I nod once. “Yeah. Accounting doesn’t really give you much free time.”
“J. James?” he asks.
That catches my attention.
I glance at him more directly this time. “Yeah. How’d you know?”
“I’m actually working on the other end of it currently,” he replies simply.
Of course he is.
It makes sense that my dad has us tackling the same project at once, especially now that we’ll all be working together.
As afamily.
I let out a small breath, shaking my head. “I’ve been buried in numbers all week.”
“Sounds exciting,” Dominic murmurs.
I look back at him. “You’d hate it. It’s all deskwork and no physical action. I bet you get to fight disorderly people all the time. Sounds kind of fun.”
He steps a little closer, not enough to invade my space, but enough that I notice it.
“I have people who work for me that do the wrestling now, but I do miss the chaos.” he says quietly.
“Well, if you ever feel like trading places, you’re more than welcome,” I reply.
“Careful,” he says. “I might take you up on that.”
Elias cuts in, lifting his arm like he has a point to prove. “I might actually take you up on that offer. You see these fucking tan lines?”
Dominic snorts and smacks his arm, making him pull it back instantly.
“Yeah, those aren’t tan lines,” he says, shaking his head. “Those are burn lines.”
I laugh alongside him, finally feeling a burst of genuine happiness.
After we leave the restaurant, I head home and don’t waste any time. I shower, change, and crawl into bed.
Sleep hits me fast.
Probably all the overtime catching up to me.
A few hours later, my phone buzzes on the nightstand, dragging me out of it just as quickly.
I jolt awake, breath catching slightly as the sound cuts through the quiet. My hand reaches out blindly, knocking against the edge before I finally grab it.
The screen lights up the dark, way too bright.
I squint, wincing as I look down at it, my eyes still trying to catch up.
Discord Notification
My stomach does that familiar flip as I open the app.
It’s three in the morning.
These late-night texting sessions have become my twisted ritual since I found out about Garrett’s betrayal two weeks ago.