Broken Boys Crave Chaos by JB Heller
ChapterFour
Well shit.I’ve always been good at sticking my foot in it, and looks like I’ve just done it again…
Out of nowhere, the guy shoves his hand out at me. “I’m Kass.”
“Ariel,” I tell him, accepting the handshake as I press my lips together. He is adorable with his bright blue eyes, and kinda awkward nature.
He holds on a few beats longer than is polite. And just as I’m about to make a joke about him wanting to touch me or something, his eyes widen yet again, and he drops my hand like it’s on fire.
“Shit, sorry,” he says, ducking his head, a hint of a blush rising on his cheeks.
Oh, my God! This guy is getting all flushed over me. I just know my grin is huge. He’s too fucking cute. “Nice to meet you Kass.” I hook a thumb over my shoulder when he glances at me from under ridiculously long lashes. “I better get that one processed before my sister maces him again.”
Kass nods. “Yeah, okay. Umm, it was nice to meet you too?”
He rubs the side of his neck, looking adorably confused, and still flustered as fuck. I lick my lips, trying to hide my grin as I nod, and his gaze locks on the movement. My heart trips over a beat, a smirk curves my lips and turn on my heel to join Snow. I can’t help a quick peek over my shoulder as we escort Blade out of the building.
Kass is still standing where I left him, his eyes tracking me. This time I duck my head, then I shake it. What the hell is wrong with me? I don’t mix business with pleasure, and Kass is definitely not my type.
Then why do I wish I’d gotten his number?
Soon as she’sout of sight, I grab my cell and hit Mase’s name in my contacts.
He answers quickly, but before he can get a word out, I’m already talking. “Holy-fuck-me-sideways-Sundays,” I say. “I just saw the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, dude. What are you talking about?” he asks.
“Mase. Man. I was just walking through the lobby and this guy comes out of nowhere, shoulder barges me, knocking me on my ass, then the hottest chick I’ve ever seen took him down,” I tell him, hitting the button for the elevator to take me to my floor.
“Took him down how?” Mase asks as I step inside the metal box.
“Handcuffs and pepper spray were involved. And her sister!”
Mase scoffs. “Fuck off with that shit. Have you been watching porn? You know it’s a weekday, right? Are you getting sick? You never watch porn during the week.”
I roll my eyes as the elevator ascends; I don’t know where he gets these ideas. “I’m dead serious.”
Silence fills the line, and I pull my cell away from my face, checking the call is still connected. Sometimes they drop out in the elevator. But nope, my signal is still strong. “Mase?” I say.
“Shut up, I’m processing,” he snaps. “So, you’re telling me you just saw some real-life spank-bank material being played out in the lobby of your building?”
“Yes.”
“Scout,” Mase’s voice echoes through the line as he calls her. “We’re moving in with Kass.”
Mirrored metal doors slide open, and I step out onto my floor, striding down the hall to my apartment. There are only two on this floor, and mine takes up the whole right side from the elevator. And while Mase, Scout, and Harley would fit in my apartment with ease, it’s not happening. I’d never get laid again.
I clear my throat. “Yeah-nah, bruh. I love you an’ all, but I can’t live with your ass.”
“Fiiine,” Mase whines, right as I’m pushing through my front door. “In that case, I want all the details. In fact, I need them in person. I’ll meet you at Jacks in an hour.”
I’m grinning like a fool. It’s not often I’m the one telling the hot as fuck stories, so I agree then end the call. Dropping my bag on the couch, I flop down beside it and sigh happily as I replay everything that just went down.
* * *
I’m already sittingin a booth at Jacks Bar and Grill when Mase walks in, Zeke, Milo, Trick, and Carter on his heels.
I arch a brow as they approach. “Evening, fellas.”
“Evening yourself,” Trick says, sliding in beside me. “I hear you’ve had an eventful afternoon.”
Touching my chest, I feign confusion, “Me?”
Trick slugs me in the shoulder. “Yes you. Now spill. Going on what Mase said there was a porno being filmed in your lobby.”
Dragging a chair to the end of the booth as Milo, Zeke, and Carter settle in, Mase clips Trick up the side of the head. “That’s not what I said.”
“Close enough,” Trick shoots back. “Now—” He turns back to me as he slings an arm around my shoulder. “—let’s have it.”
I know I’m smiling like a lunatic as I relay the story to them. Nobody interrupts me as I wax poetic about Ariel and her badassery that turned me on more than anything in my life.
When I’m done, Trick’s frowning. “You said her name is Ariel?”
“Yeah. Not that she looks anything like a mermaid…” I ponder her unique name some more.
“What’d she look like?” he asks.
“Full pillowy lips, dark eyes, long black braid, black clothes, bullet proof vest, hot as fuck. A pocket-sized Lara Croft come to life, a walking wet dream,” I explain.
Trick’s eyes light and a knowing smile curves his mouth. I hate it when he smiles. It’s weird. Trick is a moody bastard, and smiling just doesn’t look right on him.
“I know her,” he finally says. My jaw drops, then he continues to blow my mind. “In fact, I know her and her four sisters. She was probably with Snow today. Shoulder length black hair, red lipstick?”
My brows shoot up as I nod.
