Page 103 of Shattered Pieces

Lukas passed out fast once I tucked him under the covers, but I snuck out of bed to clean up and get a drink. I downed a glass of water before hearing a knock at the door, and I walked over to open it, finding Diesel on the other side.

“Hey,” I said slowly, a little confused by his visit.

He noticed I was in nothing but my boxers and cringed. “Sorry. Bad time?”

“No. Luke’s asleep, but I’m up. Come in,” I said as I stepped aside for him.

“It’s not even ten. Big night?” he asked, following me into the kitchen.

“Date night.”

“Shit, I should go. I didn’t mean to⁠—”

“You’re good. Want a beer?” I offered, already moving to open the fridge to grab us one each.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, man. What’s up? We haven’t seen a lot of you,” I said, not mad about it, just making an observation.

“That’s why I’m here. I thought I should check in with you guys. You know about me and Rory, right?” he asked carefully, and I chuckled as I handed him a beer.

“Yeah. She’s excited for you to take her bowling.”

Relief hit him and he physically relaxed. “Good. It’s hard to know who knows what with everyone split up right now. You guys are cool with it?”

“We’d rather you than Rivera and Ortega,” I scoffed, cracking open my can for a drink. “We knew you’d come back around after seeing you with her on Christmas. Is it a relationship, or just seeing where it takes you?”

“I don’t really know,” he said with a frown. “I asked her about us going on that date when she gets out, and we talk all the time now. We’re together, right?”

I grinned, patting him on the shoulder. “Welcome to the club.”

“I don’t want to fuck it up with her, but it’s really hard not to compare things to when I was with Sasha,” he admitted, looking embarrassed about it.

“You only have those experiences, so it’s expected to compare situations, just don’t compare the girls,” I shrugged.

“I feel guilty for wanting her after promising Sasha she was it for me. I love Sasha with my whole heart, so is letting Rory in stupid? What if I can’t—” He looked like he was going to give himself a fucking panic attack, so I cut him off.

“You won’t love Rory the same, and you’re not supposed to. She understands, D. She lost Slash and still loves us too. Take it slow with her and build a relationship over time. Communicate with her.”

“I think Sasha would really like her,” he whispered, staring at the beer in his hand. “I’ve told Sasha a lot about her, and I never know if it’s hurting her to hear it.”

“Honestly? I think she’d be relieved to see you happy. I know we’ve never really been close, you always kept to yourself, but I’ve never seen you so relaxed and happy like I have since Rory showed up,” I offered, earning a small smile in return.

“It’s hard to think Rory’s officially older than Sasha. I don’t like to think about it too much though because then I’m reminded she’s only eighteen and I feel like a creep.”

“You act like you’re forty, but you’re not.”

“I might as well be.”

I rolled my eyes, nudging him. “You’re fine, old man.”

He shot me a dirty look, the stairs creaking and making us glance back to find Lukas walking down them, rubbing his eyes.

“What are you doing?” he mumbled, noticing Diesel and cringing. “Oh. Hey.”

“Hey. I’m leaving in a minute, I won’t ruin date night. I realized I’ve been bad at checking in with you guys, that’s all,” he stated, and Lukas moved closer to stand beside me.

“I didn’t want to wake you,” I murmured, tucking him under my arm. The sex must have really relaxed him since he didn’t care about nuzzling into me in front of Diesel.