Page 72 of Rowdy & Kat

“Son of a bitch!” I hollered and kicked at the nearest bush.

Nine appeared from the other side and chuckled. “What the fuck, guys? I was sitting here the entire time. Way to pay attention.”

“Why not say anything?”

“I was bored, and your romantic shenanigans are entertaining.”

Like me, Nine got himself a nickname early on that still stuck years later. Alon Tooker was also the youngest of four kids. His sisters, Dalisay and Jaslene, lived at the Sorority House. His older brother Ben had a condo at the Five Points Lofts.

“Well, spit it out then,” I grumbled. “Why is Farley scared?”

Nine stretched his long limbs. His brown hair was tied up in a bun. I felt him making us stew before he shared his wisdom.

“With these other chicks, Farley’s always been the good guy putting up with bad women. But if the relationship with Maria veers into a train wreck, no one’s going to blame her.”

“That might be it, yeah,” Farley said.

“Well, I will blame Maria,” Nine insisted and smiled at his childhood friend. “I don’t know this chick, but I know you’re too nice to be a bad boyfriend. If things get fucked up, I’ll lay the blame on her.”

I immediately asked Nine, “If things didn’t work out with Kat, would you have my back?”

“No, because you’re a dickhead, and I would assume you did something wrong,” Nine said and dodged my slap. “But Farley’s the nicest fucking guy I know.”

Farley grinned at his fellow Rawlins kid, seeming to shake free from his earlier doom and gloom.

“Wait, so his pearls of wisdom worked?” I muttered. “But all my attempts to help you didn’t do a damn thing?”

Farley grinned at my irritation. “You have a vested interest in me hooking up with Maria that has nothing to do with my wellbeing.”

Smirking, I admitted, “That’s true. I would also be this insistent if it was Nine or Ben or anyone else who had caught Maria’s eye. You’re all good guys, and I want Maria to hook up with someone in the club who can hang out with me. My motives are completely selfish.”

As Nine eyed us both, Farley sighed deeply. “I feel a lot of pressure because everyone is paying attention to my every move.”

“Dude, I’d have far more pity for you if I hadn’t recently found out that the woman I was obsessed with was about to give birth to twins. My life flipped upside down in a few hours, and I’m still figuring things out. If a selfish asshole like me can build something good, there’s no reason a sensitive bitch like you can’t figure out how to nail things down with Maria.”

“Poetic,” Nine taunted. “No wonder you’ve gotten that woman willing to give up her entire life to move here.”

“She's keeping many parts of her life, such as Maria, the cats, her interests. She’s just changing zip codes.”

“I wouldn’t give up my home for a woman,” Nine insisted. “But I guess Kat doesn’t have a choice since she’s tied down with two babies.”

“You’re starting to piss me off,” I said and made a move on him.

Nine was a quick fucker, but I had Chihuahuas on my side. Goblin and Hanzee saw us roughhousing, so they jumped up and ran for his feet. Nine had to dive over the dogs to avoid stepping on them. That’s when I got the upper hand and pinned him to the ground.

“Admit you’re jealous,” I taunted as I sat on his back.

“I would rather be neutered than deal with baby puke.”

Easing off Nine, I reached over and stroked Goblin, who barked in support. “I said stupid shit like that before meeting Kat, so I will allow you to live your life unneutered.”

Nine stood up and wiped grass off his shirt. “You’re overcompensating for being whipped.”

Though I dove for his leg, Nine darted out of reach and headed inside the game room. I eyed him until the door shut. My gaze flashed to Farley, who was focused on the door leading back to our condos.

“Ready to hang out with cute blonds?” I asked, standing up and wiping off my ass. “Oh, and Kat and Maria, too.”

Farley grinned at my comment. “Your sons are very pretty like their mom.”