His smile morphs into a smirk, and he throws his arm around my shoulders again, giving them a hard squeeze. “Looks like you’re going to start taking some classes at the gym, my man.”
Then Mase cuts in, “You are going to track this chick down, right. I’m not asking, I’m telling you, dude.”
“She’ll eat him alive,” Carter says, looking at Mase like the idea of me pursuing her is the dumbest thing he’s ever heard.
Milo and Zeke stay suspiciously quiet on the topic, so I turn to them. “What about you guys? Do you think she’s too badass for a guy like me?”
They shake their heads and speak over one another. I arch a brow, and Zeke slaps his palm over his boyfriend’s mouth to silence him, then says, “Look, I know these girls from the gym, too, and I’m not going to sugar coat it for you… I reckon you’re in with a shot, but you’re going to have to work for it. The Hunter sisters are a hot commodity, and not easily impressed. Guys are always trying to pick them up when they’re working out or doing classes.”
I nod, I figured as much. Ariel is absolutely stunning in this dark and edgy kind of way, and her sister is beautiful too. Add to that they’re complete badasses… I bet they have a whole fucking fan club.
I must look like a kicked puppy or something because Zeke snaps at me, “Hey, don’t go looking like that. I didn’t say it’s hopeless, but winning Ariel will require some effort on your part. Flexing your muscles isn’t going to do shit for her.”
Glancing at my upper arm, I frown. I’m not an overly built guy, I’m not completely hopeless either, but I’m not some gym junkie with bulging biceps, triceps, and whatever other ceps there are. I lift my fist then flex, there’s definition there. Not a massive amount though…
“Stop that,” Milo says, reaching across the table to slap my arm until I drop it. “You’re fine the way you are, man. Don’t ever change yourself for another person. If they don’t love and adore you just the way you are, then fuck them.”
“He plans to.” Mase chuckles, holding his hand up for a high-five that nobody gives him.
I flip him off, then turn back to Milo. “Don’t stress, I’m not planning on changing myself. I was just thinking if she’s used to built guys, I’m won’t even be on her radar.”
“Also, not what I said,” Zeke explains. “She’s not into meatheads. That’s where you have an edge. I’m going to go ahead and say that being physically fit is a requirement to be with Ariel, otherwise you’d never keep up with her. So, you’ve got that going for you.”
I just stare at him. “If the fact I’m not a couch potato is all I have going for me, I’m screwed.”
“You’ve got plenty going for you, man, you just need to figure out what she’s into. Then you can wow her with your awesomeness,” Mase puts in.
“Ah-ha, I’ll get right on that,” I deadpan.
Trick hunches forward, elbows on the tabletop as he cradles a beer between his palms. “Like I said, you need to come to the gym and do some classes with her, get to know her on her terms.”
I scratch the side of my neck. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”
Over the next hour I nurse my beer while the guys throw their thoughts and opinions around the table, debating the best way for me to land Ariel.
Hadn’t I just decided I don’t need a woman in my life right now? What the hell happened to that? I guess it flew out the fucking window the minute Ariel stepped into my lobby…
* * *
Before I leftJacks last night, Trick said Ariel hits the gym every Saturday morning for a Brazilian Jujitsu class. I’m not at all surprised she takes a class like that, not after seeing the way she moved when that guy tried to get away from her.
Her reactions were perfectly timed; it almost looked like a choreographed scuffle. Every move he made, she countered it with such ease and grace. Not a word I ever thought I’d use to describe a fight, but there it is.
Trick thinks I should sign up for the Saturday morning class with her. Problem is I’m not a violent person. Just the idea of hitting someone makes my skin crawl and my stomach cramp.
Finding out about what happened to my dad when he was growing up had a massive impact on me. Before that, I had a slight interest in martial arts, not enough to pursue it. I was too busy with other stuff, but the concept still intrigued me. Afterward though, not so much. The only time I’ve ever set foot near Trick’s gym was years ago when Chance was first dating Carter, and he was training for an upcoming MMA fight. To say it didn’t go well would be an understatement, it was a complete shitshow.
I didn’t know Trick back then, and only knew Carter as Chance’s psycho boyfriend with serious anger control issues, and Mase as his sidekick. That’s what I thought at the time at least. Fortunately, I know better now.
I never in a million years would have predicted Mase would turn out to be one of my closest friends. The fact he and Trick are Zeke’s trainers doesn’t bother me at all, nor does knowing Zeke beats the shit out of people for a living.
But me being the one in a ring or in a position where I have to lay hands on another person… I don’t think I can do it. Hell, if I’m honest with myself, it’s because a small part of me is worried if I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop. I get so angry sometimes, I play off as best I can because I don’t want to be anything like my grandfather. But what’s to say I wouldn’t explode if given the chance?
That’s the thought that kept me up half the night. What if I’ve got a monster inside of me, just like my grandfather did? His gateway was alcohol, but it was just an excuse to let the beast out. What if letting a little of my anger slip out causes an eruption I can’t control? I’d never forgive myself if I hurt anyone.
No one else knows about the chaos that brews inside me. I’ve done a damn good job of keeping it hidden all these years. Not even Chance is aware of it, and she knows me better than anyone in the world.
There was this wildness in Ariel’s eyes when she took that guy to the ground. This savage beauty I couldn’t look away from. Chaos lives inside of her, and it called out to my own…