are you doing?”

“Okay,” I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll have a better answer in a few hours.”

Cord’s face was serious. I drank my coffee and watched him covertly through my eyelashes. He was definitely something to look at, but then he always had been. Manhood had filled him out, hardened his features. A faint scar cut through his left eyebrow.

“You’re different,” I said. I hadn’t meant to speak the words. It had been running through my mind that Cord Gentry wasn’t exactly as I remembered him. But then, I supposed I wasn’t as he remembered me either.

He mulled the words. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

I sipped my coffee and listened to Creed yell at Chase for leaving his dirty dishes in the sink. For as long as I could remember, the Gentry boys had been callous hellions who rode roughshod over anyone who dared to challenge them. But as Chase cuffed his brother affectionately over the head I thought about how I’d never seen them like this, as siblings who obviously cared for each other. I knew they’d had a rotten upbringing. There was always a shifting population of hood-eyed Gentrys staggering around Emblem. It must not have been easy to make it out of the violent poverty which they’d been born to.

Cord watched his brothers absently as they wrestled like overgrown lion cubs, Creed finally getting the upper hand and beating his impressive chest in victory.

Chase pouted and shoved him away. “Keep pounding the drum, King Kong.”

“Sore loser,” Creed retorted. “You reek of cheap perfume by the way.”

“Whatever. I’m gonna go shower the stink of that girl off. You know, she asked if you boys wanted to take a turn. Christ, she was nasty.”